Douton Makes History at Lee USA Speedway
Waterford, CT Driver Victorious at Inaugural Event
LEE, NH – Chris “Moose” Douton made history by winning the inaugural North East Street Stock Tour event at Lee USA Speedway, fending off Geoff Rollins at his home track.
Rollins and Douton started on the pole for the 35-lap feature event, and quickly flexed their muscles, pulling away from the pack, before a spin on lap 4 brought out the caution flag, when Anthony Belfiore lost grip off turn 2. Douton and Rollins flipped positions on the grid for the restart, and Douton put his Stebbins Discount Stump Grinding/A-1 Auto Center Ford Thunderbird to the front, opening up a gap between the first and second spots.
Mechanical problems brought the second caution out, as Robbie Bodwell’s ride began to overheat, creating an incident involving Bodwell, Bryan Town, and Matt Morrill on lap 14. Rollins would, once again, start on the outside of Douton, but Douton proved to be too strong, powering his way to victory.
After his victory, and emphatic Douton exclaimed “This Ford was on today! Our Crew Chief had gone a different direction two years ago, and today was his first race back with the team, and look what happens. I’m just at a loss for words, this is great.”
Rollins would nurse an injured car to the second spot, as his Bill Clement-owned automobile blew a water hose in victory lane after the race. Rollins claimed “I thought we had something for him, but that Ford makes some power. When we get a better motor, we’ll have something for him.”
Larry Barnett battled back throughout the weekend, as his Oldsmobile Cutlass was not to his liking after unloading on Saturday, but the crew worked hard, and Barnett earned a third place finish. Barnett added “We just kept picking away at it, making adjustments, moving lead, making more adjustments. We just kept piecing away one thing at a time.”
Joe Arena quietly earned a fourth place finish, with Charlie Beal crossing the line fifth. Jim Boyle, Patrick Tanguay, David Brannon, Corey Morgan, and Robbie Bodwell completed the top 10 for the non-championship points event. Douton and Anthony Belfiore picked up heat wins.
The North East Street Stock Tour will run the first event in the championship season, May 30, at Seekonk Speedway. For more information on the North East Street Stock Tour, visit www.nestreetstocktour.com, on Facebook (N.E. Street Stock Tour), Twitter @NEStreetStock, or on Instagram at NorthEastStreetStockTour.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Lee USA Speedway
5/17/15
Pos (Start) Driver Hometown
1. (2) Chris Douton Waterford, CT
2. (1) Geoff Rollins Groton, MA
3. (7) Larry Barnett Moosup, CT
4. (3) Joe Arena Bristol, CT
5. (8) Charlie Beal Ledyard, CT
6. (4) Jim Boyle Waterford, CT
7. (11) Patrick Tanguay Lebanon, ME
8. (12) David Brannon Lisbon, ME
9. (7) Corey Morgan Lewiston, ME
10. (9) Robbie Bodwell Sanford, ME
11. (10) Matt Morrill Moultonborough, NH
12. (13) Bryan Town Charlestown, NH
13. (6) Anthony Belfiore Haverhill, MA
Sources: Shawn Sicard/OTB Promotions, Inc.