The Northeast Classic Lites along with the weekly NASCAR Whelen All American Racing Series divisions and Young Guns competed Saturday at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, New Hampshire.
Keith Carzello won the Sportsman Modified for his first of the season, while Ed Lofland won the Thunder Stocks and Nat Wenzel the Young Guns.
Mike Stebbins (Mini Stocks) and Tyler Leary (Super Stocks) won for the second time this season. Robby Bryant took home the win in the NE Classic Lites.
Wenzel set the pace for the 15-lap Young Guns event. Wenzel took the lead at the start as Cooper Roberge and Chris Phelps trailed close behind. Matt Lambert eventually passed Phelps for third. Wenzel gained a good lead on the field until the caution came out in lap 10 for Athol’s Chloe Wright and Elijah Castillo. On the restart, Wenzel had the lead as Roberge followed. At the checkers, Wenzel took the victory.
Seventeen cars rolled onto the track for the Mini Stock’s 25-lap event. Jaret Curtis held the lead at the start. By lap five, Matt Kimball took over second while Mike Stebbins, who started eighth, powered in to take third. Curtis continued to lead, but Stebbins took over in lap 10. On the next lap, Kimball moved into second, while Curtis held strong in third. At the wave of the checkerd flag, Stebbins found victory lane followed by Kimball and Curtis.
Brothers Justin and Cole Littlewood of Orange brought the Super Stocks to the start. Justin took the lead to start as Solomon Brow challenged Cole Littlewood for second early. Both ran wheel to wheel for several laps until Brow broke away for second. Cole Littlewood found no break as Geoff Rollins moved in to set up the wheel-to-wheel challenge for third.
Rollins eventually took over third as Cole Littlewood settled into fifth. Justin Littlewood continued to lead. At the halfway mark, Rollins and Tyler Leary moved up on Justin Littlewood. Leary made the move to the inside of Rollins for second. On lap 15, Leary reeled in Justin Littlewood as they went wheel to wheel for the top spot.
Leary, with a good run of turn two, pulled into the lead and with five laps to go, Leary pulled away from the field. Rollins settled into second and Cole Littlewood put the pressure on his little brother and took third. Justin Littlewood and Brow rounded out the top five.
The Thunder Stocks came next. Before the green was displayed, Richard Vincent was sent to the pits for a gas leak. The problem was fixed before the green came as Vincent joined the field. Lofland quickly took over the lead by lap three.
On lap four, the caution came as Ben Williams made contact with Hillary Renaud. On the restart, Bruce Clark made his move after starting in the back due to mechanical issues, putting the pressure on for second. By lap eight, Clark took over second as Vincent took the third spot.
Lap 10 saw the caution flag fly for Williams, who was stopped on the track. On the restart, Lofland continued to lead as Clark and Vincent went wheel to wheel for second. As the battled continued, the caution came again on lap 14 as Joshua Nutter spun on the front stretch collecting Chase Curtis. The field went to a single file restart with 10 laps remaining. The top eventually settled into the position. At the checkers, Lofland took first followed by Vincent.
The Sportsman modified closed the evening. Joe Monahan and Brian Chapin took the field to the green. Monahan, with a good start, jumped into the lead as Chapin, Kim Rivet and Ben Byrne followed. Matt Kimball and Carzello challenged each other early on for fifth.
On lap 12, Rivet powered her way on the outside of Chapin to take second and pursue Monahan. The field slowed on the next lap for a caution as rookie Jessica O’Leary suffered mechanical problems and damaged Carzello’s car. Carzello pulled into the pits, but returned before the restart of lap 13.
Monahan led the field, but felt the pressure of Rivet and Chapin. Rivet looked to the outside of Monahan, but was denied the room to pass. On lap 19, Rivet used the bump-and-run to pass Monahan for the lead. Rivet pulled away from the field as Chapin defended his third spot from Byrne.
By lap 26, the hope for victory for Rivet was gone as her car went up in smoke, suffering engine problems. On the restart, Carzello took the top spot as Kimball moved into third and attempted the inside of Monahan for second. Carzello took the win followed by Monahan and Kimball.
Monadnock Speedway will start at 6 p.m. Saturday with the Sportsman Modifieds, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks, Lightning Stocks and Young Guns. On Sunday, the speedway will host the first Mudbog Mudslinger Series of the season. It will begin at noon and will include six divisions.