EPPING, NH – D.J. Shaw of Conway, NH invaded the Granite State regulars and took the win in the 100 lap contest from Star Speedway. Shaw started mid-field aboard his Precision JLM Chevrolet and was able to work his way to the top spot at lap 48. It wasn’t without a challenge, as fellow Dale Shaw Racecar driver David Oliver gave Shaw a strong challenge aboard his Hood Heluva Good #21me. This marks the first win for Shaw on the Granite State Pro Stock Series Tour.
“This is big for me here. I don’t have much confidence in myself as a driver at this racetrack, so this is huge,” said a relieved Shaw in Victory Lane. “I had a good enough car to where I could hold off some challenges late. It’s great to have two Dale Shaw Racecars up front like this.”
Finishing second was Standish, Maine’s David Oliver. A former regular competitor at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and current competitor on the Pro All Stars Series, Oliver was an early favorite. After taking second place from Bobby Baillargeon at lap 82, Oliver set his sights on the race leader but came up just short. “This is awesome. This is the best we’ve run with this car all year. And we got beat by the guy who built it so I guess that’s not a bad thing either,” said Oliver, speaking of DJ Shaw. “This is a good, solid little series. We looked on the schedule, saw this and figured we’d come try it out. Solid run. Very happy.”
Rounding out the top three was no stranger to the Granite State Series, Bobby Baillargeon. Baillargeon was a threat to win the entire race, piloting his #82 Chevrolet to the race lead briefly at the very beginning. “The car wasn’t too bad tonight. I thought we had something for DJ [Shaw], but we burnt up the right rear and ended up having nothing for him.”
Other notables included Larry Gelinas in car #48, who grabbed the race lead at lap 6. He was able to lead 42 laps until pending race winner DJ Shaw ducked under him coming out of the four turn to grab the race lead. Gelinas was able to hold off Shaw for a few laps on the outside, but Shaw was eventually able to prevail. Jeremy Davis was strong early, driving his Dynasty Motorsports #09 to the top five before halfway, but was caught up in an accident at lap 43. George Bessette in car #15 showed signs of strength leading a few laps from the drop of the green flag. Matt Frahm in car #14 also had a great recovery after being involved in a couple accidents early in the event.
Overall, there were seven caution flags in the 100 lap race. From lap 43 on the race stayed green, allowing Shaw to get away. Picking up heat race wins were Jay Sands, Jimmy Renfrew, and Mike Parks.
GSPSS 100 Finish: 1. DJ SHAW 2. David Oliver 3. Bobby Baillargeon 4. Matt Frahm 5. Babe Branscombe 6. Larry Gelinas 7. Jeremy Davis 8. Tommy O’Sullivan 9. Jay Sands 10. Mike Parks 11. Craig Weinstein 12. Keith Caruso 13. George Bessette 14. Jake Vanada 15. Mike O’Sullivan 16. Erick Sands 17. Francis Colson Jr. 18. Jimmy Renfrew 19. Barry Gray 20. Jesse Smith 21. Zig Geno 22. Josh King.
Did not Qualify Russ Hersey, John-Michael Shenette, Phill Meany, Austin Brehio, Greg Nanigian, Mike Rivard, Joey Doiron, Bobby Nadeau.