Joey Polewarczyk Jr Dominates in Granite State Debut at Stafford
STAFFORD, Conn. — It didn’t take long for Joey “Pole” Polewarczyk Jr. to figure out the half-mile of Stafford Motor Speedway on Saturday, April 24. The defending Granite State Pro Stock Series champion took the lead on lap 15 from Eddie MacDonald and never looked back en route to the triumph in the Casagrande Builders 75.
Pole crossed the line over six seconds ahead of hometown favorite Cory Casagrande, with seven-time Seekonk Speedway champion David Darling finishing third.
“What an awesome track, thanks to Stafford for having the Granite State Pro Stock Series,” Pole said. “That’s one of the best cars I’ve ever had. It really came in during the race. I loved that there were almost no cautions, and we were able to run our own pace. It feels really good to come down here to Stafford and win.”
While Pole pulled away from a 24-car field, only a few cautions slowed the action. Early, it was a caution for a stopped Rick Duzlak in turn one, then an accident collected both Mike O’Sullivan and Craig Bushey on lap 11. From there, the caution flag was never used again. Pole drove by McDonald and left the rest of the field behind him, with DJ Shaw, Casagrande, and Darling battling for second over the final 30 laps.
Casagrande got by Shaw for second on lap 56, with Darling on his bumper — then the two battled for the runner-up spot for the final 20 laps. Casagrande would beat Darling by a small margin at the finish.
MacDonald finished fourth, while former series champion Derek Griffith rallied from an early pit stop to round out the top-five. Devin O’Connell was sixth, followed by Shaw, Gabe Brown, Derek Gluchacki, and Angelo Belsito.
Shaw, Griffith, and Casagrande won heat races earlier in the day, while Shaw also set fast time in time trials.
The Granite State Pro Stock Series returns to the track on Sunday, May 2 at Monadnock Speedway.
For more information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series, visit gspss.net and follow the series on social media.
THE FINISH:
1. Joey Pole
2. Cory Casagrande
3. David Darling
4. Eddie MacDonald
5. Derek Griffith
6. Devin O’Connell
7. DJ Shaw
8. Gabe Brown
9. Derek Gluchacki
10. Angelo Belsito
11. Mike Mitchell
12. Bryan Kruzcek
13. Mike Scorzelli
14. Kevin Casper
15. Josh King
16. Tyler Tomassi
17. Alexander Pearl
18. Luke Hinkley
19. Casey Call
20. Bobby Pelland III
21. Adam Gray
22. Craig Bushey
23. Mike O’Sullivan
24. Rick Duzlak
Sources: Souza Media/Kyle Souza