MacMichael Celebrate Three Week Win Streak
By Dan Byrne
WINCHESTER—It was another fine evening for racing this past Saturday at the high banks of Monadnock Speedway as the Pro 4 Modified series came to town to join with the regular Whelen All-American divisions. Track owner Larry Cirillo had Ricky Craven’s old Winston #1 racecar out for some joy laps along with a few lucky fans in the passenger seat before the festivities kicked off for the night.
The story of the night came in the Sportsman Modified division as Scott MacMichael (2nd in points) closed the gap on leader Bill Kimball. Since encountering motor issues early this summer, MacMichael has seen a resurgence. With his 5th win of the year, third consecutive win in weekly action, he has his sights firmly set on Kimball and the points lead.
The race didn’t get going right away as three cautions in the first five laps slowed the pace. One incident sent Jason Barden into the front-stretch wall ending his night early when the #15 of Trevor Bleau forced it three wide on lap one.
Once the drivers got things squared away it was Ben Byrne out front for the first 10 laps as he battled Kim Rivet for the top spot early on. The big boys were charging hard behind them, as MacMichael ran with a pack that included Keith Carzello, Brett Gonyaw, and point’s leader Bill Kimball.
MacMichael got around Byrne after he and Gonway touched tires. MacMichael drove away from the field as the other three cars took their time in getting by Byrne and Rivet.
Once Carzello and Gonyaw got around Rivet and Byrne, they set their sights on tracking down MacMichael as the laps quickly ticked away.
Kimball eventually moved by Byrne into 4th when Carzello and Gonyaw were duking it out behind MacMichael. Kimball’s car may have been the fastest out there, but negotiating through traffic kept him from getting out front.
A bit of contact between the #8 and #87 saw Carzello have to lift to keep it from getting into the wall that allowed Gonyaw to separate and Kimball to get around him for third.
After the win MacMichael proclaimed that “It was barely running tonight to be honest with you.”
MacMichael told how his engine was checked out and it was discovered that the power output was not nearly as high as he thought, “Got it dynoed this week and found out it doesn’t nearly have the horsepower we thought it did,” he added, “I’m putting in an engine with 50 more horse next week and it’s legal!”
With MacMichael’s recent run of gilded form, one is left to wonder if changing anything is a good idea, there is no room for error now as the calendar turns to September.
The Lightning Stocks had the final race of the night and for the fans who stayed to see the end of the show, they were rewarded with one the best races of the season. A tie atop the point standings saw CJ Johnson and Tim LeBlanc looking to get a nose out in front for the inside track to the point’s title. However, early on in this one, Johnson’s car got mixed up with a pack as they bounced off one another. Johnson’s car may have bounced up into the front stretch wall, knocking his car out of contention as he brought the car home in last place.
LeBlanc had the opposite showing as his #52 raced to the front. Last week’s winner Richard Whipple had the lead early on, but LeBlanc was on a rail as he reeled Whipple in.
LeBlanc crossed the line first bringing home the checkered flag ahead of Whipple and Kris Kristolaitis.
In the Mini Stocks, Julia Raymond out wheeled DJ Lazelle and Cameron Sontag to claim victory for the second time this year.
“I’ve never got two wins in one year,” she said after her win, “I’m pretty excited.”
Another exciting race this past Saturday was the Thunder Stock feature. The top two in points last year are battling it out for the championship once again as defending champion Marshall Usher tries to maintain his slender advantage over David Greenslit. On Saturday, Greenslit got the better of Usher as he out wheeled his rival for another victory. The two leaders were challenging only each other as they got by Paul Barnard and James Nowakowski to get ahead of the field.
As they took the white flag, Usher was pushing Greenslit hard down the front stretch into turn one, but driving a bit too hard into the turn, he had to yield allowing Greenslit the space he needed to hold Usher off for the win.
In the Super Stock main event, the win went to Chris Curtis for the 2nd week in a row. There were a few too many yellow flags, as some drivers had issues with keeping their cars facing the right direction, but Curtis took the point on the last double file restart and made it stick. Joel Monahan led the first 13 laps before Curtis overtook him and claimed victory.
In the Young Guns division, Alexander Pearl took home his third win of the year. It also happened to be his third win in a row, as the youth driver has come into his own the last three weeks. With the influx of former Young Guns drivers in the Whelen All-American series that run weekly at Monadnock, there is no doubt another class of drivers waiting to move up to higher divisions. Pearl might be the most impressive of the group, with the fashion in which he has dominated the last three weeks. It certainly didn’t take long for the young man to find the fastest way around the ¼ mile track.
In the visiting Pro 4 Modified race, Andy Major picked up his 4th win of the year, out dueling Derek Robie and Randy Clark Jr. Mark Charette finished first in the Pro 4 Lite division ahead of Doug Maservey Jr. and Bill Lucchesi Jr.
Next week the NEMA Midgets come to the high banks of Monadnock Speedway for a special night. It will be the Iron Mike Memorial/ Shane Hammond Memorial event for the NEMAs next week.
Young Gun Finish: Alex Pearl, Justin Littlewood, Jaret Curtis, Hailey Guy, Dan Starkweather
Mini Stock Finish: Julia Raymond, DJ Lazelle, Cameron Sontag, Matt Gauffin, Solomon Brow, Eric Pomasko, Matt Kimball, Kevin McKnight, Mike McGoldrick, Ethan Marsh, Chris Jackman
Thunder Stock Finish: Dave Greenslit, Marshall Usher, Paul Barnard, James Nowakowski, Dan Comeau, Paul Smith, Richard Vincent, Craig Chaffee, Michelle Leh
Lightning Stock: Tim LeBlanc, Richard Whipple, Kris Kristolaitis, Pat Houle, Jim Drew, Eric Silvernale, Scott Hatt, Tim Paquette, Hillary Renaud, Steve Fucile, Phillip Littlewood, George Morgan, CJ Johnson,
Sportsman Modified: Scott MacMichael, Brett Gonyaw, Bill Kimball, Keith Carzello, Ben Byrne, Kim Rivet, Nathan Johnson, Trevor Bleau, Eric Leclair, Rich Hammann, Chris Ignazio, Dana Smith, Ray Grassetti, Brian Robie, Jason Barden
Super Stock Finish: Chris Curtis, Joel Monahan, Tom Carey, Adam Gray, Dennis Stange, Robert Hagar, Cole Littlewood, Tyler Leary, Ken Springer, Nancy Muni, Allen Griffin, Tyler Lescord, Glen Noll, James Beck, Scott Beck