WINCHESTER, NH - Ron Silk was an unstoppable force Saturday night at Monadnock Speedway.
The 43-year-old Nutmeg State super star dominated the night’s Racing Guys’ Racers Honoring Veterans Northeast Summer Showdown 100-lap main event to pocket the $7,600 winner’s purse in round two of the speedway’s 2026 trio of Open Modified 100-lappers. On fire, Silk turned sub-12 second laps all night long en route to the big Independence Day pay day.
The two-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Series champion led the last 18 laps of Saturday’s Northeast Summer Shootout main event.
Other winners Saturday as the storied oval celebrated the nation’s 250th birthday, included red hot JD Stockwell, who roared to his sixth win of the summer in the Limited Late Models, Craig Chaffee, a first time winner in the Mini Stocks, and super soph Kyle Begos, who outran a stellar field to notch his first 2026 victory in the Pure Stocks.
Young Gun Dylan Stati soared to victory in the youth division 15-lapper, again winning with ease to earn his track-high eighth 2026 victory lap. Saturday’s score was also his eighth in a row.
A redraw of the Open Modified qualifiers put Ryan Doucette and Brett Meservey on row one of the 21-car Summer Shootout field. Meservey pounced quickly on the top spot, leading Doucette by half a length as lap one went into the books. Enjoying the fresh air up front, Meservey would lead the first 39 laps, with Silk breathing down his neck since lap five.
And then the fastest car in the field took over, with Silk holding the top spot until a lap-65 caution sent many of the top cars, including Silk, Brian Robie and Kyle Bonsignore pitside for fresh rubber. Matt Kimball, the winner of this event a summer ago, chose to stay out, inheriting his first lead of the night.
Silk, though, riding a rocketship, returned to the track and immediately set sail to reclaim what he thought was rightfully his. Slicing back through the field like a hot knife through butter, he passed Kimball on lap 82 and sped off into the night.
With Silk topping the field with ease, Kimball’s caution flag strategy paid off, bringing him home second. Robie, who’d won a rain-shortened Open Mod here a month ago, was strong in third, with Nate Wenzel and Doucette rounding out the top five.
A wealth of young talent and obviously the best car in his division was a winning combination for JD Stockwell again Saturday in the Twin State Truck Services Limited Late Models. The Bernardston. MA hot shoe held off Robert Hagar to win for the fourth week in a row and sixth time on the summer.
Hagar beat Erik Smith to the stripe to lead lap one of Saturday’s 30-lapper. Stockwell, up to second on lap six, low-lined to the front five circuits later and never looked back. With Hagar close behind in second, Wesley Stedt continued his march toward victory number one with a strong third-place run just ahead of Hillary Renaud.
Craig Chaffee scored his first victory in the Keene Towing and Recovery Mini Stocks Saturday. Powering past Eric Pomasko to take the lead on lap seven, the second generation Keene pilot sailed off into the night to win by ten lengths over Pomasko, who came up one position shy of his second 2026 win.
Tim Paquette, in the mix all night, came home third, with steady Pat Houle fourth, and Green Mountain Girl Andrea St. Amour fifth.
Michael Yeaton’s four-race unbeaten streak came to an end Saturday, and Kyle Begos used a last-lap blast to start a winning streak of his own in the Brattleboro Towing and Recovery Pure Stocks.
Markus O’Neil led every lap but the last two, as Begos rocketed low through turn four to lead lap 24 and then dash away to his first win of the summer. Rookie star Josh Brigham stole second at the finish line, with O’Neil in his shadow for third and Jimmy Zellman under the same blanket in fourth.
Yeaton wrestled a loose ride all night before finishing fifth. Brigham’s runner-up performance moved him to the top of the points parade, a blink ahead of Zellman.
Dylan Stati was in a class of his own again Saturday, blasting off to the eighth win of his rookie season in the youth division Doug’s Auto Body Young Guns. Maeve Barry finished second.
Monadnock Speedway will return to action next Saturday, July 11, with the exciting 604 Modifieds battling in twin 35-lap main events atop a full card of NASCAR Local Racing Series competition. Post time at the great race place is 6 p.m. every Saturday.
MONADNOCK SPEEDWAY SATURDAY, JULY 4, RESULTS:
OPEN MODIFIED: Ron Silk, Matt Kimball, Brian Robie, Nate Wenzel, Ryan Doucette, Joey Jarvis, Brett Meservey, Kyle Bonsignore, Tyler Leary, Jacob Perry, Steven Chapman,Eddie Gomarlo,Bradley Zahensky,Tyler Barry,Jacob Christman,Stewart McCormack,Nick Anglace,Cory Plummer,Trevor Bleau,Matt Lashua,Walter Sutcliffe
LIMITED LATE MODEL: JD Stockwell, Robert Hagar, Wesley Stedt, Hillary Renaud, Zach Zilinski, Daniel Petrowicz, Chris Lindquist, Owen Zilinski, David Boisvert, Erik Smith
MNI STOCK: Craig Chaffee, Eric Pomasko, Tim Paquette, Pat Houle, Andrea St. Amour, Kevin Clayton, Nadine Coates, Dana Shepard, Scott Grabowski, Scott Senn, Tim O’Shea
PURE STOCK: Kyle Begos, Josh Brigham, Markus O;Neil, Jimmy Zellman, Michael Yeaton, Dylan Zullo, Dominick Stafford, Henry Petrowicz, Ella Grabowski, Sophia Rego,Chris Quin,Linsey Wenzel,Maya Bell, (DNS), Thomas Lafayette, (DNS) Mike Radzuik