RGeeProductions
08-29-2012, 12:22 AM
The chase for the 2012 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track championship at Lee USA Speedway continued Friday night, with double features making it an even more challenging for the Benson Lumber and Hardware Small Block Supermodified competitors.
Twin 25-lap feature events were on tap for the open-wheelers, and when the checkers waved, we had not one, but two first-time winners rolling into victory lane. Second-year competitor Leslie Keyser collected his first career win in the opener, and veteran Moe Lattime got his first Small Block Super checkered the nightcap.
Keyser made quick work of polesitter Tony Carroll to take the lead when the first race went green, and he never looked back, leading every lap on the way to victory. Former champ Tommy Tombarello, Jr. gave chase, but he came up short and had to settle for runner-up.
Defending Lee USA Small Block Super and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series New Hampshire State champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr. was third across the stripe, followed by Carroll, Lattime, P.J. Stergios, Joey Scanlon, Sparky MacIver, Mike Netishen, and rookie Ryan Gath.
Lattime took advantage of a front row starting spot to move into the lead at the start of the second of the two features, and like Keyser, he set the pace from flag to flag to score his first win of the season aboard the Dick Osborne machine.
Netishen got to within a couple of car lengths but ended up second at the finish, with Tombarello, Stergios, MacIver, Helliwell, Mike Ordway, Jr., Gath, Scanlon, and Carroll rounding out the top ten finishers in the second feature event.
The highly-competitive Prime Storage Warehouse Late Model Sportsman feature also produced a first-time winner, as fan favorite Alby Ovitt finally shook off the bad luck that’s been hampering his efforts and took down the checkered flag in the Jeff Hill machine.
Rookie of the Year contender Kyle Roy grabbed the lead at the drop of the green and set the pace through halfway, with Michele Fushpanski taking over the point shortly after the crossed flags. Fushpanski headed pitside on lap 22 to end her chances, with Ovitt assuming the lead.
Veteran Tony Kawejsza was among those pressuring Ovitt in the late laps, but Alby held him off to collect the checkers. Jimmy Russell scored third, with Boe Green, points leader J.R. Baril, Roy, Ray Dinsmore, Fushpanski, Patrick Stewart, and Brian Grantz the remainder of the top ten.
The Small Block Supers weren’t the only ones pulling double duty, as the David’s Race Cars and Components Hobby Stocks had a pair of feature events on the card as well. Veteran Jim Piaseczny was the man to beat in the first of the two main events, and it was Ron Washburn stepping up to make the trip to victory lane in the second feature.
Former Hobby champ Brian Thompson set the pace well past the halfway mark, but a hard battle for the lead with Niko Maniatis shortly thereafter resulted in contact, a spin, and the two drivers at the rear of the field for the restart.
Piaseczny took over from there, and he held off a late-race challenge from two-time winner Chris Jacobson to score the victory. Washburn finished third, followed by Jim Shorey, Patrick Tanguay, Paul Palen, Brian DeStefano, David MacDonald, Kyle Sawyer, and Dennis Dumas.
Washburn turned it up a notch in the second feature, taking the lead from Thompson on lap 13, and going the distance from there to score the win. Shorey, Thompson, Palen, Maniatis, DeStefano, Dumas, Jacobson, Sawyer, and Piaseczny rounded out the top ten.
The American Used Auto Parts Ironman feature was their biggest race of the year, and it was the ever-popular Evan Horvath in his family’s Red Cup Racing entry taking down the win. Evan’s brother Shane moved in the challenge shortly before halfway, but he lost a right front wheel and dropped out of the race as a result.
With points leader Jake Rheaume sidelined with mechanical woes, Horvath was the class of the field this time out, leading them under the checkers to collect the win. Travis Hollins got his best finish of the year in the runner-up slot, with Wayne Osborne, Danielle Simoneau, and Hannah Shaw collecting the hardware for third through fifth.
Lee USA Speedway
Twin 25-lap feature events were on tap for the open-wheelers, and when the checkers waved, we had not one, but two first-time winners rolling into victory lane. Second-year competitor Leslie Keyser collected his first career win in the opener, and veteran Moe Lattime got his first Small Block Super checkered the nightcap.
Keyser made quick work of polesitter Tony Carroll to take the lead when the first race went green, and he never looked back, leading every lap on the way to victory. Former champ Tommy Tombarello, Jr. gave chase, but he came up short and had to settle for runner-up.
Defending Lee USA Small Block Super and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series New Hampshire State champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr. was third across the stripe, followed by Carroll, Lattime, P.J. Stergios, Joey Scanlon, Sparky MacIver, Mike Netishen, and rookie Ryan Gath.
Lattime took advantage of a front row starting spot to move into the lead at the start of the second of the two features, and like Keyser, he set the pace from flag to flag to score his first win of the season aboard the Dick Osborne machine.
Netishen got to within a couple of car lengths but ended up second at the finish, with Tombarello, Stergios, MacIver, Helliwell, Mike Ordway, Jr., Gath, Scanlon, and Carroll rounding out the top ten finishers in the second feature event.
The highly-competitive Prime Storage Warehouse Late Model Sportsman feature also produced a first-time winner, as fan favorite Alby Ovitt finally shook off the bad luck that’s been hampering his efforts and took down the checkered flag in the Jeff Hill machine.
Rookie of the Year contender Kyle Roy grabbed the lead at the drop of the green and set the pace through halfway, with Michele Fushpanski taking over the point shortly after the crossed flags. Fushpanski headed pitside on lap 22 to end her chances, with Ovitt assuming the lead.
Veteran Tony Kawejsza was among those pressuring Ovitt in the late laps, but Alby held him off to collect the checkers. Jimmy Russell scored third, with Boe Green, points leader J.R. Baril, Roy, Ray Dinsmore, Fushpanski, Patrick Stewart, and Brian Grantz the remainder of the top ten.
The Small Block Supers weren’t the only ones pulling double duty, as the David’s Race Cars and Components Hobby Stocks had a pair of feature events on the card as well. Veteran Jim Piaseczny was the man to beat in the first of the two main events, and it was Ron Washburn stepping up to make the trip to victory lane in the second feature.
Former Hobby champ Brian Thompson set the pace well past the halfway mark, but a hard battle for the lead with Niko Maniatis shortly thereafter resulted in contact, a spin, and the two drivers at the rear of the field for the restart.
Piaseczny took over from there, and he held off a late-race challenge from two-time winner Chris Jacobson to score the victory. Washburn finished third, followed by Jim Shorey, Patrick Tanguay, Paul Palen, Brian DeStefano, David MacDonald, Kyle Sawyer, and Dennis Dumas.
Washburn turned it up a notch in the second feature, taking the lead from Thompson on lap 13, and going the distance from there to score the win. Shorey, Thompson, Palen, Maniatis, DeStefano, Dumas, Jacobson, Sawyer, and Piaseczny rounded out the top ten.
The American Used Auto Parts Ironman feature was their biggest race of the year, and it was the ever-popular Evan Horvath in his family’s Red Cup Racing entry taking down the win. Evan’s brother Shane moved in the challenge shortly before halfway, but he lost a right front wheel and dropped out of the race as a result.
With points leader Jake Rheaume sidelined with mechanical woes, Horvath was the class of the field this time out, leading them under the checkers to collect the win. Travis Hollins got his best finish of the year in the runner-up slot, with Wayne Osborne, Danielle Simoneau, and Hannah Shaw collecting the hardware for third through fifth.
Lee USA Speedway