photo by Rich Hayes
Lee, NH – Lee USA Speedway celebrated the annual Independence Day holiday on Friday night July 3, with a full card of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing action on the track followed by a gigantic fireworks display high in the sky above “New Hampshire‘s Center of Speed“.
Lee’s weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series regulars put on another excellent show for the fans, with last-lap passes the order of business for most of the night. Northfield, NH veteran Leslie Keyser got the job done in the 30-lap Ekeys4cars Supermodified main event, passing Kingston‘s Kyle Sawyer with the checkered flag in sight to score his first win of the season.
Rochester‘s Mike Spurling broke out of the pack first to set the pace, leading the way for the first eight laps after a side by side battle for several laps saw him giving up the top spot to Sawyer. The sophomore diver was in command for several laps thereafter, looking like he was on his way to win number one for the year.
But Keyser quickly made his way to second, picking away at Sawyer‘s lead as the laps wound down. Keyser worked the high groove to perfection, and finally was able to make his way past to take the lead on the final lap.
Coming to the checkers, the lead duo were less than a car length apart, with Keyser posting the win by a mere .068 margin of victory. A disappointed Sawyer settled for runner-up honors, with former champ Tommy Tombarello, Jr. closing out the podium in the third spot.
Fourth went to Spurling, followed by Groveland, MA ace Mike Murphy, who survived wing issues in the latter stages of the race, Fremont’s Mike Ordway, Jr. in the Witkum Brothers Racing machine, Kingston’s Moe Lattime, Lance Barthelemy of Fremont, Ipswich, MA racer Artie Rousseau, and Tilton’s “Super Dave” Sanborn.
Jay Sands of Hampton scored his third win of the season in the R&R Public Wholesale Late Model Sportsman feature event, taking the lead away from second-generation racer Geoff Rollins of Groton, MA coming to the white flag, and holding on for the final lap to score the 30-lap victory.
Jimmy Ryder grabbed the early lead and put down some impressive laps on the start, but he soon fell into the clutches of Brentwood’s Jimmy Russell. The pair tangled while battling for the lead on lap 10, handing over the top spot to George Helliwell, who is still searching for his first win of the year.
Rollins made quick work of Helliwell to take the lead after the restart, with Sands following him to the front. Another impressive feature saw the lead battle come down to the final lap, when Sands inched ahead in the outside line to gain the advantage. He and Rollins made coming off turn two, but Sands held on to collect the win.
Rollins settled for the second spot, with two-time winner Frankie Eldridge taking third. Fourth went to the resurgent Russell, with Helliwell, Tom Carey III, Neil Evans, Jr., Nate Leavitt, Jason Ryan of Salem, and Ray Dinsmore of Alfred, ME rounding out the top ten.
Pelham’s Paul Palen was the class of the field in the David’s Race Cars and Components Hobby Stock main event, getting to the lead early, and holding off a strong late-race challenge from two-time feature winner Dennis Dumas of Nashua top post his first win of the 2015 campaign.
Dumas gave it all he had and drew side-by-side with the leader at the white flag, but Palen never wavered, leading the final circuit to collect his first checkered flag of the 2015 season. Dumas took runner-up honors, with Nottingham’s Zac Fraser, Chris Harding of Berwick, ME, Tewksbury, MA racer Dave MacDonald, Kevin Bowman, Matt Morrill, Trevor Randlett, Jay Avery, and Eric Hoffman the rest of the top five.
Second generation racer Zach Washburn, son of longtime Hobby Stocker “Rocket Ron”, proved himself to be just as fast as the older generation, running off to score his second win of the young season in the 20-lap Tri-City Line-X Ironman feature event.
Luke Grammont set the early pace, but Washburn slipped past on lap four, and it was all but over from there. Seabrook’s Adam Knowles was scored second, with opening night winner and Zach’s cousin Troy Washburn finishing up the podium in third.
A winner the week before, Nottingham’s Shane Horvath took fourth, with Dracut, MA’s Tyler Mitchell, defending champ Wayne Osborne, Ryan Pitkin, Christin DeStefano, Grammont, and Mike Farrington rounding out the top ten. Pelham’s Jesse Tellier took the Pure Stock win over Rob Carlton and Danielle Evans.