By Lou Modestino
Spring is here and soon Southwest NH’s Monadnock Speedway will be bustling with competitors and fans witnessing the best of the Northeast racing talent that New England has to offer. The traditional Bond Auto Parts Spring Dash 100 will kick off the season featuring one of three events for the Valenti Modified Racing Series on Saturday, April 20th. The special event will also highlight the 2013 debut of the veterans and rookies in the NASCAR premiere division of the Sportsman Modifieds plus Super Stocks, Mini Stocks, Thunder Stocks, Lightning Stocks and Young Guns. All the action will start at 5pm.
The management of Monadnock Speedway anticipates this season to be a successful one as many new competitors will be calling the Monadnock Speedway their new home. The 2013 schedule also offers a variety of racing series venues including the ever-growing Granite State Pro Stock Series and the return of Northeast Midget who have not competed in the last two years at the speedway.
To prepare for the season to come, Monadnock Speedway will offer a date for competitors to purchase tires and a scheduled date for annual test and tune session. On Saturday, April 6th, the speedway will be open from 11am-2pm to pre-sell tires to competitors in the Sportsman Modifieds, Super Stocks and Mini Stocks. The official track tire for 2013 is Hoosier for the stated divisions above. The management will also be hand to process NASCAR licenses and registrations for all divisions.
The annual Test and Tune session will be held on Saturday, April 13th from Noon to up to 5 p.m. All divisions (including touring) are welcome to shake down their cars and prepare of the upcoming season. The Young Gun division will have a meeting at 3:30 pm and separate practice from 4:15 pm-5:00 pm where they will have sole track time and the group practice. General admission is free on the test and tune day for all the fans to catch a preview of their favorite driver prior to the Spring Dash.
As the American Canadian Tour’s 28th season shifts into full gear, teams prepare for the opening race on April 13/14 at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, NH. After one of the closest point battles in ACT history in 2012, eventual Champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr. edged out 8-time ACT Champion Brian Hoar with a victory in the season finale, and will look to continue his momentum at the Lee opener in 2013.
Helliwell will be challenged by ACT star Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., who got his start in full-bodied stock cars at Lee USA Speedway. While Helliwell has amassed 8 track championships at Lee USA, he remains in search of his first ACT victory at his home track. Polewarczyk won the opener at Lee in 2008.
“I’m excited just to get started,” said Polewarczyk. “We’re focused, the car is ready, and the team and I are ready to go. We should have won at Lee in last year’s race. We can’t wait for the opener to get the championship chase underway,” he finished.
Though both drivers had a shot to win last year’s event, it was Hoar who took the honors, making it back-to-back victories in season openers at Lee. Hoar, along with 7-time ACT Champion Jean-Paul Cyr, will look to play the role of spoiler in 2013, but even that doesn’t scare 2012 ACT Rookie of the Year Jimmy Hebert who has been chomping at the bit to get started.
“We’ve got a brand new car this year, and with the momentum we built last year, I feel very good about where we are,” said Hebert. “We want more in 2013, and it starts with Lee,” he finished.
The victory at Lee USA Speedway will likely have to go through veteran ACT racer Brent Dragon – who finished in the top five in ACT point standings last season for the 15th time – and will be challenging for the title once again in 2013. Lee has proven to be full of surprises though, opening the door for drivers like Tiverton, RI’s Ray Parent who look to make a statement.
“We’ve got a brand new Distance Chassis race car this year, and we’ve got our first ACT win at the New Hampshire Invitational under our belts. We know we can get it done, so I’m excited to get back to Lee for the opener,” he finished.
The 28th American Canadian Tour season kicks off at Lee USA Speedway on the weekend of April 13/14.
The Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) got some good news recently after two decades the winged dirt track sprint car club landed Bond Auto Part of Barre, VT which has 40 stores in VT, NY, MA and NH. The touring series competes at three northern New England tracks located in Canaan, NH, Bradford, VT and Legion Speedway in Wentworth, NH.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway postponed the Fantasy Drive for this weekend and will reschedule the event. Lee USA Speedway in NH offers a practice session for all divisions on Saturday,weather permitting.