Byrne Takes Sportsman Modified Checkers
Winchester, NH: Monadnock Speedway held a full night of racing action this past Saturday for the JBH 100 featuring the Granite State Pro Stock Series with Devin O’Connell taking down the victory. The speedway was also host to all the weekly divisions along with the last-minute addition of the NEMA and NEMA Lites. Repeat winners in the weekly divisions included Ben Byrne (Sportsman Modifieds), Solomon Brow (Super Stocks), Matt Kimball (Mini Stocks), Gordon Farnum (Lightning Stocks) and Chris Phelps (Young Guns). Chase Curtis took down his first career victory in the Thunder Stocks. Jim Chamber took the win for NEMA as did Seth Carlson in the NEMA Lites.
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Gage Coates led the Young Gun field to the green flag. Coates would lead for four laps until Chris Phelps in the would sneak by him for the lead. Jake Puchalski ran third looking for the opportunity to make the pass on Coates for second. On lap six, Coates in turn three drifted slightly high giving room underneath for Puchalski to pass however Coates came back down making contact with Puchalski. The caution would come out for Coates. On the restart, Phelps continued to lead as Puchalski felt the pressure of Sammy Silva for the second spot. On lap eleven, Silva made his move leaving Puchalski to settle in third. The battle for fourth was back and forth with Taylor Striebel and Cooper Roberge. On the final lap, it was Phelps followed by Silva and Puchalski.
Tim Paquette and Kevin Pittsinger would make up the front row for the 25 lap Mini Stock feature. On lap one, the caution flew as Kevin Cormier made his way to the pit. On the restart, Paquette held the lead with Wenzel in second. Matt Kimball wasted no time making up to the third spot from his eighth starting spot. On lap ten, a caution came out as Nadine Coates spun with Peter Lopuch making hard contact with her. Both drivers were not injured but their night was over. On the restart, Paquette held off Kimball until lap eleven. Paquette and Kevin McKnight battle for second. McKnight would make the pass on the next lap as Louie Maher worked through the pack up to fourth passing Wenzel. On lap fifteen, it was a the familiar three of past events of Kimball, McKnight and Maher. The top three maneuvered around lap cars as McKnight gave all he could to catch the top runner of Kimball. At the checkers, it was Kimball followed McKnight and Maher.
Super Stocks were led onto the track with Nancy Muni setting the pace. Eric Pomasko, starting second, took over the lead on lap one. On lap three, the caution came out as Ryan Bell and James Brow made their way to the pits. Bell returned but Brow retired his number 3 for the night. On the restart, Pomasko continued to lead as another caution would fly for damage on the Cole Littlewood machine as he made contact with the point leader of Leary. Lap four restart, Pomasko had his hands full as Solomon Brow moved into position for the lead. On lap five, Brow led while Pomasko held off David Striebel for second. The top three would remain the same for multiple laps until Leary worked his way back up from the earlier incident to pressure Striebel for the third spot. On lap sixteen, Leary took over third. Brow developed a huge gap between himself and Pomasko. Leary continued in third and attempted several times to make a pass on Pomasko. On lap thirty-five, Brow rounded the final turn to take the checkers followed by Pomakso and Leary.
Side by Side, Eric LeClair and Mike Smith brought the Sportsman Modified field to the green. On lap two, the caution flew as Smith spun. On the restart, LeClair battled with Ben Byrne for the lead. Byrne made the pass as LeClair fell back to fourth. Kim Rivet and Joel Monahan moved into the second and third spot. Byrne and Rivet began to gain ground from Monahan as he felt the pressure of Keith Carzello on his back bumper. Geoff Rollins also was in the mix of the battle as he ran fifth. Carzello looked to make the pass for several laps as Rollins was glued to Carzello’s back bumper. On lap thirty, Carzello moved into third as Monahan protected his spot from Rollins. Two laps to go, Rollins took over fourth as Monahan dropped back to sixth. Kimball took over the fifth spot. At the wave of the checkers, Byrne collected his second win of the season followed by Rivet and Carzello.
Thunder Stocks were led onto the track by Craig Chaffee and Ben Williams. At the green, the battle began for the number one spot as Williams put the pressure on. On lap four, the caution came out for Bruce Clark. On the restart, the top three of Chaffee, Williams and Chase Curtis was tight. On lap ten, Chase Curtis took over the lead. On lap fourteen, second place runner of Chaffee spun into the infield. Williams moved into second with Richard Vincent in third. On lap sixteen, Nowakowski spun brining out the caution. On the restart, the field would go one more lap before the yellow flew again as Hillary Renaud made contact with Chris Buffone on the front stretch. The field would go green again on a single file restart with Chase Curtis still the leader. Williams and Vincent followed for second and third. At the checkers, it was Chase Curtis celebrating his first career win followed by Williams and Vincent. In a post race inspection, Williams was disqualified for refusing inspection. Vincent and Chris Curtis was awarded second and third.
Lightning Stocks were the final division of the nights as Eric Banks and Ernie Coates brought the field to the green. Matt Gauffin wasted no time to get to the front taking the lead on lap five. Banks protected his second spot from Gordon Farnum until lap six and had to settle for third. Gauffin and Farnum pulled away from the field as Scott Hatt made the pass on Banks for third. Chris Davis moved into the fourth spot and began to pressure Hatt. As laps winded down, Gauffin and Farnum approached lap traffic. With two laps to go, lap traffic began to be a factor. Gauffin and Farnum battled as Farnum took advantage of the lap traffic and took the lead. On the final lap, it was Farnum followed by Gauffin and Hatt.
The final race event of the season will be held this Saturday, September 22nd. The Dash for the Championship event will include all the weekly divisions plus the Iron Mike Memorial race for NEMA and NEMA Lites along with Spectator Races and Big Wheel Races. Race time is at 2PM.
Sportsman Modifieds: Ben Byrne,Kim Rivet, Keith Carzello, Geoff Rollins, Matt Kimball, Joel Monahan, Alex Pearl, Russ Hersey, Geoff Nooney, Dylan Bodreau, Eric LeClair, Mike Hall Jr, Alyssa Rivera, Victoria Bergenty, Mike Smith, Chris Ignazio, Matt McDougall
Super Stocks: Solomon Brow, Eric Pomasko, Tyler Leary, Cole Littlewood, Dave Striebel, Nancy Muni-Ruot, Ryan Bell, Marshall Usher, Bill Lambert, James Brow
Mini Stocks: Matt Kimball, Kevin McKnight, Louis Maher, Tim Wenzel, Tim Paquette, Cory Plummer, Pat Houle, Kevin Pittsinger, Nathan Wenzel, Dave Elliot, Peter Koch Jr, Nadine Coates, Tim Leblanc, Kevin Cormier
Thunder Stocks: Chase Curtis ,Richard Vincent, Chris Curtis, Bruce Clark, James Nowakowski, Mike Radzuik, Hillary Renaud, Al Stone. Chris Buffone. Albert Norman, Marc Curtis, Craig Chaffee
Lightning Stocks: Gordon Farnum, Matt Gauffin, Scott Hat, Chris Davis, Fred Rogers, Leon Keniston, Eric Banks,Mike Douglas, Ian Stevens, Josh Carey, Ernie Coates, Randall Phillips, Skeeter Bearce, Jonathan Alden, Joe Brittain
Young Guns: Chris Phelps, Sammy Silva, Jake Puchalski, Taylor Striebel, Copper Roberge, Gage Coates, Frances Boivin, Burch McLean, Skyler Shippee
