By Gary Dutton
Correspondent
CLAREMONT – It was an incredible season-closing weekend at Claremont Motorsports Park.
Friday night’s scheduled opening round of the three-day Fall Challenge event may have been lost to rain, but no fewer than 204 cars turned out Saturday at the storied third-mile oval. And on Sunday, 123 racers were in the pits.
Along the way, Modified super star Brian Robie won Saturday’s first of two 35-lappers to wrap up his third and fourth championship titles of the summer, adding both the Claremont and New Hampshire Short Track Racing Association (NHSTRA) crowns to 2020 titles already won at Monadnock and Hudson Speedways. Matt Kimball won the nightcap, with Todd Patnode scoring a pair of top threes.
Kodi Sabins and Dustin Thibodeau each scored feature wins on both days, not surprising, as the two had recently been crowned 2020 track champions in their respective divisions.
Street Stock king Dave Greenslit had another big day Saturday too, and Sunday, for that matter. Greenslit won Saturday’s Street Stock main, then grenading his engine during celebratory burnouts, but came back Sunday with a backup car, good for third on the afternoon.
Jimmy Renfrew was King of the Streets on Sunday, with Ricky Bly a strong second on both days.
Aaron Fellows won his eleventh Late Model Sportsman feature of the summer Sunday. The Croydon star took over when Ben Poland was punted from the lead on lap seven and, as anyone that’s been at the speedway over the last quarter-century knows, putting Fellows on the point usually results as it did Sunday.
Green Mountain Boy Matt Sonnhalter won Sunday’s Mini Stock 50-lapper, rocketing his VW pickup to victory ahead of Haydon Grenier and Desmond Skillings.
The dirt track Modifieds and Sportsman Coupes were in town Sunday for their once-a-year stab at asphalt racing. Second-generation star Walt Hammond topped the Modifieds, with Vince Quenneville Jr. second and Timmy Laduc third. Hammond’s dad, also Walter, walked away from a rollover that started when he attempted to evade a turn-three looper.
Tom Placey won the Sunday Coupe 25-lapper, leading fellow Bear Ridge stalwarts Robert Tucker and Jeff Robbins under the checkers.
In Saturday support card action, short track rock star Randy Cabral dominated both the Pro 4 Modified and NEMA Midget features. P.J. Sturgess topped the NEMA Lites. Trevor Crouse topped a thin field of Sunday Legends cars.
Former Street Stock strongman Alby Ovitt won Saturday’s 50-lap Red Neck Enduro, dashing through the 68-car field with ease.
Rookie Isiaiah Hogan won in Mini Cup action, and Andrew Morin was victorious in the Truck Series 55-lapper while, cruising farther back, veteran Duane Noll locked up the series championship.
The Fall Challenge weekend marked the 16th completed event of the 2020 season against one rainout. And, during that three-plus month period, a rock solid foundation was laid for a bright 2021 CMP season.
Top finishers
Modified first 35: Brian Robie, Aaron Fellows, Todd Patnode, Trevor Bleau, Bill Kimball, Stew McCormack, George Helliwell, Joel Monohan, Matt Kimball, Alyssa Rivera.
Modified second 35: Matt Kimball, Todd Patnode, Trevor Bleau, Bill Kimball, Brian Robie, Joel Monohan, Stew McCormack, Walt Hammond, Kimmy Rivet, George Helliwell.
Saturday street stock: Dave Greenslit, Ricky Bly, Hillary Renaud, Joe Tetreault, Jimmy Renfrew, Adam Gray, Jimmy Zullo, Chris Lindquist, Drew Davis, Jerod Weston.
Sunday street stock: Jimmy Renfrew, Ricky Bly, Dave Greenslit, Ryan Bell, Chris Riendeau, Hillary Renaud, Joe Tetreault, Briana Akusis, Kyle Buck, Scott Wade.
Late model sportsman: Aaron Fellows, Robert Hagar, Ricky Bly, Camdyn Curtis, Chase Curtis, Jaret Curtis, Hayden Scott, Tyler Lescord, Dallas Trombley, Ryan Bell.
Mini stock: Matt Sonnhalter, Haydon Grenier, Desmond Skillings, Justin Trombley, Gordon Farnum, Louis Maher, Joe Katula, Dana Shepard, Ryan Carman, Kodi Sabins.
Saturday pure stock: Kodi Sabins, Joey Jarvis, Mark McClay, Zach Richardson, Nick Houle, Nolan McClay, Dylan Adams, Leon Keniston, Brandon Lavoie, Bruce Adams.
Sunday pure stock: Kodi Sabins, Joey Jarvis, Zach Richardson, Nick Houle, Nolan McClay, Kevin Boucher, Bruce Adams, Mark McClay, Jimmy Zellman, J.D. Stockwell.
Saturday six shooter: Dustin Thibodeau, Eric Lanou, Todd Maguira, John Vorhees, Jeremy Blood, Paul Colburn, Dakota Lanou, Jon Alden, John Thibodeau Jr., Chooch Snide.
Sunday six shooter: Dustin Thibodeau, Chris Colburn, John Thibodeau, Jon Alden, Chooch Snide, Todd Maguira, Dakota Lanou, Brandon Picknell, Jeremy Blood, Paul Colburn.
Red neck enduro: Alby Ovitt, Andrew Harmon, E.J. Flanagan, Ryan Christian, Leon Keniston, Robert Shaw, Eric Danieli, David Flanders, Drake Nelson, Alex Darin.
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