Race Two of 2017 Set for Riverhead Raceway
WALPOLE, N.H. – Coming off a rain-shortened season-opening event at Lee USA Speedway back on April 30, the Granite State Pro Stock Series is set to return to action this Saturday night, this time in New York. The quarter-mile Riverhead Raceway will play host to the series for a 100-lap feature event that will pay $2,000 to the driver that rolls into Victory Lane.
The event will showcase the top GSPSS talent up against some of the Riverhead Late Model weekly competitors.
Last season, GSPSS drivers headed south to Riverhead in July and completed the inspection process along with a few rounds of practice, but then Mother Nature took control of the night. The race was cancelled and was not rescheduled, meaning this season’s stop will be the inaugural 100-lap event for the series at the bullring.
In the 2017 season-opener at Lee, Jeremy Davis took his No. 09 into Victory Lane, defeating Bryan Kruczek and Joe Squeglia in the final laps of the rain-shortened event. Coming into Riverhead, Davis holds a scant points advantage in the series point standings.
PLACE: Riverhead Raceway
DATE: Saturday May 20
TIME: 6 p.m.
TRACK: ¼ mile slightly banked asphalt oval
TRACK TWITTER: @RiverheadRacewa
GSPSS Contact: Mike Parks, mparks@gspss.net
Defending series champion Barry Gray of Belchertown, Mass. struggled in the opening event at Lee and was involved in a crash that forced him to a finish outside the top 20. Gray has his work cut out for him in the points, but will be going forward with Riverhead just looking to get back on track.
Riverhead Late Model regulars that are expected to compete include Jarrod Hayes, Roger Oxee and Chris Turbush. The list includes Turbush, who scored five wins in the Riverhead Late Model class last season. With the weekly competitors running the track on a consistent basis, they may have an upper hand when it comes to the longer distance feature event because they already know the setup it will take to run up front.
Granite State Pro Stock Series regulars that are expected to be competing include championship hopefuls Nick Lascuola, Devin O’Connell, Cory Casagrande and Mike Mitchell, among others.
“We are heading from the largest track on our schedule with the test day at NHMS all the way to the quarter-mile bullring of Riverhead,” series president Mike Parks said. “Last year, before the rains came, the teams were just starting to get used to the confines of the speedway.”
This event will be a one-day race, with practice, qualifying and feature racing all happening on Saturday in the midst of the Riverhead weekly program. The NASCAR Tour-Type weekly Modifieds will be in competition on Saturday night and some of the stars of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour are expected to join the racing.
Qualifying races will begin at 4:30 p.m., with the National Anthem and beginning of the program slated for 6 p.m.
For more information on the event, fans are encouraged to visit www.gspss.net and www.riverheadraceway.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow the Granite State Pro Stock Series on Facebook and Twitter.