CLAREMONT, N.H. — Claremont Motorsports Park ushered in its busy 2025 racing season Saturday, April 19, with day one of its annual two-day Spring Fling spectacular.
No fewer than a dozen different drivers earned their first checkered flag lap of the summer Saturday, although only one was a repeat winner from last season’s Spring Fling event. Bay State Midget legend Randy Cabral, he of 73 series wins and five NEMA championships, duplicated his April 27, 2024, victory here, adding Saturday’s Midget win to a long list of Claremont victories.
Cabral took the lead from Mike Horne on a lap-10 restart and then blasted off into another time zone to win the Butch Walsh Memorial 25-lapper by a country mile. Paul Scally got up for second, Horne was strong in third and 2024 series champ Avery Stoehr came home fourth.
Former track champ Ricky Bly edged ahead of two-time titlist Ben Poland on lap three of the Outlaw Late Model main and never looked back en route to victory. Poland pitted out of second on lap 18, with Baltimore, Vermont, pilot Cam Curtis then moving up to second. Curtis, who started racing here in karts, moved to within five lengths of Bly but had to settle for second. Josh Ruel was strong in third.
Dylan Coutu took the lead from Braydon Egan on lap six of the NEMA Lites feature and held strong for victory. PJ Stergios, a factor all day, finished second, with Kyle Valeri third. Randy Cabral, gunning for his second win of the day, settled for fourth in the Lites.
With Pro 4 superstar Rob Richardi not in Saturday’s starting field after suffering a garage fire, Craig Phillips took full advantage of his absence and rocketed off to a five-length victory over Randy Clark. Josh Badach earned the third-place hardware.
Veteran CMP pace car driver Leo Martin probably thought his weekend was ruined when he looked in his rearview mirror and saw a whole field of cop cars in pursuit. It was, however, only the starting lineup for CMP’s first-ever Crown Victoria race.
Chris Knight guided his former squad car to victory, earning a big $1,000 bonus compliments of Randy Rameau and Central Mass Tree Co. Bella Flaherty was strong in second and Andrew Harmon came home third.
Steve Miller Jr. made a shrewd move in heavy traffic to take the lead from Brady Lamotte on lap 15 of the Six Shooter feature and then sped off to victory. The former track champ was joined in victory lane by Lamotte and his father, Steve Sr., last year’s CMP kingpin.
Former Pure Stock strongman Carlos Grenier made easy work of winning his first outing in the Ridge Runners. Former open-wheel pilot Trevyr Young was strong in second and Windsor Hodgdon finished third.
Saturday’s Pro V8 Sportsman win went to Hudson regular Steve Dubois. Seth Laporte was second and Aaron Thompson third.
Jase Mongeon blew away the field to win Saturday’s NELCAR: Legend feature by a landslide. Kevin Davis and Brandon Martinez finished a distant second and third. Grayson Day was the first of three 11-year-old racers under the checkers in the Bandalero feature, scoring his victory ahead of David Bernier and Andrew Cote.
Haydon Kingsley led all the way en route to a dominant victory in the 603 Mini Cup feature. Jason Romprey was the best of the rest, nipping Kendall Whitehill for second.
Saturday’s CMP event marked day one of the speedplant’s annual season-opening Spring Fling two-day event, with Modifieds, Super Streets, an Easter egg hunt, and much more still ahead on Sunday’s schedule.
A big chunk of Claremont Motorsports Park’s Spring Fling purse headed east to Sunapee Sunday, as both Brian Robie and Ricky Bly topped showcase main events at the storied third-mile oval.
Robie dominated the Asetex Tire and Auto 604 Modified 78-lapper to earn the $3,000 winner’s purse, a duplication of the former track champ’s big score a year ago.
Bly, like Robie a former CMP champion, punctuated his Saturday Spring Fling Outlaw Late Model victory by winning Sunday’s Tour Type Late Model main event, this one earning him the $2,200 victory purse.
Other winners on the day included Cody Schoolcraft, victorious in the Super Streets, Kyle Templeton, who soared to victory in the Mini Stocks, and second-generation hot shoe Carter Conroy, who won the first event of his sophomore summer in the Pure Stocks. Series star Tom Harwood was top in the visiting New England Dwarf Car main event.
Heat race winner Cole Littlewood led the first seven laps of the Modified 78-lapper, then giving way to Robie, who once in front never looked back, wining by almost a full straightaway over Bay State rocketman Tyler Leary.
Littlewood held strong to finish third in Sunday’s season opener. Brad Zahensky moved up to fourth when Jeremy Zullo spun out of the spot on the final turn, and second-generation hot shoe Andrew Brousseau was fifth on the afternoon.
Randy Cole Jr. was the early leader in the Tour Type Late Model main, giving way to Kyle Goodbout on lap two, but Goodbout’s rearview was quickly filled by super star Aaron Fellows.
Fellows took charge on lap 10, before giving way to Richard Brown on lap 38 and then ducking pitside quickly during a lap-39 caution. Brown would hold strong until Ricky Bly took charge on lap 55, with Fellows soon back up to second.
On this sunny afternoon, Bly had all the car he needed to hold Fellows off and score his second feature win of the weekend, this one with its fat purse attached. Stephen Donahue, perhaps overshadowed by the hometrack star power in this one, impressed with his charge to third.
Tim Churchill and Ryan Farewell led the RE Hinkley Fuels Super Streets to the green Sunday, with Churchill leading the first two go-rounds until Joe Tetreault stormed to the front. Cody Schoolcraft, from row three, took charge on lap five and never looked back, holding a perfect line all the way to the checkers to win a thriller.
Brandon Gray, up to second on lap 13, finished in Schoolcraft’s shadow, with Chris Lindquist impressive in third. Robbie Streeter and Farewell completed the top five.
Blasting off from row one, Kyle Kenny took the early lead in Sunday’s LaValley Building Supply Pure Stock feature. Fellow second-year hot shoe Carter Conroy was having none of it with Kenny’s early success, low-lining to the front on lap three and never looking back en route to his first career Pure Stock victory.
Kenny returning from an impressive rookie campaign a summer ago, was strong in second, with Jimmy Zellman’s hard day’s work bringing him home third.
Defending track Mini Stock champion Kyle Templeton made easy work of winning Sunday’s event, topping his heat and then leading all the way in the show’s nightcap event. Sean Lantas was strong in second, and Richard Lamotte came home third.
Cody Hodgson led the first 15 laps of the New England Dwarf Cars feature. Tom Harwood was knocking at the door by lap 12, took charge on lap 16, and then sped off to his 29th series victory. Zig Geno got up for second, and Hodgdon held strong for third in the 10-car field.
Claremont Motorsports Park begins its ambitious 2025 NASCAR Advance Auto Parks Weekly Racing Series Friday night season with a full card of exciting oval track racing later this week. Post time for the April 25 and all other Friday night events is 7 p.m.
