Custom Musket & Trophy Revealed for the Winner of the Inaugural Musket 250
The winner of the inaugural Musket 250 will take home a custom handmade musket, a minuteman trophy, and tricorn hat.
LOUDON, N.H. – The Musket 250 will headline the inaugural Full Throttle Fall Weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as the longest mileage and richest purse in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour history. With the prestige of a race like this comes a lot for the drivers to race for, and the stakes just got higher with a custom musket, minuteman trophy and tricorn hat waiting in victory lane for the Musket 250 winner on Sept. 22.
The handmade flintlock musket was built over the course of three weeks by Edwin Parry of Black Hart Long Arms out of Eastford, Conn., which has twice been featured on the History Channel.
“I really enjoy doing something like this,” said Parry, who also designed the custom musket that the Speedway gave to Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a retirement gift in 2017. “It’s special, and I hope the winner enjoys it very much.”
Using a blend of tiger maple and brass, Parry hand engraved the Revolutionary War-style musket with the race name, a checkered flag, the profile of the state of New Hampshire and a spot for the winner’s name.
The flintlock mechanism featured on the musket, was the method of ignition from about 1630 to about 1830. The spark it creates would have ignited a pan full of powder, which would then have ignited the charge in the barrel and sent the bullet on its way.
Most of the lock plates were made in London, England, and they would say “London” across the bottom. Parry felt that was close enough to Loudon, so he engraved “Loudon” there instead.
View a video showing how the musket was made and learn more about how Edwin Parry and Black Hart Long Arms got started: http://bit.ly/TheMakingOfTheMusket
The winner will also receive a traditional Revolutionary War-era tricorn hat and a minuteman trophy. Taking on its New England roots, the trophy is a replica of the Minuteman statue in Concord, Mass., weighing 30 pounds and measuring 32 inches tall.
Along with the custom musket, minuteman trophy and tricorn hat, the Musket 250 race winner will be fighting to claim a share of the unprecedented $186,000 purse. This includes $25,000 for the winner of the race, including the $3,500 Whelen Winner of the race bonus and a new $25,000 lap leader bonus, which will pay $100 to the leader of each lap during the 250-lap event.
The Musket 250 will begin at approximately 3:30 p.m. and will be run in two segments with a five-minute break at or near the conclusion of lap 100.
The Musket 250 is part of tripleheader Saturday, Sept. 22, which will also include the first global NASCAR K&N Pro Series race, the Apple Barrel 125, and the first time Canada’s NASCAR Pinty’s Series will race in the U.S. at the Visit New Hampshire 100.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway recently launched its new Full Throttle Fridays promotion now through Sept. 21, where one winner will be selected each Friday for once-in-a-lifetime experiences and cool access for September’s Full Throttle Fall Weekend. For ticket information for Full Throttle Fall Weekend visit the speedway website at www.NHMS.com or call Fan Relations at (603) 783-4931.
Sources: Kristen Lestock/NHMS PR