(Press release from Doug Coby Racing)
Doug Coby drove the No. 24 Mayhew Tools Truck to a solid 12th-place finish in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 16. Driving for GMS Racing, Coby started 30th — with no practice or qualifying due to NASCAR’s new race policies — and no previous laps in a truck.
However, during the race, Coby methodically worked his way up through the field into the top-20, and rode there for the second half. In the final laps, the six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion charged through some traffic and finished the UNOH 200 in 12th spot. Overall, it was a strong effort for the Milford, Connecticut, native in his series debut — one where he learned a lot and enjoyed competing in one of NASCAR’s top three divisions with sponsorship from Mayhew Tools.
“All of the people at GMS Racing, from top to bottom, were awesome to work with,” Coby said. “It’s great exposure for Mayhew Tools and myself, as we are a team. The biggest thing was completing all 200 laps and getting the experience, doing the pit stops, and not getting sucked into a wreck. I think we had a truck that could have competed in the top-five or the top-10, if we were there. With the flow of the race, with all of the cautions, and a few mistakes on restarts… any time we lost spots, we were able to make them back up.”
Now, Coby will head back to New England and return to the track on Saturday, September 18, in the 13th race of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season at Riverhead Raceway in New York. Coby and the Doug Coby Racing team are just 20 points out of the lead in the owners championship standings with two races remaining in the season. Meanwhile, Coby is also looking to accomplish a goal: complete the season sweep at Riverhead. Not known as one of his best tracks entering this year, Coby is two-for-two at the bullring heading into this Saturday night and would love to grab a third.
“We’ve definitely been on our game this year with what we need at Riverhead with their pavement changes and putting down the grip,” Coby said. “These other guys are going to keep tweaking and working on their setups to get better, and we’re doing the same. I wouldn’t say we are a shoe-in to go out there and have the best car… but we have just had a great car there this year. We will be ready.”
Coby, and the rest of the Whelen Modified Tour family, will be honoring the legacy of track owner and former Whelen Modified Tour champion car owner Ed Partridge, who passed away last week.
“Going there with everything going on, it’s going to be a tough night for a lot of people,” Coby said.
The Miller Lite 200 is scheduled for the green flag at 8 p.m. on Saturday night, with live coverage on NBC Sports Gold.
For more information on Doug Coby Racing, visit DougCobyRacing.com, where you can find the latest in apparel, news, results, schedule and more. You can also follow Doug Coby Racing on Facebook for the latest updates.
Excellent job! competing in the”tough trucks of Nascar”!
good to see coby get a chance and do well for first time in the trucks and look what he did in the srx race.no doubt he and several of the modified drivers have the talent if given the chance.
Whoa was the flux capacitor and Phil Moran with him at BRISTOL because you know its ALL ABOUT THE CREW CHIEF!!!!!!!!!!
The biggest loser now is the guy who for years said Coby can’t drive traffic on here we all no who he is also a guy on a scanner down there the team was telling him to be respectful of the other truck on the team needing to get in the playoffs maybe he could have picked up a couple more spots anyway great job.
Were expectations so low that a 12th place finish is a wonderful achievement?
Doug did awesome all things considered. No practice, no qualifying, just jump in and go. He stayed out of trouble all night and ended up a very respectful 12th. Great job. Hope this leads to something bigger.
While I share your enthusiasm robp, preece jumped in a truck this year and won. Hope it leads to something better for him as well.
Wmass your so right I’m sure Phil set that truck up , I mean how else could he come from 30 th with no previous seat time , and Mike Beam obviously didn’t check with DADOPE before offering a guy who can’t drive in traffic a truck ride
Preece was in a great car he had ample time to get accustomed to and started near the front in 6th.
Coby was behind the 8 ball from the start, started 30th and moved up the most spots of any other driver in a packed field of cars on an extremely demanding track.
Seems like they both acquitted themselves very well.
Da idiot strikes again. No respect for a REALLY good driver
First time out, stays out of trouble on a track like Bristol, top 15, I think is pretty respectable. Nice job Doug!
So who is the better modified driver Coby or Preece? It may not be that simple to answer they both are pretty darned good.
