CLAREMONT– Mark McClay romped to victory Friday, August 10, at Claremont Speedway, scoring a no-doubt-about-it win in the 40-lap Super Street main event. It was the Charlestown pilot’s third stop of the summer in Daddy’s Pizza victory lane.
Pepsi Street Stock ace Chris Riendeau earned his track-high seventh triumph of the summer but could gain no championship ground on foe Bryan Town, whose runner-up finish left him still a single point from the top of the leader board.
And in the T-Bird Mini Mart Wild Cats, Zach Lyn put together another perfect 55-point night to remain miles ahead of the field in his quest to duplicate the championship he roared to a summer ago.
Ben Poland’s hope for back-to-back Super Street victories evaporated quickly, as the Charlestown hot shoe’s potent 00 ride looped along the frontchute at the drop of the green, collecting a stray competitor as it stopped mid-track in turn one; done for the night before the opening lap was completed.
Mark McClay, firing from outside on row one, would lead all the way, setting a blistering pace ahead of first pole man Ken Fowler and then top points-chasers Ricky Bly and Dylan Bodreau.
The top three would be set by lap six, with Bly in the deuce slot and Bodreau glued to his bumper in third but, while McClay would win by nearly a full straightaway, the action in his mirror was furious. Bodreau was briefly in second on lap 24 and the two would trade paint over the final ten circuits before Bly completed his runner-up performance to close to within two markers of the division-leading Bodreau.
Jack McClay, in his second run of the summer, took the checkers in fourth, and Fowler completed his strong night’s work in fifth. Mark McClay’s victory bumped him from seventh in the points parade to fifth with seven events still ahead.
Briana Akusis led the first six go-rounds of the Street Stock 25-lapper, then giving way to division strongman Bryan Town. A lap later, Chris Riendeau had powered into second and the battle was on.
Riendeau muscled under Town through turn four to lead as lap 16 went in the books and then held his adversary at bay the final nine flights around to earn his track-high seventh win of the 2018 season. With Town second, the 14-year-old Akusis finished her impressive run with her career-first podium finish.
Dave Greenslit was fourth, and Kenny Thompson, whose team had labored to replace their clutch after practice, came home fifth. Town’s runner-up feature showing, coupled with his earlier heat race victory, left him only one point behind Riendeau in the race to the championship.
Kyle Currier led the first three laps of the T-Bird Mini Mart Wild Cat feature, giving way to Jeff Morse on lap seven and then watching iron man Zach Lyn cruise by on the next go-round. Morse would give Lyn a strong run, pitting while leading on lap 19 as Lyn then took charge and stormed off to his fifth win of the season
Rookie powerhouse Kyle Templeton was second on the night; Seth Melcher came home third, with Currier and Haydon Grenier rounding out the top five. Templeton and Lyn topped the heats.
Next Saturday, August 11, Claremont Speedway will host one of its biggest events of the summer, the 100-lap Claremont 100 Open Modified event, with many of the top names in the sport coming to town to vie for the $4,000 winner’s purse up for grabs in this huge event.
There will be no Friday night racing this week. Post time for Saturday’s big event is 6 p.m., with the R.E. Hinkley Super Streets, Pepsi Street Stocks, and T-Bird Mini Mart Wild Cats all supporting the headlining Mod Squad.
CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY AUGUST 10 RESULTS
SUPER STREET: Mark McClay, Ricky Bly, Dylan Bodreau, Jack McClay, Ken Fowler, Alex Poisson, Tyler Lescord, Tyler Searles, Craig Smith, Andrew Martell.
STREET STOCK: Chris Riendeau, Bryan Town, Briana Akusis, Dave Greenslit, Kenny Thompson, Lenny Silver, Robbie Streeter, Nick Little.
WILD CAT: Zach Lyn, Kyle Templeton, Seth Melcher, Kyle Currier, Haydon Grenier, Jon Alden, Raven Streeter, Jim Carley, Ken Lafont, Chris Carver.
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