Hudson NH – Louie Maher picked up his first win in a V-6 Modified this past Sunday evening at Hudson International Speedway. The defending Roadrunner champion and current Roadrunner points leader led the caution free race from green to checkers. Maher started on the pole and took control of the race from the drop of starter Randy Christian’s green flag. Chris Kuebler settled in to second place followed by Wayne Brooks Jr., Keith Caruso and Eric Vilandre. The top five freight-trained most of the race before Brooks Jr. and Caruso both got past Kuebler to run second and third. Brooks Jr. then set his sights on Maher but couldn’t get a run on Maher as Maher ran flawlessly. Following Maher and Brooks Jr. across the stripe were Caruso, Kuebler, Vilandre and Wayne Brooks Sr. Maher also won the heat.
Mahers luck ran out in Roadrunner feature when he was caught up in an early race wreck that took out the rides of Eric Miller, Matt Lombard, Mark Dunklee and Maher. Once racing resumed after the wreck Johnny Reefer found himself leading the race with Dave Helliwell on his bumper and Derek Griffith on Helliwell’s bumper. The racing really heated up when the trio caught slower cars and they sliced and split their way through traffic. Reefer made the right choices in traffic and was able to pickup his first win in 2010. Helliwell held on for second and Griffith was third. Loren Smith Jr. chased down and caught the top three in the closing laps and crossed the finish line within a car length of Griffith in fourth place. Jef James was just a few car lengths behind Smith Jr. in fifth. Sixth through tenth were Jason Carroll, Tony Page, Myles Devits, Jen Lord and Peter Raby. Derek Griffith and Dave Helliwell won the heats.
Dean Wendell put on a show for the fans in the Rookie Stocks. Wendell was in fourth place early in the race in line behind leader Roland Laplante, Jerry Lepage and John Morin Jr., when he put his Wendell’s Pool Water sponsored ride in the outside groove and started his march towards the lead. Wendell spent over half of the twenty lap race on the outside of those three drivers, some laps he gained ground and some laps he lost ground before finally clearing Leplante with about five laps to go. Wendell stretched his lead each lap from there on and garnered his fourth win of the season. Morin Jr. followed Wendell over the line followed by Lepage, Laplante, Heath Toutellotte, Dan Murphy Jr., Slika Ennis, Andy Nichols, Billy Clement Jr. and Ron Coombs. Scotty Duval and Roland Leplante won the heats.
Jimmy Ryder Jr. took home the winners hardware in the Classic Light main. Starting fourteenth in the twenty-one car field he made his way to the point before the halfway mark and built a big lead only to see the lead evaporate when a caution came out for cars that spun. Rob Bryant was right in Ryder’s tire tracks after the restart but couldn’t mount a challenge to Ryder. Following Ryder and Bryant were George Helliwell, Dave Helliwell, Danny Shields, Jon Provost, Billy Ryder, Dwayne Skofield, Shane Reinhold and Josh Provost. Eddie Gilman and Danny Shields won the heats.
Sammy Gilman won his first Thunder Lite feature of the season. Gilman held off Chad Wendell who had won the last three features. Following Wendell was Jarrod Soucy, Nick Fisette, Megan Lord, Carlos Esquivel and John Daughenbaugh. Gilman also won the heat which included Justin Beecher taking a wild ride on the last lap just after he took the lead from Gilman. Beecher got loose in turn one and ended up going airborne off turn two and into the brush off of the turn. Beecher was ok but his racecar was done for the day.
Jesse Tellier won the 4 Cyl. Enduro followed by Ray Pat, Issac Chabot, Richard Beaughese and Jim Fissette.
Ron Lord Jr. won the Spectator Drags and Spectator Race. Dave Helliwell won the Flagpole Race.
On Sunday August 22nd it’s the return of the Outlaw Sportsman plus Rookies, Roadrunners, Thunder Lights, Spectator Race, Spectator Drags and Flagpole Race. Gates open at 4pm and the first green flies at 6pm. For more info please visit www.hudsonspeedway.info.