ISMA Returns to the High Banks of Monadnock Speedway after a 40 year absence.
By Ryan Lawliss
Winchester, NH: The International Super Modified Association or ISMA final received some cooperation from Mother Nature. After the first 2 attempts were rained out the 3rd time was a charm and the stands where packed and witnessed record breaking lap times. Mike Lichty won the Genden Auto Parts ISMA 75 presented by T-Bird Mini Marts. During ISMA time trials Jon McKennedy captured the $1000 bonus from Bentley’s Saloon for breaking the track record with a lap of 11.138. Solomon Brow (Super Stocks), Chris Phelps (Young Guns), and Ethan Marsh (Mini Stocks) found their way to victory lane for the first time this season. Brian Robie (Sportsman Modifieds), Ed Lofland (Thunder Stocks), and Matt Gauffin (Lightning Stocks) found their way back to victory lane.
The Young Guns rolled onto the track for their 15 lap feature. All Young Guns starts and restarts are completed single file for learning and safety reasons. Chloe Wright in the 17 led the field to the green. Wright maintained the lead in the early stages of the race but a slight bobble allowed Chris Phelps in the 21 and Sammy Silva in the 28 to slip by. Silva tried everything he could to get by Phelps over the last few laps but would come up empty. Phelps captured the win and Silva settled for 2nd. Nathan Wenzel in the 03 came from the back to finish 3rd.
Next on the schedule was the Mini Stocks for their 25 lap feature. Shelby Avery in the 8 and Kevin Pittsinger in the 50 made of the front row for the start of the feature. Before a lap could be completed the caution flag flew for the 33 of Jaret Curtis and the 43 of David Elliott got tangled together on the backstretch. In an effort to avoid them Louis Maher in the 69z found himself sliding sideways thru the infield but ended up undamaged. Avery and Pittsinger brought the field back to green for the restart. Avery jumped out to an early lead with Ethan Marsh in the 97 and Kevin McKnight in the 76 close in tow. Caution flag number 2 came on lap 4 as Avery would spin coming out of turn 2 causing a chain reaction that would collect McKnight. Both McKnight and Avery were able to continue in the race. Marsh and Pittsinger made of the front row for the restart. Marsh took the lead at the drop of the green. Maher was able to work his way back threw the field to restart in the 3rd spot. Maher wasted no time at the drop of the green and took over the 2nd spot. Maher tried every trick he could think of to try and get around Marsh for the top spot but would be unable to. Marsh took the win, Maher finished 2nd and Pittsinger held on to finish 3rd. In victory lane Marsh was happy to get his first win of the season, especially after a few rough weeks.
Super Stocks took to the track next for their 25 lap feature event. Justin Littlewood in the 37 and Cole Littlewood in the 12 brought the field to the green in a battle of the Littlewoods’s. Cole would flex his older brother muscles to take the early lead as Justin headed in the wrong direction. Geoff Rollins in the 43 took control of the 2nd spot and Solomon Brow in the 33 took the 3rd spot on lap 2. On the next lap Rollins looked high to try to pass for the lead but in doing so opened the door for Brow to sneak by for the 2nd spot. Lap 4 Brow blew by Cole Littlewood for the lead and on lap 7 Tyler Leary in the 11x made the pass for 2nd place. The caution flag flew on lap 8 for debris on the racing service. Brow maintained the top spot on the restart but would be slowed down by another caution on lap 11 for the 21 car driven by Alyssa Rivera coming to rest on the front stretch. Brow and Leary battled the rest of the race for the top spot and when the dust settled Brow captured his first win of the season. Leary finished 2nd and Rollins finished 3rd. Brow in victory lane was glad he was able to hold on for the win as he noted the handling of his car went away the last few laps of the race.
Sportsman Modifieds roared onto the track next for 35 laps of wheel to wheel action. Ben Byrne in the 6 and Brian Robie in the 25 brought the field to the green. Byrne and Robie went side by side thru turn 1 and 2 before Robie was able to take sole possession of 1st. Lap 5 would see a caution for the 13 of JT Cloutier spinning in turn 1 and 2. Robie and Byrne led the field back to green on the restart. Robie wasted no time and rocketed out to the lead. Behind him there would be a battle for the 3rd spot between Matt Kimball in the 50 and the 99 of Kim Rivet in which Rivet would be able to get the upper hand and take control of the 3rd spot. Caution would fly again on lap 14 this time for multiple cars spinning at different ends of the track. Both cars were returned to their previous positions as it was determined someone was leaking fluids onto the track. Officials took a few laps under caution to check various cars but nothing would be seen at that time until Brian Chapin was found to be leaking oil on the restart. The field returned to racing with Robie in control at the top, followed by Byrne in 2nd and Rivet in 3rd. Byrne and Rivet tried to catch up to Robie but would be unable to. Robie took the win with Byrne in 2nd and Rivet in 3rd. Robie was happy to get the car to run so well and to have a little luck on his side as he noted in victory lane that he has been a little unlucky as of late. Things appear to be changing for Robie.
