Lee USA Speedway 7/24/15 Race Report
Lee, NH – The cars and stars of the Granite State Pro Stock Series were the added attraction at Lee USA Speedway on Friday night, while the Supermodifieds had the night off, and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Sportsman, Hobby Stock, Ironman, and Pure Stock feature events rounded out the program at “New Hampshire‘s Center of Speed“.
Three rounds of qualifying action set the field for the Seacoast 100 for the GSPSS, with one local favorite, Bobby Cabral, sidelined as a result of a hard hit during his heat race. Cabral caught a wheel from another competitor on the first lap of his heat, and drilled the wall in turn two to end his night before it even got started.
Matt Frahm of Salem, Derek Griffith of Hudson, and former Lee champion Larry Gelinas of Buxton, ME posted the heat wins, and all were strong contenders in the 100-lap main event. But none of them had anything for Jeremy Davis of Tamworth, who easily outdistanced the field to collect the win.
Griffith broke past polesitter Frahm to set the early pace, but Davis stormed to the front and took command before the 20-lap mark. Once out front, he set a blistering pace on his way to victory. A long green flag run in the late stages allowed Davis to pull away to a comfortable lead, and he held it until the checkers waved.
Among the well-wishers greeting Davis in victory lane was his grandfather Bob Cotton, who was no stranger to Lee’s victory lane when the Pro Stocks were part of Lee’s weekly program “back in the day”. GSPSS points leader Griffith was next across the stripe, with Frahm rounding out the podium in third.
Fourth went to Gelinas, followed by Joe Squeglia, Jr. of Derry and Belchertown, MA veteran Barry Gray, the last driver to finish on the lead lap. Nick Sweet collected seventh, followed by John Peters, and former Lee USA Late Model regulars Bobby Baillargeon and Jeremy Harclerode.
A winner twice already in 2015, Frankie Eldridge was first out to grab the lead in the R & R Public Wholesale Late Model Sportsman main event, setting the pace for the first nine laps before giving way to three-time race winner Jay Sands of Hampton, who was on the move and looking to make it four.
Sands put down some impressive laps over the remainder of the event, staying several car lengths ahead of the competition to pick up the win and the bonus Ingersoll Rand tool kit that went with it. Jimmy Russell of Brentwood moved up in the late going to post a strong runner-up finish, with Jimmy Ryder grabbing his first podium of the season in the third spot.
Geoff Rollins of Groton, MA, the winner a week before, took home fourth, followed by Eldridge, Nate Leavitt, Adam Gray, teammates Alby Ovitt and Bryan Kruczek in the Brian House entries, and veteran Bobby Melvin, who made his season debut in the tenth spot.
Paul Palen of Pelham moved out to the lead on lap two and went the distance to score his second win of the year in the David’s Race Cars and Components Hobby Stock main event, breaking the streak of last lap wins Dennis Dumas of Nashua has had the past couple of weeks.
Tewksbury, MA racer Brian DeStefano had his second straight strong run, bringing home third place honors once again.
Nottingham’s Zac Fraser recovered from an early-race spin to finish fourth, followed by Chris Harding of Lebanon, ME, Kevin Bowman of Grafton, MA, Jay Avery of Berwick, ME, Dave MacDonald of Tewksbury, MA, Eric Hoffman and rookie Evan Amour of Chichester.
Adam Knowles of Seabrook bested another strong field of Tri-City Line-X Ironman entries to score his second win of the season, grabbing the lead from Epping’s Hannah Shaw on lap five and leading the rest of the way to post the victory, beating out all the drivers with a pair of wins already this year to join their club.
The trio of two-time 2015 winners chased Knowles to the checkers, as Zach Washburn collected runner-up honors, with his cousin and points leader Troy Washburn taking home third and Nottingham‘s Shane Horvath scoring fourth.
Christin DeStefano of Tewksbury, MA was fifth, followed by Luke Grammont, Tyler Mitchell, Mike Farrington, Shaw, and Travis Hollins. Jesse Tellier picked up another Pure Stock win, with Rob Carleton and Danielle Evans posting second and third.