Manchester, NH – A full house of racers, crews, officials, and fans from the Lee USA Speedway gathered at the Executive Court to wine, dine, and celebrate the annual Banquet of Champions honoring their achievements for the 2014 season at New Hampshire’s Center of Speed.
A year after being awarded Rookie of the Year in the Supermodified division, Jake Stergios of Candia spent the evening at the head table and took home the hardware commemorating his first career championship title in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, EKeys 4cars-sponsored division.
Defending and three-time champ Tommy Tombarello, Jr. of Haverhill, MA took home second place honors for his 2014 campaign aboard the Witkum Brothers Racing entry, with Sparky MacIver of Sandown and rookies Lance Barthelemy of Fremont and Kyle Sawyer of Kingston rounding out the top five.
Closing out the season tied with Barthelemy’s impressive freshman effort of a division-leading three feature wins, Northfield driver Leslie Keyser took home sixth place honors, with Rochester veteran Mike Spurling, Bobby Webber, Jim Barker, and Mike Murphy rounding out the top ten.
Barthelemy’s freshman season culminated with Rookie of the Year honors, Keyser grabbed the Sportsmanship Award, Spurling took home Most Improved Driver, Webber’s roller-coaster season won him the Hard Luck award, and Sawyer’s team won Best Team Performance.
After a late-season charge that saw him win back-to-back feature races to close out the 2014 campaign, Niko Maniatis of Salem took the Prime Storage and Warehouse Late Model Sportsman championship aboard the Rick Solt machine.
Tied with Maniatis in points, second-generation racer Geoff Rollins of Groton, MA was one victory behind and as a result finished the season in the second spot, with veteran racer Ricky Porter of Epping, Jesse Bousquet of Pittsfield, and rookie Mark Parenteau of Groveland, MAfinishing up the top five.
Ray Dinsmore of Alfred, ME, Frankie Eldridge, four-time winner Jimmy Russell of Brentwood, David “Doc” Piper of Goffstown, and Kyle Roy were the remainder of the top ten. Second-generation racer Tom Harton of Barrington grabbed Rookie of the Year honors, with Porter taking the Sportsmanship award, Dinsmore Most Improved Driver, Parenteau picking up the Hard Luck award, and Maniatis scoring Best Team Performance.
For the second straight season, Patrick Tanguay went home with the big trophy in the David’s Race Cars and Components Hobby Stocks, with five-time winner Dennis Dumas of Nashua scoring a career-best second for the season.
Teammates Brian DeStefano and Dave MacDonald of Tewksbury, MA were third and fourth on the season, with veteran Brian Thompson of Sandown, 2008 Ironman champ Chris Harding and rookie Jay Avery of Berwick, ME, three-time winner Jim Piaseczny of Merrimack, Nottingham’s Zac Fraser, and Matt Kawejsza of Epping rounding out the top ten.
Harding grabbed Rookie of the Year honors in the Hobby Stocks, with Fraser winning the Sportsmanship plaque, Dumas scoring Most Improved, Piaseczny awarded Hard Luck, and the Tanguay crew picking up Best Team Performance.
Wayne Osborne, Jr. of Kingston was the class of the field in the American Used Auto Parts Ironman division, picking up the hardware for his season championship, and Best Team Performance. Second-generation racer Tyler Mitchell of Dracut, MA grabbed runner-up honors, and was also presented with the NASCAR UNOH Youth Achievement Award.
Three-time winner and 2014 Rookie of the Year Adam Knowles of Seabrook went home with third place honors for the season, with Epping’s Jeff Nadeau, Christin DeStefano of Tewksbury, MA, 2013 champ Travis Hollins of Milford, Sportsmanship winner Hannah Shaw of Epping, Most Improved Driver Jeff Bennett of Epping, Hard Luck winner Austin Elliott of Epping, and three-time winner Evan Horvath of Nottingham rounding out the top ten.
Jesse Tellier of Pelham was honored for his 2014 championship in the 4-cylinder Ironman division, after winning 13 of the 15 races run during the season. Skip Stearns and Mike Walker shared the Ed Castine/Ron Poitras Memorial award for dedication given annually to members of the hard-working speedway staff.
Track owners and promoters Red and Judy MacDonald would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the 2014 award winners, and wish a happy and healthy holiday season to all of the loyal fans, racers, crews and officials who made 2014 such a successful season.