Scott Big Winner on Opening Night at Claremont Speedway
CLAREMONT, NH – Super Street super sophomore Hayden Scott scored the biggest win of his young career on Claremont Speedway’s 2017 opening night, Friday, April 28, and with it, a $1,000 payday, topping the third-mile speed plant’s 75-lap main event.
Scott, winless a summer ago in his rookie Super Stock campaign, started his second season with a bang, leading the final 46 laps of Friday night’s Richardson Memorial Race feature to lead veteran strongmen Ricky Bly and Jack McClay under the opening night checkers.
Other winners on the speedway’s 70th opening night included Sunapee speedster Dana Smith, who dominated the 30-lap Modified feature, Wild Cat ace Greg Millette, who wired his caution-free 25-lapper, and reigning Limited Sportsman champion Scott Vien, who, like both Smith and Millette, led all the way to top his division’s feature race.
Bryan Town and Tyler Lescord led the 20-car Super Street field to the green to start the night’s 75-lap main event, with defending track champ Aaron Fellows, from row two, grabbing the deuce spot on lap four and, after a lap-nine caution again grouped the field, then gluing himself to Town’s bumper.
Fellows dove low in turn two to snatch the lead on lap 15, bringing Ricky Bly – from row five – with him as Town dropped to third, with the charging Scott quickly grabbing that spot, and the top three then running nose-to-tail at breakneck speed until a lap-25 caution put them all under a blanket.
On the ensuing restart, Bly was thumbed backward for jumping the green, moving Scott alongside Fellows. The lead pair would then run glued together until misfortune claimed Fellows on lap 46. Scott, now leading, had Joe Brown and Jack McClay both filling his mirror and, farther back, Bly was sailing through traffic again.
Brown’s strong run would fall by the wayside on lap 58, when he went pit side under caution while running second. Bly then reclaimed second and, three laps later, Jack McClay completed his journey from the tenth row to take third but, on this night, Hayden Scott was in a class of his own, taking chief starter Cliff Potwin’s checkers six lengths ahead of his closest pursuer.
Bly’s strong night’s work netted him the runner-up finish, McClay came home third, Lenny Silver fourth, and Dylan Boudreau grabbed the five-spot. Fellows, Bly, and Ben Poland won their opening night heat races.
Dana Smith wired the Casella Modified feature, leading Mike Douglas all the way to earn the opening night win. A two-time feature winner last summer, Smith wasted no time in asserting his leader-of–the-pack status in the new season.
Douglas held the deuce spot all the way but, on this night, Smith had the field covered, taking the checkers by an eight-length margin. Nick Salva came home third, Cornish Comet Bucky Demers was fourth, and Todd Patnode, aboard the Cheever Tire 20, was fifth.
Taking full advantage of his pole starting position, Wild Cat Greg Millette quickly pulled away from the field to score the win. Josh Rondeau was able to close much of Millette’s huge lead in heavy traffic but had to settle for the runner-up finish.
Dale Squires Jr. was steady all night to claim the third-place Wild Cat hardware, Zach Lynn came home fourth, and Kyle Currier – from row five – took the checkers fifth in the caution-free event.
Scott Vien and Tyler Janovsky ran glued together for all 25 laps of the Limited Sportsman feature, with Vien never faltering as he led Janovsky under the checkers to pick up where he’d left off last September. Kenny Thompson was third, with Kyle Davis and Josh Ruel rounding out the top five.
Next Friday, May 5, Claremont Speedway will host another four-division card of racing, when the North East Mini Stock Tour makes its annual stop at the Thrasher Road speed plant. The Newport Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Super Stocks, Limited Sportsmen, and Wild Cats will all be in action, with post time at 7 p.m.
For more information on this and all other events, visit www.claremontspeedway.net or stop by the speedway’s Facebook page.
Sources: Gary Dutton/Claremont Speedway PR