Photo Credit Troy Bregy
Despite a few showers during practice, the conditions at Claremont Speedway turned out good for the Claremont 100 Friday night. Although DJ Shaw of Center Conway, NH and Jeremy Davis of Tamworth, NH posted fast times in practice, it was the locals that shined in the heats.
Luke Hinkley of Claremont, NH, Guy Caron of Goshen, NH, and Jimmy Zullo of Claremont, NH all won their heats. After the draw for the invert the field ended up starting heads up in the feature. Hinkley took the lead early in the race with Shaw on a mission to make an early bid to win the race. The top three of Hinkley, Shaw, Davis remained relatively consistent for the first half of the race. Cory Casagrande of Stafford Springs, CT ran in the top five for first 60 laps until a caution collect him later in the race.
The O’Sullivan brothers both started in the top ten. Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA started fifth, and Tommy O’Sullivan of Wilbraham, MA in tenth. Both were lurking, quietly working their way up to the top five. By lap 60 Tommy, who had a tough break after a crash at Lee had worked his way up to third position.
A caution in turn three on lap 85 set O’Sullivan up to chase Hinkley down for the lead. At the same time Mike O’Sullivan was battling Shaw for third and he took it on lap 92. By lap 97 Tommy O’Sullivan took the lead form Hinkley and held on for the win. Hinkley finished a respectable second, and Mike O’Sullivan finished third.
Saturday, June 24th the Granite State Pro Stock Series will be at Seekonk in Seekonk, MA for the Seekonk 100. For more information follow the Granite State Pro Stock Series on Facebook or at www.gspss.net
Unofficial Finish
1 4 Tommy O’Sullivan
2 31 Luke Hinkley
3 08 Mike O’Sullivan
4 60 DJ Shaw
5 09 Jeremy Davis
6 72 Scott MacMichael
7 7 Cory Casagrande
8 11 Bryon Baker
9 14G Tracy Gordon
10 29 Barry Gray
11 23 Glenn Martel
12 21 Josh King
13 40 Mike Mitchell
14 18 Mike Scorzelli
15 43 Devin O’Connell
16 1 Jeff Jolly
17 44P Rusty Poland
18 28 Mark Lunblad
19 10 Jimmy Zullo
20 39 Nick Lascuola
21 42C Guy Caron
22 8 Ryan Bell
Contingency Winner
Car #
Name
AR Bodies (Hard Luck) 39 Nick Lascuola
O’Reilly Auto Parts (3rd Place) 08 Mike O’Sullivan
O’Reilly Auto Parts (Last car on Lead Lap) 40 Mike Mitchell
Five Star Bodies (5th Place) 09 Jeremy Davis
Sunoco (Heat Winner) 31 Luke Hinkley
Sunoco (Heat Winner) 42C Guy Caron
Sunoco (Heat Winner) 10 Jimmy Zullo
VDL Fuel (4th Place) 60 DJ Shaw
Race Parts NH Hard Charger 11 Bryon Baker
Track—Claremont Speedway, 0.33 mile Claremont, NH.
Race—Claremont 100
Time of Race— 56:26.8
Best Lap Time- 13.941
Best Lap by- Luke Hinkley
Cautions—(5)—8, 31, 51, 52, 85
Margin of Victory— 0.565
Lap Leaders—(2) Luke Hinkley 31, Tommy O’Sullivan 4
