Story By: WHITE MOUNTAIN MOTORSPORTS PARK – NORTH WOODSTOCK, NH – One hundred and thirteen teams flooded the White Mountain Motorsports Park pit area on Saturday afternoon, setting up for one of the biggest showdowns of the season at New Hampshire’s Favorite Short Track.
Headlined by a set of Twin 100s, Saturday saw the conclusion of the second annual Wall’s Ford Platinum Late Model Series and the return of the $5,000 to win R&R Race Parts NH Street Stock Open that left plenty of thrills for the crowd on hand and provided an early champion for the record books.
The Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Minis started out the jam-packed evening with trouble early to leave John Knight in control of the field. Youngster McKenna Merchant dove underneath him on the backstretch to lead lap 8 at the line. With the championship battle continuing in earnest behind her, Merchant kept her foot in the throttle before lap traffic stopped her advance and relegated her back to sixth while Chris Moulton swept around Knights for the lead. Moulton mashed the gas against his championship opponent Kristian Switser to claim the win on the track, post-race technical inspection discovered an illegal engine under the hood giving Switser the win with Jake Hayes in second and Merchant rounding out the podium.
After working up from a mid-pack starting position, Luke Shannon Sr. took over the heap on lap 3 of the second Dwarf Car segment. After stalking the leader, Jason Wyman looked to the outside groove for a little more speed while Luke Shannon Jr. worked mid-pack traffic looking to sweep the twin 20-lap segment event. The two raced side-by-side through the final ten circuits as the hot-shoes in segment one drove desperately to meet them before time ran out. Jason Wyman got the 0.022-second advantage on Shannon at the line to take the overall win with just 4 points total over Luke Shannon Sr. and Vermont’s Ethan Tyrrell.
Courtesy of a +8 earned in his qualifying heat, Justin Prescott paced the R&R Race Parts Open Street Stock field to the green flag. The first caution would fly on lap 14 for the 88 of Adam Lovejoy in turn two as several teams, including White Mountain stand-outs Thomas Smithers VI and Tanner Woodard, jumped into the pits for early adjustments. Prescott again took the restart lead over Rob McRae at the flagstand as Jason Woodard followed the Thunder Road Late Model rookie. Even through a series of spin-caused yellow flags, Prescott and Woodard battled hard at the front. Just after the halfway point, Charlie Baldwin put on a serious charge for the lead under Prescott before Jimmy Renfrew Jr. spun in turn two.
Baldwin snagged away the lead from Prescott just before the lap 60 spin for Geoff Rollins in turn three but lost that top spot to Prescott back at the line. Baldwin bounced back on lap 65 with a rear-view mirror full of Kris Watson as he continued to fight Prescott. Prescott gained back the upper hand with fifteen laps left and started to pull away with ten remaining. With two-to-go, Jason Woodard pulled up to tap bumpers and never stopped even as time ran out. Justin Prescott pocketed the $5,000 win plus an over-$1,000 prize for leading 73 of the 100 laps. Jason Woodard took down second with defending Street Stock Open 100 champion Kris Watson taking the third-place trophy back home to Kenduskeag, Maine.
With Kevin Boucher and Brett Jackson leading the charge, the Ammonoosuc Asphalt Mini Late Models launched for their 40-lap Matt Clay Memorial Midseason Championship make-up. With Boucher quickly taking charge, the fight was on for second as Dustin Jackson, Josh Dunn and others duked it out before Dick Lamotte’s infield spin on lap 14 called the caution. Boucher ran off with the restart lead but not without close followers Nick Anderson and Haywood Herriot, sub-driving for Cody LeBlanc. Anderson dove under Boucher to lead lap 25 with Herriot and Dustin Jackson in tow on the inside line. While Herriot came close, Nick Anderson brought it home for the double-point win followed by Herriot and Kevin Boucher on the podium.
Joey Laquerre overtook the lead immediately after taking the green flag in the Fisher Auto Parts Flying Tigers feature, but Colin Cornell and John Donahue looked fast on the outside groove behind him. Cornell hopped to the outside of Laquerre on lap 8, stole away the lead on lap 10 and never let up, stretching his lead all the way to half-a-lap by the time he took the checkered flag. John Donahue and invader Joel Hodgdon rounded out the winner’s circle.
