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MILFORD, Conn. – Earlier in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season, Doug Coby parked the Tommy Baldwin Racing No. 7NY in Victory Lane at Riverhead Raceway. The six-time Whelen Modified Tour champion’s victory in May was his third career at the New York quarter mile, all coming within his last five starts.
After over a decade of trying, Coby scored his first Riverhead win in 2021, driving his own Doug Coby Racing No. 10. After teaming with Baldwin for the first time and winning at Riverhead, the combination also scored another win at Lee USA Speedway together, one week later. Since then, Baldwin has swapped a few different drivers in and out of the car, and Coby has been back in the seat for the last two races – winning at Langley Speedway for the third time this season and leading 52 laps before finishing seventh at Oswego Speedway.
Heading back to Riverhead, the race will mark a first for everyone involved – pit stops in the infield. With a tire change allowed and 256 laps on tap in honor of late track owner Ed Partridge, it will certainly create a new list of challenges for teams to figure out.
“The 56 extra laps certainly is going to change things quite a bit,” Coby said. “A lot of guys that couldn’t make their cars work for the whole 200 laps, they have the opportunity to make their car better during the race with the pit stop. I’m not sure ultimately how it is going to shake out with the pit stops, especially with when to pit. There is always the right time to pit and the wrong time to pit. We’re going to go there and have a great car. You have to stay out of trouble and be there at the end.”
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour cars will hit the track for practice at Riverhead at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, with a one-hour session. Mayhew Tools qualifying will take place at 6 p.m. and the drop of the green flag for the Ed Partridge 256 is scheduled for 8 p.m. For those who can’t make it to Long Island, the race will air live on FloRacing.TV.
For more information on Doug Coby and Doug Coby Racing, visit DougCobyRacing.com and follow the team on Facebook for the latest updates, including from the track on race day.
