Claremont: Two Drivers Look to Add Their Name to Storied List of Champs

By admin September 28, 2017 Claremont Motorsports Park

What does an average finish of 1.50, leading 43% of your division’s feature laps, and a division-high 3 wins get you? Ask Sunapee’s Dana Smith. Smith comes into Championship Night with a 45-point advantage on Connecticut’s Nick Salva and while it may be a longshot Salva can overtake the point leader this Friday, Smith won’t take anything for granted. Smith has been on the accelerator all season. He was the opening night winner leading all 30 laps. A win in Race # 3 and # 5 complemented his initial win while finishing no worse than 2nd. Should Smith be celebrating a championship in front of the fans Friday, it would be his first Tour-Type Modified championship.

While Nick Salva has been racing for the partial schedules for the better part of 9 seasons, this is his first at Claremont Speedway. Salva has two podium finishes and six top 5’s in 6 races here. Salva cut his teeth at Stafford Motor Speedway in the DARE Stocks later moving to SK Modifieds. In addition to driving the #44 Michaud Racing entry, Salva races at Thompson Motor Speedway in the Sunoco Modifieds.
Christopher Bolton is currently 3rd in points with 240, 26 behind Salva. The Weare, NH pilot has three top 5’s, and 6 top 10’s. Brandee Tree has enjoyed a successful season thus far as she enters the night 4th in the point standings, only 16 behind Bolton. Tree has one top 5 finish.

Claremont’s Jeffrey Murray rides 5th with 217 points. Murray started hot out of the trailer with two runner-up finishes to begin the season. He has three podium finishes, and five top 10’s in 5 races. Todd Patnode sits 13 markers behind Murray in 6th. Patnode swept the two segment races in the Daddy’s Pizza Twin 30’s on September 8th and also was crowned the Sportsman Modified Champion at Monadnock Speedway this season.

High school senior, Dylan Rock, is 7th in points with 185. Rock has one podium finish this season and has been the victim of some bad luck. He has four top 10’s in 5 races. The “Cornish Comet” Bucky Demers is 8th with 158 points. Demers has missed the last two races but has one top 5 and four top 10’s.

Brian Robie is 9th with 135 points. Robie grabbed one feature win, his first-career Tour-Type Modified win, on Race # 4. Robie has two top 5’s in 3 races this season. Cameron Sontag rounds out the top 10 with 107 points.
While the Casella Modifieds have been rained out three times this season, it all comes down to the final night for Smith or Salva to punch their name on the impressive list of Tour-Type Modified champions at Claremont Speedway. It should be an exciting night at the Thrasher Road speedplant.

Sources: ClaremontMotorsportsPark.com