To end the night the Foley Oil & Propane Late Models returned to wrap up the 2023 Wall’s Ford Platinum Series with a 100-lap affair in the tight championship battle. With American-Canadian Tour hotshoe Erick Sands at the helm and White Mountain regular Matt Anderson to his outside, the Wall’s 100 came to life. Kasey Beattie entered the picture early to steal away the lead on lap 2 as Scott Dragon, Bryan Wall Jr. and Anderson followed in line. Anderson’s strong luck disappeared on lap 13 in a shower of sparks under his left front. Beattie and Sands continued their hard-nosed fight at the front with Quinny Welch and current American-Canadian Tour top rookie Tanner Woodard getting a front-seat view.
Welch moved into second around Sands on lap 56 to begin chasing down Beattie with a caution for Reilly Lanphear’s slide through the infield grass and up into turn one stacking them up once again. Multiple caution-induced restarts continued to pour gas on the flame between Beattie and Welch at the front as they continually fought it out over and over again. Through it all, St. Johnsbury’s Kasey Beattie proved to be class of the field, able to secure a trifecta by taking the Wall’s Ford 100 event win, the 2023 Wall’s Ford Platinum Series Championship and was crowned the 2023 White Mountain Motorsports Park King of the Mountain by virtue of his point lead two weeks prior to championship night at the track.
White Mountain Motorsports Park kicks off another epic weekend of racing next Saturday, September 16th with the 45th American-Canadian Tour Fall Foliage 200. The doubleheader Saturday night is headlined by the ACT Tour Fall Foliage 200 along with the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models, the New England Supermodified Series (NESS), PASS Modifieds and the Fisher Auto Parts Flying Tigers.
White Mountain Motorsports Park – N. Woodstock, NH
Wall’s Ford Platinum Series & R&R Race Parts NH Street Stock Special
Saturday, September 9, 2023
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Foley Oil & Propane Late Models – Wall’s Ford 100
1. 45NH Kasey Beattie St. Johnsbury, VT
2. 78NH Quinten Welch Groveton, NH
3. 68NH #Tanner Woodard Waterbury Ctr., VT
4. 36NH Erick Sands Derry, NH
5. 0VT Scott Dragon Milton, VT
6. 38VT Tyler Cahoon Danville, VT
7. 28NH Ricky Bly Sunapee, NH
8. 83VT Stacy Cahoon St. Johnsbury, VT
9. 00NH Jimmy Renfrew Jr. Candia, NH
10. 04NH Shawn Swallow Groveton, NH
11. 49NH Matt Anderson Franklin, NH
12. 21VT Reilly Lanphear Waterbury, VT
13. 42NH Mike Jurkowski Claremont, NH
14. 77NH #Bryan Wall Jr. E. Kingston, NH
15. 17NH #Kyle Goodbout N. Woodstock, NH
16. 99NH Ben Belanger Whitefield, NH
17. 22WC Mike Clark Littleton, NH
18. 57NH David Labreque Thornton, NH
19. 21NH Oren Remick Monroe, NH
20. 8NH Connor McDougal Wakefield, NH
21. 02MA Geoff Rollins Merrimack, NH
22. 47NH Brockton Davis Whitefield, NH
23. 07NH Mark Patten Belmont, NH
24. 22VT Peyton Lanphear Waterbury, VT
25. 02NH Randy Potter Groveton, NH
$5,000 to Win R&R Race Parts NH Street Stock Open – (100 Laps)
1. 44VT Justin Prescott South Hero, VT
2. 68VT Jason Woodard Waterbury Ctr., VT
3. 35 Kris Watson Kenduskeag, ME
4. 01 Bill Helliwell Litchfield, NH
5. 89 Jimmy Renfrew Jr. Candia, NH
6. 2 Charlie Baldwin Hudson, NH
