By Lou Modestino
Adam Norton, Eddie Brehio III, Mike Stebbins, Joe Ethier, and Kyle Boniface won the battles Saturday, Sept. 14, at Monadnock Speedway. But of the quintet of feature winner, only Brehio achieved the ultimate conquest of winning his division’s season championship.
While Norton earned his fifth victory of the summer in the blockbuster Sportsman Modified division, Bill Kimball was content to hold his position further back and lock up his third speedway championship. Likewise in the Mini Stock main event, where Mike Stebbins rocketed to his fourth win of the season, with Beth Adams following him under the checkers to earn her first track title.
Ed Lofland copped the 2013 Thunder Stock championship with a risky strategy, but one that paid off. While Joe Ethier earned his first victory of the season, Lofland was content to ride in third, tying Ethier in points, but grabbing the title on a tiebreaker, outnumbering the night’s winner in feature victories by a five-to-one margin.
In the Lightning Stocks, Chris Davis came home second on the night, finishing behind Kyle Boniface but earning his first Lightning Stock title with ease. When the final points were tallied, Davis – a former Monadnock Mini Stock champion – had won by more than 40 points.
Other winners on the Championship Night of Racing card, included Cameron Sontag, who won his division-high fourth Young Guns event of the summer, and NE Race Truck Series ace Duane Noll, who has not lost in the visiting truck series competition at Monadnock in the last two years.
In the Sportsman Modified main, Eric Leclair led the first dozen laps, with Adam Norton then taking charge and pulling away from the field as he desperately tried to earn his way to the championship. By lap 20, Norton had checked out on the field, with Bill Kimball mired in eighth, and Tyler Jarvenpaa riding in ninth.
Neither would make much headway in the closing ten circuits around the high banks, with Kimball coming home seventh to earn the 2013 crown, and Jarvenpaa taking the checkers eighth to finish second on the year. With Norton winning his division-high fifth feature race of the summer, Keith Carzello, Brian Chapin, Joey Kendall, and Dan Stebbins rounded out the top five.
Tyler Lescord was the early leader in the Super Stock main, giving way to John Lavoie on lap nine. Tom Carey III was second, and Eddie Brehio III third when Bill Johnson got dumped on lap 19 to bring out the caution. Refiring alongside Lavoie, Brehio raced him hard for two laps before taking the lead and then darting off to victory, earning his second win of the summer to punctuate his career-first Super Stock championship.
With Brehio scoring the win, Lavoie followed him under the flags to claim the deuce finish, and Chris Curtis – making his first Monadnock run of the season – came home third. Carey and Josh Wood rounded out the top five.
Kevin McKnight led the first three laps of the Mini Stock feature, then giving way to Joe Rogers. Eric Pomasko took charge on lap ten, but a hard-charging Mike Stebbins rocketed into the lead a lap earlier.
Stebbins, desperately needing a strong finish to pass Beth Adams in the championship hunt, quickly checked out on the field, but Adams powered into second five laps later and was content to follow 15 lengths behind Stebbins as the checkers waved on her first Monadnock Mini Stock championship.
With Stebbins and Adams earning the top two spots on the night, Pomasko finished his strong run in third, with Kim Rivet and JT Cloutier rounding out the top five.
Joe Ethier hadn’t won a Thunder Stock feature all summer, but entered the night’s 30-lapper only four points behind Ed Lofland. Saturday, Ethier won the race but lost the title on a tiebreaker.
Ethier took the lead from Henry Martin on lap sixteen, with Lofland moving up to third past Paul Barnard with two laps to go to earn the tiebreaker championship. Martin was strong all night, to come home second, followed by Lofland, Barnard, and Marshall Usher.
Pete Hyrne set a fast pace in the Lighting Stock feature before giving way to Kyle Boniface on lap 13. Boniface then pulled away from the field to earn his second victory of the summer. Chris Davis – firing from row ten – grabbed second on lap 20, and then watched Boniface from a distance, scoring the runner-up finish and, with it, the division championship. Dick Houle was third, and Timmy Leblanc claimed fourth.
Cameron Sontag started scratch on the field in the Young Guns 20-lapper, reeling in Mike McGoldrick on 13, and passing him in heavy lapped traffic as the white flag fluttered in the brisk autumn-like air. With Sontag winning his fourth race of the season, McGoldrick was strong in second, and Joel Monahan came home third. Chris Lawrence and Justin Faford completed the top five.
Duane Noll led all the way in the NE Race Trucks 20-lapper, with Andy Lindeman glued to his bumper most of the way. Noll took the checkers two lengths ahead of Lindeman, with Chris Correll coming home third.
Monadnock Speedway will be silent this Saturday, Sept. 21, but will roar back into action at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, with its fan-favorite season finale Super Saturday event.
Three championships were decided by 2 points or less as the regular season comes to a close on Roger’s Campground night at Riverside Speedway this past Saturday night.
Bryan Mason entered the event just 7 points ahead of his brother Corey Mason in the North Country Ford Late Model division. Bryan would best Corey by one position in the heat, won by “The Colebrook Kid” Brandon Lambert, giving him an 8 point cushion going into the semi-feature.
Corey would win the battle there, as he finished two spots ahead of Bryan, reducing the difference to 6 entering the feature. Lambert picked up the victory in the semi-feature as well, and for the second week in a row, only needed the feature win to pick up the Triple Crown. The green flew in the feature, and the sparks flew immediately. The top two in points were involved in a three-wide move in turns one and two, with Corey spinning and Bryan suffering body damage.
Corey would restart the race from the tail of the field, needing a lot of work to get back into the championship hunt. As the laps ticked off the score sheet, Bryan’s sheet metal began peeling off the right side of his Chevrolet, and would eventually block the passenger’s window of the number 10. The black flag was thrown, and as Bryan entered turns one and two, the car spun around bringing out the caution. Bryan would go down pit road and make repairs on his car, and jump back out on the tail end of the field.
Corey engaged in battle on the restart with Jason Corliss, making his debut at Riverside in a late model, but Corliss would hold on to the third spot. Bryan had to finish no further back than two spots behind Corey to secure the championship, and he fought his way back through the field to finish sixth, while Corey finished fourth, giving Bryan his fourth late model championship at Riverside Speedway.
While the battle for the championship was happening, Brandon Lambert was trying to hold off Luke Shannon for the lead to pick up the Triple Crown. Lambert would lead most of the race, but would lose the spot on the restart on lap 24. Shannon picked up his fifth victory of the year, while Lambert and Corliss settled second and third. Corey Mason and Matt Carbone rounded out the top five.
In the Sign Depot Limited Late Models, “Hollywood” Chandler Davis entered Roger’s Campground night the point leader by a mere one point over Doug Laleme. Laleme would switch that around by winning the heat race, with Davis finishing third. Laleme’s one point advantage entering the feature would mean whichever driver finished ahead of his counterpart would take the 2013 championship.
Aaron Smith and Jourdan Davis started on the front row, and as the race began, Jourdan would jump out to the lead, bringing his brother Chandler with him. Laleme would be held up in traffic a bit more, but when he finally broke free, he held the fourth position with Chandler Davis sitting second. Laleme worked his way around Jerrad Ledger, and set his eyes on the Davis brothers. Laleme swung his Pontiac GTO to the outside, would edge his way around Chandler, and began working Jourdan for the lead, as all three cars were separated by inches.
Jourdan Davis and Laleme were side by side entering turn three as they came up on a slower car. The leaders would go three wide entering the corner, sending both leaders dirt tracking through three and four. Laleme saved his automobile, and would motor on for the win and the championship. Jourdan Davis would finish second, with his brother finishing third. Ledger and “Old School” Mike Paquette would complete the top five.
The Angels division also had a close point battle on their hands, as Vanessa Brown had just a 5 point advantage over Jenna Randall, and just a 6 point advantage over Tina Leveille. In the Angels heat race, Leveille, Randall, and Nicole Ouellette all made contact, sending Leveille down pit road under full speed and into the tire barrier. Neither Randall nor Leveille would take the green to complete the event, giving Brown a 9 point advantage going into the feature event. Brown would only need to finish in the top five to secure her second championship in the division.
Randall would use the outside groove to pull out to the lead and pick up her fourth win in the division in 2013, and put the pressure on Brown. Nicole Ouellette would come across the line second, Leveille third, Jaime Carbone fourth, and picking up fifth and the championship, Vanessa Brown.
Jamie Heath only had to take the green flag in the heat race to pick up the championship in the Town and Country Inn and Resort Street Stock division. The story of the night was the side by side racing for the entire race. Jaime Carbone and Jenna Randall, who have done double duty all year long running Angels and Streets, ran the entire race door to door. The field ran two by two the entire way through the running order, even with a caution in the last half of the race, but the real action happened with just a couple of laps remaining.
Carbone edged ahead of Randall with two laps to go, and looked as if she would pick up her first win in the division, but Randall worked that outside groove once more to power her Pontiac to victory lane. Carbone would finish second, and with a three wide move in the closing laps, “Stormin” Keith Normand nabbed the third spot. Josh Barney and “Nitro” Nick Gilcris finished fourth and fifth respectively. Heath was crowned champion for 2013.
James Record already had the championship sewn up in the DK-N-Sons Pure Stock division, so the champion set out to pick up his first win of his career. “The Frito Bandito” Aaron Bennett made his return to Riverside Speedway in the Riverside rental car, but the engine expired part way through the heat race, ending Bennett’s night. Perennial front runner Jay Bennett was drop kicked to the back of the pack early in the race, and had to fight his way back up through the field.
Record would take the lead, and pull away from the field to pick up the win. Bennett did manage to find his way back to the front, as he and Gerard Cote put on yet another fine battle for the second spot, with Cote edging Bennett at the line. Nick Miller and Dave Glidden rounded out the top five.
The Marshall Insurance Agency Daredevils division had a makeup feature to complete from Passumpsic Savings Bank night, as well as their regular program. Dylan “The Dragon” Laleme lead the entire way in the makeup feature, picking up his first win in the division in his young career, followed by Zach Savage and Anthony Benoit.
Benoit would best his counterparts in the second feature, picking up his second win of the season. Savage would grab another second place trophy for the night, and Matthew Kopp finished third. Kopp would be awarded the first ever “Junior Driver of the Year” in the Daredevils. Kopp gained points on and off the track to compile a complete season, and be given the honor.
Riverside Speedway will host the O’Donnell Racing Fall Brawl on October 19th. The second annual event will include a $10,000 to win late model race, a Limited Late Model/Tiger Open, a Street Stock Open, and it will also be championship night for the Northeast Mini Stock Tour. More information will be available later this week. Also, two enduros are scheduled for the end of the season. The Frostbite 400 will be taking place on November 2nd, and the return of the winter enduro, the Snowball Derby will be taking place on December 29th
Ryan Phillips of Buxton, Maine scored a career-first PASS Modified victory, while Gorham’s Craig Smith prevailed in a 75-lap open event for Wildcat/Strictly Stock division racers, topping the feature racing card to kick off Southern Maine Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge 400 weekend at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.
Austin Theriault of Fort Kent will start from the pole in Sunday’s Pro All Stars series Super Late Model 300 after winning his qualifying heat race on Saturday. DJ Shaw of Center Conway, New Hampshire and Corey Bubar of Windham also won heat races to set the 30-car starting field for Sunday’s main event.
Other feature races were held for the mid-week series racers after their originally-scheduled Thursday night event was washed out. Matt Dufault of Turner, Alex Lacognata of Scarborough, Chad Emery of Buxton, Jeff walker of Waterboro and Freeport’s Matt Curtis were triumphant in those events.
PASS Modified winner Phillips, a former champion of the Roadrunner division at Beech Ridge, earned his first trip to victory lane since moving into the touring series class in impressive fashion. Phillips started eighth and worked his way toward the front of the pack, outbattling veteran racer Ron Henry of New Gloucester to take a lead he would not relinquish.
PASS Mod championship contender Scott Alexander climbed all the way from 15th on the starting grid to chase Phillips under the checkered flag, with Mark Lundblad of Conway, New Hampshire posting a third-place finish. Henry finished fourth after leading most of the race, with former champion Mark Lucas of Harpswell rounding out the top five.