The Genden Auto Parts ISMA 75 Presented by T-Bird Mini Marts were next on track but before that could take place an on track check presentation took place for Jon McKennedy’s (21) record breaking lap time of 11.138 which earned him a $1000 payday. Eric Lewis in the 28 and Jamie Timmons in the 27 had the privilege of being on the front row. Lewis took the early lead and on lap 2 Timmons got lose off of turn 4 spinning in front of the entire field; however no one was damaged. ISMA does all restarts single file, which meant Lewis, brought the field to the green; however the caution flag flew again as it was a bad start. Lewis flew to the lead on the restart but would be slowed on lap 17 when the 78 of Mark Sammut made contact with a lap car causing him to hit the backstretch wall ending his night. Lap 19 saw another caution this time Timmons spun on the front stretch. Lewis brought the field to the green on the restart and held onto the lead until lap 55 when Mike Lichty took the lead and never looked back on his way to capture the win. Dan Bowes in the 25 used everything he had to get into 2nd place and McKennedy drove from the back to the front with a broken wing to take the 3rd spot. Lichty was extremely grateful for Genden Auto Parts for sponsoring the race and T-Bird Mini Marts for assisting as well. Eric Lewis was presented with $1000.00 check for leading half way courtesy of Shea Concrete.
Thunder Stocks thundered onto the track next for 25 lap feature event. Doug McLean in the 21 and the 88 of Hillary Renaud sat on the front row. McLean led lap 1 and the 99 of Matt Robinson spinning coming out of turn 2 brought out a caution on lap 2. McLean took the top spot on the restart and held the lead until lap 9 when Ed Lofland in the 45 made the pass for the top spot. Craig Chaffee in the 28 passed McLean for 2nd and James Nowakowski in the 9 passed McLean for 3rd right after Chaffee. The race would be slowed by a caution on lap 17 for debris and again on the ensuing restart at the 88x of Chase Curtis slowed with a flat tire in turns 1 and 2. On the restart Lofland shot out into the lead and started to pull away as Nowakowski and Chaffee battled side by side for the 2nd spot. Nowakowski would win this battle. Lofland captured the win, Nowakowski held on for 2nd and Chaffee finished 3rd. This was an emotional win for Lofland who noted that this win was for a childhood friend who recently passed away.
The electrifying Lightning Stocks took to the track to wrap up the nights racing action and they would not disappointment. Randall Phillips in the 19 and the 95 of CJ Johnson led the field to the green. Phillips would drop back numerous positions at the drop of the green allowing Johnson to take control of the lead. Phillips would bring out a caution on lap 3 after bouncing around off of cars and the front stretch wall; this would end his evening. On the restart Johnson took off where he left off before the caution however Johnson would be swap the lead back and forth with the 129 of Fred Rogers over the next few laps before Johnson was able to secure the lead on lap 6. Zach Lyn in the 33 provided pressure on Johnson on lap 10 but wouldn’t be able to make a pass before the caution flew one last time for the 8 of Eric Banks. Lyn utilized the restart to take the lead. Johnson attempted to run Lyn down but Johnson had his hands full with the 603 of Matthew Gauffin. Gauffin used a last lap pass to take the 2nd spot. Lyn crossed the line first followed by Gauffin in 2nd and Johnson in 3rd. Lyn would later be disqualified giving the win to Gauffin and moving Johnson to 2nd and Rogers to 3rd.
This Saturday, Monadnock Speedway will host the annual Firecracker 100 featuring The Valenti Modified Racing Series, all the weekly divisions and Fireworks. Race time is at 5PM.
ISMA Super Modifieds: Mike Lichty, Dan Bowes, Jon McKennedy, Eric Lwweis, Mike McVetta, Mike Ordway, Chris Perley, Kyle Edwards, Ben Seitz, Mike Muldoon, Russ Wood, Dave Duggan, Trent Stephens, Mark Sammut, Jamie Timmons, Sparky McGiver
Sportsman Modifieds: Brian Robie, Ben Byrne, Kim Rivet, Geoff Rollins, Matt Kimball, Keith Carzello, Eric Leclair, Joel Monahan, Mike Smith, Alyssa Rivera, Brian Chapin, JT Cloutier, Jessica O’Leary
Super Stocks: Solomon Brow, Tyler Leary, Geoff Rollins, Cole Littlewood, Chase Curtis, Dennis Stange, Justin Littlewood, Nancy Muni-Ruot, James Thompson, Scott Beck, Alyssa Rivera
Mini Stocks: Ethan Marsh,Louis Maher, Kevin Pittsinger, Kevin Mcknight, Tim Wenzel, Tim Paquette, Shelby Avery, Pat Houle, Matt Croteau, Kevin Cormier, Matt Kimball, Cory Plummer, Tim Leblanc, Jaret Curtis, David Elliott
Thunder Stocks: Ed Lofland, James Nowakowski, Craig Chaffee, Richard Vincent, Bruce Clark, Chris Buffone, Doug McLean, Matt Robinson, Travis Cass, Hillary Renaud, Michelle Leh, Chase Curtis, Jeff Staiti, Nathaniel Nunez, Randy Rameau, Dan Comeau
Lightning Stocks: Matt Gauffin, CJ Johnson, Fred Rogers, Josh Carey, Gordon Farnum, Chris Davis, Ernie Coates, Jon Fultz, Eric Banks, Cale Skillings, Chris Fultz, Randall Phillips, Zach Lyn
Young Guns: Chris Phelps, Sammy Silva, Nathan Wenzel, Matt Lambert, Jake Puchalski, Elijah Castillo, Chloe Wright, Taylor Striebel, Burch McLean
