(Press Release from NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)
Timmy Solomito celebrates a Whelen Modified Tour victory Saturday at Langley Speedway (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
HAMPTON, Va. – Timmy Solomito muscled his way past Doug Coby with seven laps to go to score the victory in Saturday night’s City of Hampton 150 at Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway – his second victory of the season in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
Coby had dominated much of the event, leading all but six laps, but Solomito closed in on him in the closing stages of the 150 lap race at the .396-mile oval in Hampton, Virginia. When Solomito finally got to Coby’s rear bumper, he began to press the issue, looking to the inside and the outside and repeatedly giving shots to Coby. With seven laps to go, and the third and fourth place cars of Max Zachem and Eric Goodale joining the battle for the win, Solomito executed the bump-and-run, which resulted in Coby spinning.
Solomito then survived a restart with two laps to go and survived overtime to clinch the win.
“I hate to race that way,” Solomito said. “We had a really fast car tonight. I pressed him and tried to get him to slip up. He slipped up a few times. I showed my nose a couple times. I have a lot of respect for Doug but he’s trying to win a race and I’m trying to win a race. Unfortunately, tight quarters, you’re racing on a small track, I hate to win races that way but it happens, contact happens.
“Unfortunately, it’s racing. It is a contact sport here and there and sometimes things happen. We didn’t want that to happen but it’s hard racing. Two guys going for the same piece of real estate for the win. If I could go back, would I have done anything different? Probably not. Everybody’s here to win.”
The win at Langley marks Solomito’s second of the season. Earlier this year, he won the Whelen Modified season opener at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway and backed it up with a second-place finish at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. Despite an 11th place finish at Stafford, the strong start to the season has Solomito thinking big picture.
“We just have to keep it rolling and keep running strong and having good finishes,” Solomito remarked. “At the end of the day, every position counts. You have to play your cards right and be there at the end. You just have to finish every race. It’s not always about winning as many races as you can, it’s about finishing up front and running well.”
Doug Coby, who led 134 laps, ended up being relegated to a 15th place finish after the contact with Solomito.
“Timmy made his car faster, and we were just a tick tighter,” Coby said. “We still had a fast race car, a controllable race car. It was a good race, that’s what the fans deserve to see. They don’t want to see somebody walk away by a straightaway.”
As Solomito closed in, Coby said he expected the race to come down to paint trading.
“I was expecting the bumper shots, the crossovers and stuff,” Coby explained. “No matter what he was trying to do, if I don’t give up the bottom, he can’t get by me. That’s short track racing. You’ve got the outside to go around, you’ve got the way bottom to go around. If I’ve got a fast car and I’m on the bottom, find another way around.”
Eric Goodale finished in second, his best result of the season. Kyle Bonsignore finished third while Max Zachem and Justin Bonsignore rounded out the top-five.
Rob Summers, Rowan Pennink, Danny Bohn, Kyle Ebersole and Matt Swanson completed the top 10.
Solomito took over the points lead with his victory, leading by nine points over Rowan Pennink following the race at Langley Speedway. Eric Goodale sits third in points while Justin Bonsignore and Max Zachem sit fourth and fifth.
The next race for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be held at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on June 14th.
It is a contact sport, always has been.That’s why they have a chrome horn.Bump and run is fine if you can move him, but when it results in a spin and 15th place finish the perpetrator needs to be sent back.I didn’t like it when Colbee did it to Preece and don’t like to see it happen to anyone.Can’t figure NASCAR out after all these years.I am surprised Doug didn’t go ballistic.
The 16 did a great job. The 16 was better than the 2. It was tough racing, and the 2 couldn’t take the heat. Bumping is going to happen, that’s modified racing. The bumped car can drive through it, or not. The 16 gave the 2 more than enough laps to realize it had better get out of the way or get moved. The 2 was doing all he could to block the 16. Great job by the 16.
Todd Szegedy better step it up. Wade Cole is 7 points ahead and Melissa Fifield is nipping at his heels, only 12 points behind.
If I’ve got a fast car and I’m on the bottom, find another way around.”
