Greenslit tops 50-lapper at Speedway

By GARY DUTTON
CLAREMONT — Dave Greenslit was fastest when it counted most, leading the last two go-rounds of a green-white-checkered finish to top the 50-lap Street Stock feature Saturday, June 2, at Claremont Speedway.

Zach Lyn earned his second Wild Cat victory lap in as many weeks, while Aaron Fellows and Mark McClay split a pair of Super Street features and Craig Smith moved atop the points parade after pitching two top-threes.

Friday night’s rain moved the week’s racing meet to Saturday – it was the third Saturday event of the young season at the Thrasher Road speedplant – but the 24-hour delay did nothing to slow Aaron Fellows.

The night’s racing began with the 21-lap conclusion of the rain-suspended Super Street feature of a week earlier. Ben Poland and Fellows led the field back to green, with Poland first under the flags as lap 20 was recorded but then watching Fellows fly low through the east end of the oval to take charge a lap later and quickly drive away.

One of the best races of the night pitted Poland against Craig Smith as they battled for second, with Smith winning the two-spot, 20 car lengths behind Fellows. Poland, strong and steady all night, came home third, Ryan Currier was solid in fourth, and Dylan Bodreau’s fifth-place run kept him briefly tied with Smith atop the points chart.

The nightcap saw Fellows again first under the flags but his Richardson Racing ride fell short in the tech line, moving apparent runner-up Mark McClay to the winner’s circle. It was McClay’s second win of the summer, equaling Fellows second score from earlier in night.

Ricky Bly, second in the nightcap, stayed firmly in the points race, although still winless this summer as he defends his 2017 track crown. Craig Smith’s three-spot finish put him atop the division’s leader board, seven markers ahead of McClay, with Bly only ten behind.

Ben Poland was fourth on the night, with Alex Poisson a season-best fifth. Dylan Bodreau, caught in someone else’s mess on lap two, finished out of the money, dropping from first to fourth in the points parade, 13 back of the leading Smith.

Briana Akusis and Chris Colburn sat on the front row as the Street Stock 50-lapper went green, with Akusis setting a fast pace the first three go-rounds, and Colburn then taking charge on a restart.

Lenny Silver, looking to duplicate his victory of a week earlier, took second from Dave Greenslit on lap five but would get no closer, pitting with mechanical woes 23 laps later. Bryan Town moved to the front on a lap-28 restart, with Travis Cass dashing up to challenge him four laps later.

A Town-Cass brush-up after Cass sailed through the east-end grass on lap 49 again changed the leader board, with Colburn inheriting the point and Greenslit – quiet but steady all night – firing alongside him.

Greenslit was strong on the restart, holding Colburn in his shadow as he darted under the checkers. Kenny Thompson finished his solid night’s work in third. Chris Riendeau was fourth aboard a brand-new ride, and rookie Robbie Streeter earned a career-best fifth.

Polesitter Jon Alden led the first two laps of the Wild Cat feature but a rookie mistake caused him to cough up the lead on a lap-two restart, putting reigning four-holer champ Zach Lyn at the point, from where he drove away from the field to earn his second win in a row.

Victor Branch had the deuce all the way but, on this night, the speedy Lyn was in a class of his own, taking the checkers 20 lengths ahead of his closest competitor. Steady Chris Davis claimed the three-spot, Alden was fourth, and rookie Raven Streeter earned a career best fifth. In earlier qualifying action, rookie Kyle Templeton scored his first career win.

Claremont Speedway will return to action Friday, June 8, with the Wild Cats contesting a special 40-lap feature race and the first of three fan-favorite Spectator Race events scheduled for this summer. The Super Streets and Street Stocks will also compete, with racing underway at 7 p.m.