Hometown racing veteran takes win at Canaan Fair Speedway
CANAAN, NH — Hometown stock car racer Donnie Lashua took the lead from polesitter Cory Roberts on lap 39 to score his first career Granite State Pro Stock Series win Sunday in the 100-lap event at Canaan Fair Speedway.
Lashua started third in the 18-car field and patiently rode behind Roberts for the first third of the race. The veteran Lashua was able to work inside of Roberts and snag the lead for the remainder of the race, but had to hold him off on three late race restarts.
Roberts, of Canaan, NH, crossed underneath the checkered flag in second. Recent Granite State Pro Stock Series winner Bobby Baillargeon, of Kingston, NH, finished third and was able to chip away at his deficit to the series point leader. Webster, NH’s Matt Pepin, driving a team car to Lashua, finished fourth ahead of Barry Gray, of Belchertown, MA.
Jeremy Davis, who was crowned the Canaan Fair Speedway Pro Stock champion Friday night, finished sixth. Granite State Pro Stock Series point leader Bobby Cabral finished outside the top five for the first time this season with his seventh place finish. Rich Eaton, Zig Geno, and Carl Eriksson completed the unofficial top ten.
Lashua’s win makes him the fifth different Granite State Pro Stock Series winner this year, and sixth in Series history. There has yet to be a repeat winner this season.
Unofficially, Baillargeon was able to cut eight points off of his deficit to Cabral with his third place finish. Cabral now holds a 14-point lead back to Baillargeon with just one event remaining. Eaton holds the third point position, 28 points behind. Gray sits two points back of Eaton, with Mike Parks fifth, 44 points behind Cabral.
The Granite State Pro Stock Series season finale will be held on Super Saturday, September 29 at Monadock Speedway in Winchester, NH. The JBH 100, which was originally scheduled for August 4th, will be in memory of late Granite State Pro Stock Series co-founder John Hoyt, who unexpectedly passed away last year.
Super Saturday’s pit gates open at 10:00am, with practice beginning at noon. Monadock Speedway’s main ticket booth opens at 1:00pm, with school bus rides for kids beginning at 2:30pm. Heat race qualifying will begin at 3:00pm. Admission is $20 for Adults, $10 for Seniors, $5 for Students (13-18), and Children 12 and under are free.
More information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series can be found online at www.gspss.net and on the Granite State Pro Stock Series Facebook page.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS — Granite State Pro Stock Series Canaan 100
Granite State Pro Stock Series
Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, NH
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown-Laps
1. (3) Donnie Lashua, Canaan, NH, 100 laps
2. (1) Cory Roberts, Canaan, NH, 100 laps
3. (8) Bobby Baillargeon, Kingston, NH, 100 laps
4. (7) Matt Pepin, Webster, NH, 100 laps
5. (18) Barry Gray, Belchertown, MA, 100 laps
6. (6) Jeremy Davis, Tamworth, NH, 100 laps
7. (2) Bobby Cabral, East Kingston, NH, 100 laps
8. (5) Rich Eaton, Seabrook, NH, 100 laps
9. (14) Zig Geno, Canterbury, NH, 100 laps
10. (4) Carl Eriksson, Deep River, CT, 99 laps
11. (15) Phil Meany, Gardner, MA, 99 laps
12. (17) Jay Sands, Seabrook, NH, 99 laps
13. (12) Matt Frahm, New Salem, NH, 91 laps
14. (9) Derek Griffith, Hudson, NH, 83 laps
15. (11) Mike Parks, Walpole, NH, 83 laps
16. (16) Fran Colson, Gardner, MA, 62 laps
17. (13) Keith Caruso, Millbury, MA, 29 laps
18. (10) Josh King, Vernon, VT, 24 laps
Lap Leaders: Cory Robert (1-38), Donnie Lashua (39-100)
Time of Race: 42:58.149
Margin of Victory: 0.810 seconds
Cautions: 3 (83, 83, 89)
Heat Winners: Cory Roberts, Donnie Lashua