If Doug Coby believed he was no longer capable of winning on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, he would not be starting races.
The six-time series champion is embarking on a partial schedule with Jett Motorsports, a new team to the Modified Tour co-owned by Jariah Roderick and Steve Rollins. Through three races, Coby’s results with Jett Motorsports have been mixed, with his best showing being a ninth in the first trip to Seekonk Speedway.
Despite this, Coby knows Jett Motorsports can be a race-winning program on the Modified Tour; they just need to put a full weekend together. The next event for Coby at White Mountain Motorsports Park on Sunday (3 p.m. ET on FloRacing) brings plenty of optimism; he is one of three drivers to have won a Modified Tour race there.
A lot has changed for Coby since that victory, but he is ready to finally showcase the drive that guided him to Victory Lane on 35 previous occasions.
“I’m looking forward to going back [to White Mountain],” Coby said. “I haven’t competed there since my win in the COVID season, so I might be a little behind. I really just love racing quarter miles where you can get after it. There’s a balance between aggression, skill, patience and knowing when to make your move or chill out for a little while.”
The last time Coby won a Modified Tour race was 2023 at Monadnock Speedway in Tommy Baldwin Racing’s iconic No. 7NY, an opportunity for which he remains grateful.
Coby’s partnership with Baldwin began after he was chosen to fill in for Jimmy Blewett at Riverhead Raceway in 2022 while the latter dealt with a family emergency. At that time, Coby was looking for a Modified Tour ride following a brief-but-successful stint with Phil Moran.
Baldwin’s decision to put Coby in the No. 7NY immediately paid off, as he put together a dominant race-winning performance at Riverhead that saw him lead 196 of 213 laps. The next two years saw Coby continue the stellar legacy of Baldwin’s No. 7NY with three more checkered flags.
For as efficient as the combination of Coby and Baldwin was, none of their ventures were full time. As Baldwin put more focus into his NASCAR Cup Series obligations along with the careers of his sons Luke and Jack, Coby’s races in the No. 7NY dwindled; he only contested one event for Baldwin in 2025.
Coby diverted his focus back to his day job in real estate all while keeping an eye on available rides. A conversation with Cam McDermott, Kyle Bonsignore’s crew chief, introduced Coby to Roderick and Rollins, who were interested in expanding their operation Jett Motorsports into the Modified Tour.
The opportunity was so intriguing that Coby enlisted the help of numerous crew members from his time driving for owners like Wayne Darling and Mike Smeriglio III, with both of whom he won titles. Coby wants all that experience to translate into a winning formula for Jett Motorsports, but the process is taking longer than he would like.
“These guys want to build a team with some experience behind the wheel and in the pit area, too,” Coby said. “That’s why a lot of my guys came out of semi-retirement with me. [My crew chief] John McKenna came over with us, and we’re definitely having some fun working together again. I just want to get back to competing for wins.
“It’ll be really special when this team is able to do that.”
Coby partially attributed Jett Motorsports’ slow start to circumstances outside of their control, but he also expected growing pains. Jett Motorsports is still adapting to the rules and the competitive atmosphere of the Modified Tour, but Coby is willing to be patient with helping the program grow.
McKenna’s presence and leadership has been a major benefit from Coby’s perspective. The composed, methodical nature of McKenna is something Coby believes has made everyone at Jett Motorsports comfortable while working through their struggles.
Given how frustrating the first three races have been at times, Coby emphasized the importance of a loose-but-productive environment at Jett Motorsports. If everyone stays on the same page, Coby knows the results everyone expects will eventually materialize.
“We came out of the gate a few races behind everybody at Thompson,” Coby said. “We thought we learned something for Seekonk and we got tricked at Seekonk. We made some more adjustments, came back to Seekonk and got tricked again. We’re learning like everybody, but we feel like we’ve got the people and the equipment to get some wins.”
Being with a new team going into White Mountain this weekend does not concern Coby in the slightest. He was only three races in with Moran’s program when he won there back in 2020, a feat he accomplished despite the limitations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Coby to replicate his race-winning performance from White Mountain six years ago, he and Jett Motorsports will need to put together their most efficient weekend to date. There are plenty of ideas Coby and McKenna are exchanging with Roderick and Rollins on how to sustain the speed the No. 28 Nucar Modified has shown in practice.
Whatever the missing ingredient is, Coby believes it can be found by applying all the knowledge acquired with Jett Motorsports so far.
“We were the fastest car in the first practice at Seekonk and sixth fastest on the second practice, but the day just kept steadily going downhill from there,” Coby said. “That’s just uncharacteristic for our team, but we’re hoping if we have a good car in practice that it translates into a solid qualifying run.
“You can’t keep starting mid-pack thinking you’re going to blast through the field in this series. It hasn’t happened in the last 20 years.”
Coby has more experience winning Modified Tour events than any other driver entered in Sunday’s Thunder in the Mountains 200. The first checkered flag for Coby came in 2006 with Curt Chase at Stafford Motor Speedway, a race in which he started 29th.
Now 46, Coby views himself as an unofficial ambassador for the Modified Tour. He wants to see the series that defined him continue to grow and prosper amidst an always evolving industry, adding that winning races with upstart teams like Jett Motorsports is a great way to do so.
Coby finding Victory Lane across his remaining starts with Jett Motorsports would make them the sixth team he has won with on the Modified Tour after Chase, Darling, Smeriglio, Moran and Baldwin. Even though kinks are still being ironed out, Coby is confident a win with Jett Motorsports comes closer to reality with every passing race.
“[Bringing] another chassis, another team, crew chief and car owner [to Victory Lane] would be awesome,” Coby said. “At this stage of the game, that’s kind of really what is left in my career; teaming up with new people, trying to be as professional as possible and bringing new sponsors and new car owners into Victory Lane on the Modified Tour.
“That’s what gets new people interested and that’s what keeps car owners like Jariah and Steve engaged and interested. It would be a huge win for our team, and I’m sure there would be no shortage of fun afterwards if that were to happen.”
Five races remain for Coby with Jett Motorsports in 2026 after White Mountain. The goal for Coby is to snap his three-year winless drought, but a top five would be a step in the right direction, especially after the early season issues.
Coby knows he can win. He also knows Jett Motorsports can win. The next step is to put all the pieces together and show the Modified Tour just how strong they are as a group.