Blewett Grabs Improbable Victory At Stafford

Jimmy Blewett and the No. 4 Starrett/Mayhew Dodge team celebrate in Victory Lane Friday night at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway after winning the Stafford 150. Mike Ivins/NASAR via Getty Images

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

STAFFORD, Conn. – It was one of the most improbable of victories Friday night, but that didn’t make it any less sweet for Jimmy Blewett.
The 35-year-old from Howell, New Jersey, took advantage of fuel issues by NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship points leader Doug Coby and Bobby Santos in the closing laps to drive away with the 26th annual Stafford 150.
“You’ve got to put yourself in position,” said Blewett, who has collected four top three finishes in nine races in the No. 4 Starrett/Mayhew Dodge. “We worked all race long to be in position to be there in the end, to have a shot.”
Friday marked the sixth career win and first since 2009 for the long-time Modified driver. Blewett sat out of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour the last two years before getting an opportunity to drive for Bob Garbarino’s historic No. 4 Modified.
Justin Bonsignore finished second and Brendon Bock earned his first podium finish. Chase Dowling and Eric Goodale finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Coby won his sixth Coors Light Pole Award of the season Friday afternoon, and was trying to join Ted Christopher as the only driver to win four straight at Stafford. Christopher won the Fall Final in 2001 and the first three races of 2002.
Coby appeared well on his way Friday night as he led 140 of the first 143 laps.
But he suddenly slowed on the track, opening up the opportunity for the field to capitalize. Santos inherited the lead, but he too had fuel issues on the restart and the ensuing melee brought out the race’s final caution. It also pushed the race to 157 laps.
Coby wound up 20th and Santos 17th.
Ron Silk finished sixth, followed by Max Zachem, Timmy Solomito, Woody Pitkat and Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Craig Lutz.
The late-race shakeup cut into Coby’s championship points lead. He now holds a 30-point edge on Bonsignore and 34 over Solomito. Blewett moved to fourth in points, 11 behind Solomito.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has a quick turnaround, racing Wednesday at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, before heading to Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, Aug. 17, for the annual combination race with the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.
Source: Jason Christley, NASCAR

Fin	Str	Car	Driver	Team	Laps	Points	B/Points	Status
1	11	4	Jimmy Blewett	Starrett/Mayhew Dodge	157	47	4	Running
2	8	51	Justin Bonsignore	M3 Technology Chevrolet	157	43	1	Running
3	24	29	Brendon Bock	Meadow Brook Collison/Mosquito Free Organic	157	41		Running
4	4	9	Chase Dowling	S&S Asphalt Paving/Dunleavy's Repair Chevrolet	157	40		Running
5	3	58	Eric Goodale	GAF Roofing Chevrolet	157	40	1	Running
6	7	82	Ron Silk	Horton Avenue Materials Chevrolet	157	38		Running
7	18	20	Max Zachem	Lu-Mac's Package Store/VWS Chevrolet	157	37		Running
8	5	16	Timmy Solomito	Diversified Metals Ford	157	36		Running
9	14	85	Woody Pitkat	Stuart's Automotive Chevrolet	157	35		Running
10	17	56	Craig Lutz *	Moroso Chevrolet	157	34		Running
11	19	99	Jamie Tomaino	Dunleavy's Repair/Atlantic Sprinkler Chevrolet	157	33		Running
12	16	46	Jeff Goodale	Riverhaed Bldg Supply Chevrolet	156	32		Running
13	20	24	Andrew Krause *	Supreme Manufacturing Chevrolet	155	31		Running
14	12	64	Rob Summers	Hoosier Tire East/Fast Track Elect/Hughes Motors	154	30		Running
15	9	75	Shawn Solomito	Eastport Feeds Chevrolet	154	29		Running
16	22	33	Wade Cole	Perf Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan's Chevrolet	153	28		Running
17	2	44	Bobby Santos	Tinio Corp./Dan Kelley/Curb Records Chevrolet	152	28	1	Out of fuel
18	6	8	Donny Lia	Sypher Construction/Bardahl Chevrolet	151	26		Running
19	23	26	Gary McDonald	Lakeland Landscape /TRC Electric Chevrolet	150	25		Running
20	1	2	Doug Coby	Dunleavy Repair/A&J Romano Const Chevrolet	145	26	2	Out of fuel
21	15	89	Matt Swanson *	Spafco Race Chassis/FMR Racing Chevrolet	143	23		Running
22	25	1	Melissa Fifield	Eastern Propane & Oil Chevrolet	121	22		Handling
23	13	36	Dave Sapienza	Frankie's Towing/Wine Country Chevrolet	113	21		Rear End
24	21	18	Ken Heagy	Buoy One Seafood Chevrolet	71	20		Power Steering
25	10	3	Rowan Pennink	Cape Cod Copper/Canto Paving Chevrolet	68	19		Engine

RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Doug Coby, Time: 18.229 Seconds, Speed: 98.744 mph
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 4 mins, 13 secs Average Speed: 73.345 mph Margin of Victory: 0.598 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 70-77; 110-116; 146-149; 151-154.  4 for 23 laps.
Lap Leaders: Doug Coby 1-12, Eric Goodale 13-15, Doug Coby 16-143, Bobby Santos 144-149, Justin Bonsignore 150-151, Jimmy Blewett 152-157.
Total Laps Led: Doug Coby 140, Jimmy Blewett 6, Bobby Santos 6, Eric Goodale 3, Justin Bonsignore 2.  5 changes involving 5 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: Doug Coby 354, Justin Bonsignore 334, Timmy Solomito 330, Jimmy Blewett 319, Donny Lia 318, Max Zachem 311, Eric Goodale 306, Brendon Bock 302, Ron Silk 296, Rowan Pennink 291
Next Race: Thompson 8/10
* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender