Lee USA Speedway 8/20/21 Race Report
Lee, NH – The final round of the Norm Wrenn III Triple Crown series for the R & R Race Parts NH Street Stocks went green at Lee USA Speedway Friday night, with Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. continuing his near-perfect season with a pair of wins in the twin 25-lap feature events.
The first race was pretty uneventful, with Renfrew avoiding an early-race scramble to get to the front early on. Once he got to the point, Jimmy ran virtually unchallenged for the duration of the run aboard the Lemieux Racing machine.
At the checkers, Renfrew was once again in for the win, with Patrick Tanguay, Travis Hollins, Milton Duran, and Matt Robinson the rest of the top five. When the scoring was tabulated heading into the second feature, Renfrew sat deadlocked with former two-time track champ Tanguay for the series points lead.
Veteran Oscar LeClair jumped out from the pole to pace the field for the first five laps, but Tanguay was quickly on the move from his fifth place start and looking for the lead. Tanguay looked to the low side on lap six, and he moved past LeClair and took over the top spot.
Tanguay pulled away to open up a few car lengths over the field, but Renfrew was coming, and coming fast. By halfway, Renfrew was right on Tanguay’s back bumper looking for way past, and the pair battled it out hard for the remainder of the race.
Renfrew put it to the outside, and the duo swapped the top spot back and forth several times over the second half of the race. At the white flag, it was Tanguay in front by inches, but in the end, Renfrew prevailed to sweep both wins for the night, and the Norm Wrenn III Triple Crown honors as well.
Travis Hollins ended up with the runner-up finish, followed by rookie contender Duran, Robinson, and early leader LeClair to round out the top five finishers in the nightcap.
With the regular season rapidly winding down, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Six Shooter came into the night with former champions Travis Hollins and Christin DeStefano sitting in a tie leading the 2021m championship chase.
A third former champ, Adam Knowles headed into the event holding down third just a couple dozen points behind, but on this night it was all Troy Washburn. It should be noted that Washburn also counts among the division’s ex-champions who still compete in the Six Shooter ranks.
Washburn busted out from the pole into the early lead, and it quickly became evident that he would be the driver to beat. Troy immediately began to open up a healthy lead, and he never looked back. At the checkers, he took down his first win of the 2021m campaign by a comfortable margin.
Knowles held off DeStefano for runner-up honors, with Hollins coming across the line in fourth. Fifth spot went to Jesse Tellier, with freshman Michael Yeaton, Chris Hadley, Tom “Hulk” Harton, and rookies Chris Jones and Trystin Bodwell finishing up the top ten.
Justin Faford bounced back from a bout with the wall in the previous race to dominate the MLM Diagnostics Pure Stock main, scoring his second win of the year. Faford hustled past Ernie Coates to grab the lead just four laps in, and it was all but over from there.
While Coates spent the rest of his night battling back several challenges, Faford cruised on to pick up win with nearly a half-lap lead over his nearest competition. Coates held on the come across the stripe in the runner-up slot, with Noah McGrath, Jeff Turcotte and Zach McGrath rounding out the top five.
The beautifully-prepared cars of the Senior Tour Auto Racers were also on hand, with a pair of 15-lap feature events showcasing their equipment and driving skills. Dennis Desautels picked up the checkers in the Sportsman portion of the STAR program, with former Lee USA competitor Glen Billings taking down the win in his Sherri-Cup machine in the Modified feature.
Sources: Rich Hayes/Lee USA Speedway PR