Thomas Conquers NEMST Opener at Lee USA

photo by Rich Hayes

The North East Mini Stock Tour kicked off its ninth season on Sunday at New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway. 30 cars entered the pit area for the largest car count in NEMST history at Lee USA. Following an early practice session the drivers would line up for time trial qualifying, something that has never been done before on the NEMST.

 
Qualifying kept the fans and drivers on edge with Brandon Gray turning a 17.08 lap early and holding the top spot while nearly 20 other competitors ran until he was knocked off by his NEMST veteran team mate and birthday boy Matt Sonnhalter. Sonnhalter ran a 17.04 lap barely beating his rookie team mate. Following time trials Sonnhalter drew the inversion chip of 3 rows which would put the Young Guns Racing teammates in 5th and 6th position and putting Mike Soucy and Glen Thomas on the front row leading the field to green.
 

(more…)

Thunder Road Welcomes ACT Tour for Merchants Bank 150 Season Opener

Barre, Vt. – The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) returns to Barre, Vt.’s Thunder Road Speedbowl this Sunday, April 30 for the 19th Merchants Bank 150. The event kicks off the 58th season of competition on the quarter-mile oval and is the first of two visits this year for the ACT Late Model Tour.

 

A pair of multi-time Merchants Bank 150 winners will lead the charge into this year’s event. Three-time and defending event champion Nick Sweet of Barre will look to go back-to-back, while two-time event champion Scott Payea of Colchester is attempting to match Sweet in the record books.

(more…)

Eddie MacDonald Posts Tenth Place Finish at Bristol

Eddie MacDonald, driver of the #71 Grimm Construction Chevy, opened his K&N Pro Series East season scoring a tenth place finish on Saturday, April 22, in the rain-shortened Zombie Auto 125 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Inclement weather plagued the annual April NASCAR Cup weekend forcing delays and postponements in the Xfinity and Cup race.

The K&N race began two hours late, then just ran out of time as another huge cell drenched the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” after running 70 laps of the scheduled 125 laps. The Rowley, Mass. veteran felt the shortened event cost a top five finish saying, “The car was fast before the break and we thought with the small adjustments at the half-time break we would be able to gain a number of positions in the second stage. Unfortunately we never got the chance.” (more…)

Thomas Everson is Gearing up for the 2017 Legend Season

photo by RPM 360

Story by Chris Roy

Thomas Everson of Gilmanton NH will be racing in the #4NH legend car this race season. “We kicked off our 2017 Season at Citrus County Speedway for the US Legends Winter Nationals in February.   Five days of racing against many of the top racers from the US and Canada.   We left winter nationals sitting 10th in National Points for the Semi Pro Division.   Our partnership with Kyle Beattie Racing and Driver Development Program has allowed us to really step up our racing performance.  We plan to run a couple more races down south before our New England season begins on April 22nd.”

 

NELCAR begins their 2017 race season at Wiscasset on April 22nd. “Wiscasset is my favorite track to run on the NELCAR schedule so I am excited to kick off our NE schedule there this week.”

(more…)

Michaud, Malone Purchase Thunder Road Speedbowl

Barre, VT – Thunder Road officials have announced that the sale of Thunder Road Speedbowl to former racer Cris Michaud and local businessman Pat Malone has been completed. The duo has assumed day-to-day operations of the famed quarter-mile oval, which had been owned and operated since 1982 by Ken Squier and Tom Curley.

 

Michaud is a three-time “King of the Road” and has spent 22 years at and around the high banks as a driver and race director. Malone is the owner of Malone Properties, a Montpelier-based commercial real estate company that has sponsored a number of Thunder Road race teams in previous seasons.

(more…)

PASS Champion DJ Shaw leads Super Late Models to Oxford Plains Speedway Saturday afternoon

photo by LEP photo

Oxford, ME — Reigning Pro All Stars Series North champion DJ Shaw leads a stellar field of Super Late Model competitors to Oxford Plains Speedway Saturday afternoon for the first major event of the 2017 Maine stock car racing season, The Speedway Homes 150.

Shaw, 27, and now a two-time champion of the premiere full-bodied touring series in eastern North America, joins multi-time series champions Johnny Clark of Farmingdale and Ben Rowe of Turner in an effort to show a growing group of talented youngsters the quick way around Oxford Plains Speedway in their powerful short track racecars.

  (more…)