LOUDON, N.H. – A wild finish featuring a mind-blowing 20 lead changes in the last 20 laps, Bobby Santos III found a way to keep points leader Justin Bonsignore in his rearview mirror for the last few turns to earn a hard-fought checkered flag at the Musket 200 presented by Whelen Saturday afternoon during the third annual Full Throttle Fall Weekend, earning his sixth win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Wayne Helliwell Jr. won the ACT 75 while Shaun Buffington won both Granite State Legends Cars events.
Santos hung back in the pack until lap 167 when he slingshot around a trio of frontrunners going into turn three and pulled a similar move a few turns later to take the lead, setting up a thrilling string of lead changes with Bonsignore. The two traded the lead 20 times over 20 laps; Bonsignore dominating turn three and Santos showing how to pass going into turn one. Over and over they traded places, with Ron Silk briefly nudging his way into second, with four laps remaining. Bonsignore took the spot back, but not before Santos took advantage and drove just far enough away from the other leaders to keep from being caught before the checkered flag waved.
Williams, Donahue Take Caron Fabrication Twin 100s at White Mountain
N. Woodstock, NH — Ellington, CT’s Ronnie Williams and Graniteville, VT’s Stephen Donahue were both standing tall after 100 laps of action at N. Woodstock, NH’s White Mountain Motorsports Park on Saturday, September 5. Williams won the Honor to Essential Workers 100 for the Modified Racing Series (MRS) while Donahue captured the Leaf Peepers 100 for the Foley Oil & Propane Late Models on Caron Fabrication Night.
Williams earned his first career MRS victory in the first series visit to White Mountain since 2005. Despite a lower car count than what series officials were expecting, the action was hot and heavy for the ground-pounders. West Swanzey, NH’s Kirk Alexander, the winner of the last MRS event at the track, grabbed the early lead off the outside pole. Alexander easily paced the field for the first half of the event while Williams and Bellingham, MA’s Woody Pitkat worked their way through the field.
Griffith Dominates 10K to win GSPSS Newport Chevrolet 150
The Granite State Pro Stock Series held its biggest event ever on Sunday and Derek Griffith dominated the day.
It was a picture perfect day for racing in southern New Hampshire as the gates swung open for an incredible day of racing at Claremont Motorsports Park. The highlight of the day would be the presentation of the $10,000 check to the races winner but qualifying and 150 laps of intense racing had to take place first.
As the Crazy Horse Racing fast time challenge played out, two things became apparent. First; Derek Griffith was going to be a force to be reckoned with and second; point leader Ray Christian III was in trouble.
ACT Stars Aim to Outmuscle Thunder Road Locals at Labor Day Classic
American Canadian Tour
Waterbury, VT — The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) continues its torrid late-summer stretch this Sunday, September 6 at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road. The 42nd Optical Expressions Berlin Labor Day Classic begins the final stretch of the quest to crown the 29th ACT Late Model Tour Champion.
Sunday’s event is the 75th time the ACT Tour will hold a point-counting event at Thunder Road. This makes it the most frequently-visited track for the series by far. As such, it always plays a pivotal role in deciding the championship. The Labor Day Classic is part of the schedule for the 14th time and presents a unique challenge for top runners such as Jimmy Hebert, D.J. Shaw, Ryan Kuhn, Bryan Kruczek, and Dylan Payea.
MRS Makes Long-Awaited Return to White Mountain This Saturday
N. Woodstock, NH — For the first time in 15 years, the thunder of the Modified Racing Series (MRS) is coming to White Mountain Motorsports Park. The long-running New England–based Modified tour arrives in N. Woodstock, NH this Saturday, September 5 at 6:00pm for the Honor to Essential Workers 100 as part of a holiday extravaganza presented by Caron Fabrication.
MRS officials are expecting a field of more than 25 cars for the long-awaited event. With household names such as Anthony Nocella, Woody Pitkat, Todd Owen, Richard Savary, and Ronnie Williams expected in attendance, it will be a big Labor Day Saturday whether fans are watching in the beautiful North Country or from the comfort of home on the Northeast Sports Network.
Granite State Pro Stock Series to contest 10k to win Granite State Nationals
The Granite State Pro Stock Series will contest its highest paying event in series history on Labor Day Sunday at Claremont Motorsports Park. The winner of the Newport Chevrolet 150 will take home a cool ten thousand dollars for his efforts and the payout has been increased throughout the field.
“We have been working towards having a signature event for several years now and hope that this can become just that”, stated series president Mike Parks. “With the success of this race the last two years, we felt like it was the time to really step it up another notch”.
Ray Christian III comes into this event as the series point leader with a twenty six point advantage over Joey Polewarczyk in the series standings. Both drivers look forward to the challenge of managing the desire to take home the winner’s check vs the need to points race with a goal of winning the series championship.
