By Lou Modestino
In a joint announcement made today between Lee USA Speedway General Manager Bill Callen and GSPSS president Mike Parks, the Granite State Pro Stock Series will be making their first appearance ever at the Lee USA Speedway on Friday night July 25th.
“We are thrilled that we were able to make this happen, this is one of the tracks that all our teams have been asking about going to” stated Parks. Lee USA Speedway is a perfect fit for our series it’s in the heart of NH where we have a lot of fans and race teams from that area. The 2014 schedule is coming together nicely and will be announced in its complete form on Friday Dec. 27th at 2013 GSPSS awards banquet which will be held at the Executive Court in Manchester NH.
Oxford Plains Speedway President, Tom Mayberry, has recently announced that the Annual Swap Meet and Flea Market will once again take place in the fall of 2014 here at Oxford Plains Speedway.
“I am very excited about our inaugural event that took place this past October stated Mayberry. It was a very well attended event for the first time that we tried it. We had over fifty vendors and over fifteen hundred paying customers that seemed to enjoy the event immensely. We had everything from race cars and racing parts, vintage cars and parts, to items from people’s basements and attics. A lot of items were sold and that’s what it’s all about. We even had one race team sell their Super Late Model and their enclosed hauler!”
The dates for the 2014 event are as follows:
Friday, October 24th – FLEA MARKET REGISTRATION & SET-UP DAY – NOON-5PM
Saturday, October 25th – FLEA MARKET DAY #1 – 8AM-4PM
Sunday, October 25th – FLEA MARKET DAY #2 – 8AM-4PM
We’re all very excited to remind you that the registration process for the 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb opens at midnight – December 1, 2013 for the following five (5) classes: Open, Hillclimb 1, Hillclimb 2, Hillclimb 3 & Hillclimb 4.
The event is usually held in mid-June and is held on the auto road at the foot of the 7 mile + auto road in Gorham, NH.
Sports Car Club of New Hampshire officials, working closely with representatives from Rally America, Inc., announced today that the 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb taking place at the Mt. Washington Auto Road in Pinkham Notch, Gorham, NH June 26-29, 2014 will also serve as a full-points round of the 2014 Rally America National Championship.
“We’re excited to welcome Rally America and its national championship teams to the 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb”, stated Sports Car Club of New Hampshire President, Terry Murphy IV. “This hillclimb has a tremendous history that includes rally teams since the hillclimb returned in 1990. Having up to twenty of Rally America’s top national teams competing for national championship points here next June will not only provide for some great competition in the Rally America National Championship, but provide a great opportunity for spectators to watch these extremely talented teams test their skills at what is referred to by many as the most technical automotive hillclimb in the world.”
Although the Rally America teams will be competing for traditional hillclimb awards at Mt. Washington, the recorded times the rally teams post in the two half-course timed sessions on Friday and again on Saturday, as well as the two full-course timed runs they post on Sunday, will be combined to provide them with a total of six “competition stages”– just like a regular Rally America National Championship event where the lowest combined times after completing a series of competition stages determines the class winners. Rally America officials will use the times their teams post on Friday, Saturday & Sunday to determine placement in the four Rally America National Championship classes which include Open, Super Production, 2-Wheel Drive and B-Spec.
“The 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb will infuse more excitement into the Rally America National Championship,” added Bill Fogg, Sr., Rally America President. “It’s a varied format from our traditional rally, a new event, a new challenge for our top national teams who want to add this one-of-a-kind accolade to their rally racing resumes. I attended this hillclimb in 2011 and saw firsthand how wildly competitive it can be. I am very excited to have Rally America as a part of Mt. Washington’s amazing history and to include our drivers in this storied competition.”
The 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb will consist of seventy five teams competing for bragging rights in a total of eight separate classes June 26-29, 2013 – the top class being the Open Class where high horsepower and creativity will play a key factor. The field of eight classes will also include two rally classes for the Rally America invitational teams – one class for 2-wheel drive cars and one class for all-wheel drive cars – four distinct hillclimb classes (H1, H2, H3 & H4) which will be filled with a variety of highly skilled drivers and specialized race cars, primarily from the New England Hillclimb Association. In addition, a group of up to ten invited drivers competing in rare vintage race cars, many with a history of competing at Mt. Washington and other well-known venues from around the world will round out the seventy five car field.