Spare me the drama. Doug couldn’t wait till after the victory lane celebration to flap his gums at Timmy.
Geez like the guys never won a race the same exact way? Your protecting a lead over a better car with a driver who’s made his bones at Riverhead and you expected what? on a Tour where bumper passing is the norm. Give us a break.
Sounds like the Duce needs to work on their long run set up. This is the second time I heard about a tight race car at the end of the race. I guess they are not invinceable after all.
This bump and run is a bunch of crap. No respect, if you have the car and can’t get around the car in front of you clean then you settle for second especially when he gives you a lane.
What goes around, comes around. Maybe more than once this year? I wasn’t there but I’m sure Doug will pay back if he thinks Timmy deserves it
If Colbee had a fast car, he wouldn’t have been in the way of the 16.
Art, the 2 was bumped, and embellished. If the driver can’t handle the bumping and gets spun from some bumper pressure, too bad. Learn to drive.
Crazy, well said. It was a small, narrow track. Close confines, perfect for a guy like Solomito from Riverhead. A guy like Colbee, that can’t run in traffic, is at risk. The 2 is going to have to do a post race analysis to see why they weren’t able to drive away and stay away from pressure. Need a new flux capacitor?
After watching that sorry excuse for a race on fanschoice.tv, it just reinforced the decision I made years ago to stop supporting the WMT.
“darealgoodfella” says, “that’s modified racing.” Well, that’s not the modified racing I grew up with. If that’s what it’s become, you can have it. I’ve got better things to do than watch spoiled punks beat on each other with $70k race cars.
One more thing…
When Solomito says, “I hate to race that way,” he’s so full of bovine manure that I can smell him all the way out here in western NY. If he hated it so much, he wouldn’t have done it, period.
“I have a lot of respect for Doug…” gave me a good laugh too. NONE of the regulars on that tour have the least bit of respect for any of their competitors.
Okay, I’m done now.
dareal,I wasn’t there so until I see the race on tape I will take your word on “embellishment,but the Riverhead statement doesn’t hold water.They are not afraid to send people back for rough riding when it gets overt.I have also see it happen at other tracks at regular shows.Justin was penalized at Thompson so why not Timmy yesterday?I like Timmy and am not saying racers should be treated like axe murderers but dumping should not be allowed.Two years ago it cost Ryan Preece the championship.Colbee can come back from this with a few more jiggawatts,it’s still early.
Almost a top 20 for Melissa until she had engine problems near the end… 🙁
The race turned out to be a battle royale between the tool companies–Mayhew vs Starrett. Stolimoto was the hammer and Colby was the punch!
Liz, how many cars dropped out for her to get that close?
art, hope you find the tape. The 16 spent many laps trying to get around the 2, the 16 was way better than the 2. It is an extremely narrow track. An outside shot is not an option. In the closing laps, the lead car is going to do everything to block. The 16, in my humble opinion, did not dump the 2. The 2 simply sucks in traffic and racing. It is lucky it has a big power advantage. The 2, as a car, normally runs out ahead and never has to race. When the 2 runs like a mere mortal, this happens.
When the 2 took out Preece at Loudon on the last lap, did the 2 take responsibility? Or blame Preece? The video evidence shows that the 2 hooked the 6. The 2 is going to continue to dish it out and it’s really funny listening to him talk like he’s above reproach.
Liz, tell Melissa there’s an old semi-hemi polyspherical combustion chamber Dodge 318 with a 2 BBL at the junkyard for $75 that should work just fine, all the horsepower she can handle.
Something to be said for honesty. from Speed51 article Coby quote:
“I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. If I complain too much, people point to the times I’ve knocked somebody around and not gotten penalized. But I can make a list of the times I’ve been penalized a lot more than I haven’t. It’s one of those things where I can’t say too much. It’s the type of racing people like to see these days. { When I’m on the winning end of it, I’m fine and dandy. When I’m on the losing end of it, I’m gonna cry sour grapes.”}
admits he’s a whiner… nice to see for a change. oh btw Doug….. not everybody likes that type of “racing”. Just so you know.
