Champions Crowned at Lee USA Speedway
Oktoberfest – Last Party Weekend Of The Season – October 11th Thru 13th
Lee, NH — This past Friday night Lee USA Speedway crowned its 2013 champions and recognized the season-long accomplishments of all its competitors. This past season has been one of the more competitive in years with near record number of feature winners in all divisions.
In the Bensons Lumber & Hardware Small Block Supermodified Division Tommy Tombarello successfully defended his title by a mere 7 points over Mike Netishen and 33 points over Sparky Maciver. Nine drivers, nearly half of the entire roster, went to victory lane in 2013.
Tombarello got off to a great start winning three feature events by mid-summer, but his season faltered as Netishen’s surged in August and early September. The Auburn, NH driver also won three times and came within a whisker of taking it all away from the two time champ on Pepsi Championship Night. More importantly nine drivers experienced the thrill of victory, some in spectacular fashion. Ryan Gath and Ricky Wolf won twice. Wolf was ecstatic with his first win in the supers after winning feature events in every other division at Lee USA.
Jake Stergios won his lone feature event after an impressive win in the NEMA Lites feature earlier in the evening. It was his greatest racing accomplishment. Rookie drivers Jon Booth and Mike Murphy stunned the establishment with surprising victories.
But the most stunning victory of the season was that of Mike Spurling. Spurling has been a long-time supporter of the small block supers, but was rarely competitive. After years of trying, he was clearly jubilant with his first career podium finish a week earlier. But his first feature win shocked everyone. In clearly the move of the season at Lee USA, Spurling flashed past both Tombarello and Netishen coming off the fourth turn and on to his first checkered flag. “I was just tired of losing,” he emphatically stated in victory lane.
The most popular win of the season came in the last race of the regular season. Sparky Maciver had run up a long string of second place finishes, but that first win of the season remained as elusive as ever. On many occasions he had one in the bag until a late race caution allowed someone to take it away. That happened on the next to last race. Sparky was more disappointed in that particular second than any other, and seemed to believe that he would be denied despite an outstanding driving performance.
On the final race of the season however, Sparky Maciver took the early lead and kept on going all the way to the checkered flag. Maciver was absolutely thrilled as was his legions of fans.
The David’s Race Cars & Components Hobby Stock Division Championship was decided by nine points between two drivers that have swapped the points lead back and forth all season. Second generation driver Patrick Tanguay prevailed by a slim margin over Jim Piaseczny. Piasecny had three victories to Tanguay’s one, but a few DNF’s made the difference for Tanguay. Six other drivers saw victory lane in the division including; Paul Palen, Wade Worcester, Bill Clement Jr., David Mac Donald, Kyle Sawyer, and Chris Jacobson.
Grant Aither ran away with the Prime Warehouse & Storage Late Model Sportsman title, winning a staggering six feature events. The point’s battle was for second between JR Baril and Alby Ovitt. The final result was a tie with the nod going to Baril based on his two wins. Other victorious drivers in the division include; Geoff Rollins, James Russell, Bob Melvin, and Michelle Fushpanski, who got her only win in the season finale.
Rookie driver Travis Hollins won the American Used Auto Parts Ironman Championship by a wide margin over Hannah Shaw. Evan Horvath prevailed over Tyler Mitchell by just 1 point for third. Division winners include; Hollins, Shane and Evan Horvath, Mitchell, Wayne Osborn, and Danielle Simoneau.
The competitive nature of the racing action at Lee USA Speedway this season is due in part to the diligence of the Lee USA tech staff headed up by Buzzy Bezanson and Joe Bassett. Each week their effort guarantees a fair and even playing field for all competitors. Nearly a third of all drivers on the roster got to experience the “thrill of victory” in 2013 and fans witnessed some of the closest racing action seen anywhere.
With the regular season over, the Annual Oktoberfest is just around the corner. Fourteen divisions will be featured at Lee USA Speedway’s Season Finale on October 11 thru 13. Included are:
* Pro Stocks/ Super Late Models
* NEMA Midgets
*Late Models
* Small Block Supers
*Late Model Sportsman/ Street Stocks
*Hobby/ Strictly Stocks
*NEMA Lites
*Ironman
*Valenti Modified Series
*V6 / V8 Enduros
*Outlaw Mini Stocks /N.E Pro 4 MS
*Pure Stock 4-Cylinders
*Mini Stocks
*North East Classic Lites
It’s the Last Party Weekend. Breakfast Buffet will be served on Saturday and Sunday at 8AM. There will be a Pub Party on Friday night and the Traditional Spaghetti Dinner and Dancing on Saturday night. Haunted Hay Rides on both nights.
One of the many highlights of Oktoberfest Weekend will be the 1st Annual Ironman Super Series Race. A whopping $1,000 and a giant four foot trophy will go to the winner. A $4,000 purse will be on the line. ABSOLUTELY THE LARGEST PURSE AWARDED TO AN ENTRY LEVEL DIVISION ANYWHERE. The winner will be determined by two 25 lap segment events. The starting lineup of the first segment will be determined by heat races. The lineup for the second segment will be the inversion of the first. The lowest point score will be the big winner.
The Lee USA Speedway is expecting a large field of cars for the event in an effort to build a solid entry-level division for years to come. Two cars have been made available for sale. Those interested can call the track office or Lee USA NASCAR Tech Inspector Joe Bassett at 978-580-7962.
Since 1985, Oktoberfest Weekend has been the signature season-ending event at the Lee USA Speedway and routinely draws over 300 cars from all over the northeast providing some of the best racing action of the year. Don’t miss our Season Finale and our last party weekend on October 11th thru 13th. Adult tickets will be $35, Children from 13 – 16 years will be $20 and Children 12 and under will be FREE for the weekend. Please call the office for any further information at 978-462-4252.
Sources: Lee USA Speedway PR