Doug Coby Amped For Whelen Mod Tour Return To New Look New London Waterford Speedbowl

Doug Coby following his Whelen Modified Tour win in 2012 at the Waterford Speedbowl (Photo: Corey Sipkin/NASCAR)

Doug Coby following his Whelen Modified Tour win in 2012 at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl (Photo: Corey Sipkin/NASCAR)

It’s hardly surprising to understand that for reigning NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby, seeing the New London-Waterford Speedbowl next up on the schedule is a matter for excitement.

Coby’s statistics at the track in recent years have been head turning. In his last six series starts at the track, dating back to 2005, the Milford driver has a victory and three second place finishes.

It goes without saying that Coby has a pretty good handle on the fast way around the .375-mile bullring.

But remove the confident competitor factor and there’s still Coby the race fan with even more reasons to be excited to get back to the Speedbowl for the Whelen Modified Tour New England Cycle Center 161 on May 14. The Speedbowl opens its regular season slate of racing on May 7.

Track owner Bruce Bemer, who acquired the facility as a part of foreclosure auction in October 2014, has spent the offseason with his going through the first phase of improvements the facility. Most notably changing for 2016 are new walls in the turns, a new catch fence, a new turn-two entry way, improved fan and crew observation areas. That’s all in additional to a generally spruced up look around the facility.

“Going back there we’re not going to be able to recognize the Speedbowl,” Coby said. “I hope I still love it. The facility is just getting tremendous improvement from the new owner and [general manager] Shawn Monahan running the show. That is exciting to me probably more than the Tour race.

“Just a once thought of to be an extinct short track is kind of rising up and presenting itself as a nice clean facility with new improvements that are pretty much going to be unmatched on a track that size anywhere. If they keep up it it’s going to definitely be, we already know it has the best short track racing around in terms of little bullring tracks from top to bottom, from the [SK Modifieds] down to the Mini Stocks. So I’m excited to go there.”

When the Whelen Modified Tour returned after a six-year hiatus from the Speedbowl in 2012 it was Coby winning the inaugural Richie Evans 161, one of five victories that season that helped propel him to his first of three series titles.

“I love Waterford,” Coby said. “It’s certainly my favorite of the short tracks that I’ve ever raced on in any division. I have a certain love of that track and having a Tour race there when I won the Richie Evans 161 when that first came out. That was a highlight of my career.”

Coby, coming off a dominating victory Sunday in the NAPA Spring Sizzler 200 at Stafford Motor Speedway, goes to Waterford – the third event of the season – leading the Whelen Modified Tour standings by one point over Timmy Solomito. Solomito won the season opening Icebreaker 150 at Thompson on April 10 at Thompson Speedway. Coby was fourth at Thompson.

“We were thinking of going to test [at the Speedbowl], but with all the work they’ve done there I don’t think it’s a smart thing to try to get on the track because the track surface will be junk,” Coby said. “But we’ll be ready to go. I love it and [crew chief] Phil Moran knows I love it.”

Comments

  1. Coby wins
    Who came in 2nd
    GREATEST MODIFIED DRIVER IN THE WORLD
    I BELIEVE ROCOCO WAS 2ND
    THAT CREW CHIEF IS THE BEST AND BELIVE HIS BEST FRIEND IS CHAD KNAUSE

    I BELIEVE TC WILL DO WE
    HOPE MY BOY THEREALGOODFELLS IS OUT THERE

  2. I must say woody is great too seems like he will get rolling again soon
    Always a threat
    Rowan is still the guy to beat on the sk weekly stafford
    Gotta go the Oxford tics just went on sale
    Ha ha ha

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