White Mountain Opens Season-Ending Fall Foliage Weekend Bash This Saturday
$5,000-to-Win Street Stock Open and Local Championships Highlight Day One
N. Woodstock, NH — North Woodstock, NH’s White Mountain Motorsports Park opens its final weekend of the 2021 racing season this Saturday, September 25 at 4:00pm. The $5,000-to-win R&R Race Parts Street Stock Open headlines a thrilling Saturday twilight card that leads into the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Fall Foliage 200 on Sunday.
Nearly 30 drivers have pre-entered the 100-lap Street Stock event at press time. Many others are expected to roll through the pit gates on Saturday morning. With the $5,000 guaranteed winner’s purse, $2,500 in lap money, and more than $20,000 in total posted awards, the Fall Foliage is by far the richest race of the year for 8-cylinder Street Stocks. The ACT Flying Tiger rules option also gives local White Mountain and Thunder Road drivers the chance to race for their biggest prize of their careers.
The early entry list is a who’s-who of short track warriors who now can be kings for a day. They include Belchertown, MA’s Christopher Buffone, who is an Open Street Stock winner at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway and New London-Waterford Speedbowl; Milford, NH’s Travis Hollins, the number-three point man at Lee USA Speedway; and multi-time Beech Ridge Motor Speedway Sport Series winner Ryan Phillips of Buxton, ME.
White Mountain fans might not yet have been introduced to racers like Shane Gendron, Justin Storace, Scott Zilinzki, Kyle Gero, and Aaron Day, but they will know who they are by day’s end. Danbury, NH’s Oscar Leclair Jr. is already a winner, as he was the early-entry name randomly chosen to receive two free Hoosier tires for the event. Racers from five different states have entered the event with some hauling hours each way for a shot at $5,000.
Hometown fans might pin their hopes on the flurry of ACT Flying Tiger drivers who will take advantage of the special rules option. A pair of father-son teams are both good bets on Saturday. Waterbury Center, VT’s Jason and Tanner Woodard have combined for 10 wins at White Mountain this year, including a one-two finish at the May 23 Street Stock Open. Dad Jason leads the Wells River Chevrolet Flying Tiger point standings while son Tanner has clinched the Rookie of the Year award about both White Mountain and Thunder Road. Their teammate, multi-time Thunder Road winner Bryan Wall Jr., makes it a three-pronged attack.
Another family duo getting ready for Saturday is Craftsbury Common, VT’s Michael and Stephen Martin. Michael held off Stephen to win the Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel Flying Tiger championship at Thunder Road, but Stephen showed long-distance muscle by capturing the Myers Container Service Triple Crown title. Joel Hodgdon is a third Craftsbury Common driver to watch, as he is a former Thunder Road Flying Tiger champion, Triple Crown champion, and multi-time White Mountain Late Model winner.
Day One of Fall Foliage Weekend also includes season finales for the local Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini’s, Arnold’s Wayside Diner Dwarf Cars, and Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Trucks. Each division is getting extra laps as a thank-you for another great season in the White Mountains.
The Strictly Stock Mini’s and Dwarf Cars are crowning their 2021 track champions on Saturday. Groveton, NH’s Luke Shannon is on the cusp of winning the Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini title as a rookie. The 15-year-old has six wins this season and holds a 20-point advantage over Littleton, NH’s Tyler Thompson. One solid outing is all the young Shannon needs to get it done.
Since it’s the last chance to score a win this year, no quarter will be given by the stout Strictly Mini field. Father-daughter tandem Donnie and Jillian Baumgardner each have two wins this year, so they’re battling for family bragging rights. Michael Smith and Brendan Clark both emerged in the second half of the season as legitimate threats every week. Todd Derrington, Jack Hayes, and Chris Moulton are among others trying to finish the season strong.
Gilmanton, NH’s Tommy Smithers is the leader in the clubhouse for the Arnold’s Wayside Diner Dwarf Cars. He holds a 17-point lead over defending champion Jason Wyman of Easton, NH. Wyman’s teammate Colby Bourgeois of St. Johnsbury, VT is 24 points out of first, making them the three drivers mathematically alive.
Wyman is trying to duplicate last year’s finale where he came from behind to take the title away from Bourgeois. As the top trio slugs it out, Dave Gyger, Jeff Ainsworth, Howie Switser, and Chad Dufour will aim to steal a victory.
The Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Trucks are wrapping up one of the most competitive seasons in recent memory. Although Gilmanton, NH’s Thomas Smithers VI has won a division-leading seven times, he’s had to earn each one against fellow rising stars like McKenna Merchant, Damion Sicard, Logan Farnsworth, and Kyle Goodbout. The last two weeks, every starter has finished the feature on the lead lap, which speaks to just how close the field now is.
White Mountain Motorsports Park closes out the 2021 racing season with Fall Foliage Weekend this Saturday, September 25 and Sunday, September 26. September 25 at 4:00pm is the $5,000-to-win R&R Race Parts NH Street Stock Open plus season finales for the Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini’s, Arnold’s Wayside Diner Dwarf Cars, and Dads 4 By Tool & Supply Kids Trucks. The pits open at 10:30am and the front gates open at 1:30pm.
September 26 at 1:00pm is the $5,000-to-win Fall Foliage 200 for the ACT Late Model Tour. The Sunday card also includes the Wells River Chevrolet Flying Tigers, Burnett Scrap Metals Road Warriors, GoMotorsportsShop.com NELCAR Legends Tour, and NELCAR Bandoleros. The pits open at 8:00am and the front gates open at 10:30am.
A two-day ticket for Fall Foliage Weekend is just $35 for adults, $10 for kids ages 6-12, and free for kids ages 5 and under. Single-day adult tickets are $17 for Saturday-only and $25 for Sunday-only. Kids’ tickets for ages 6-12 are $5 each day.
For more information, contact the White Mountain Motorsports Park offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.whitemountainmotorsports.com. You can also follow us on Facebook at @WhiteMtnMotorsports.
Sources: ACT PR
(IMG_0392.JPG): The best 8-cylinder Street Stock racers in New England, such as former Thompson World Series winner Christopher Buffone (#2), are coming to White Mountain Motorsports Park this Saturday, September 25 for the $5,000-to-win R&R Race Parts Street Stock Open. (Matthew Wiernasz/WWLP22 News photo)
(IMG_0061.JPG): Father-son Jason Woodard (#68VT) and Tanner Woodard (#68NH), who have combined for 10 wins at White Mountain this year, are among the ACT Flying Tiger racers taking on the Street Stock invaders. (John Raper photo)
(IMG_5487.JPG): The Arnold’s Wayside Diner Dwarf Cars are one of three local White Mountain divisions running their season finales on Saturday. (John Raper photo)