The New England Short Track Showdown returned to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this past weekend. The annual event showcases local racing talent battling it out on the biggest stage in New England, creating quite a spectacle for both the drivers and the fans. Sunday did not disappoint and it featured 4 of the biggest touring divisions in the Northeast.
Among Sunday’s events were the North East Mini Stock Tour and the Street Stock Showdown Series, two divisions founded by tour Promoter Bob Guptill, who also founded the annual event.
29 Mini Stock teams/drivers showed up to compete on Sunday. The heat races were divided into 3 different fields, with Matthew Kimball, Justin King and defending race winner, Nick Maniatis, taking home heat race victories.
Nick Maniatis took off with the early lead in the 25-lap feature, pulling away from his competitors. Emerson Cayer was also on the move early, breaking the top five on lap 2. Cayer, Matthew Kimball and Devin Guy went 3-wide for fourth on lap 3. Matthew Kimball came away with the spot and quickly maneuvered up to third. Desmond Skillings, who put on a strong showing during the heat, fell back to sixth in the early laps of the feature.
After dominating the race, Nick Maniatis faced mechanical troubles on lap 9 and dived down to the pits, surrendering the lead to Matthew Kimball. Emerson Cayer was on the move mid-race, advancing into the runner-up spot over Matt Sonhalter on lap 11. Debris was reported in turn 1 on lap 12, leading to a mid-race caution.
Emerson Cayer powered into the lead on the restart, but Kimball was still right there, making his way to Cayer’s inside on lap 16. The two drivers made slight contact in turn 1 that lap, allowing Cayer to break free from Kimball for a lap before Kimball made another run to his inside on lap 18. Matt Boucher took a spin on lap 19 in turns 1/2, leading to a late-race caution.
Matthew Kimball powered into the lead once again on the restart, never looking back and taking home the North East Mini Stock Tour victory. Emerson Cayer, Devin Guy, Julia Raymond and Justin King rounded out the top five.
A wild 47 Street Stocks showed up to compete in Sunday’s Street Stock Showdown Series main event. It was announced on Sunday that all teams would be able compete in the 25-lap feature and 39 drivers wound up making it on-track for the big show. The division was divided into 3 different qualifying heats, with Corey Hutchings, Steve Landry and last year’s race winner, Alby Ovitt, picking up heat victories.
There was a spin at the rear of the field on the initial start of the 25-lap feature, leading to an early caution. This was followed by another pile-up involving Devon McConologue, Tucker Cole and Jordan Russell (among others) on lap 1 in turn 2, which led to another caution.
Corey Hutchings pulled away on the restart. After showing strength during the heat and the early laps of the feature, Travis Lovejoy slapped the turn 2 wall on lap 2, bringing the #79 down to the pits.
Connor McDougal was red-hot in the early laps of the feature, advancing to third over Alby Ovitt on lap 7. On Sunday, Connor was wheeling the #66, which is a throwback car dedicated to his dad, Steve McDougal. The car was wrapped by Connor himself, as he is the owner of Eleveight Design and even designed/wrapped some of the cars that he was competing against on Sunday.
Dave Cameron’s #28 blew up on lap 8 and he took a hard right into the turn 3 wall, an incident which also collected the #75 of Tucker Cole and led to red flag for extended cleanup efforts. Jim Nowakowski and Tucker Cole made hard contact at the start/finish line on lap 9, leading to yet another caution. After two extended cautions, the field was forced to take the restart single-file.
Alby Ovitt was all over Steve Landry for the runner-up spot on lap 13. Connor McDougal was still on the move, advancing into the top 4 once again on lap 14. Alby Ovitt powered into the runner-up spot on lap 15, but was hungry for more as he pulled to the inside of Hutchings for the lead on lap 16. He pulled a crossover move to Hutchings’ outside, completing the pass on the same lap.
Connor McDougal made his way to Steve Landry’s inside on lap 21, challenging him for third. He completed the pass that lap and moved onto Hutchings for the runner-up spot, completing the pass the following lap.
McDougal was closing in on Alby Ovitt in the closing laps but Ovitt was able to fend him off, taking home his second consecutive North East Short Track Showdown Victory. Corey Hutchings, Steve Landry and Bryce Mains rounded out the top five.
Sunday was not only a beautiful day for racing, but fans also got to see their local short track stars putting on a show at the Magic Mile. This event is like the Daytona 500 for some of these drivers and they sure put on a great show year after year. I look forward to attending this event for years to come!
Check out the next Street Stock Showdown Series event on Tuesday, July 30th at Star Speedway! I hope to see you there!
Thank you to my website sponsors, Texas Roadhouse Scarborough, Four Season Synthetic and Drown Excavation, for all of their support! It’s more than appreciated!
