Story By: JUSTIN ST. LOUIS / SPRINT CARS OF NEW ENGLAND – LOUDON, NH – NASCAR star Chase Briscoe came, saw, and conquered The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Mitchell, Ind., native made his first appearance with the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) tour at the New England Racing Fuels “Friday Night Dirt Duels” presented by Kondrat Kustoms on July 14, and he walked away from a wild race on a treacherous track with an enormously popular win. The race played before a massive spectator crowd and was streamed live on FloRacing.
After nearly a month of heavy rains, Mother Nature did not do the track preparation crew any favors, but a tacky, choppy – and very racy – surface was ready for the $3,000-to-win event. Briscoe was moonlighting from his regular drive in the NASCAR Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing to run as a teammate to SCoNE regular Matt Tanner with backing from Mahindra Tractors, and he had 19 other teams to square off against as well.
SCoNE’s season-long handicapping format threw Briscoe a curveball in his debut with the series, but he was able to navigate his way through traffic in his qualifying heat and was in the right place at the right time on more than a couple of occasions during the night. Briscoe narrowly made the handicap transfer in his heat after a flip by Kadyn Berry on the final lap, and he lined up eighth for the 30-lap A-Main feature race.
A scattered start to the feature left many drivers scrambling to catch up, but a handful of drivers fired off when the green flag waved unexpectedly. It was veteran Mark Cole – SCoNE’s inaugural champion in 2004 – and rookie Jason Goff who set the pace and threatened a runaway in the first dozen circuits. But Briscoe found a fast line at the top of the track that helped him catch the lead duo, taking the lead from Cole on lap 13. Two laps later, another rookie, Ron Davis, caught an opening in the backstretch wall and crashed hard out of the top 10, cartwheeling to a stop in Turn 3.
Briscoe held the lead at the restart, but on lap 20, it was Floyd Billington taking a terrifying flip down the frontstretch in front of the jam-packed grandstand crowd, bringing out the second red flag of the race. The field was no match for Briscoe after that, though, and he ran away while pulling wheelstands down the straightaways due to the tackiness and grip in the track surface.
Tanner ran in second place for much of the race before Jordan Fornwalt made his way through the field; Fornwalt – in his first SCoNE start of the year – was looking for a repeat victory after winning at New Hampshire in 2022, but he settled for the runner-up spot after a spirited fight with Tanner. SCoNE point leader Chris Donnelly was in contention for the runner-up finish for much of the distance, but he fell to fourth place behind Tanner in the final few laps. Clay Dow, who was negatively affected by the odd original start, rebounded to finish fifth.
Luke Greenwood made his first SCoNE start of the season a good one, gaining 10 positions to finish sixth and earn the Rockingham Boat “Hard Charger Award. Caleb Lamson finished seventh after starting 12th, but he caught Greenwood’s car too quickly after checkered flag and made contact, flipping his car after the race had ended. Cole held on for his first top 10 finish of the season ahead of Jake Williams and J.P. Vaillancourt, who finished 10th in just the second Sprint Car start of his career.
RACE NOTES:
A season-high field of 21 cars attended the event. The three qualifying heat races were won by Mark Cole, rookie Jason Goff and Doug McPhail, with each grabbing a $50 bonus from CMD Logging of Barnstead, N.H.
A total of five drivers found their cars upside down at the event. Jim Lowrey Jr. flipped in pre-race hot laps, and Kadyn Berry had a rough one in his qualifying heat, while the A-Main saw Ron Davis Jr., Ron Tanner, and Caleb Lamson upside down. None of the five drivers sustained injuries.
Chase Briscoe’s SCoNE win was his first Sprint Car victory since an event at the short track at Talladega, Ala., in April 2022, and came in his first Sprint Car race of the 2023 season. The car he drove finished second with Matt Tanner driving at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on July 8.
Rockingham Boat of Hampstead, N.H., presented the Hard Charger Award, with a $50 bonus going to Luke Greenwood, who drove from the 16th starting position to finish sixth, in his first start of the season for car owner Bruce Clattenburg.
Will Hull, the second-place point driver, was awarded the Panther Frameworx “Hard Luck” Award after a hard crash on the first lap of his qualifying heat that badly damaged his car and kept him out of the feature race.
The McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England tour returns to action on Saturday, July 22 at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Vt.; racing begins at the track’s famous “6:00-ish” post time.
OFFICIAL RESULTS – McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England
The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Loudon, N.H.
New England Racing Fuels “Friday Night Dirt Duels” presented by Kondrat Kustoms
Friday, July 14, 2023
A-Main Feature (30 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
# – denotes rookie
1. (8) Chase Briscoe, Mitchell, Ind.
2. (9) Jordan Fornwalt, Bradford, Vt.
3. (10) Matt Tanner, Stephentown, N.Y.
4. (7) Chris Donnelly, Piermont, N.H.
5. (5) Clay Dow, Barnstead, N.H.
6. (16) Luke Greenwood, Hudson, N.H.
7. (12) Caleb Lamson, Moretown, Vt.
8. (1) Mark Cole, Lebanon, N.H.
9. (11) Jake Williams, Center Tuftonboro, N.H.
10. (18) # J.P. Vaillancourt, Campton, N.H.
11. (15) Jim Lowrey Jr., Tilton, N.H.
12. (13) Troy Comeau, Wentworth, N.H.
13. (14) Nick Comeau, Hebron, N.H.
14. (19) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, N.H.
15. (17) Donald Ottati, Rumney, N.H.
16. (3) Doug McPhail, Tilton, N.H.
17. (6) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
18. (2) # Jason Goff, Preston Hollow, N.Y.
19. (4) # Ron Davis Jr., Moultonborough, N.H.
Did Not Start: Travis Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.; Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.
Lap Leaders (1 lead change among 2 drivers): Mark Cole, 1-12; Chase Briscoe, 13-30.
Cautions (2): Laps 15 (red), 20 (red).
Contingency Award Winners:
- CMD Logging Heat Winners: Mark Cole, Jason Goff, Doug McPhail
- Rockingham Boat “Hard Charger” Award: Luke Greenwood (+10 positions)
- Panther Frameworx “Hard Luck” Award: Will Hull
- 802 Print Award: Matt Tanner (3rd)
- Hull Motorsports Award: Clay Dow (5th)
- Big Al’s Photos Award: Luke Greenwood (6th)
- Waddell Communications & Repairs Award: Caleb Lamson (7th)
- 87Speed Award: Mark Cole (8th)
- Uncommon Deeds Podcast Award: Jake Williams (9th)
- Dave Bowser Motorsports Rookie of the Race: J.P. Vaillancourt (10th)