Davis, Griffith & Shaw Thrill Claremont fans in a Classic Twin State 100 finish
The Twin State 100 saw some new drivers on the roster adding to the variety seen in all of the GSPSS races started this year. George Bessette of Danbury, CT., Tommy O’Sullivan, of Wilbraham, MA., and local racer Jimmy Zullo of Claremont, NH all added their names to the list of already competitive list of drivers running.
Last year’s winner Derek Griffith and newcomer to Claremont, DJ Shaw set the pace early in the day, both attaining 13.9 lap times in practice. Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA. and Bill Ahern of Billerica, MA. started on the front row. Guy Caron of Lempster, NH took an early lead, showing his knowledge of the track. Griffith, Shaw, and Davis quickly made their way through the pack to the top five in the early laps of the race. Caron led for twenty-five laps until the first caution flew for Glenn Martel as he spun in turn two.
On the restart, Shaw took advantage of his position near the front, and captured the lead which he would hold for a total of sixty-six laps of the race. On lap forty-seven, hometown racer Jimmy Zullo found himself in the pit for the first time in the feature after he hit the front stretch wall in practice. He continued to battle the car throughout the night. On lap fifty-five Cory Casagrande of Stafford Springs, CT and George Bessette of Danbury, CT made contact in turn four.
Griffith took the lead on lap fifty-seven, but Shaw promptly stole it back, leading until lap ninety-four. Contact between Mike Parks of Walpole, NH, and Tommy O’Sullivan in turn four set up a six-lap shootout between Shaw, Griffith, and Davis. The last four laps saw four different lead changes and heated restarts among the top three contenders for the win.
On lap, ninety-eight Griffith and Shaw made contact on the backstretch, which led to both drivers coming out of turn four sideways and Griffith triumphed as Shaw spun. In the final laps, Griffith and Davis battled to the finish line, Davis crossing first, to become the fourth different driver to win on the series this season.
The Granite State Pro Stock Series will be racing July 2, 2016, at Speedway 51 in Groveton, NH.
Unofficial Finish
1 09 Jeremy Davis
2 12 Derek Griffith
3 08 Mike O’Sullivan
4 63 John Salemi
5 42 Guy Caron
6 29 Barry Gray
7 66 Mike Parks
8 4 Tommy O’Sullivan
9 15 George Bassette
10 51 Bill Ahern
11 1 Cory Casagrande
12 40 Mike Mitchell
13 23 Glenn Martel
14 18 Michael Scorzelli
15 68 Craig Weinstein
16 60 DJ Shaw
17 10 Jimmy Zullo
Contingency Winner Car # Name
AR Bodies (Hard Luck) $100.00 10 Jimmy Zullo
Bond Auto Parts (2nd Place) $100.00 12 Derek Griffith
Bond Auto Parts (Last car on Lead Lap) $100.00 1 Cory Casagrande
Coilover (Feature winner) $300.00 09 Jeremy Davis
Embroidery Expertee’s (3rd Place) $50.00 08 Mike O’Sullivan
Five Star Bodies (5th Place) $50.00 42 Guy Caron
MacLellan Metal Finishing (Heat Winner) $25.00 12 Derek Griffith
MacLellan Metal Finishing (Heat Winner) $25.00 09 Jeremy Davis
Magnus Racing (2nd Place) $100.00 12 Derek Griffith
Powertrain (4th Place) $100.00 63 John Salemi
RB Performance (3rd Place) $50.00 08 Mike O’Sullivan
RB Performance (7th Place) $50.00 66 Mike Parks
Seymour Performance (Random Draw) $50.00 51 Bill Ahern
Sherwood Wheels (Most Laps Lead) 60 DJ Shaw
Sunoco (Heat Winner) 5 Gals Race Fuel 12 Derek Griffith
Sunoco (Heat Winner) 5 gal Race Fuel 09 Jeremy Davis
VDL Fuel (5th Place) $100.00 42 Guy Caron
Track—Claremont Speedway, 1/3 mile Claremont NH.
Race—Twin State 100
Time of Race—50:25.9
Cautions—(6)—laps 26-56-60-94-97-98
Margin of Victory—.024
Best Lap Time—Derek Griffith
Best Lap By—13.955
Lap Leaders—(Lap 1, M. O’Sullivan)-(2-26, Caron) (27-57, Shaw)(58-60, Griffith) (61-94, Shaw) (95-97, Griffith) (98, Shaw) (99, Griffith) (100, Davis)
Sources: Mike Parks/GSPSS PR
Photo Credits: Chip Cormie