In 1904, the first year of the Mt. Washington Hillclimb, F.E. Stanley from Newton, Massachusetts, co-creator of the famous Stanley Steamer, drove his 6-horsepower, 800-pound steam-powered car to the summit of Mt. Washington only to be beaten by Harry Harkness from New York. Driving a 40-horsepower Mercedes that weighed 2,200 pounds, Harkness posted a winning time of 24 minutes, 37 and 3/5 seconds in 1904.
Since that first year of competition, many well-known drivers have competed and won the Climb to the Clouds such as “Cannonball” Baker in 1928 & 1932 and the legendary Carroll Shelby in 1956. Driving a Franklin in 1928, Baker raced to a time of 14:49.6 seconds. Carroll Shelby, driving a specially prepared Ferrari 375 Grand Prix roadster in 1956, posted a record-setting run of 10:21.8 on his way to victory. In 1961 Connecticut racer Bill Rutan drove his Carrera-powered Volkswagen to another new record time of 9:13.0 that would stand for 29 years – until the return of the race in 1990 when Tim O’Neil, a Rally driver from Franconia, NH drove his 300+ horsepower all-wheel-drive Volkswagen Rally Golf to the summit in a time of just 7 minutes and 45 seconds.
Following the return of the Mt. Washington Hillclimb in 1990 after a 29-year hiatus, the event was run annually as part of the Mt. Washington Auto Road’s summer event schedule until 2001. During that time, several new records were shared between 7-time Sports Car Club of America National Rally Champion Paul Choiniere from Shelburne, VT and multi-time Canadian Rally Champion Frank Sprongl from Mississauga, Ontario. Sprongl set a record time of 6:41.99 in 1998 driving his 500 horsepower Audi Quattro S2 that would stand for 13 years until 2011.
In 2011, Subaru Rally Team USA driver and multi-time Rally America Overall Champion David Higgins from the Isle of Man came to Mt. Washington for the very first time. Driving a Vermont SportsCar-prepared 2011 Subaru WRX STI all-wheel-drive rally car in the Open class without the aid of a co-driver, Higgins set a new overall course record of 6:11.54 – smashing the previous Mt. Washington Hillclimb record time set by Sprongl by more than 30 seconds!
“Sometimes the biggest battle is against the other drivers”, stated 5-time Rally America Overall Champion and current Mt. Washington Hillclimb Record Holder David Higgins recently, “but racing up the Mt Washington Auto Road is very different. The road itself is the biggest battle and one I can’t wait to fight again. The Mt. Washington Auto Road has it all; Tarmac, gravel, fog, crazy weather and not to mention the scenic drops! It is an immense challenge that is also steeped in history.”
Organized and sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire, the 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb will take place at the Mt. Washington Auto Road in Pinkham Notch, Gorham, NH on June 26-29, 2014. The window for accepting entry applications from potential competitors will open at 12:01am on December 1, 2013 and close at midnight on December 31, 2013.
Entries are starting to roll in for the first ever Colossal Carnage 150, a $7,000 to win Enduro scheduled for Sunday, April 27, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. This special extravaganza will see well over 100 four and six cylinder cars, trucks and mini-vans compete for the giant purse that pays the top ten finishers over $14,000. Oxford Plains Speedway’s new General Manager, Dick Therrien, has been a part of these mega paying Enduros in the past, and he has this to say about the Colossal Carnage 150.
“I have been involved in running numerous high paying Enduros in the past and there have been some good ones, but never have I seen such excitement generated for an event of this kind more than five months away. The phone is ringing off the hook, I am getting numerous e-mails about the event, and the entries are starting to roll in. Chris Bowie from New Glochster, Maine, and the “Road Warrior” himself, Mike St. Germain have filed the first two entries for the event.
St. Germain is a veteran of these extra distance races as he has be seen at tracks throughout the Northeast competing in events similar, but nowhere near as lucrative at the Colossal Carnage 150. Bowie is no stranger to racing at OPS and will definitely be considered a major threat to take home the mega first place prize and trophy.
