by | Jun 23, 2014 | Lee USA, New Hampshire
Lee, NH – Another exciting Friday night program of weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing action at Lee USA Speedway took the green flag on Friday night with a pre-race autograph session, spectator drags, the S.T.A.R. vintage racers, and the annual “Scout Night” among the added attractions.
Double features were on tap for the EKeys 4Cars Supermodifieds, and it was Mike Spurling of nearby Rochester getting the job done in the first 30-lapper, jumping out from the pole and leading flag to flag to pick up his first main event win of the 2014 campaign over Candia’s Jake Stergios and defending champ Tommy Tombarello, Jr. of Haverhill, MA
In the nightcap, Groveland, MA’s Mike Murphy looked to be well on his way to victory as he led well past the halfway mark, but rookie competitor Lance Barthelemy snuck past to take over the lead late in the race, and the Fremont driver held off a hard-charging Stergios to score career win number on in the Supermodified ranks. (more…)
by | Apr 24, 2014 | Lee USA, New Hampshire
LEE, NH- A new event that promises to bring New Hampshire’s Center of Speed, the Lee USA Speedway, its highest car count and biggest payday of the season, currently estimated at $44,000 is only three plus weeks away.
A field of close to 40 Tour-Type Modified teams will tow in from roughly ten different states for the 1st annual 100-lap, “Bullring Bash Powered by Sunoco” on Sunday, May 11. One of very few drivers competing in this event that has called Lee home is Mike Douglas Jr., from Auburn, N.H.
“That’s where I started and kind of where I grew up watching Supermodifieds,” began the 34-year-old, who races a Spafco Chassis Modified at the nearby Star Speedway. “I got my first ever race win at Lee in a Hobby Stock so this event definitely holds special meaning to me.”
Douglas will be among the ‘underdogs’ so to speak, because there will be a host of champion drivers vying for the $5,000-to-win prize plus lap money and contingencies. Verbal entries have come from names like Rocco, Christopher, Preece, Hinckley, McKennedy, Hirschman, Bonsignore, Barrett, Masse, Jankowiak and Seuss to name just a few.
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by | Apr 17, 2014 | ACT, Lee USA, Touring Series News
By Dick Casey
Eddie MacDonald crossed another item off his racing “bucket list” winning the Governor’s Cup 150 at his home track in ACT’s 23rd season on Sunday. Driving the Freddie Peterson owned Late Model, Eddie Mac started on the pole, then faded back to preserve tires , and then taking the lead with five laps to go on the three‐eighths mile oval owned by his parents, Judy and Red MacDonald. The win was the first in nine ACT attempts at Lee for the Rowley, Mass. Veteran.
“This win is just incredible,” said Eddie Mac in Victory Lane. “We wanted this one for a long time. We have had fast cars in the past but have been unable to get the win. I am so happy and thankful for Sheila and Freddie Peterson for all their support. I know this win means a lot to them and I am glad we could get it for them. Rollie (LaChance) and I have been lucky enough to win some big races including Loudon, the Oxford 250, and Bristol recently but this one has eluded us so now I can cross this off the bucket list. Of course, winning at Lee in front of my mother and father, family, and all our friends and fans is really something special.”
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by | Apr 15, 2014 | Lee USA, New Hampshire
Lee, NH – The season-opening American Canadian Tour (ACT) New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 got the 2014 Lee USA Speedway campaign underway on Sunday afternoon, despite Mother Nature’s best efforts to stop the action.
Lee USA’s track crew and ACT tour officials stuck to their guns and beat the morning-long rain to put on a tremendous show for the hardy fans who waited it out, and they certainly got their money‘s worth during the course of the afternoon.
The supporting show featured the scaled-down racers of the NELCAR legends and the Northeast Classic Lites, and both clubs turned out in full force for the season opener. Multi-time Lee USA winner Shawn Buffington bested the NELCAR contingent, with teammate Tom Gray and 2013 series champion Mathew Burgione rounding out the podium.