A lot of well wishers on Facebook for Coby’s run in the trucks. Even some references to moving up to Cup and why not. All those modified championships, the SRX win that sent shock waves through the racing community and this Bristol run passing all those trucks…..not too shabby. But the odds of a Cup ride on a scale of 1 to 10 would have to be in the 2 range. He’s too old and to successful in his chosen profession in real estate. He could be very successful in a Cup or Xfinity car were it to be a good one and is over qualified as far as communication skills provided he can keep his mouth shut on the controversial stuff. He’s just over the hill given the current model for first time Cup drivers.
Then there’s Preece and he’s already proven he belongs in a car at the highest level. Long races, sprints, super speedways, road courses or dirt he can do it all. Plus he’s racing 24/7 and leaves the divisive stuff to private conversations if at all. He’s got that infectious personality that’s is so universal the best way to describe it is charismatic razzle-dazzle.
But Cup isn’t in play here the question is who is the better modified driver Coby or Preece.
As Ronald Reagan might have said…..Well, I don’t know.
For truck, they both did stellar, given the odds. They both took their opportunity and ran with it. My cynicism, if you will, was an observation that even winning in a truck, while it doesn’t hurt, still may not be enough to get a look from a top tier viable owner, let alone a 12th place finish from a 41 year old modified driver. Not meant to be a slam on coby either Jmo.
As for who is better? It’s like the old saying. Any given team can beat any other given team at any time, depending on the day.
I’d put my money on preece or coby, at any given time in a modified right now. Along with a handful of others. What will history say? Well, depends how long both go I guess, when you can evaluate a full body of work.
Anybody Who Thinks Doug Coby Can Not Drive , Is Either An Idiot Or Plain Simple A “HATER”! You Don’t Win 6 Modified Titles If You Supposedly SUCK! Plain And Simple. Good Job D.C.!
Well said The Reg
Coby vs Preece. You have to remember, Preece has a full season of Xfinity,3 seasons in Cup, and a few one offs that was Cobys first shot at Trucks. The
“Big 3” race on radial tires, a totally different animal compared to bias ply tires. Those trucks are allot heavier than a modified too. Preece has had 4 seasons to adjust to the cars and tracks, where Coby has maybe half a dozen starts at Bristol. Ok reece started 6th when he won, on a track that has allot more room to race, and is used to the no practice, no qualifying. Coby started 30th, on a short track, during a playoff elimination race. So all things considered finishing 12th was an accomplishment.
Ryan had xfinity and cup experience before running the truck. Coby didn’t and was not used to anything close to the truck, nor any of the people he was racing with so IMO, as a fan of both, Coby running as well in the truck as he did is as if not more impressive. On one late restart he got kicked 3 wide and wound up almost outside the top 20 again, plus he did have some damage early in the race, did get nailed for speeding on his first pitstop. All that with no experience in that truck, no practice, no qualifying, never raced with most if any of the people he was racing with, just jump in and race. I was listening to his crew on the online scanner feed most of the race, I’m sure they worked with his regular crew chief to get the feel close for him but he knew what he wanted, if he made a mistake he knew it and worked on it he could communicate to the crew what he was feeling better than a lot of drivers these days. He got the hang of it pretty quick and his lap times were top 10 all race and top 5 a lot of the race. Say what you will, that is all very impressive. Very obviously he can pass and actually after listenign to him communicate with the crew Thursday night, I have more respect for his knowledge of a racecar than I had before.
Really good effort considering the first competitive lap in a truck was at the initial green flag. It is nice to see the locals run competitively in some of the upper level National series races. Great job.
I remember the days when cup teams scouted, and hired people from the modified a. Now, these drivers are groomed to be cup, or indycar drivers at a very early age. Ryan getting into cup was a one off so to say. You look at the drivers entering cup they’re in their late teens or very early twenty’s. Given Doug’s age, it would be difficult to land a cup ride, and nearly impossible to get into good equipment, even with his impressive statistics.
Robp.
Spot on. That Was my point without trying to be negative, or controversial. Both these guys are terrific. And both deserve a second look.
Just the times. I hope they both get what they are looking for.
Reg, I’m going with answer A.
The Riverhead race was last night… some idiot drove into the wall.