by Jay | Sep 20, 2009 | NASCAR, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
LOUDON, N.H. – Ron Silk passed Reggie Ruggiero on the backstretch of the last lap and held on through Turns 3 and 4 to earn the victory in the New Hampshire 100 Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Photos from Race
It was Silk’s fourth career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win and his first at the ‘Magic Mile’ – traditionally one of the most prestigious events on the schedule.
Silk, of Norwalk, Conn., swapped the lead with Ruggiero three times and ran bumper-to-bumper in the last 10 laps, with Silk surviving the battle. Ruggiero settled for a fourth-place finish after getting shuffled three spots on the last lap. Donny Lia crossed the line second followed by pole winner Ryan Preece and Mike Stefanik finished fifth.
Lia entered the race third in points but his car caught fire during practice on Thursday and he was not able to qualify. After starting at the rear on Saturday with a provisional, Lia was involved in an early accident and went down three laps. He was the beneficiary during three subsequent cautions, and rocketed toward the front for a runner-up finish.
Lia’s effort moved him up to second, 48 points behind Ted Christopher with three races remaining. Christopher finished seventh.
Rowan Pennink, Christopher, Ryan Newman, Erick Rudolph and Chuck Hossfeld rounded out the top 10. It was the best NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour finish for Newman, who is a full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitor, in his fourth start.
Todd Szegedy was involved in an accident on Lap 84 and settled for 29th, which ended his streak of top-10 finishes at 13 and dropped him from second to fourth in the championship standings.
The race featured 17 lead changes among eight drivers, and was slowed by 11 cautions.
The 11th race of the 2009 season will take place Sunday, Sept. 27 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
by Jay | Sep 20, 2009 | NASCAR, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
LOUDON, N.H. — Kyle Busch didn’t have the fastest truck on Saturday, and he had barely enough fuel to make it to the finish line.
Photos Link
Neither circumstance prevented him from winning his third straight start in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series and his fifth race of the season. Busch took the checkered flag in the Heluva Good! 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, as points leader and runner-up Ron Hornaday Jr. and his team owner and third-place finisher, Kevin Harvick, battled for position behind him.
Harvick believed Hornaday’s failure to move over in favor of Harvick’s faster truck in the closing laps — which Harvick attributed to lack of communication between crew chiefs and spotters — cost Kevin Harvick Inc. the victory.
Busch took on four seconds’ worth of fuel during a splash-and-go on Lap 172 of 200 and got back on track ahead of Hornaday, whose stop on Lap 170 had lasted almost twice as long. A debris caution on Lap 189 helped Busch conserve enough gas to get to the end of the race. His fuel cell hit “empty” as he approached victory lane.
“They told me we were going to be about five (laps) short (after the final stop),” said Busch, who finished .560 seconds ahead of Hornaday. “I was like, ‘You’re kidding me! We just stopped and filled this thing.’ It barely made it. It ran out coming into victory lane there.”
Matt Crafton finished fourth, followed by series rookie Johnny Sauter. Stacy Compton, Brian Scott, Mike Skinner, Colin Braun and Rick Crawford completed the top 10.
Harvick expressed his displeasure after the race.
“The communication between the spotter and the crew chief wasn’t relayed to the driver very clear,” Harvick said. “I felt like one of the two trucks should have won the race. I felt like we were a little bit better truck, but you can’t put yourself in position to do something underneath him (Hornaday) that would be detrimental to his championship chase.
“It’s just some things internally that we probably need to work on there. Second and third today is still a good day, a good day for (Hornaday) in the championship race, but I feel like we didn’t do what we needed to do.”
Hornaday, who extended his lead in the series standings to 217 points over Crafton, said he wasn’t aware of the problem until after the checkered flag.
“It was a good day — until after the race,” he said. “He (Harvick) got up to me three or four times and I backed off. He ran underneath me. I don’t know if he was getting loose or whatever underneath me. I had older tires. I didn’t have fresher tires. But I’ll take second. …
“I’m going to talk to him right now. I don’t know what I done wrong.”
Note: The victory was Busch’s 14th in 65 truck series starts.
by Jay | Sep 20, 2009 | ACT, Canada, NASCAR, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
LOUDON, NH – Eddie MacDonald of Rowley, MA won the Inaugural ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. MacDonald came from the 19th starting position and took the lead on lap 36 from young Brandon Watson from Stayner, ON. Watson hung with MacDonald, not more than a car length away and eventually took the lead again on the lap 41 restart. MacDonald would eventually take the lead again for good.
“It was awesome to win the first ACT race here. I’m sure there will be more but winning the first one is special. There were still a lot of fans in the grandstands from after the truck race,” said MacDonald who scored his second win of the weekend after taking the East Series race at NHMS on Friday.
