Drivers, Start Your Engines! Laps for Charity returns to New Hampshire Motor Speedway May 14 to benefit the New Hampshire Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities. Fans can drive on the 1.6-mile road course for the very first time.
LOUDON, N.H. – Anyone who’s ever dreamed of being a race car driver can make it come true while helping children in need throughout New England on Friday, May 14. Laps for Charity offers anyone with a need for speed the opportunity to drive his or her own vehicle on one of New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s (NHMS) famed racing surfaces as well as ride in the official NHMS pace car with proceeds benefitting the New Hampshire Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities (SCCNH).
“Race fans are always asking us if they can drive on the racetrack,” said Danielle Cyr, director for SCCNH and marketing manager for NHMS. “This is the perfect opportunity to give them the chance to experience the thrill of being behind the wheel at their favorite speedway while helping local kids in need.”
GRANITE STATE PRO STOCK SERIES RETURNS TO STAR SPEEDWAY THIS SATURDAY
By Souza Media/Kyle Souza
WALPOLE, N.H. — Granite State Pro Stock Series race teams are heading to Star Speedway in Epping, New Hampshire, for the third race of the season on Saturday, May 8. Coming off successful events at Stafford Motor Speedway and Monadnock Speedway — won by Joey Pole and Angelo Belsito — the series hits the New Hampshire oval for the Hedges Excavating 100 for the first of two visits in 2021. The second visit will come on Friday, September 17, as part of the annual Star Classic.
If the finish to the Star Classic 100 last year is any indication, the Pro Stock battle should be one to remember. Former series champions Pole and Derek Griffith battled side-by-side for the final 10 laps in the race last September, and Pole is heading back to Star looking to make it two-for-two. Pole didn’t compete at Monadnock, but picked up the win at Stafford on April 24.
PRACTICE NOTES: Massive Field Turns Out for Thunder Road Practice Day
Barre, VT — A huge field of cars filed through the pits for the Thunder Road Car Show and Practice Day on Saturday, May 1. When all was said and done, 119 drivers across 4 divisions took to the track in preparation for the Community Bank N.A. 150 on FloRacing this Sunday, May 2. The speeds were as big as the fields with racers storming out of the gates after a long, cold Vermont winter.
The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Models saw 32 drivers on-hand. For many, it was their first session on the new Hoosier Racing tire. Whether it was the tire, the track conditions, or the eagerness to go racing again, the Late Models set a blistering pace. Times were noticeably quicker than last year with several drivers setting marks in the sub-12.3 second bracket.
WISCASSET SPEEDWAY PRESS RELEASE 5/3/21 (results were sent 5/1)JONATHON EMERSON KICKS OFF 2021 SEASON WITH A VICTORY by Ken Minott
A blustery and chilly spring afternoon greeted eager race fans back to Wiscasset Speedway on Saturday for Group 2 Opening day. The show featured the season’s debut for Late Models, Modifieds, Outlaw Minis, Strictly Streets, and Roadrunners. The Portland Glass Strictly Streets had the spotlight feature for the afternoon with a 35 lap tilt. The race would showcase the father and son duo of Zach and Jonathon Emerson of Sabattus. In the end, it was the son Jonathon standing in victory lane with the first-place trophy. Other winners on the day included Ryan Ripley, Zach Audet, Ben Benson, and Josh St Clair.
ACT & Thunder Road Honor Best of 2020 at Banquet of Champions
American Canadian Tour
Barre, VT — The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Thunder Road Speedbowl honored the top performers of their 2020 seasons at the Banquet of Champions on Saturday, May 1. Drivers, crews, officials, and special guests gathered at Thunder Road prior to the track’s season-opener for a night of celebration before throwing the green flag of 2021.
Williamstown, VT’s Jimmy Hebert was recognized as the 2020 ACT Champion. In his ninth season with the ACT Late Model Tour, the Hebert Excavation team had 2 wins and 7 podium finishes in 9 point-counting events.
Despite challenges from both fellow competitors and from navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, Hebert and team were able to put everything together for their first ACT title. In his acceptance speech, Hebert credited the series for getting a season in despite the challenges and for taking care of its competitors, which helped sway his decision to defend the title in 2021.
ANGELO BELSITO EARNS GRANITE STATE PRO STOCK SERIES WIN AT MONADNOCK
By Souza Media/Kyle Souza
WINCHESTER, N.H. — Round two of the Granite State Pro Stock Series season brought competitors to the high-banks of Monadnock Speedway, and it was multiple-time series winner Angelo Belsito clicking off another checkered flag.
