BUNNY BRAWL RECAP: Ventrillo Locks Himself into CATCO Nationals With Bunny Brawl $1,300 Street Stock Win; Cameron, Eastman, Harmon, Michaud, Walsh & Nelson Also Win Bunny Brawl Races
(April 22, 2023) — Star Speedway in Epping, New Hampshire, saw the first green flag of their 2023 racing season fly this past Saturday, April 22nd. The Bunny Brawl featured a few of the track’s weekly racing divisions, combined with the always exciting Enduro races. This event has become a tradition in kicking off the racing season at The Place To Race.
The Street Stocks as always kept the fans on their toes, picking up right where things left off last season with door-to-door action, even featuring a multi-lap three-wide battle for the lead. Veteran racer Joe Ventrillo used the previously mentioned three-wide move to the inside to take the lead and claim the opening-day feature win. With the win, Ventrillo locked himself into the CATCO Recycling Street Stock Nationals scheduled for October and also collected a $1,300 winning prize.
The Star Speedway K Cob Slingshots were back on track, and so was Dave Cameron, who claimed the most wins in the division throughout 2022. Cameron kicked off his 2023 campaign in the same fashion, claiming the victory at the Bunny Brawl opener. Young gun Dwight Souther Jr., who also has had no problems finding his way to Star victory lane, started his season off on a strong note with a second-place finish. Last season Six Shooter champion Nate LeClair had a solid run in his first race in a new division taking home third-place honors when checkers flew.
Billy Eastman rebounded from a difficult 2022 season and was the man on top in the 2 To Go Show Six Shooters main event. Behind Eastman in the second position was Jeremy Hayes, who had a strong rookie season, winning multiple features in 2022, and looks to be on stride to continue that success this season. The third position went to Ryan McCarthy, who always seems to put a solid run together in his visits to Star.
The MLM Diagnostic Pure Stock division saw Andrew Harmon, who seems to be fast in everything he drives, take home the division’s first checkers of the new season. Defending division champion and always a consistent runner George Riley Jr. crossed the stripe in second-place when the checkers flew, trailing only Harmon. John Fultz took home the third and final podium spot in the Pure Stocks first main event of the 2023 season.
The Cruisers division, new at Star Speedway for 2023, saw their first-ever feature event recorded into the history books at the Bunny Brawl as well. The division to be made up of only the old Crown Vic model police car type vehicles, which has gained popularity in many racing circles throughout the country, is looking to build momentum at Star in 2023. Claiming the first win in the division’s history was Trevor Michaud. In the ever-popular Enduro races, Drake Nelson picked up the win in the 4-cylinder main event. Veteran Enduro driver Jim Walsh claimed top honors in the V6/V8 main event. Walsh has shown he is a contender for the win any time he is on track in Enduro action.
Star Speedway returns to racing for Opening Night for points for many weekly divisions on Saturday, April 29, including the 350 Supermodifieds. For more information on the upcoming events visit StarSpeedwayNH.com.
Sources: Star Speedway
Rich Hayes photo