From the Coby quote: “But I can make a list of the times I’ve been penalized a lot more than I haven’t.”
I’d like to see him do that. I want to see his list of all the times he hasn’t been penalized. 🤡😜
When he knocks someone around he complains they were in his way. When he gets knocked around, he complains NASCAR isn’t supposed to let drivers/car like him get knocked around. It’s not that he complains too much, it’s that he complains all the time.
Modified racing has always been a contact sport. If you don’t like it, go watch Indy & F1.
I consulted with my cousin, Mona Lisa Vito, about this engine combination. She tells me that Chrysler never made an engine with polyspherical heads in a 318 cubic inch configuration. The last year of polyspherical heads was 1958 and they didn’t make the 318 until 1967. Well, I guess that plan’s moot.
Liz, you may want to rethink that thought:
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/mopp-0109-chryslers-poly-head-engine/
http://www.streetmusclemag.com/tech-stories/engine/what-is-a-mopar-318-polysphere-and-how-come-nobody-likes-it/
Dareal, modified racing has “become” a contact sport due the lack of respect between the competitors and NASCAR’s lack of testicular fortitude to do something about it. It has NOT always been.
If I was the one on the receiving end of the bump-spin and run I would promise you this, the first time I had the opportunity to make it look like an accident you be in the wall, firewall deep so you clearly understood not to do it again.
Really humphrey? Are you telling me that Jimmy Spencer didn’t become “Mr. Excitement” until he got to the Cup series? You mean that Richie and Jerry never wrecked each other for the win? That Geoff and Ronnie never got together on a last lap? Who the heck are you kidding? You either have never watched modifieds seriously before or you have a selective memory. I can remember vivdly wacthing Daring Dick Caso in the 55 car go THROUGH THE GRASS in 4 on the last lap to put Ronnie Bouchard in the wall for the win. Bugsy and Freddie used to bang each other so hard it was like watching a pinball game. Get real. Back yard racers with more bravery than brains on occasion. That’s what has ALWAYS made modifieds so much fun to watch.
Let’s go back even further. Bobby Vee and Billy Greco. Fats Caruso and Jap Membrino. Either get your history right or stop whining already. Oh, don’t forget guys like Don Flynn, Ray Hendrick, Charlie Jarzombeck. They ALL won races with their bumpers as well as their skill. You did what it took to win, and expected it in return. That’s the big difference today. They don’t expect it in return. They think that they are god’s gift to racing, and everyone should just get out of their way.
humphry, modified racing has been a contact sport because it puts $$$$ in the bleachers. It’s that simple. When TC was running the Tour, if you paid attention to the fans, they were cheering loudly with every car he punted. No track owner or promoter is going to stop that, and they didn’t. Colbee thinks he is Moses of Modifieds and all other cars should part and get out of his way, if not, he cries. DC is the new TC, he can’t race in close confines without wrecking something.
Your theory of retribution to instill fear does not add up. It works both ways. Besides, Colbee is not that good a driver to do a precision bump & run. He just can’t drive that good. I think Preece still owes one to Colbee.
So let’s see if DC is a classy guy… will he race the 16 clean, or go for retribution?
Thanks! You boys are so nice!
I’ll have to ask Mona Lisa, some jerky boy may have whacked her in the head with a ratcheting Craftsman model 1019 Laboratory Edition Signature Series torque wrench.
Regardless, it seems like old technology for a WMT engine.
humphry, the classic battle in Mods was between Evans and Bodine. They went at it. Then according to an Evans documentary, Evans told Bodine that he had three cars, and Bodine had two. Do the arithmetic.
DC can’t drive like a man. Solomito will kick his maximus glutei every time.
So let me get this straight. When Teddy does it he is a God. When Coby does it he is a cheat. When it happens to Coby he is a crybaby. Coby didn’t get penalized for the incident with Preece at Loudon. Tim didn’t get penalized for Saturday. Seems consistant and balanced to me.