7. 4VT Chris Riendeau Weathersfield, VT
8. 52x Rob McRae Barica, MA
9. 4 Tommy O’Sullivan Wilbraham, MA
10. 57 Justin Beecher Billerica, MA
11. 45 Adam Maynard Milton, VT
12. 7C John Cashman Danvers, MA
13. 03 Josh Gerard W. Wareham, MA
14. 33 Geoff Rollins Merrimack, NH
15. 07 Christopher Buffone Belchertown, MA
16. 24 Scott Zilinski Irving, MA
17. 16z Dillon Zullo Claremont, NH
18. 1 Travis Lovejoy Waterboro, ME
19. 30 Andrew Morin Nashua, NH
20. 55 Jamie Longley Newton, NC
21. 68NH Tanner Woodard Waterbury Ctr., VT
22. 7 Shane Gendron Tyngsboro, MA
23. 97 Adam Gray Granby, MA
24. 60 Thomas Smithers VI Gilmanton, NH
25. 83G Shawn Gilpatrick W. Newfield, ME
26. 4K Jared Kimball Arundel, ME
27. 88 Adam Lovejoy Sanford, ME
28. LL George Baldwin Lowell, MA
29. 52 Brad Bushey Cambridge, MA
DNS 05 Craig Bushey Fletcher, VT
Ammonoosuc Asphalt Mini Late Models – Matt Clay Memorial (40 Laps)
1. 55 Nick Anderson Oxford, MA
2. 7NH Heywood Herriot* Berlin, NH
3. 71 Kevin Boucher Grafton, NH
4. 37 Dustin Jackson Bethlehem, NH
5. 76 Garrett LaBounty Orleans, VT
6. 31 Brett Jackson Bethlehem, NH
7. 409 Nick Houle Granby, MA
8. 11NH Josh Dunn Enfield, NH
9. 1NH Ken Marier Newfields, NH
10. 8 Jeffrey Martin Barre, VT
11. 7MI Matt LeBlanc Berlin, NH
12. 90 Desmond Skillings Antrim, NH
13. 18 Dick Lamotte White River Jct., VT
14. 51VT Chris Judd Windsor, VT
15. 00 Jamie Peterson Belmont, NH
16. 10 Issac Rollins Hudson, ME
*Sub Driver for Cody LeBlanc
Fisher Auto Parts Flying Tigers – (35 Laps)
1 54VT Colin Cornell E. Burke, VT
2 26NH John Donahue Graniteville, VT
3 36VT Joel Hodgdon Craftsbury Common, VT
4 15NH Joey Laquerre E. Montpelier, VT
5 26VT #Luke Peters Groton, VT
6 3NH David Baron Nashua, NH
7 00VT Matthew Potter* Marshfield, VT
8 82NH Frank Sweeney Belmont, NH
9 34ME David Vaughn Naples, ME
10 34VT Mike Bailey** S. Barre, VT
11 36NH #Nathan Hamblett Derby Line, VT
12 46VT Aaron Maynard Lyndonville, VT
*Sub Driver for Brandon Gray
**Sub Driver for Jim Paquette
Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Minis – (25 Laps)
1. 16NH Kristian Switser Waterford, VT
2. 09 Jack Hayes Littleton, NH
3. 99 #McKenna Merchant Waterford, VT
4. 18 Donnie Baumgardner N. Woodstock, NH
5. 57 Todd Derrington Littleton, NH
6. 12 John Knight Franklin, NH
7. 69 #Aiden Young Dalton, NH
8. 16x #Patrick Switser Woodsville, NH
9. 26 Corey Martin Northfield, VT
10. 02 Dustin Wilson Bethlehem, NH
11. 33 Brayden Murphy Barre, VT
12. 0 Keri Driscoll Gilmanton, NH
13. 19 Dave Driscoll N. Woodstock, NH
14. 1 Scott Senecal Lisbon, NH
15. 17x Connor Rueda Barre, VT
16. 14 Jillian Baumgardner N. Woodstock, NH
17. 10x Tim Corey Whitefield, NH
DNS 01 Jeff Champine Whitefield, NH
DNS 29 Marcus Jenness Thornton, NH
DSQ 15 Chris Moulton* Pepperell, MA
Disqualified for Illegal Engine
Wayne’s Market Dwarf Cars – (15 Laps)
1. 88 Jason Wyman Easton, NH (3+1 = 4)
2. 8 Luke Shannon Sr. Groveton, NH (5+2 = 7)
3. 23 Ethan Tyrrell Worcester, VT (2+5 = 7)
4. 13 Luke Shannon Jr. Groveton, NH (1+7= 8)
5. 41 Jeff Ainsworth Bethlehem, NH (7+3= 10)
6. 1 Stephen Donahue Graniteville, VT (6+4 = 10)
7. 93 Dave Gyger Campton, NH (4+6= 10)
8. 52 Chad Dufour Littleton, NH (8+8= 16)
9. 3NH Daniel Brofman Berlin, NH (9+9= 18)
10. 55 Ken Wright Danbury, NH (10+10= 20)