The American Canadian Tour (ACT) released its 2014 schedule which is highlighted by visits to nine (9) different Northeast tracks. The schedule includes a total of twelve (12) events with nine (9) Championship point counting events and three popular ‘special’ events on the calendar.
The traditional event to open the 2014 campaign on April 12-13 will once again be at the Lee USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire. The ACT has been visiting the 1/3 mile oval since Red and Judy MacDonald purchased the speed plant in 1987. “It is just one of those relationships that have endured throughout the past 25 years. We tried to help Red and Judy when they first started, and they have been there for us whenever we needed help over the years. This kind of relationship, in this type of business, is generally very rare, but greatly appreciated” said Tom Curley, President of the American Canadian Tour, which was established in 1986.
The home of the ACT, Thunder Road International Speedbowl will host its only point counting event with the Merchants Bank 150 on opening weekend April 26-27. Next up will be the historic Spring Green 114 to be held at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Fair Haven, VT on Sunday, May 4. This will be the fourth opening day Spring Green event at the super fast ½ mile oval.
The teams will take a couple weeks off before returning to action at what has become a favorite track of many ACT teams, the Airborne Speedway. The first of two point counting events will be held on Saturday, May 17 at the Plattsburgh, NY oval. The final point event of the season, and second at Airborne, will be the Fall Foliage 200 on Saturday, September 27.
The month of June will see two events in the Granite State.Riverside Speedway in Groveton will hold a 150 lap race on Saturday, June 7. In one of the most memorable events of 2013, winner Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. from Hudson, NH said, “This bullring races unbelievably great. We had so much fun racing last year. It was white knuckle and about as close racing as you can have. I am excited about having Riverside on the schedule again.” A regular stop on the ACT Late Model Tour since 1998, the scenic White Mountain Motorsports Park (WMMP) is scheduled for an annual 150 lap event on Saturday, June 21.
One of New England’s premiere race tracks, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway (BRMS), will again present an ACT event on Saturday, August 9. The very competitive 1/3 mile seacoast Speedway has become one of the most exciting events on the annual schedule for both teams and fans. A different winner at every BRMS event for the ACT Late Models is what the record book shows. The summer visit promises to produce one of the best events of the year.
Two weeks to re-group and off to the only US-Canadian event of the year, the 5th annual CAN-AM 200 will take place at the Circuit Riverside Speedway in Ste Croix, QC. The scenic 5/8ths mile speedway sits next to the St Lawrence River and always guarantees a competitive event as the best of the Serie ACT and US teams square off for bragging rights. This event will take place on Saturday, August 23.
The US ACT competitors will also compete throughout the summer race season at three ACT sanctioned ‘special non-point events’. Three popular events will post combined purses of over a quarter million dollars ($250,000.00). The “International” at the Airborne Speedway will take place the weekend of July 20. The best of all ACT teams from both the US and Canada will be invited to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway during the NASCAR Cup Chase weekend in September for the 6th annual Bond Auto ACT Invitational. The 55thrun for the Milk Bowl will be held at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, VT and will close out the 2014 season the weekend of October 4/5.
2014 ACT Schedule
# Day Date Track Location Laps
1 Sat./Sun. Apr-12/13 Lee USA Speedway Lee, NH 150
2 Sat./Sun. Apr-26/27 Thunder Road Barre, VT 150
3 Sun. May-04 Devil’s Bowl Speedway West Haven, VT 114
4 Sat. May-17 Airborne Speedway Plattsburgh, NY 100
5 Sat. Jun-07 Riverside Speedway Groveton, NH 150
6 Sat. Jun-21 White Mountain Motorsports Park N. Woodstock, NH 150
*** Sun. Jul-20 Airborne Speedway Plattsburgh, NY 200
7 Sat. Aug-09 Beech Ridge Motor Speedway Scarborough, ME 150
8 Sat. Aug-23 Circuit Riverside Speedway St-Croix, QC 200
*** Sat. Sep-20 Bond Auto ACT Invitational at NHMS Loudon, NH 50
9 Sat. Sep-27 Airborne Speedway Plattsburgh, NY 200
*** Sat./Sun. Oct-04/05 Thunder Road Milk Bowl Barre, VT 150
*** – non-point counting events
Schedule Subject to Change