By Gary Dutton
SPECIAL TO THE EAGLE TIMES
WINCHESTER, N.H. – Defending Monadnock Speedway Modified champion Tyler Leary scored his first victory of the season Saturday at the high-banked speedplant, while Chris Davis, used his third 2023 win to gain 30 points in his points race.
Hudson’s Bob Williams blew away the field in winning his first Mini Stock feature; topping Saturday’s 50-lap main. Defending track NHSTRA Late Model champ Tim Wenzel won his second feature race of the summer. In the Young Guns, it was Adrian Smith adding a fourth first-place trophy to his growing collection.
Sixteen-year-old Joel Belanger, already a feature winner in his rookie campaign on the high banks, and 2022 track king Tyler Leary brought the NHSTRA Modifieds to the green Saturday, with Leary leading all the way to earn his first victory lap of the summer just inches ahead of division rookie Scott Zilinksi.
Belanger held second the first 16 go-rounds, then giving way to Zilinski. JT Cloutier, meanwhile, was smoothly and methodically making his way forward from row five, claiming third on lap 38. With Leary holding off all challengers to take down the victory, Zilinski’s second and Cloutier’s third were both career highs in the high flying open-wheelers.
Kevin Clayton and Bob Williams sat on the front row as the Mini Stock 50-lapper went green, and Clayton wasted no time in jumping all over the top spot, bringing defending track champ Gordon Farnum, aboard a loaner Saturday, with him.
It was Clayton on the point when a lap-25 jingle sent the lead packers scrambling in turn two. When the dust had settled, it was Williams in front with two-time winner Louie Maher riding in his shadow.
Williams held strong the rest of the way to win pulling away. Maher was second under the checkers, just ahead of Claremont’s Erin Aiken, with the Sontag brothers, Cameron and Chris rounding out the top five.
Chris Davis had the most to gain as Saturday’s Pure Stock 25-lapper went green, and the former track champ cashed in. Taking the lead from Tim Taft on lap three, he sped off to his third victory of the summer and, with it, gained a whopping 30 points in the points chase, as fellow two-timer Colton Martin fell to mechanical woes on lap 13, relegated to a dismal 16th on the night.
Davis’ Saturday win didn’t come easy though. Kodi Sabins got up for second on lap 15 and the two four-holer titans raced under a blanket the rest of the way. Strong and steady Andrea St. Amour came home third, just ahead of Carlos Grenier and Zach Zilinski. Martin, despite his night’s disappointment, still went home two markers ahead of Davis in the championship points parade.
Tim Wenzel took the lead from rookie strong man JD Stockwell on lap eight of the NHSTRA Late Model main and led the rest of the way to score his division-best second win of the season and, with the victory, pad his points lead.
The big battle in this one was for second, between Stockwell and CMP regular Andrew Brousseau, who used a lap14 bump-and-run to snatch the deuce spot. Brousseau’s ride, however, went sour on him over the last two circuits, dropping him to seventh on the night. Stockwell’s runner-up finish netted him another podium outing, with Hillary Renaud staying strong in the title chase by coming home third.
Adrian Smith won for the fourth time this season in the Young Gun division, taking the lead from Addison Brooks on lap 13 and then speeding off into the night. Brooks was a career-best second in the 15-lapper, following her strong victory in the earlier heat race.
Markus O’Neil joined them on the podium, making a late-race pass of two-time winner Owen Zilinski to secure the three spot.
In a pair of New England Antique Racers 15-lap feature races, Nutmeg Stater Spanky Bancroft led Doug Farrell under the checkers in the Sportsman event, while Dennis Desautels of nearby Palmer, Mass. edged fellow Bay Stater Greg Gilbert in the NEAR Modifieds.
Monadnock Speedway will return to action next Saturday, August 12, when the 50-lap Round Two event of this year’s Teddy Bear Pools Triple Crown Late Model Series will sit atop a full card of NASCAR Weekly Racing Series action. Post time at Monadnock Speedway is 6 p.m.
Results
NHSTRA MODIFIED: Tyler Leary, Scott Zilinski, JT Cloutier, Nate Wenzel, Joel Belanger, Kim Rivet, Cory Plummer, Guy Caron, Brian Chapin, Brad Lamotte.
NHSTRA LATE MODEL: Tim Wenzel, JD Stockwell, Hillary Renaud, Erik Smith, Dave Thibodeau, Cole Littlewood, Andrew Brousseau, Kevin McKnight, Aaron Thompson, Dan Young.
MINI STOCK: Rob Williams, Louie Maher, Erin Aiken, Cameron Sontag, Chris Sontag, Pat Houle, Matt Lambert, Jake Puchalski, Gordon Farnum, Chris Fultz.
PURE STOCK: Chris Davis, Kodi Sabins, Andrea St. Amour, Carlos Grenier, Zach Zilinski, Jimmy Zellman, Tim Taft, Jim Rhodes, Teagan Edson, Dominick Stafford.
YOUNG GUN: Adrian Smith, Addison Brooks, Markus O’Neil, Owen Zilinski, Madison Cousino, Cambri Hubbard, Kailyn Hubbard, Hunter Duquette, Sofie Rego.
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