Hirschman Goes to Star Victory Lane in SBM 125 II
Epping, NH – Star Speedway’s second annual SBM 125 for Modifieds attracted a star-studded field of entries representing several different touring series, including several drivers with championships on their resumes.
A quick time trial session was run to set the lineup for the qualifying heats, with Todd Szegedy setting fast time at 12.291 seconds. Szegedy, Ryan Preece, and Bobby Santos III grabbed the heat race wins, with Doug Coby taking the last chance qualifier that set the final starting positions for the 24-car, 125-lap main event.
An inversion of the top six put Mike Stefanik on the pole, and he was the first pace the field and collect lap leader bonus money. Defending race winner Jon McKennedy and Preece also spent some time out front pocketing bonus money, but when it counted, the driver out front was Northampton, PA’s Matt Hirschman.
[Photo Gallery] by Adam Fohlin
[Photo Gallery] by Crystal Snape
Hirschman held on through a series of late-race restarts to lead the field under the checkers, with Preece in for a solid runner-up, as Josh Cantara and Mike Stefanik spun across the finish line to collect third and fourth. Dwight Jarvis, Santos III, Jim Boniface, Coby, Richie Pallai, and Szegedy rounded out the top ten.
In addition to the SBM 125, the track’s regular Kimball Auto Body Roadrunners, Woody’s Auto Strictly Stocks, and Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Outlaws all ran qualifying and feature events as well, filling out the night’s racing program with plenty of side-by-side action.
Jack Victoria made his first victory lane appearance of the 2012 campaign in the Kimball Auto Body Roadrunner main, taking the lead from Ken McIlvaine with the laps winding down, and leading them across the stripe to collect the win. McIlvaine held on for second, with Jarrod Soucy, Seth Stickney, and Melinda McCarthy closing out the top five.
“Slammin’ Sammy” Peabody made it back-to-back wins in the hotly-contested Woody’s Auto Strictly Stock feature, holding off a determined Steve Douphinette to pick up the win. Steve Dickey, Jr., Chris Augevich, Bret Culleton, Matt Kawejsza, Andy Nichols, Garrett Renner, and Chris Kingsley were third through tenth.
Another exciting round of Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Outlaw Late Model action saw veteran racer Jay Sands out front early once again, but this time he went the distance to make the trip to the winner’s circle for the first time this season.
Rob MacRae had a strong run to score runner-up honors, followed by Jimmy Ryder, “Joey the Jet” Ventrillo, Lee Weldy, Joe Squeglia, Jr., Gary Beauregard, Jimmy Renfrew, Barry Raymond, and former champion Ron Bolduc.
Sources: Star Speedway PR