NEW ENGLAND MOTORSPORTS NORTH
By Lou Modestino
On Saturday night September 7th, the Granite State Pro Stock Series will invade the high banked ¼ mile of the Riverside Speedway in Groveton NH. This will mark the first visit to Riverside for the GSPSS. “We are looking forward to bringing Pro Stock/Super Late Model racing back to Riverside”, stated series president Mike Parks A limited number of teams have turned laps on the ¼ mile but all and all it will be a first for 90% of the teams.
Current point leader Jeremy Davis hopes to turn his recent string of bad luck around, Davis holds a slim 7 point lead over defending Thompson Speedway champion Mike O’Sullivan. As with Davis, O’Sullivan has struggled over the last couple of events. Third place point man Matt Frahm has been on a roll over the last few events and has turned the most laps on the ¼ mile oval, Frahm is one of the favorites for the event. Rounding out the top 5 in the point standings is former Oxford 250 champion Larry Gelinas and longtime Pro Stock competitor Mike Parks.
The GSPSS is coming off very successful events at Both Star Speedway where PASS invader DJ Shaw nailed down the win, and Hudson Speedway where Bobby Baillargeon took the win over 2012 Rookie of the year 15 year old Derek Griffith. There are three events left on the GSPSS schedule, after Riverside it’s off to the Cannan Fair Speedway on Sat September 14th for the last event ever to be hosted at the speedway.
Then the GSPSS will crown the 2013 series champion at the Thompson Speedway during the annual World Series in October. Post time is 6 p.m. at Riverside Speedway.
Eddie MacDonald of Rowley, MA drove from his twelfth place starting position to finish fourth in the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140 at Greenville Pickens Speedway in the eleventh K&N Pro Series East race this season. It was the second visit to the “Old House of Racing” this season with MacDonald taking the checkers in eighth place in the March race. Monday’s Labor Day finish solidifies Eddie Mac’s fourth place standing in the point’s race trailing third place by only four points with four races remaining.
The Grimm Construction Chevy/Multiple Sclerosis Chevy qualified twelfth in the 23 car field in 21.051 sec. around the flat half mile oval. Eddie Mac ran seventh fastest in the first practice session and ran 19th on old tires in the second practice saying, “The car ran well in the first practice and we knew we would be okay for the race. We qualified in twelfth and that is about what we expected. The important thing on this track is to save your tires for the end. The drivers that do that the best will be there at the end of the race.”
The race turned out to be more about strategy than racing early on with the veteran driver saying, “It was weird when the green flag waved almost everyone was half throttle. A number of guys said in the pits before the race they were going to take it easy and save the tires for the end. This track surface is pretty abrasive so it doesn’t take long before the tires go away. Only a few guys raced hard from the beginning and they ended up falling to the back near the end of the race.”
The start of the 140 lap event (70 miles) found many drivers falling back in the field and let the rabbit’s race their way to the front. Eddie Mac dropped from his 12th position to ride around in the 16th spot saying, “It was strange that everyone drove off the corners nice and easy without spinning the tires. Hardly anyone was racing and that’s why we only had one caution and that was for debris (Laps 58-66). We planned to get going around lap 90 to make our way to the front. Everyone decided to go then so the race was on. I was able to get near the front but the tires were pretty shot with about 15-20 laps to go.”
On lap 106 The #71 rode in tenth place and into fifth on the 125th circuit with MacDonald saying, “We were hoping for a late race caution to bunch things up and give us a shot for a top three finish but it didn’t happen. I passed the #21 on the last lap to get to fourth. It was a good finish for us and a good point’s day. Now we have the opportunity in our next race in New Hampshire to improve on that. The team is looking forward to racing at home in front of our fans. The crew did a great job today and in the shop getting this car ready. We had a lot of work to do after the Iowa race and I want to give a special thanks to John Tiernan, our body and paint man, for all his hard work.”
Eddie Mac and the Grimm Racing Team will pull double duty at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 22, racing in the K&N Pro Series East’s North American Power 100 and the American Canadian Tour’s ACT Invitational 50 lap event as part of the big NASCAR Cup weekend. FS1 will televise the Kevin Whitaker 140 on Sunday, September 22, at noon. MacDonald’s parents Red and Judy MacDonald own and operate the Lee USA Speedway in southern NH.
After working hard to turn a profit at the Canaan Fair Speedways, Dick Therrien finds himself out of his GM job there. According to published reports Dick found out that the two tracks on the property changed hands and the new owner has decided to discontinue racing at the paved and dirt tracks because it hasn’t been profitable.
There was some discussions that the Canaan Speedways were supposed to continue on for another season. The facility finished the season early and will now be the scene of a test track for electric vehicles and will require a road course to be built. The plans include a major renovation to accommodate the new use of the property.
Therrien also announced that he’s headed for the Oxford Plains Speedway in western Maine where he will take the GM position for track owner Tom Mayberry.