After MacDonald took the lead for the last time the battle of the race became for second. Nick Sweet of Barre, VT and Joey Laquerre from Montpelier, VT caught Watson for second. The three ran under a blanket for the final 7 laps with Sweet getting the advantage and Watson fell back to third after Laquerre momentarily lost the handle. Watson then had to hold off Patrick Laperle from St-Denis, QC for third at the line by a bumper. Laperle had to settle for fourth followed by John Donahue of Graniteville, VT taking fifth. Laquerre held on for sixth followed by Brad Leighton, Brian Hoar, Bruce Thomas, and Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. came home tenth.
Joey Doiron of Berwick, ME got the initial jump on lap one and led by three car lengths over pole sitter Bruce Thomas of Groton, CT by the time they were in turn 2. Doiron then pulled out to a comfortable lead for the first 20 laps before the handling on his car appeared to fade. Thomas was right there to take over followed closely by Ontario’s Brandon Watson. Watson and Thomas battled through lap traffic as the field remained under green for the first 31 laps. That ended when Eric Chase spun in turn two. Watson took the lead on the restart until MacDonald took over the lead after coming from his 19th starting position.
The Inaugural ACT Invitational at New Hampshire was completed in 38 minutes and 32 seconds with only 2 cautions. The lead was swapped five times among four drivers.
The Série ACT Castrol drivers will be back in action tomorrow at St-Eustache Speedway in St-Eustache, QC for a 300 lap to cap off their season. The American Canadian Late Model Tour will finish off their season at Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, October 11. Next Sunday, September 27 most of these drivers will show up for the 47th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl at Thunder Road International Speedbowl.
Inaugural ACT Invitational
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Pos Car # Driver Hometown
1 17MA Eddie MacDonald Rowley, MA
2 88VT Nick Sweet Barre, VT
3 9ON Brandon Watson Stayner, ON
4 91QC Patrick Laperle St-Denis, QC
5 26VT John Donahue Graniteville, VT
6 15VT Joey Laquerre East Montpelier, VT
7 55NH Brad Leighton Center Harbor, NH
8 37VT Brian Hoar Williston, VT
9 35CT Bruce Thomas Groton, CT
10 97NH Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. Hudson, NH
11 11RI Ryan Vanasse Warwick, RI
12 48QC Karl Allard St-Felicien, QC
13 71ON Dan McHattie Cavan, ON
14 94ME Shawn Martin Turner, ME
15 21QC Jean-François Déry Quebec, QC
16 89VT Scott Payea Milton, VT
17 11VT Jean-Paul Cyr Milton, VT
18 14ON Sean Kennedy Dunrobin, ON
19 55VT Brent Dragon Milton, VT
20 02NH Randy Potter Groveton, NH
21 40VT Eric Chase Burlington, VT
22 80QC Donald Theetge Boischatel, QC
23 44VT David Pembroke Montpelier, VT
24 18VT Jamie Fisher Shelburne, VT
25 14VT Phil Scott Montpelier, VT
26 27MA Wayne Helliwell Jr. Dracut, MA
27 6VT Cris Michaud Northfield, VT
28 51ME Ricky Rolfe Albany Twnshp, ME
29 83VT Stacy Cahoon St. Johnsbury, VT
30 8NH Guy Caron Lempster, NH
31 73ME #Joe Doiron Berwick, ME
32 03ME Travis Adams Canton, ME
33 10NH Ben Rowe Turner, ME
34 60NH TJ Watson Cundys Harbor, ME
35 7ME Glen Luce Turner, ME
36 47CT Tim Jordan Plainfield, CT
by Jay | Sep 19, 2009 | ACT, NASCAR, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
1. Bruce Thomas, Jr.
2. Joey Doiron
3. Brandon Watson
4. Timmy Jordan
5. Joey Laquerre
6. Randy Potter
7. Shawn Martin
8. Nick Sweet
9. Sean Kennedy
10. Ryan Vanasse
11. Jean-Francois Dery
12. Karl Allard
13. Donald Theetge
14. Brian Hoar
15. Ben Rowe
16. Dave Pembroke
17. Joey Polewarczyk, Jr.
18. Patrick Laperle
19. Eddie MacDonald
20. Brent Dragon
21. John Donahue
22. Brad Leighton
23. Scott Payea
24. Phil Scott
25. Jean-Paul Cyr
26. Wayne Helliwell, Jr.
27. Dan McHattie
28. Glen Luce
29. Stacy Cahoon
30. Travis Adams
31. Guy Caron
32. T.J. Watson
33. Eric Chase
34. Jamie Fisher
35. Ricky Rolfe
36. Cris Michaud
by Jay | Sep 18, 2009 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
MacDonald Back In Victory Lane
Third win in last four races at Loudon
Jason Cunningham, NASCAR
September 18, 2009 – 6:25pm
LOUDON, N.H. – Eddie MacDonald closed the gap on NASCAR Camping World Series East points leader Ryan Truex Friday night at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a win in the Heluva Good! Fall 125.