In the Northeast Classic Lites main, it was veteran campaigner Duane Skofield taking down the win over 2013 champ Adam “A.J.” Giacomozzi and Jim Wentworth. John Fultz had a scary moment in that one, as he slammed the frontstretch wall and destroyed his racer. Fultz walked away from the incident unhurt.
After four qualifying heats, two consis, and a last chance qualifier set the starting field for the ACT New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150, local favorite Eddie “The Outlaw” MacDonald found himself on the pole for the main event by virtue of his plus-five handicap heat race win.
When the 30-car starting field took the green however, MacDonald led just a single lap before he dropped back several positions, while Ben Lynch (laps 2-3), Ray Parent (laps 4-33), and Stephane Descoste (laps 34-63) all spent time up front in the fast-paced early stages of the event, which ran caution-free for the first 63 laps.
Two-time race winner Brian Hoar brought out the race‘s first yellow flag with a spin in turn two on that 63rd circuit, ending his chances for a third Governor‘s Cup victory. When the action picked up again, Parent once again moved past Descoste out to the lead, and he remained in command for the next 82 trips around the fast 3/8th‘s mile Lee oval.
But MacDonald had been saving the best for last, and as the laps wound down, he began reeling in the leader, and with some heavy lapped traffic ahead, caught Parent with less than ten laps left in the race. MacDonald looked low at first, but eventually moved to the high side and made his way
past Parent with four laps left, as Parent lost control and spun out of contention with the checkers nearly in sight, finishing 13th in the final tally.
MacDonald easily led the way over the remaining laps to score his first-ever Governor‘s Cup win by nearly a full second, making the long-awaited first trip to ACT Governor’s Cup victory lane at “New Hampshire‘s Center of Speed“, the facility owned and operated by his parents, Red and Judy MacDonald.
Two more former Lee USA regulars followed MacDonald across the stripe, with former race winner Joey Pole and two-time and defending ACT champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr. rounding out the post-race podium. A pair of Quebec-based drivers were next in the final rundown, with Alex Labbe taking down fourth, and Descoste coming home fifth.
2013 Governor’s Cup winner Jimmy Hebert managed an impressive sixth-place finish after starting scratch on the field in the 30th spot, with Ben Ashline, Ben Lynch, Bobby Therrien, and Rowland Robinson, Jr. rounding out the top ten.
Lee will have their next Test & Tune on Saturday, May 10th. Gates will open up at 9am and practice will start atnoon. All cars and all other track cars are welcome.
The next event at Lee USA Speedway will be held on Sunday, May 11th with the Modified Bull Ring Bash 100along with the Super Modified and the Hobby Stock Divisions. We will be celebrating Mothers Day here at Lee USA Speedway.
by | Apr 2, 2014 | Lee USA, New Hampshire
Lee, NH – The Lee USA Speedway track crew is making final preparations at “New Hampshire’s Center of Speed” in anticipation of the traditional season-opening New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 for the American Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Models, slated to take the green flag on Sunday, April 13.
Defending race winner Jimmy Hebert has no small task facing him in trying to defend his title, considering that the last 11 ACT races at Lee USA have produced 10 different winners, with only eight-time ACT champion Brian Hoar able to repeat the trip to victory lane, claiming the win in the Lee season-opening event back to back in 2011 and 2012.
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by | Mar 22, 2014 | Lee USA, New Hampshire
Lee USA Speedway announces the addition of the 4 Cylinder Ironman division to the 2014 season. This division will participating in the Division V level for the NASCAR Whelen All American Racing Series. The sister division to the new division is the V6 Ironman series. The V6 Ironman series will continue as the Division IV representative from Lee USA.
The rules package for the new division is very similar to the V6 Ironman. The speedway tech department has worked to identify a set of rules that can allow the 4 cylinders to have a division within the NASCAR sanctioned events in the State of New Hampshire and possible recognition at the national level if found to be in the top 100 from the division across the United States.
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