Dareal it’s pretty obvious Coby isn’t on your Christmas list,but to say he’s not that good ,he’s only won in anything he’s driven thru the years,by the way he’s not on my Christmas list either but I’m not wearing blinders either
Rich C… read “Bugsy” by Bones he tells you about using a bumper. No respect today, if u didn’t respect others back then, you ended up in the wall.
Elect, put DC in an IROC series and he’d be a nobody. Put anybody in the best car, they will look like a great driver.
Look at the Omnipotent TC, when he was in a sub-par car, he was not a factor. No matter how often his fans said he could win in a kiddie car.
Great driving by the 16. He gave the 2 every chance. This could be his season. Looking forward to watching the 16 and 3 battle it out. I still think this is a season for the 3 too.
I READ EVERYBODY THOUGHTS ON THIS PAGE AND WHAT SURPRISES ME IS WHEN DOUG WAS LEADING STAFFORD ALL THOSE LAPS WHATEVER PROBLEMS HE AND RYAN HAD DID NOT SHOW UP AT THAT RACE.
RYAN HAD A LITTLE BETTER CAR AT THE END AND PASSED HIM CLEANLY AND WON THE RACE .
TIMMY KNEW THAT TAKING DOUG OUT WAS THE ONLY WAY FOR HIM TO WIN. NOT BECAUSE HIS CAR WAS BETTER THEN DOUG OTHER WISE HE WOULD OF PASSED HIM BEFORE MAX GOT TO THEM .BUT TIMMY KNEW THAT IF HE DIDN`T DUMP DOUG THEN HE WOULD BE FIGHTING MAX FOR SECOND AND DOUG WOULD OF WON BECAUSE HE CONTROLLED THE BOTTOM.
Steve – I’ve owned that book since it was first released. Read it multiple times. I know what it says. I’ve been going to modified races since 1961, when my father drove at Riverside Park. There’s reality, and there are books, which dress reality up. It happened then, it happens now.
I stood right there in turn 3&4 the other night, and in my eyes Timmy did nothing wrong. He tapped Doug multiple times and set up multiple crossover moves coming off of 4 and Doug chopped him every time and Doug struggled to keep his car down in the center of the turn. Finally there was the point where Timmy tapped him again with the same force as the earlier bumps and Doug couldn’t keep the car under him. The tap was clean and square just like the 10 before that. If it was a dirty hit Doug would have went around much faster than the 150 foot lazy slide that took place.
The 16 had the door shut on numerous occasions and backed out, tried the outside a couple times. If the 16 was going to “dump ” him, why would he of tried to stop! Everyone has their opinions. And if it was SO intentional NASCAR would of sent him to the rear. The 16 backed out of every block prior to the contact. So intentional, I don’t think so
Dareal said “put anybody in the best car, they will look like a great driver”. Really? Are you kidding me? As I always suspected you don’t have a freaking clue do you. So you are telling me if you put Melissa in the Duce she would look like a great driver? Are you telling me that putting a no talent driver in the “best car” will make them a great driver? I really don’t think so no matter what your feeble mind believes!
humphry, of course that does not apply to no-talent drivers. There are different levels of talent. Colbee can drive a car, as shown when in qualifying and when he is in the lead, all by himself. He can’t drive in traffic, he’s dangerous in traffic. So of course, what I said does not apply to Melissa who has no place in a Tour mod at all. But any driver in the top, competitive cars would do much better in a car like the 2. The 2, or maybe just its flux capacitor, is clearly the best on the Tour. It is the most potent, best prepared, and they do/have done thousands of laps of practice at the tracks. But even though they have done all that, it doesn’t help the driver drive in traffic.
16fan, well said. The 16 built a great case over many laps. The 2 was doing all it could to block. They all talk about how wrong and bad blocking is, but do it anyways. There was one point when the 16 was deep on the left of the 2 entering T3, front bumper of the 16 was almost at the LF of the 16 backed out. The 2 came down as if the 16 wasn’t there, and didn’t give an inch.
Looking forward to Thompson.
Dareal, you did say “anybody” so just making sure you say what you mean and not just throwing statements out there that are not fully thought out…….
I’m liking the 16 more and more.
He’s showing to be a very good driver. Growing up at Riverhead shows.