MacDonald beat Kevin Swindell to the line on a Lap 92 restart and kept the lead when Swindell faltered on a Lap 97 green-white-checker restart to win the rain-delayed and darkness-shortened race in Loudon.
MacDonald, driver of the No. 71 NEMO/Daymark Chevrolet from Rowley, Mass., entered Friday trailing Truex by 50 points in the season standings. By virtue of winning the race and leading a lap, MacDonald was able to gain 20 points on Truex – who finished third – with just one race remaining to decide the championship.
MacDonald also earned a secure spot in the postseason NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to be run Jan. 30, 2010 at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).
Brett Moffitt wound up second Friday and was followed across the line by Truex, Matt Kobyluck, and Jesus Hernandez. Kobyluck led a race-high 38 laps but lost the lead to Swindell on the Lap 82 restart.
The rest of the top 10 finishers were Jody Lavender, Alan Tardiff, Steve Park, Max Gresham and Swindell.
The race was originally scheduled for 125 laps, but the start was delayed by 40 minutes due to rain and the race was shortened to 99 laps by darkness.
The finale of the 2009 season and the crowning of a champion will take place on Friday, Sept. 25 with the Sunoco 150 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
by Jay | Sep 18, 2009 | ACT, NASCAR, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
Waterbury, VT – This weekend’s American Canadian Tour (ACT) Invitational at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) will seem like a homecoming of sorts to several of the drivers who race with the ACT. Former NASCAR driver Brian Hoar from Williston, VT is a past NHMS Track Champion. Hoar is currently leading the 2009 ACT Championship point battle and looking for his 6th overall ACT title. Brad Leighton is the most prolific winner in NHMS history, with eight (8) wins to his credit. Part-time ACT racer Eddie MacDonald from Rowley, MA won both Camping World East events held at the Speedway in 2008. MacDonald is in a point race with Ryan Truex for the NASCAR Camping World East title and will be entering both races at New Hampshire this weekend.
When asked how he felt about heading to the Invitational, former King of the Road title holder and recent winner of the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road, Dave Pembroke, of Montpelier, VT said, “I am a little concerned that those guys will try and pay me back!”
Pembroke won the 200-lap event a couple of weeks ago. He not only won the event, but he led all 200 laps and nearly put the entire field of 30 starters down a lap in the process. The race went 181 green flag laps before the one and only caution on lap 182. This was accomplished on what is regarded as one of the toughest quarter mile racetracks in America. “Seriously, I am really excited about going back to New Hampshire. I don’t have any great expectations, I am just happy to get the invitation to compete at that beautiful place. I kind of wish I was in Phil’s car instead of my own. (Pembroke took part in a two-day Goodyear tire test in April in the car of Montpelier, Vt’s Senator Phil Scott. On the second day of testing Scott was called back to the Senate for a critical vote and asked Pembroke to substitute for him). It certainly performed better at Loudon than mine did when we were testing in August, but we have worked since Labor Day to get it ready, so we will hope for the best”, concluded Pembroke.
The home track advantage might be somewhat neutralized when the draw for starting spots is concluded around 12:30 on Saturday, September 19th following the drivers meeting. “We have been working on a handicap system that reflects what is good about short track racing. We won’t have an opportunity to qualify by heats or time trials, due to some time constraints, so we have created a fair system to try and give our teams a good racing experience, and also to give our fans the best show possible”, said Nick Bigelow, the ACT Chief Handicapper. The system that has been created for the first ACT Invitational will have all thirty-six teams draw for positions, but the draw has been broken into three parts, and the final line-up will reflect what officials believe will be both competitive and safe for the race teams.
The inaugural ACT Invitational will be comprised of teams from all 6 New England states and the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Vermont will send the largest contingent of teams with 12, followed by Maine with 7 entrants, and then Quebec and New Hampshire with 4 each.
The $65,000 ACT Invitational will be part of the biggest one day of racing in New England. The ACT race will follow the popular NASCAR Whelen Modified Series 100 and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 200. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling NHMS or by visiting their site at www.nhms.com. Post time at NHMS on Saturday, September 19th is 1:00pm. The ACT Invitational is scheduled to post at 5:30pm.
