WALPOLE, N.H. – An inaugural trip to the 3/8 mile Wiscasset Speedway in Wiscasset, Maine is up next for the Granite State Pro Stock Series, this Saturday Sept. 3 and Sunday Sept. 4.
The 100 lap, $2,000 to win feature event will headline the Labor Day weekend celebration as Wiscasset starts a three races in three weeks stretch for the GSPSS. Following Wiscasset, the series will make a stop at Star Speedway for the Star Classic on Sept. 10, then visit Monadnock Speedway for the rescheduled JBH 100 on Sept. 17.
“I’m excited, we usually do really well at tracks we haven’t been to before,” reigning series champion Derek Griffith said.
Though Griffith hasn’t run the entire schedule this season, he has been a threat each time he has hit the track and Wiscasset will surely be no different. Griffith has been talking to plenty of fellow Super Late Model competitors who have driven around the 3/8 mile high-banked oval in the past, hoping to get some type of notebook built in his mind.
“I’ve heard a lot about Wiscasset,” Griffith said. “I’ve heard it’s a cool place to race at and I am really looking forward to returning to the GSPSS and seeing all my friends as well.”
Coming into the 100 lapper, Belchertown, Massachusetts driver Barry Gray holds a 20 point advantage in the championship point standings over DJ Shaw. Rookie of the Year contender Mike Mitchell sits third, just 22 points back, while Cory Casagrande is fourth, 24 points from the lead.
Casagrande is tied with series founder and president Mike Parks, who rounds out the top-five.
Parks had help from both the Wiscasset track ownership, Vanessa and Richard Jordan, as well as Steve Perry from Mainely Motorsports in putting the big $2,000 inaugural event together.
“We have worked hard with the Jordan’s as well as Steve Perry from Mainely Motorsports to make this event happen,” Parks said. “Hopefully it all works out to be a fantastic event for all of us and we can make this a yearly event for the future.”
For the first time in 2016, lap sponsorship will be awarded for each of the 100 laps. Each lap will cost $100 and the money will not be only distributed to the leader of that lap, but also to some others in the field.
The leader will collect $25, while a random driver somewhere from positions 2-10 will collect $25. The same goes for a random driver in positions 11-20. The final $25 for each lap will be added onto the race purse.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity for the GSPSS to make their inaugural appearance at Wiscasset,” Perry said. “I’m really glad to be a part of this.”
Admission to the grandstands for each day this weekend is just $5, meaning that fans who want to see both days of competition will only have to pay $10. Saturday, the GSPSS will have practice only, with a 30 minute practice session tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m.
Sunday, three practice sessions will occur as part of a rotating practice round with the support divisions. All of the heat racing and the 100 lap feature will take place on Sunday afternoon. The GSPSS is the final feature that will take the green flag.
For more information on the GSPSS, fans are encouraged to visit www.gspss.net
QUICK FACTS: Inaugural GSPSS 100 at Wiscasset Speedway
TRACK FACTS:
1 Races weekly on Saturday night
2 Currently owned by Richard and Vanessa Jordan
3 Originally built in 1968
4 3/8 mile high-banked oval
RACE FACTS:
1 Inaugural series trip to Wiscasset
2 12 lap heat races
3 100 lap feature race
4 $2,000 to win main event
EVENT SCHEDULE:
1 Two 30 minute practice session on Saturday
2 Three practice rounds on Sunday
3 Heat racing at 2 p.m. on Sunday
4 Feature at approximately 4:30 p.m.