Lee USA Speedway 6/28/19 Race Report
Lee, NH – Bobby Baillargeon of Kingston made it known that he is going to be a contender for the 2019 championship, with a dominating performance that resulted in back-to-back wins in the Rodfather Late Model Sportsman NASCAR Whelen All-American Series feature event at Lee USA Speedway Friday night.
Heat winner George Helliwell of Pelham broke out to the lead when the main went green, leading the way until lap 15, when Baillargeon moved past and took command of the race. It was a done deal from there, as Baillargeon pulled away to score the win by a comfortable margin.
Bill Helliwell made a strong move late in the race to checker in the runner-up slot, with defending champ Frankie Eldredge of Stratham collecting his first podium of the year in third. Fourth went to Bedford’s Kris Miller, with George Helliwell closing out the top five.
Twin feature events were on tap for the crowd-pleasing O’Reilly Auto Parts Six Shooters, with Seabrook’s Adam Knowles outrunning the field to post the win in the first of the two mains, with opening night winner Brandon Mailhot of Epping, 2017 champ Christin DeStefano of Tewksbury, MA, Jesse Tellier of Pelham, and Paul Childs of Derry the rest of the top five.
Knowles’ luck left him after the first feature, as contact with another competitor cut down his left front tire and sent him to the pits early in the second race. “Sugar Shane” Horvath of Northwood enjoyed a different reversal of fortune, as he recovered from a tough run in the first feature to collect his second win of the year in convincing fashion.
Mailhot was bridesmaid for the second time on the night, with DeStefano also repeating her finish from the first feature in the third spot. Gary Grenier of Lebanon, ME finished out an eventful night with a fourth-place run, and like Mailhot and DeStefano, Childs doubled up on the night with another fifth-place finish.
Skeeter Bearce of Milford had an impressive run on the way to a heat race win in MLM Diagnostics Pure Stock qualifying, and he started out the main event the same way, running off to an impressive lead while the field sorted out behind.
A late-race caution brought him back to the field, and Hudson’s Jon Provost made a bold, three-wide move to wrestle the lead away on the restart. Bearce dug deep and worked his way back to the point, holding the lead until the checkers waved over his first career Lee USA win.
Provost was best of the rest in the runner-up slot, with two-time 2019 winner Shawn Lessard coming home third. Fourth went to 2018 champ Rob Carleton of Newbury, MA, followed by Donnie McCaffrey, Syd Parker of Barrington, Jaden Curtis of Buxton, ME, Tim French of Campton, Francis Boivon of Derry, and Justin Faford of Westminster, MA.
The Granite State Mini Cups made their second appearance of the year on Friday night, with Jason Paquet of Pepperell, MA taking down his second win in two attempts. Former Lee USA LM competitor Eddie Gove took second place honors over his brother Billy, who came on strong late in the race.
The Mini Cup feature was red flagged on lap three for a hard crash involving Shelby Kirk of Pepperell, MA, who went airborne in an incident that also involved Clark Brooks and Alexia Brooks. All three drivers walked away unhurt.
Next up at Lee USA on Friday, July 5 is the second 2019 appearance by the Granite State Pro Stock Series, along with a full program of NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing action. For more information, log on to www.leeusaspeedway.com, or follow us on Facebook.
Sources: Rich Hayes/Lee USA Speedway PR