For Craig Smith the first time was the charm, as the PASS Sportsman series regular unveiled a new mount and drove it into victory lane following its’ maiden voyage. It was no easy feat as Lewis Anderson – the championship runner-up in the class at Beech Ridge this season – started dead last in the 31-car field and almost found a way by Smith on a late restart before settling for runner-up honors.
Ryan Hewins of Leeds hopped a ride in Dave Whittier’s 58 and bounced back from a heat race crash to challenge for the win before crossing the line in third position. Lewiston’s Corey Morgan led several laps before fading to a fourth-place finish in front of Buxton’s Brian Caswell.
Matt Dufault of Turner dominated the 50-lap main event for the 350 V-8 stock mid-week racers, winning by a healthy margin. Chris Burgess of Buckfield prevailed in a tight balle for runner-up honors with Josh Childs of Oxford. Early race leader Corey Morgan of Lewiston and Billy Childs, Jr., of Leeds rounded out the top-five.
Alex Lacognata of Scarborough likewise romped to an impressive victory in the 35-lapper for 305 V-8 stock mid-week racers. Bill Gibson of Standish and Gorham’s Johnny Wolfe shared the podium with Lacognata. Chad Reynolds of Limington and Alfred’s Chris Letourneau posted fourth and fifth-place finishes, respectively.
Chad Emery of Buxton cruised to victory in a 35-lap race for four-cylinder pick-up trucks. Matt Curtis of Freeport made a late charge into second position, with Portland’s Jeff Gilette claiming third-place hardware.
Jeff Walker of Waterboro powered his way to victory lane following the 35-lap four-cylinder mid-week special. David Stone, Jr. of Sanford used a late-race restart to make it look close, while Nate Dubuc of Lewiston filling out the podium.
Wildcat feature winner Smith goes for a weekend double in the Sportsman 100 on Sunday after winning a heat race to earn a front row starting spot. Other Sportsman heat winners were Matt Dow and Joey Pastore.
Modified stock car driver Joe Williams and Late Model racer Robert Bryant, Jr., highlighted an exciting opening day at the Vermont 200 Championship Weekend at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Saturday, September 14. Williams and Bryant scored victories in 10-lap “Shootout” races for weekly competitors who had not yet won a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series main event in 2013.
Scotia, NY driver Williams nearly didn’t complete the opening lap in the Bond Auto Parts Modified Shootout. Williams bounced through an opening-lap scrape involving Jamie LaFountain and Vince Quenneville, Jr., but escaped and sped to the win ahead of Ron Proctor and Cody Sargen. Bryant, of Brooklyn, CT, dominated the Late Model Shootout with rookies Seth Bridge and Tom Eriksen in tow.
Sixteen year-old Ray Germain, Jr., of Bristol, VT won a close Shootout in the Renegade division, taking the lead from Robin Cummings with two laps to go. Rookie Richard Lowrey, III, finished third. John McCarron of Rensselaer, NY posted a long-awaited first win in the Central Vermont Motorcycles Mini Stock division, with rookie Scott FitzGerald second and Harold LaVair third.
The Daredevil “community” racing division was busy during the day with seven races. Members of the Green Mountain Water Environment Association took part in the opening race, with GMWEA member Jim Peters of West Hartford, VT taking down the win. Gene Martin was second with Rick Kenney – Second Vice President for GMWEA – in third place. Top point drivers in each weekly division and track officials from Devil’s Bowl Speedway later took part in the first-ever “Super Shootout” Daredevil event.
Late Model driver Brandon Atkins, Mini Stock racer Chris LaVair, Renegade point leader Richie Turner, Modified driver Quenneville – who spun Todd Stone out of the lead – and technical inspectors Fred Little and Steve Miller advanced in heat races. Miller, of Vergennes, VT, sped to the feature win over Turner and LaVair.
First-round qualifying was also held, with Sargen, Jessey Mueller, and Stone winning Modified heats, Turner and Robert Gordon taking Renegade qualifiers, and Jake Noble and Chris LaVair winning Mini Stock heats. The New England Antique Racers and Atlantic Coast Old Timers also made laps.