Lee USA Speedway 6-11-21 Race Report
Lee, NH – The first round of the 2021m Norm Wrenn III Triple Crown Series was on the schedule for the four NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series divisions at Lee USA Speedway on Friday night, including double features for the Rodfather Late Model Sportsmen.
The first of the two mains took to the track with a strong field on hand, but two of the favorites, multi-time champ Frankie Eldredge and two-time 2021m winner Bryan Kruczek got caught up in a first lap skirmish and were eliminated from contention. Eldredge pitted and returned, but Kruczek was pitside for the remainder of the race.
The only driver to beat Eldredge in 2020, veteran Bobby Melvin, Jr. seized the moment, and he ran off to lead the field to the checkers and picked up his first in of the season. Melvin was the first of the night’s winners to take a victory lap using the same checkered flag that marked Norm III’s first career win, scored here at Oktoberfest 2015.
Second-generation driver Bobby Frappier put in a strong run to collect his career-best finish in the runner-up slot, with Steve Paquette, rookie Cam Huntress, Charlie Colby, Jesse Bousquet, Skeeter Bearce, Mark Hudson, Eldredge, and Tyler Lescord the rest of the top ten.
In the nightcap, Bearce moved out from the pole to pace the field for the first couple of circuits, but Colby quickly charged past into the lead and started to pull away from the pack. After making repairs from the earlier incident, Kruczek started deep in the field, but he was quickly marching his way to the front.
Kruczek eventually got the best of Colby and took over the top spot, cruising on to his third win of the 2021m campaign. Eldredge was up in the late laps to checker second, with Colby, Melvin, Frappier, Huntress, Bearce, Hudson, Lescord, and Bousquet finishing third through tenth.
In the R & R Race Parts NH Street Stocks, Jimmy Renfrew, Jr, made it three straight wins in the Lemieux Racing entry, easily holding off former two-time champion Patrick Tanguay to pick up the win.
Matt Robinson had a solid run that netted him a third place finish, with double-duty driver Travis Hollins and rookie heat winner Milton Duran rounding out the top five.
In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Six Shooter main event, 2021m feature winners Travis Hollins and Jamie Holland tangled in the early going, with Holland sent to the pits by track officials, and Hollins left with damage that ruined his chances of a repeat win.
Rookie competitor Chris Jones turned out to be the man to beat, and he held off all challengers to score his first-career feature win. Former champions Troy Washburn and Christin DeStefano rounded out the podium, with Jake Michaud, Adam Knowles, Michael Yeaton, Jesse Tellier, Chris Hadley, Hollins, and Brandon Mailhot the rest of the top ten.
The MLM Diagnostics Pure Stock feature saw another first-time 2021m winner, as Kodi Sabins made one of his rare visits, and just as he has in the past, he made the long haul to Lee USA pay off with another trip to victory lane.
Justin Faford had his best run of the year to score runner-up honors, with rookie Jeff Turcotte settling for third after leading several laps early in the race. Eric Parlin scored a fourth place finish, with Jake Michaud, Noah McGrath, Bill Faford, Zach McGrath, Ernie Coates, and Jimmy Decourcy the remainder of the top ten.
The Northeast Classic Lites were also in action on Friday, with veteran campaigner Jimmy Ryder breaking out to the early lead, and eventually holding off a hard-charging Justin Harris to score the win. “Fast Eddie” Gilman rounded out the podium with a third place finish.
Sources: Rich Hayes/Lee USA Speedway PR