Lee USA Speedway 8/30/19 Race Report
Lee, NH – The final racing program of the regular season went into the record books at Lee USA Speedway Friday night, with the 2019 season championships on the line for all the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions.
The MLM Diagnostic Services Pure Stocks started things off with an action-packed 20-lap feature event, which was won by Jon Provost of Hudson. It was the fourth time this season he’s headed home with the big trophy at the end of the night, this time beating out Justin Faford, Rob Carleton, Shawn Lessard, and Tim French.
Provost may have won the battle, but Farmington driver Lessard won the war, taking down his first career championship when the final points were tallied. Lessard got his feet wet running in a few races in 2018, and the move to full-time status for the new season paid off with multiple feature wins and his first-ever track title in the Pure Stocks.
Paul Childs of Derry looked like he was going to be the man to beat in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Six Shooter feature, breaking out to the early lead, and holding off a tough challenge from Jesse Tellier for most of the race. If it had been a 24-lapper, Childs would have been good to go, but that wasn’t the case.
Taking the white flag within striking distance, Jesse Tellier made the winning pass on the last lap and led the field to the checkers, making it back-to-back wins aboard the Midnight Motorsports entry.
Childs, Adam Knowles, Josh Bilodeau, and Christin DeStefano rounded out the top five in the main, with Knowles also getting to celebrate his first-ever championship season as part of the post-race festivities. The Seabrook veteran topped the division in feature wins in 2019, and capped off his best season ever with the Six Shooter title.
The Race Parts NH Street Stocks were up next, and after trying all season long to get it done, Rochester-based rookie driver Cam Huntress finally broke into the winner’s circle, holding off the now two-time champ, Alby Ovitt, to score a crowd-pleasing win.
“Caveman” Kenny Scott grabbed his second consecutive third-place trophy, with Kevin Aberle and Jeremy Scott finishing fourth and fifth. It was no surprise that Ovitt made it back-to-back titles in his Renfrew Motorsports machine, as the team truly dominated the action all season long.
The Rodfather Late Models highlighted the championship night action, with Litchfield’s “Billistic” Bill Helliwell taking down the win and cementing his first career Lee USA championship title with a dominating performance. Frankie Eldredge, Bobby Melvin, Bobby Baillargeon, and George Helliwell rounded out the top five.
Adding to the family legacy that started when his dad Wayne, Sr. was a winning Pro Stock racer some 30 years ago, Bill added his name to the list of all-time Lee champions that already included older brother Wayne, Jr., and Bill’s twin brother Dave, who was among the huge crowd of well-wishers who joined Bill in the championship celebration.
A pair of Enduros ended the night’s racing action, with Bill Jones taking down the win in the 4-cylinder race, and Jesse Tellier doubling up on the night by taking down the win in the V6/V8 event.
Sources: Rich Hayes/Lee USA Speedway PR