hit the track at Lee USA Speedway last Friday night, along with a 100-lapper
marking the first appearance of the season by the BobValentiAutoMall.Com
sponsored Modified Racing Series.
The extra-payoff Laticrete Port City 100 attracted a solid field of
entries, with three heat races and a consolation event setting the 24-car
field for the main event. Former series champion Dwight Jarvis led the
first lap from the pole before yielding to local favorite Mike Ordway, Jr.
in the Nils Lindstedt entry.
Ordway set the pace for the next 15 laps, with Louie Mechalides moving past
to take over on lap 17. Lap 34 saw the next lead change, when Doug Coby got
past Mechalides, but he got out of shape on lap 48 and lost a few spots,
handing the lead back over to Jarvis.
Jarvis’ second stint out front lasted just the three laps it took to reach
halfway, and Mechalides retook the point for the next three circuits.
Jarvis again took command on lap 54, but Jon McKennedy was starting to make
his move.
Jarvis maintained the lead for 20 laps after that, but McKennedy ran him
down and got past on lap 74 for the final lead change. McKennedy was in
control from there, working heavy lapped traffic in the late stages of the
race with ease.
At the checkers, it was McKennedy in for his first MRS win of the season,
with Jarvis, Jimmy Kuhn, Andy Seuss, Rowan Pennink, Joey Jarvis, Mechalides,
Kirk Alexander, Joe Doucette, and Les Hinckley rounding out the top ten
finishers.
Lee’s weekly divisions saw action as well, with double features on tap for
the Roadrunners and Ironmen, and single feature events for the E Keys 4 Cars
Late Models, PB Chopper Shop and Rods Small Block Supers, Prime Storage Late
Model Sportsmen, and Picnic Table Factory Hobby Stocks.
Rookie A.J. Panessiti led his first laps in the early part of the NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series Late Model feature event, but in the end, it was
Bryan Kruczek outrunning J.R. Baril, and Miles Chipman to take down the win
Points leader Wayne Helliwell, Jr., chased the lead trio across the stripe
in the fourth spot, with mid-race leader Tom Fuller, Pat Floyd, rookie
Travis Canney, Julian Camilo Albarracin, Jeremy Harclerode, and Moe Lattime
fifth through tenth.
George Perreault, Jr. slipped past Billy Osborne to grab the lead early in
the Small Block Super main, and he eventually moved out to a several car
length margin. Late in the race however, “Super Dave” Sanborn moved in to
challenge, and it was a tremendous fight to the finish.
Although Perreault still led by inches, Sanborn pulled alongside at the
white flag, and when the two machines came back around for the checkers, it
was Sanborn’s Howdy Clapp-owned ride pulling ahead to take the win by less
than a car length.
Perreault had to settle for a disappointing runner-up finish, with Osborne,
Butch Valley, Jr., Mike Netishen, Mike Ordway, Jr., Mike Spurling, Tommy
Tombarello, Jr., Tony Carroll, and Eddie Witkum, Jr. third through tenth.
Defending champion and current points leader grant Aither continued his
domination in the Late Model Sportsman main, running off to his eighth
feature win of the 2010 season. Tony Kawejsza and Jimmy Russell finished in
the second and third spots.
Michele Fushpanski scored a strong fourth place finish, with early race
leader Jesse Bousquet, Bobby Chartier, Timmy Johnson, Chris Sullivan, Ryan
Green, and Bobby Melvin closing out the top ten.
Stephen Dubois broke out to the lead when the Hobby Stocks went green, but
caution was quickly on the field when veteran Bobby Glass got out of shape
and belted the frontstretch wall. Patrick Tanguay ran past Dubois on the
outside on the restart, and it was all over from there.
Tanguay was good to go the rest of the way, and he went on to collect his
first feature win of the 2010 campaign. Dubois held on for second, followed
by Mike Williams, Mark Parenteau, Brian Thompson, Eric Hoffman, Lance
Barthelemy, Todd Bregy, Randy Carmichael, and Niko Manyati.
Lloyd Chapin doubled up on the night in David’s Race Cars and Components
Roadrunner action, taking both feature event wins. In the first race, it
was Dana Faulkner, Troy Washburn, Dylan Bilodeau, and Cris King finishing up
the top five.
In the nightcap, Chapin’s win came with Cris King, Washburn, early-race
leader Justin King, Torrey Kovalesky, Bilodeau, Bruce Knowles, James
Fitzgerald, Shaun Waites, Jr., and Faulkner next in the finishing order.
American Auto Part Ironman feature number one went to Sean Martin, with Kyle
Roy, Jack Victoria, Matt Lambert, Glen Billings, Chris Martel, Kevin Emery,
Dave Brown, Jason Hodgdon, and Jacob Rheaume second through tenth.
In the second Ironman main, it was Victoria picking up his third win of the
year, with Billings, Martin, Roy, Martel, Hodgdon, Emery, Lambert, Michael
Olsson, and Brown rounding out the top ten.