The Granite State Pro Stock Series returned to Lee USA Speedway on Friday night with the Seacoast 100.
Ray Christian, III and Jake Dore started on the front row for the first qualifying heat. As Ray Christian took off with the early lead, Dore briefly fell back to third. He made his way back into the runner-up spot on lap 11, making his way around the #12 of Corey Bubar. Ray Christian sailed off with the first heat victory, followed by Dore.
Dennis Spencer pulled away with the early lead in the second qualifying heat, but trouble was on the horizon. The #16 of Tommy O’Sullivan took a spin on the initial start, collecting the #32 of Steven Murphy. The incident led to the first caution of the night.
As Spencer took off again on the restart, Bryan Kruczek was on the move behind him. Kruczek challenged Nick Lascoula for the runner-up spot on lap 6, advancing his position the following lap. Lascoula made his way back to Kruczek’s inside on lap 9, but Kruczek was able to hold him off. Dennis Spencer ran off with the heat victory, followed by Kruczek.
Joey Doiron made his way into the early lead in the third (and final) qualifying heat as Joe Squeglia powered up to third behind him. By lap 8, there was a 3-car breakaway at the front of the pack as the leaders began to pull away. Jeremy Davis was on the move in the late stage of the head, advancing to fourth on lap 8. Joey Doiron took home the heat victory, followed by Devin O’Connell and Joe Squeglia.
In addition to hosting the Granite State Pro Stock Series, Lee USA Speedway still featured 4 of their weekly racing divisions on Friday night.
Tyler Mailhot advanced to the early lead in the 20-lap Pure Stocks feature. After winning his heat, Robert Carleton made his way around Mailhot for the lead on lap 4. By lap 16, the leaders had caught the tail end of the field and began lapping cars. Mailhot and Carleton were side-by-side to the finish, with Carleton beating Mailhot to the line. Jacob Michaud, Craig Carlson and Jessica Michaud rounded out the top five.
A.J. Panessiti pulled away with the early lead in the 25-lap Street Stocks feature, but Boe Green was all over him by lap 2. The #64 of Torrey Kovalesky slowed on lap 2, retiring to the pits.
Last week’s Street Stock winner, Alby Ovitt, made his way to the outside of Green for the runner-up spot on lap 5, advancing into the position the following lap. Ovitt was all over Panessiti for the lead by lap 10, making his way to the inside of the #00 car on lap 12 for the lead. Panessiti fell back to fourth on lap 15, later retiring to the pits on lap 18.
The #79 of Patrick Tanguay faced mechanical issues on lap 19, pulling to the pits. This left only three drivers on the track. Alby Ovitt took home his second consecutive victory, followed by Boe Green and Travis Hollins.
The #14 of Mike Farrington made his way into the early lead in the 25-lap Ironmen feature. Lewis “Dirty Lew” Anderson was on the move early, breaking into the fourth spot on lap 4. Mike Ramsey later made his way around Anderson, stealing the spot away from him on lap 5. By lap 12, the two leaders were checked out at the front of the pack.
The #90 of Brian Destefano made his way into the lead by mid-race, leading by half a straightaway on lap 20. Destefano took home the victory, followed by Mike Farrington, Adam Knowles, Christin Destefano and Jamie Holland.
The Late Model Sportsmen division had a 50-lap race after their 100 lap feature last week. After winning his heat earlier in the night, the #01 of Bill Helliwell pulled away with the early lead. The #02 of Dylan Bilodeau took a spin on lap 5 in turn 4, leading to the first caution of the feature.
The #07 of George Helliwell pulled away with the lead on the restart. But, Bryan Kruczek was on the move, cutting the field in half by lap 12 as he advanced to the seventh position. By lap 20, Kruczek had advanced into the top five. Frankie Eldredge made his way around Bill Helliwell for second on lap 21, later powering into the lead on lap 25.
The #02 of Dylan Bilodeau began smoking around lap 25, leaving a trail of fluid on the track as the #21 of Zach Nicholson went around on lap 31 in turn 2. Bilodeau made his way into the pits under caution, retiring his car for the night.
The #02 of Geoff Rollins took a spin on the restart, resulting in another caution. The #07 of George Helliwell made his way back into the lead on the restart, with Bryan Kruczek powering his way back into the top 3 on lap 35. The #53 of Tyler Fiscus took a spin on the front stretch on lap 36, leading to a late-race caution.
Frankie Eldredge made his way back into the lead on the restart. The #99 of Kris Miller pulled into the pits on lap 42, ending his night prematurely. Frankie Eldredge was able to hold off Bryan Kruczek, cruising into the victory, followed by Bill Helliwell. James Russell and George Helliwell put up a great fight to the finish, with Russell beating Helliwell to the line for fourth.
Ray Christian, III took off with the early lead in the Seacoast 100 as Jake Dore quickly made his way into the runner-up spot. The #72 of Scott MacMichael took a hard hit in turn 4 on lap 4, leading to the first caution of the feature.
Corey Bubar was on the move after the caution, moving into the fourth spot on lap 8. Josh King and Barry Gray made contact on lap 10 on the backstretch, leading to Gray taking a spin. This led to the second caution of the feature.
Joey Doiron made his way into the lead on the restart, but there was trouble brewing behind him. There was a big pile-up on the backstretch on lap 15. Drivers involved in the incident included Tommy O’Sullivan, Steven Murphy, Corey Bubar, Bryan Kruczek and others.
Drivers were 3-wide for the runner-up spot on the restart, with Jake Dore taking over the spot once again. The #21 of Josh King took a spin on the restart after making contact with the #7 of Cory Casagrande, leading to yet another caution.
After winning his heat, Dennis Spencer faced trouble on the restart as he came to a stop on the track, leading to another caution. Spencer was back on track before the green flag waved once again.
Jeremy Davis broke the top 5 on lap 19. Joe Squeglia was also on the move, making his way to the inside of Jake Dore for the runner-up spot on lap 32. By lap 39, the leaders had caught the tail-end of the field and began putting cars a lap down.
The #00 of Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. lost his rear end shortly after, spilling fluid onto the track. After leading a good portion of the race, Joey Doiron slid in the fluid from Renfrew’s car, sending him hard into the turn 2 wall. The #72 of Scott MacMichael was also caught up in the wreckage. The incident left extensive body damage on the right side of the #73 machine, ending Doiron’s night early.
After the initial restart was waved off, Joe Squeglia took the lead over Jake Dore. The #51 of Jeremy Haclerode made his way to the inside of Dore for the third spot on lap 65, completing the pass just two laps later. Jeremy Davis was still inching his way toward the front of the field, making his way around Dore for fourth on lap 70 as Dore briefly scraped the turn 2 wall.
By lap 85, Squeglia had extended his lead to 1/2 a straightaway over the #51 of Haclerode. Squeglia sailed into the victory, returning to Victory Lane at Lee USA Speedway. Jeremy Haclerode, Devin O’Connell, Jeremy Davis and Cory Casagrande followed, rounding out the top five.
Lee USA Speedway and the Granite State Pro Stock Series put on one heck of a show on Friday night, providing a great night of racing for fans at the speedway.
The Granite State Pro Stock Series will roll on next Sunday, July 15th, at Hudson Speedway. The Gate City Classic 100-lapper will have a $2,000 purse going to the race winner.
Get out there and support your local short track!
We hope to see you soon!
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