This weekend, Star Speedway in Epping, New Hampshire is hosting their annual “Star Classic” weekend, which includes 3 full days of jam-packed racing action. It all kicked off on Friday, with a night full of racing headlined by the Granite State Pro Stock Series.
The GSPSS events typically kick off with time trials to determine the heat race lineups. Weather delayed the start of events on Friday night, so the series directors elected to axe time trials and roll with 3 heat races to determine the starting lineup for the 100 lap feature.
Ryan Green took off with the early lead in the first 12 lap qualifying heat, but his friend, Joey Doiron, was quick to take over. Bryan Kruczek was also on the move early, advancing to third over Jake Dore on lap 5.
Doiron cruised to the finish line, picking up the heat victory. Ryan Green and Bryan Kruczek rounded out the top 3.
Casey Call powered into the early lead in the second qualifying heat. Trouble was brewing early as Adam Gray spun on lap 2 in turn 3, collecting Bobby Baillargeon. The incident resulted in a yellow flag and both drivers were sent to the tail of the field for causing the caution.
Casey Call powered away with the lead once again on the restart. Ryan Kuhn was climbing to the top of the leaderboard, advancing into the runner-up spot over Josh King on lap 4.
Bobby Baillargeon took another spin on lap 5 in turn 1, resulting in a mid-race caution. Joey Call went hard off-track in turn 3 on the restart, bailing to the pit area in order to avoid plowing into the wall.
Casey Call held off his competitors to the finish line, scoring the heat victory. Ryan Kuhn and Josh King rounded out the top 3.
Gabe Brown took off with the early lead over Rusty Poland in the third and final qualifying heat.
Evan Beaulieu and Nick Hinkley ignited a battle for third in the early laps of the heat, with Beaulieu pulling ahead with the advantage on lap 4 as 2021 Beech Ridge NASCAR champion, Dave Oliver, followed in succession.
Gabe Brown held strong through the finish, collecting the heat victory as Rusty Poland and Evan Beaulieu rounded out the top 3.
The top 3 drivers from each heat redrew for starting positions in the feature, leaving Evan Beaulieu and Ryan Green on the front row for the 100 lap main event. 23 drivers took the green flag for the feature.
Beaulieu pulled away with the early lead in the feature. Bryan Kruczek was on the move early, advancing to third over Joey Doiron on lap 4. He made his way to Ryan Green’s inside door the following lap, challenging for the runner-up spot. The two drivers battled it out for a few laps before Kruczek pulled ahead with the advantage on lap 7.
Joey Doiron pasted himself to Ryan Green’s door on lap 10, igniting a battle for third. He took over the following lap as Ryan Kuhn followed in succession. Trouble was on the horizon as Bobby Pelland took a spin on lap 17, resulting in a caution.
Bryan Kruczek powered into the lead on the restart as Joey Doiron stole the runner-up spot away from Evan Beaulieu. Gabe Brown followed in his footsteps, advancing to third over Beaulieu before stealing the runner-up spot away from Doiron on lap 25.
While battling for position, Corey Bubar and Bobby Cabral collided on lap 32, resulting in Bubar taking a spin in turn 4. The incident resulted in another caution.
Gabe Brown took over the lead on the restart as Joey Doiron powered into the runner-up spot over Bryan Kruczek.
Bobby Pelland and Bobby Baillargeon collided on lap 41 in turn 2, which was just the beginning of a handful of cautions. Drivers caught in the melee that ensued included Joey Kendall (who ended up in the turn 1 trees), Tyler Tomassi, Randy Cole, Charlie Buxton and Ryan Green.
Once the dust finally settled, Gabe Brown took off with the lead once again and began pulling away from his competitors.
Adam Gray took a spin on lap 59 in turn 4. He sat in the infield following the spin, resulting in another caution and a 1 lap penalty for drawing out the caution.
Gave Brown pulled away on the restart as Joey Doiron and Bryan Kruczek reignited their battle for the runner-up spot. Doiron held strong, pulling ahead with the advantage on lap 62.
Gabe Brown was setting a blistering pace at the front of the pack and began approaching lap traffic on lap 72. He began picking his competitors off, one by one, until he was met by devastation on lap 96. With just 4 laps to go, Brown’s RF tire blew coming into turn 3, resulting in a late race caution and heartbreak for the #50 team as he was forced to pit under yellow.
Joey Doiron took off with the lead on the restart, but trouble was brewing further on back in the field.
While battling for position on lap 96, Casey Call and Rusty Poland made hard contact on the front stretch, resulting in Poland going up and over Call’s hood. Jake Dore was left with nowhere to go, ultimately sending him hard into the turn 4 wall. Luckily, all drivers were okay following the impact. But, the incident resulted in some heavy tensions and battered racecars.
Joey Doiron held his ground on the restart, but the carnage continued. Ryan Kuhn took a spin on the restart, collecting both Bobby Cabral and Tyler Tomassi.
Doiron kept his end goal in sight in the closing laps of the race, ultimately picking up the victory and the $2,000 payout to the race winner.
Bryan Kruczek, Evan Beaulieu (GREAT job by the #56 team!), Luke Hinkley and Devin O’Connell rounded out the top five.
Top 10 results:
- Joey Doiron
- Bryan Kruczek
- Evan Beaulieu
- Luke Hinkley
- Devin O’Connell
- Ryan Kuhn
- Gabe Brown
- Dave Oliver
- Josh King
- Bobby Pelland
The Granite State Pro Stock Series always puts on a great, well organized show and I am grateful for everything they do for short track racing here in New England.
Another big thank you goes out to Bobby Webber, Jr. and his family, who run Star Speedway. They welcomed both myself and many other Beech Ridge Motor Speedway competitors and staff into their facility last night and it was more than appreciated. We are truly one big racing family and will get through this together.
You can catch the next Granite State Pro Stock Series event on Sunday, October 3rd at Lee USA Speedway. I hope to see you there!
Continue chasing the checkered and support your local short tracks. It’s more imperative now than ever before.
Cover photo credit goes to the talented Rob Branning, GSPSS photographer.
