Epping, NH – The thunder of the ISMA Supermodifieds rolled into All-Star Speedway on Saturday night for the 44th running of the annual Classic, with a full field of the high-powered open-wheelers signed into the pits for the night’s action.
Looking to tie all-time Classic win leader Bentley Warren, five-time winner Russ Wood started out in fine form, setting fast time when the Supers hit the high banks for qualifying. But the best he could do in the main was a fifth place run.
Bobby Haynes led the 22-car field to green, but outside polesitter Justin Belfiore flew past on the outside to take the lead in the early going. Belfiore was running as if on rails, pulling away to a straightaway lead by the 30-lap mark.
By halfway however, Belfiore had Mike Lichty right on his tail, and points leader Chris Perley lurked right behind Lichty in the potent Vic Miller machine. Belfiore got tangled up as he negotiated lapped traffic on lap 52, with Lichty coming out of the scramble with the lead.
Perley immediately went to work on Lichty, and on lap 66, he made the pass and took over the top spot. He was on cruise control the rest of the way, leading them under the checkers to score his second straight Classic win, and fourth overall.
Former event winner Lou Cicconi of Pennsylvania had to settle for runner-up honors aboard the Rick Wentworth machine, with Ohio driver Dave Shullick, Jr. taking home the third spot in the Clyde Booth entry.
The All-Star Modifieds ran a special 50-lap feature event as part of the Classic night festivities, with Kenny White, Jr. holding off a tough challenge from four-time winner Eric Hudson to pick up the win.
J.R. Baril led the first 35 laps of the race, but he fell to the hard-charging White on lap 36, with Hudson following him past Baril to the front. Hudson challenged hard in the closing laps, but White held on to pick up his first win of the year.
Hudson came up just short in the runner-up slot, with Baril holding on to collect a third place finish. George Baldwin put in a strong run to checker fourth, with Sumner Scott beating out Brandee Tree to close out the top five.
Grant Aither made his second appearance of the year in the Super Streets, and for the second straight time, he went home with the feature win. Aither finished third in qualifying, but he stepped it up a notch for the main event.
Pulling away from the field by as much as a straightaway at times, Aither was easily the class of the field on the way to victory. Former champ Ron Bolduc came up short in the second spot, with heat winner Tony Kawejsza taking the final podium spot.
The 350 Supers were another special addition to the Classic night program, and they put on quite a show in their feature event. Third-generation driver Billy Osborne was the man to beat in that one, collecting his first career Super win in the process.
Tommy Tombarello, Jr. put in a strong bid to take the win away from Osborne, but he eventually settled for second. Third spot went to Dan Bowes, with Mike Netishen, Steve Dickey, Mike Spurling, Doug Sanborn, John Burke, Matt Riley, and Scott Keddy following.
Stephen Dubois looked like he had a sure shot at victory in the Strictly Stock feature, pulling ahead to nearly a straightaway lead in the early laps. But when Mike Williams finally broke out of the pack, he set his sights on the leader and went to work.
Williams slowly reeled the Dubois in, catching him with the laps quickly winding down. With the finish in sight, Williams made the pass, and he went on to score the win. Dubois checkered second, with Mark Parenteau, Randy Carmichael, and Chuck Roberto the rest of the top five.
Jason Hodgdon set a fast pace as he pulled away to the early lead in the Fast-4 feature event, but it was Chris Jacobson who was out front when it counted. Jacobson made his way to the front by halfway, and he held off Jason Poisson to score the win.
Ken McIlvaine came home in the third spot, with Joey Fernandez, Gary West, Sr., Tyler Mailhot, Greg Cummings, Ken Mailhot, Cindy Sevigny, and Matt Magee rounding out the top ten finishers.