Lee USA Speedway 7/19/19 Race Report

By admin July 21, 2019 Lee USA, NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, NEMA, NEMA Lites

Lee, NH – The open-wheeled NEMA Midget and NEMA Lites were added attractions at Lee USA Speedway Friday night, with local driver Jim Chambers of Atkinson scoring the win in the Midget portion of the program over Randy Cabral of Kingston, MA and Paul Scally of Raynham, MA, while Cabral won the Lites race ahead of Ryan Locke of Chester and Richie Coy of Haskell, NJ.

In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action, defending Rodfather Late Model Sportsman champion Frankie Eldredge of Stratham finally broke the string of tough luck that plagued his early season and led flag to flag to pick up his long-overdue first feature event win of the 2019 campaign in the 40-lap main.

Two-time feature winners already this season, brothers George and Bill Helliwell of Pelham chased Eldredge across the stripe, with Jeremy Davis of Tamworth posting a strong fourth place result aboard the Jimmy Russell machine and Ryan Bell making his season debut and finishing in the fifth spot.

The second round of the Lance Davis Triple Crown was on tap for the Race Parts NH Street Stocks, and it was once again Alby Ovitt of Somersworth taking down the win. Ovitt’s Renfrew Motorsports teammate, Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. of Candia grabbed runner-up honors, with rookie Cam Huntress of Rochester finishing up the podium in third.

Chase Curtis and his brother Jaret were fourth and fifth in the final rundown, with Devin McConologue of West Newfield, ME, Travis Hollins of Milford, Ed McConologue of West Newfield, ME, Lewis Anderson of Hollis, ME, and Patrick Tanguay of Lebanon, ME the remainder of the top ten.

Jesse Tellier of Derry broke out of the pack to set the early pace in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Six Shooter main event, leading the way for the first ten laps. Adam Knowles of Seabrook quickly moved in to challenge Tellier, and he soon made the pass and took over the lead, with Brandon Mailhot of Epping following him to the front.

Mailhot wasted little time, moving to the outside and challenging Knowles, and he eventually pulled alongside with two laps remaining. With the white flag in the air, Mailhot suddenly slowed on the backstretch due to a mechanical failure and headed to the pits. Knowles was good to go from there, leading the field under the checkers to score the win.

2017 champ Christin DeStefano of Tewksbury, MA grabbed the runner-up finish, with her Midnight Motorsports teammate Tellier finishing third. Fourth went to Paul Childs of Derry, with Brian DeStefano of Tewksbury, MA, Josh Bilodeau of Epping, Shane Horvath of Northwood, Mailhot, Gary Grenier of Lebanon, ME, and Zach Washburn of Rochester rounding out the top ten.

Points leader Shawn Lessard of Farmington returned to his winning ways in the MLM Diagnostic Services Pure Stock main, outrunning two-time winner Donnie McCaffrey to score the win.

Zach Nicholson made a guest appearance in the Jess Michaud ride and brought it home third, with William Jones, Jon Provost of Hudson, Justin Faford of Westminster, MA, Tim French of Campton, Syd Parker of Barrington, Jaden Curtis of Buxton, ME, and Rob Carleton of Newbury, MA

Brian DeStefano picked up the V6/V8 Enduro win over Jim Walsh and Danny Gill, and E.J. Flannigan once again collected the 4-cylinder Enduro checkers, with Leon Keniston and Corey Getman second and third.

Next up at Lee USA on Friday, July 26 is Whelen night, featuring the MLM Diagnostic Services 100, 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