Doug Coby begins journey for 6th title with Myrtle Beach win

Although he probably wasn’t happy at the start of the race, the five-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion was all smiles at the end of the race picking up his first series win at Myrtle Beach Speedway on Saturday.

Coby qualified on the pole but was forced to start at the rear of the field for an unapproved tire change before the start of the race.

Coby worked his way through traffic with his fast car and pit strategy.

Jon McKennedy took the top spot at the start of the race and eventually led 64 laps in the race but Myrtle Beach Speedway is known for abrasive asphalt and his tires didn’t hold up too well.

That opened the door for Coby to make his charge after making a pit stop for fresh tires during caution on Lap 110.

Coby used the fresh tires to move up to the top three before he eventually passed Kyle Ebersole on Lap 122 and went on for the win.

“This was an interesting one,” Coby said. “Ultimately, I had the best car I have ever had here. We had to go perform, and we did. The book is going to say we won the pole, started first and finished first, but the reality is, we started 32nd and finished first. We passed a lot of cars.”

Although he didn’t get the win, McKennedy is pleased with his effort.

“We put two tires on and the No. 2 car put three in, but we still had a really good car,” McKennedy said. “We asked the right-front tire to go 150 laps, which is tough. They knew we were here. It was a great effort by everyone.”

Jimmy Blewett was third, followed by Patrick Emerling and Chris Pasteryak to complete the top five. Finishing sixth through 10th were Anthony Nocella followed by Burt Myers, Andy Seuss, Eric Goodale and Frank Fleming.

Defending series champion Justin Bonsignore finished 12th in the event that featured a 32-car field. The series will remain in the South with a visit to South Boston Speedway on Saturday, March 30.

Race Results

Fin	St	Car #	Driver	Sponsor / Owner	Car	Laps	Status	Led	Pts
1	1	2	Doug Coby	Mayhew Tools (Mike Smeriglio III)	Chevrolet	150	running	37	47
2	2	7	Jon McKennedy	Ultra Wheel (Tommy Baldwin)	Chevrolet	150	running	64	44
3	15	21	Jimmy Blewett	Gershow Recycling / Blewett Recycling (Joseph Bertuccio)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	41
4	28	07	Patrick Emerling	Sahlen's (Jennifer Emerling)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	40
5	7	75	Chris Pasteryak	Dawley's Collision & Custom (Charles Pasteryak)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	39
6	17	92	Anthony Nocella	Nocella Paving / K and D Associates / Airgas (Anthony Nocella)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	38
7	22	1	Burt Myers	Vestal Buick GMC (Eddie Harvey)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	37
8	8	97	Andy Seuss	O.B. Builders (Bryan Dauzat)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	36
9	4	58	Eric Goodale	GAF Roofing (Edgar Goodale)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	35
10	31	40	Frank Fleming	Autobynelson Chevrolet (Frank Fleming)		149	running	0	34
11	6	60	Matt Hirschman	Pee Dee Motorsports (Roy Hall)	Chevrolet	149	running	0	33
12	9	51	Justin Bonsignore	Phoenix Communications Inc. (Kenneth Massa)	Chevrolet	149	running	18	33
13	18	14	Blake Barney *	Atlantic Sprinkler (Richard Barney)	Chevrolet	149	running	0	31
14	19	5	Kyle Ebersole	Ebersole Excavating (Bob Ebersole)	Chevrolet	149	running	12	31
15	10	36	Dave Sapienza	Sapienza Enterprise (Judy Thilberg)	Chevrolet	149	running	0	29
16	16	18	Ken Heagy	Buoy One Seafood (Robert Pollifrone)	Ford	149	running	0	28
17	21	22	Kyle Bonsignore	Chalew Performance / Snap-On Tools (Kyle Bonsignore)	Chevrolet	148	running	0	27
18	13	3	Matt Swanson	Cape Cod Copper / USNE, Inc. (Jan Boehler)	Chevrolet	148	running	5	27
19	24	82	Woody Pitkat	Horton Avenue Materials (Danny Watts Jr.)	Chevrolet	148	running	0	25
20	23	46	Craig Lutz	Riverhead Building Supply (Russell Goodale)	Chevrolet	148	running	0	24
21	14	25	Calvin Carroll	Power with Prestige / Cruising w / Betty (Joe Carroll)	Chevrolet	147	running	0	23
22	5	64	Rob Summers	Dell Electric Chevrolet (Mike Murphy)		146	running	0	22
23	25	33	Wade Cole	Perf. Engines / Kendall Oil (Wade Cole)	Ford	146	running	0	21
24	32	45	Timmy Catalano *	Catalano Motorsports (Amy Catalano)	Chevrolet	145	running	0	20
25	12	85	Ron Silk	Stuart's Automotive (Kevin Stuart)	Chevrolet	145	running	0	20
26	3	54	Tommy Catalano	Catalano Motorsports (Amy Catalano)	Chevrolet	144	running	2	19
27	27	01	Melissa Fifield	TBD (Kenneth Fifield)	Chevrolet	138	running	0	17
28	11	16	Timmy Solomito	RB Ent (Eric Sanderson)	Ford	130	running	4	17
29	29	99	Jamie Tomaino	PSR (Cheryl Tomaino)	Chevrolet	109	brakes	0	15
30	26	77	Gary Putnam	Curb Records (Mike Curb)	Chevrolet	108	crash	0	14
31	20	06	Sam Rameau *	Racechoice.com (Randy Rameau)	Chevrolet	62	running	0	13
32	30	78	Walter Sutcliffe, Jr.	Last Minute Racing (Steven Sutcliffe)	Chevrolet	41	clutch	0	12