Lee, NH – Defending champion Tommy Tombarello, Jr. was back to his winning ways in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Small Block Supermodifieds at Lee USA Speedway on Friday night, taking down his first feature event victory of the 2011 season in convincing style.
Matt Seavey established himself as the man to beat in the early laps of the Benson Lumber and Hardware-sponsored main event, quickly leading a caution-free sprint to the halfway mark with Ben Tinker and Tombarello hot on his heels at the crossed flags.
Tombarello slipped past Tinker to move into second just before a John Leonard spin brought the field under caution on lap 18, and he got a great jump on Seavey on the restart. Unfortunately, caution was right back on the field for Moe Lattime and Butch Valley, Jr. who tangled in turn one.
The next attempt at a restart found Seavey out of shape and spinning through the infield grass, and he collected “Super Dave” Sanborn and Sparky MacIver when he slid back up onto the racing surface in turn one. Seavey was able to rejoin the race after he made a quick trip to the pits but his shot at
victory was over.
Up front for the next restart, Tombarello was a man on a mission, and that mission was to win the feature, which he did by several car lengths. Pulling away from the field in the final laps, Tombarello made it four
winners in four races for the Supers this year.
Coming off his big win in the Pro Stock Shootout the week before, Wayne Helliwell, Jr. collected a solid runner-up finish, with Tinker, Dan Bowes, Tony Carroll, Butch Valley, Jr., Seavey, Jim Barker, MacIver, and Sanborn rounding out the top ten.
Prime Storage Late Model Sportsman action saw youngsters Josh Ball and Kayla Cazares moving out to set the early pace, running one-two until a lap eight spin by Bobby Melvin brought them back to the field and set up the event’s first restart.
When racing resumed, former champion Ron Bolduc made quick work of Cazares for second, and two laps later he was past Ball and in the lead. Veteran campaigner Jimmy Renfrew followed Bolduc to the front, and just twice more around the 3/8th’s mile oval, he took the high line past and into the lead.
Halfway through the 30-lapper, it was Renfrew, Bolduc and Ryan Green running as the top three, and they stayed that way until the checkers, with Renfrew making it five winners in five races in the Late Model Sportsmen thus far in 2011.
Bolduc settled for runner-up honors in the Karl Schroeder entry, with Green, Michele Fushpanski, Melvin, Ball, Timmy Johnson, Cazares, Tony Kawejsza, and Mike Mitchell rounding out the top ten.
Brian DeStefano jumped out to the lead when the David’s Race Cars and Components Hobby Stock feature went green, but Steve Dubois quickly knocked him off the point and took control. Nine laps in, Mike Williams made his move and became the third leader of the night, taking the Mike White machine to the head of the field.
A series of late-race incidents eliminated many of the early-race contenders, but Williams was safely out in front of all the mayhem and took the victory when the checker/yellow waved to end the event. Williams is the fifth winner in six races for the Hobbies this season.
Jim Piaseczny grabbed the runner-up finish, with rookie Brian DeStefano picking up his first podium finish of the 2011 season in the third spot. Jim Shorey was credited with fourth, followed by Dubois, whose night ended upside-down on the backstretch.
Former champ Bobby Glass was listed as sixth in the final rundown, with Mark Parenteau, Eric Hoffman, Kenny Scott, Jr., and Sean Nordin showing in positions seven through ten.
The Picnic Table Factory Ironman feature event was turned around to run clockwise at the halfway mark, and Dave Brown proved he was the best of the bunch at making right-hand turns for the remainder of the event.
Brown had a flat tire and finished last in qualifying, but it was a different story in the main, where he went on to become the sixth different winner in six races. Mike Olson moved in to challenge Brown off the final
turn, but he fell short by a car length.
Olson scored his best finish of the year in the runner-up slot, and Louis Lanctot also grabbed his best result of the year in third. Kale Billings, a winner the week before, and early-race leader Troy Washburn rounded out the top five.
Coming up this Friday Night, June 17th, is Autograph Night presented by The Mill 96.5 highlighted by the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series along with the S.T.A.R. Cars. The qualifying will start at 7:15PM. Lee USA Speedway is located on Route 125 at 380 Calef Highway in Lee, New Hampshire. For further information please call 978-462-4252 or go on our web site at www.leeusaspeedway.com.