Claremont: Opening Night Under the NWRS Sanction Saw Excitement
Peter Daniels Grabs First-Ever NWRS Feature Win At Claremont
CLAREMONT NH: Saturday night ushered in a new millennium for the 54-year-old Claremont Speedway Facility. At 6:30 PM Tony Cullan dropped the green flag on a field of oncoming race cars in the First ever NASCAR Weekly Racing Series sanctioned event at the 1/3rd mile racing facility.
More than 100 cars were on hand for the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series event providing action that got hotter as the evening got colder. Seventeen cars qualified for the Modified event coming from New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Dwight Jarvis in the #28 machine took off for an early lead but Peter Daniels, last year’s track champion, drove from 12th starting position to take the lead by mid-race. Mountain Man Kirby Montieth in the bright yellow #84 was able to stay near the front from the start filling the third spot while Todd Patnode in the #24 finished 4th. Newcomer Gene McClain occupied the 5th spot working up from a 10th place on the starting grid.
The action in the Pro Stock division was hot and heavy with Walt Hammond #97 being retired for the evening after Mike Brosseau’s unexpected slide up onto the backstretch beach. Meanwhile, Pete Jarvis in the #41 machine was making his way from 9th to the front of the pack getting by pole-sitter Bucky Demers for the lead. Jarod Robie in the #29 dogged the leaders by could not improve on his 3rd place at the stripe. Scott Jeno, a newcomer to the track, was involved in a melee on the front straight that sent him to the trailer with a heavily damaged racer. Barry Messer in the #20 and Wally Brown rounded out the top five. There is no defending champion in Pro Stocks as Peter Daniels is concentrating his time in the seat of the #76 Mod.
The same competitiveness that drove the late Models last year is back. Last year there was no repeat winner in the Excide ShorTrack Series division until after the mid-season break, and even then there were only three multiple winners. Jamie Lanou won the division title without winning a race, by just being consistently in the top five. This year could be a repeat performance as the track action was hot and furious. Rocky Branch stepped into the lead early on and held off charges from Lanou in the #35 and Robert Hagars #91 for the win. Steve Bly in the #0, Dan Stebbins from Montague MA. driving #5 and Newport NH Aaron Fellows rounded out the top five.
The Accel Street Stock division saw defending champion Ed LaQuire retire to the trailer after getting into a multi-car pile-up and slamming the wall in his heat. With Laquire off the track, it was Randy Town who put the hammer down and took off from the pole, and walked away from the pack. Town, who came on strong at the end of last season has found the handle and power. The battle on the track was for second and third with Scott Ovitt in the #97 and Cass’s #32 providing door handle-to-door handle action. Nick Taylor in the #09 and Gregg Bensons 2x filled the remainder of the top five.
Sally Lambert took the seat of the #94 mini stock leaving husband and last year’s Mini Stock champion to crew chief. However, after one night of racing, she decided that being crew chief was the best place for her. Husband Rick will be at the wheel of the Gray Ghost this coming week. But he will have his hands full and his rearview mirror full of Charlie “Wheels” Wheeler’s #72 if this week was any indication of things to come. Wheeler, Bill Clark in the #96, and the #12 of Chris Gilbert took off in a nose-to-tail three-car train early on in the main event leaving the rest of the field a good 10 car lengths behind. Brian Henry in the #18 and John Ross’s #35 made up the rest of the top five as Wheels took the event.
Claremont Speedway races every Saturday night through September with the green flag dropping at 6:30 PM. Five full divisions will run each night and there are special events planned throughout the season. May 6th will see the cars take the track on NAPA Night At The races. In addition, the Ron Hornaday Simulator will be on hand. Gates open at 4:00 PM and admission is still only $10.00 for NASCAR Weekly Racing Series action. For more information check Claremont Speedway’s website at www.claremontspeedway.com or call the track office at 603-543-3160 for more information.
TOP TEN MODIFIED 1 #76 Peter Daniels 2 #28 Dwight Jarvis 3 #84 Kirby Montieth 4 #24 Todd Patnode 5 #27 Eugene McClain 6 #71ME Mike Brosseau 7 # 56 Steve Corbell 8 #9NH Dennis Albro9 #66 Michael Ordway 10 #61S John Scarborough
TOP TEN PRO STOCK 1 #41 Peter Jarvis 2 #26 Bucky Demers 3 #29 Jarod Robie 4 #20 Barry Messer 5 #04 Wally Brown 6 #71 Robert Williams 7 #67 Donnie Lashua 8 #1 Mike Brosseau 9 #9 Dan Desmaris 10 #11 Bryon Baker
TOP TEN LATE MODEL 1 #51 Rocky Branch 2 #35 Jamie Lanou 3 #91 Robert Hagar 4 #0 Steven Bly 5 #5 Daniel Stebbins 6 #29 Aaron Fellows 7 #2 Kevin Lescord 8 #24 Everett Bingham 9 #6 Joe lanou10 #99 Jeff Morse
TOP TEN STREET STOCK 1 #15 Randy Town 2 #97 Scott Ovitt 3 #32 Travis Cass 4 #09 Nick Taylor 5 #2X Greg Benson6 #3 Greg Sargent 7 #10 Doug Marsh 8 #34 Scott Chute 9 #38 Rod Dorr Jr. 10 #17 David Anthony
TOP TEN MINI STOCK 1 #72 Charlie Wheeler 2 #96 Bill Clark 3 #12 Chris Gilbert 4 #18 Brian Henry 5 #36 John Ross Jr. 6 #73 Joe Tetreault 7 #29 Fred Rogers 8 #22 April May Gelineau 9 #8 Kevin Ferland 10 #30 Greg Picz
Sources: ClaremontSpeedway.com