Star Speedway Crowns Remaining 2023 Champions During Special Friday Night Program Due to Weather
(September 22, 2023) — Weather may have forced the final Saturday night point race of the 2023 Star Speedway racing season to be rescheduled for Friday, September 22, but the action was hot on the track as the championship battles were decided.
Five of Star Speedway’s weekly divisions were on hand as the 350 Supers had the night off – earlier this season, Jeffrey Battle repeated as champion of Star’s top class. Other than Battle’s repeat in the Supers, veteran Billy Osborne claimed the championship in the MLM Diagnostic Pure Stocks, while Connor McDougal was crowned champion with a feature win on the final night of the Izzett Construction Late Model season last Friday.
McDougal was able to take home his first championship in the Izzett Construction Late Models. He entered the final points night in second position in the standings, but was able to win the race and earn enough points to claim the championship in the process. Jimmy Connor had a solid run on Friday night, as he crossed the stripe in the second spot, while George Maroun, who made his return to the Late Models again, finished in third.
In the Woody’s Auto Street Stocks, it was defending champion Adam Lovejoy giving up his crown from last year on Friday, but also claiming checkers in the division’s final points race of the season. JT Cashman trailed Lovejoy to the line claiming second, while Shane Gendron rounded off the podium in third, while also claiming the track championship. While the battle went to Lovejoy, the war went to Gendron, who was the most consistent driver throughout the 2023 season in the highly competitive class. He entered the final race of the season with a more than comfortable lead.
In the K-COB Slingshots, veteran Dave Cameron took home the Friday night feature win with rookies Nate LeClair and Jenna Beaulieu following him across the line claiming second and third, respectively. LeClair’s second-place finish capped an incredibly consistent rookie season after he made the jump up from Six Shooters in 2023 and was an immediate threat right from his first race. LeClair visited Star Speedway victory lane many times on his way to the 2023 track championship.
In the 2 To Go Show Six Shooters, it was another young driver taking home the feature win and championship honors, as Jeremy Hayes claimed the championship in only his second year in the division. Hayes was also a multiple-time winner throughout the 2023 season. While Hayes claimed the feature win, Paul Childs had a solid run earning the second position, and Adam Knowles rounded off the podium in third.
Veteran Billy Osborne was another driver who had a really good night on Friday, as he was able to take home both a feature win and track championship in the MLM Diagnostic Services Pure Stocks. Andrew Harmon trailed Osborne to the line on the final lap, with last year’s division champion George Riley Jr. rounding out the top three.
The 2023 Star Speedway racing season is entering its final stages as we enter the fall months, but there is still more action on tap with a few of the highest-paying Street stock races in the country upcoming in the month of October. For more information on upcoming events, visit StarSpeedwayNH.com and follow the track on Facebook.
Sources: Star Speedway