The Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing Presented by King Cadillac GMC came to a close at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Sunday, October 15 capping off another successful year of on-track action at the raceway known to many as the Big-T. Seven divisions made for a busy final day of the three-day showcase of the finest racers in New England and beyond with the main event of the evening being the crowning of the 2017 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour series champion to help close out the night.
The Whelen Modified Tour’s Sunoco World Series 150 proved to be a historic one with three different drivers earning honors as for the first time in series history. The race saw a different race winner, tour champion, and owner’s champion crowned as Timmy Solomito scored a World Series win while Doug Coby secured a fifth Whelen Modified Series crown and Ryan Preece earned Ed Partridge and TS Motorsports the owner’s title.
Coming into the weekend Doug Coby had history in his sights with a slim 10-point lead over Justin Bonsignore. Six drivers had a mathematic shot at the title, but Coby was seeking his fourth straight championship, and fifth overall, after a year of ups and down that saw him only reach victory lane one time. Coby survived two close calls to finish in the top five, securing the crown that puts him in exclusive company with Richie Evans and Jerry Cook as the only drivers to win four consecutive titles in the series. Coby is the first to do so in the modern era dating back to 1985.
“We have no quit. It took all we had to do to take care of business,” said Coby after clinching the championship. “What a tight season it was – This one’s a little different. It’s a split car and owner championship and the #6 car (of TS Motorsports) had a phenomenal season. They were on point every single race. This is our fifth title with some of these guys. This one we got the points lead with two races to go. It’s just a different feeling and it’s an amazing job. Our team just digs deep every time they have to.”
For the first time in series history the owner’s title went to a team that wasn’t hosting the championship driver at the end of the year. Ed Partridge and TS Motorsports was presented with the owner’s trophy thanks to the efforts of Ryan Preece, who forwent a full season of driving for the driver’s title to focus on advancing his career in select NASCAR Xfinity Series events over the course of the season. Preece said he was proud to help bring Partridge a title and end the season on a high note.
“We had a really solid year and we won a lot of races. When we didn’t win we were consistent. We were really fast and that’s all you can hope for. I have to thank Ed and Connie (Partridge) for letting me drive this car and work on this car,” Preece said as he celebrated with the Partridges after the race.
Finally the race winner was Timmy Solomito, who is no stranger to victory lane at the Big-T. Solomito came into the event knowing he had to win the race and get some help from others in the field to take down Doug Coby for the drivers championship and while he didn’t win the overall title he made a statement with a pass for the win on the final restart. Solomito not only won the event in the closing laps, he did so in a backup car after damaging his primary in a practice incident. Solomito said he was excited to bring his team one more trophy to close out 2017 strong.
“It just goes to show you how great these guys are. We qualified eighth with no laps on the car and put it in victory lane today. There was a lot of determination after what happened in practice. It was pretty unfortunate, but I’m really happy for everybody on board,” Solomito said in victory lane.
(continued)
Bookmarks