Monadnock Speedway Season Opener a Success
Winchester, NH: This past Saturday, Monadnock Speedway received the green light from the State of New Hampshire to host the 2020 Season Opener. The race teams and fans were excited to finally get back to the track at the high banked ¼ mile.
First feature of the night was the Pure Stocks as Mike Douglas (Northfield, Ma) was the early leader. Bruce Clark (Greenfield, Ma) was all over the back bumper of the Douglas machine as Sammy Silva (Alstead, NH) ran third. Lap 17, a caution flew for Reagan Buffum (Surry, NH) for an overheating issue. On the restart, Douglas and Clark ran side by side as Douglas regained the lead. On the last lap, Clark went to the inside of Douglas coming out of turn four and at the line, it was Clark for the win followed by Douglas, Silva, Damon Roy (Claremont, NH), JD Stockwell (Turners Falls, Ma). In a post race inspection, Clark was disqualified for a rules infraction with the win being rewarded to Douglas.
Mini Stocks came rolling off the track with some competitors not able to make the feature event due to various hard wrecks during the qualifier. Kevin Clayton (Fitzwilliam, NH) led the field early. Gordon Farnum (Fitzwilliam, NH) ran a close second with Tim Leblanc (Hinsdale, NH) in third. By lap six, Leblanc moved into second and began to challenge Clayton for the lead. Two laps later, Leblanc spun Clayton out of the lead as the caution flew and Leblanc was sent to the rear. Farnum led the field to the restart as Nathan Wenzel (Granby, Ma) and Shelby Avery (Bernardston, Ma) battled for third. Farnum began to cruise away from the rest of the field, Avery looked to the inside of Wenzel for the pass but was denied. At the checkers, it was Farnum followed by Wenzel, Avery, Doug Curry (Norwich, CT) and Leblanc.
Rookie Tim Wenzel (Holyoke, Ma) set the pace for the Street Stock feature event. Chris Curtis (Rutland, MA) moved into the lead early as Wenzel attempted to hold off Hillary Renaud (Vernon, CT). Few laps later, Jaret Curtis (Rutland, MA) was knocking on the back bumper of Renaud for third. At the half way mark, Chris Curtis pulled away from the field as Jaret Curtis almost made it three wide for second but backed off as Wenzel remained in second. Lap twenty-two, the caution flew for a flat on Chris Riendeau’s race machine. On the restart, Chris Curtis held the lead as Jaret Curtis moved into second with Jimmy Renfrew (Candia, NH) glued to his back bumper. Final lap, Chris Curtis took down the victory followed by his son Jared Curtis, Jimmy Renfrew, Chris Buffone and Tim Wenzel.
It was a battle from the past for the Late Model Sportsman feature event as Tyler Lescord (Claremont, NH), Aaron Fellows (Croydon, NH) and Adam Gray (Granby, Ma) battled it out for the lead. Gray quickly took the lead but felt pressure from Fellows who ran second. Robert Hagar ( Windsor, VT) worked on the back bumper of Lescord for third. Lap 10, a caution flew for Camdyn Curtis who hit the front stretch wall. On the restart, Fellows took over the lead. Lap 17, another caution flew for Bill Johnston. On the restart, Fellows continued to lead as Gray and Hagar ran side by side for second. Hagar made the pass as Fellows gained a good lead from the rest of the pack. At the wave of the checkered flag, it was Fellows followed by Hagar, Gray, Justin Littlewood (Athol, Ma) and Lescord.
The NHSTRA Modifieds took the track for the final NASCAR Advanced Auto Parts weekly division of the night. Matt Kimball (Bennington, NH) took the early lead followed by Ben Byrne (Deerfield, Ma) and Brian Robie (Sunapee, NH). An early caution came out for Brad Zahensky in the back stretch wall. The field was able to get in one more lap until the caution flew again for rookie Solomon Brow. On the restart, Kimball continued to lead followed by Robie. Byrne and Trevor Bleau (Troy, NH) battled for third. On lap 13, Kimball was shuffled back to sixth place as Robie took the lead. Lap 16, the caution flew for Kimball who suffered a flat tire. On the restart, the field attempted to complete a lap until Brian Chapin spun in turn four causing multiple cars to head into the pits for repair. On the restart, Robie led the field followed by Byrne, Bleau, Scott MacMichael (Newport, NH) and Todd Patnode (Swanzey, NH). Lap 25, Byrne moved into the inside of Robie and took the lead. On lap 37, the caution was out again as JT Cloutier, who suffered earlier damage from the Chapin spin, spun to the infield. On the restart, the caution flew again for Brow as he headed to pit row. The final restart was single file and on the final lap it was Byrne followed by Robie, Bleau, Kimball and Patnode. In a post race inspection, Byrne was disqualified with first place being awarded to Robie.
This Saturday, racing will return to the high banks of Monadnock Speedway featuring all the weekly divisions. Race Time is at 6PM.