Barrett Wins Wild Canaan VMRS Race
Canaan, NH — Tommy Barrett Jr, of Millis, MA, started on the pole, swapped the lead twice with Richard Savary, of Canton, MA, then Chris Pasteryak, of Lisbon, CT., on lap 82,and went on to win the Valenti Modified Racing Series ‘Canaan 100’ Saturday night, July 13, at the Canaan (NH) Fair Speedway.
The win was Barrett’s 2nd of the season and his fifth VMRS victory. Barrett also becomes the first repeat winner this season.
Barrett is more accustomed to coming from the back of the field in most races, but not this one. He brought the field to green and dealt with Savary, Chris Pasteryak, and Charlie Pasteryak early on. The 18-year-old driver, who will enter Eastern Connecticut State University in September, just re-strategized.
“It was hot out there. A lot of cautions. I was trying to push it but not wear the tires out too much. I was swapping with the 99 and the 5. With 20 to go after that last restart (lap 82) it was time to go,” said Barrett.
For the second consecutive race, Chris Pasteryak finished runner-up. He led laps 64 through 82 and again ran strong. “Happy with the finish,” Pasteryak explained. “Had a good car all day. Dad finished fifth. The 9 car was just awesome. I thought maybe I had something for him. I wasn’t even close.”
Second year series driver Anthony Nocella, of Woburn, MA., drove a steady race, was fast, and finished a solid third. Nocella was happy with his finish and more importantly that he ran with the front-runners for a long period.
“It was a real good run for us. Everyone worked real hard. Definitely want to run with those guys up front and we did. Had something there at the end. It was a good run.”
Rob Goodenough, of Swanzey, NH., and Charlie Pasteryak rounded out the top five.
Savary, who led 42 of the first 50 laps, finished sixth, Louie Mechalides was seventh, Rowan Pennink, eighth, Todd Patnode, ninth, and Todd Owen, tenth.
The race was marred by several crashes including a late race re-start incident when Savary and Dana Smith, of Sunapee, NH, collided with Smith’s wheel catching Savary, sending Smith airborne and along the safety wall coming to a stop in the first turn. Steven Masse, of Bellingham, MA, was also involved suffering heavy damage to his racer.
The race was clocked at 1 hour and 18 minutes to complete.
A total of 10 yellow flags were needed throughout the 100-laps
27 race teams entered the event
Next up, the VMRS returns to Oxford (ME) Plains Speedway, Saturday night, July 20. Qualifying heats begin at 7:00 PM.
Race No. 6 of 17- Canaan Fair Speedway
Entrants: 27 (24 starters)
Distance: 100 laps
Time of Race: 1:18:49.968
Best Lap Time: 13.849 (99-Savary)
Lead Changes: 6 (among 3 drivers)
Lap Leaders: Barrett 1-2, Savary 3-19, Barrett 20-23, Savary 24-50,
Barrett 51- 63Chris Pasteryak 64-82 Barrett 83-100
Cautions: 10 cautions, on laps- 1,46,53,54,54,56,56,57,82,82
Heat Winners: Nocella, Barrett, Wrenn
Consi Winner: Patnode
Unofficial Order of Finish: (1) Barrett (2) Chris Pastertak (3) Nocella (4) Goodenough (5) Charlie Pasteryak (6) Richard Savary (7) Mechalides (8) Pennink (9) Patnode (10) Owen (11) Willis (12) Kopec (13) Wrenn (14) Zachem (15) Masse (16) Smith (17) Jarvis (18) Mead (19) Jordan (20) Schneider (21) Murray (22) Berube (23) Fifield (24) Holdridge
Sources: John Spence Sr./VMRS PR