DOUG COBY SEEKING REPEAT OF PAST SUCCESS IN THIS WEEKEND’S 40TH ANNUAL CARQUEST TECH-NET SPRING SIZZLER AT STAFFORD
(Stafford Springs, CT)—With the Whelen Modified Tour coming to Stafford
Speedway this weekend for the 40th Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler,
one driver who will be looking for a good finish is Doug Coby. Coby is the
2006 Spring Sizzler champion and he is a former two-time track champion at
Stafford, winning a Late Model championship in 1998 and a ProStock title in
2000. Coby tested at Stafford two weeks ago during an open practice
session, and based on that test he is looking forward to returning to the
site of his lone Whelen Modified Tour victory.
“We practiced at Stafford a couple weeks ago, and the car was pretty good,”
said Coby. “I feel like we’re going to be pretty good, but at Stafford the
list of guys who are going to be good is probably the longest list of any
track we go to. I’m sure Ted Christopher, Ron Silk, Todd Szegedy, Bobby
Santos, Ryan Preece, they’re all going to be good, and there’s a lot more
guys who have experience at Stafford who will be strong. I usually run well
at the Sizzler, so it should be a good race.”
This year’s CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler marks the 5th anniversary of
Coby’s first Whelen Modified Tour victory. Coby used a different strategy
to gain track position early in the race and circumstances ended up playing
out to where Coby’s strategy ended up being the right call to put him into
victory lane. Coby says that the longer distance of the Sizzler affects how
the teams will prepare for the race.
“The year we won, we started 29th, so we ended up pitting earlier than
everyone else to get some track position,” said Coby. “The race ended up
going green for the last 60 laps or so, and once we got out front, we stayed
out front. With this race being 200 laps long, you can’t really plan a
strategy, you kind of have to see how things develop during the race and how
your car is handling. If we can qualify up front and ride for the first 60
or so laps, we won’t pit right away. If the car is not quite where I need
it to be, we might come in early and make some adjustments to the car. I
suppose it wouldn’t be the worst thing to do whatever Teddy [Christopher]
does since he’s won the last three Sizzlers. Starting the race up front
will definitely help as you can stay out of trouble, but we proved that you
can win the Sizzler from any starting position. If this was a 100 or
125-lap race, you’d definitely want to be starting up front. But with 200
laps, there’s more time to work your way to the front if you have a bad
qualifying day. It all comes down to how you qualify on Saturday and then
how the race plays out on Sunday. If you qualify up front, you can do what
the leaders do, and if you qualify in the back, you can change up your
strategy a bit to try to get up front.”
Coby heads into the 2011 season driving a combination effort between Wayne
Darling’s #52 team and his crew from the #19 car that he drove in previous
seasons. Coby says that despite working with two different sets of teams,
things are coming together very well.
“The car I’ll be racing this weekend will be numbered 52, but it’s the old
#19 car that I drove in the past,” said Coby. “Last year I drove for 5
different teams so driving for two teams this year is the easy part for me.
I’ve worked with the guys who will be working on the car this weekend
before, and we’re all good to go, everyone is working well together.”
The 40th Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler gets underway Friday, April
29 with a practice session for Stafford’s weekly divisions. The practice
session will be open to the public at no charge. The run for the Coors
Light Pole position gets underway on Saturday, April 30 with time trials for
the Whelen Modified Tour cars, along with heat and consolation races for
Stafford’s weekly divisions. Saturday will conclude with feature events for
the SK Light, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock divisions. The Sizzler
concludes on Sunday, May 1 with the CARQUEST Belts and Hose Pit Party
followed by Stafford’s SK Modifieds® and Late Models joining the Whelen
Modified Tour in feature action.
Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” are on sale now at
the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $35.00 for adult general
admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and
under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved
seating is priced at $38.00 for all ages.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com