Belsito and the rest of the field competed in three, 20-lap segment races in place of a 100-lap feature — and the final finishing order for the race was determined based on a points system. The winner of each segment earned one point, while second-place earned two points, third earned three, and so on, throughout the field. The driver with the lowest number of points at the end of the three — Belsito — was declared the overall winner of the day. Devin O’Connell was second and Gabe Brown third.
Belsito won the first two segments and was the runner-up in the final round. O’Connell finished fourth in the first race, then second and first.
Clark Gets First ACT Victory in Wild Community Bank N.A. 150
Perry, Martin, and Fleury Earn Wins in Support Division Action
American Canadian Tour
Barre, VT — Fayston, VT’s Brooks Clark roared from deep in the field to get his first American-Canadian Tour (ACT) victory in a wild Community Bank N.A. 150 at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road on Sunday, May 2. Clark took the lead for good from Shelburne, VT’s Trampas Demers with 21 laps to go and held him off for the victory after starting 21st on the grid.
The biggest victory of Clark’s career came in an event with more twists and turns than a campfire mystery tale. Several early contenders were sidelined by a spate of midrace carnage before Clark and Demers, two accomplished locals, put on a show down the stretch for both the Barre crowd and a worldwide audience on FloRacing.
Joey Polewarczyk Wins Granite State Pro Stock Series Casagrande Builders 75 Feature at Stafford Speedway
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Motor Speedway welcomed the Granite State Pro Stock Series to the track for their first visit to Stafford as part of NAPA Opening Day festivities with the Casagrande Builders 75.
The Granite State Pro Stock Series took the green flag with Eddie MacDonald taking the lead from polesitter Josh King on the very first lap of the race. Derek Griffith was third in the early going with Joey Polewarczyk and D.J. Shaw making up the top-5. Shaw got around Polewarczyk on lap-4 to move into fourth and Derek Gluchacki took fifth as Polewarczyk slid back to seventh in line before the caution flew with 4 laps complete.
MacDonald took the lead on the restart with Griffith moving up to second. Gluchacki took third with Polewarcyk fourth and Shaw fifth. Casey Call was sixth while King slid all the way back to seventh in line. The caution came back out with 11 laps complete as Mike O’Sullivan got into the turn 1 wall and Craig Bushey also had damage to the rear of his car after coming to a stop backwards on the track in the middle of turns 1+2.
ST CLAIR AND COOK AMONG OPENING DAY WINNERS AT WISCASSET
Wiscasset Speedway kicked off the 2021 racing season in the state of Maine on Saturday afternoon, April 24th. A large contingency of eager racers and smiling fans converged on Maine’s fastest track for it’s first April opening day since 2019. Due to the pandemic, the track wasn’t permitted to open until August of 2020, limiting the track to a shortened 10 week season. Back to its traditional April opening, fans were treated to action in the four Group 1 divisions: Pro Stock, Thunder 4 Mini, 4-Cylinder Pros, and Super Streets. The spotlight division was the Schooner Bay Thunder 4 Minis, with veteran David Cook of Jay taking the victory. Other winners on the day included Josh St Clair, Nicole Benincasa, and James Osmond.
Championship Defenses Beginning in Earnest at Northeast Classic
American Canadian Tour
Waterbury, VT and Naples, ME — The inaugural Northeast Classic debuts this Saturday, April 17 at Loudon’s New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Although the prestige and big payday of winning at “The Magic Mile” is foremost in many racers’ minds, the card is also an early proving ground in five different major regional touring series.
The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Model Tour and Northeast Mini Stock Tour (NEMST) have their first point-counting events of the season on Saturday. For the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models, it’s their second North Series and third National Series events of the year. The EXIT Realty Pro Truck Challenge has its second event of 2021 after they and PASS North debuted at the Thompson Speedway Icebreaker That means for defending champions Jimmy Hebert (ACT), D.J. Shaw (PASS North), Mike Hopkins (PASS National), Desmond Skillings (NEMTS), and Duane Noll (Pro Trucks), a strong run at the Northeast Classic would put them in great early position for a championship defense.
Carey, Barnett, and Bello Take Victories in Icebreaker Nightcap
Thompson, CT — Norwalk, CT’s Ron Silk took advantage of a late caution flag to snag the $10,000 top prize in the Icebreaker 125 at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Saturday, April 10. Silk took the lead from Berlin, CT’s Keith Rocco with 12 laps remaining and was the inaugural winner of the new Outlaw Open Modified Series at the Icebreaker nightcap.
It was the first-ever Tour-type Modified victory for Haydt Yannone Racing and came at the end of a night where Silk went up and down the running order like a yo-yo. The former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion kept fighting, though, and triumphed at the Icebreaker for the first time since 2012.
