Story By: MIKE PARKS / CLAREMONT MOTORSPORTS PARK – CLAREMONT, NH – Bay State hot shoe Cole Littlewood scored his first career Claremont Motorsports Park victory Friday, topping the three-segment Outlaw Late Model main event at the Thrasher Road speedplant. He was one of four drivers earning a career-first victory lap Friday.
Pure Stocker Adrian Smith won for the first time, as did David Bell, in the Six Shooters, and Jessica Coulter in the Ridge Runners, while it was a business-as-usual night for Nate Wenzel and Brandon Gray.
Littlewood won one of the three Outlaws 20-lap segments – the first – en route to the overall win after twice coming home third behind titan Guy Caron and opening night winner Jeff Murray.
It was an opening lap brush-up between Caron and Murray that ultimately determined the overall finish. The potent pair tangled heavily along the backchute on lap one of the first segment, with Littlewood then quickly taking charge and blasting off to victory ahead of Aaron Fellows Jr.
Caron took charge from Josh Ruel on lap eight of segment two and then outran Murray to score the win. In the nightcap, Caron roared ahead on a lap-seven restart and never looked back as he won again. Littlewood, through, was taking no chances, content to ride in third en route to the overall victory.
Super Street strongman Chris Lindquist, like Mod Squad pilot Haydon Grenier, would loathe the existence of the caution flag Friday. Lindquist had a huge lead over super star Brandon Gray when the first of two lap-20 cautions brought Gray to his side.
Gray, from the top of the track, led by inches on lap 24 and then pulled ahead to stay as he outran Lindquist to the checkers. Matt Sonnhalter, charging from way back in row six, stormed into third on lap 27 in the R.E. Hinkley Super Street main.
A caution flag most likely cost Asetex Tire and Auto Sportsman Modified rising star Haydon Grenier a victory Friday. Grenier was up by 15 lengths when the event’s only yellow flag, for debris on lap 24, brought Nate Wenzel to his side.
The reigning track champ then took over and outran Grenier to the checkers. Points leader Brad Zahensky, in the top three all night, came home third.
In the LaValley Building Supply Pure Stocks, second-generation pilot Adrian Smith, charging from row four, edged past Amy Jaycox on lap 22 and sailed off to his first win in the division. Jaycox, continuing her string of strong performances, came home second.
Green Mountain Boy Kyle Kenny kept his own hot streak intact, trophying for the third week in a row in third, with Keegan Tabor and Carlos Grenier completing the top five and points leader Andrea St. Amour sixth.
The Avery Insurance Six Shooter feature produced both a first-ever winner and a big shakeup in the points race. David Bell led the first three laps, then giving way to Erin Aiken, who set a fast pace the next ten laps until being bounced heavily off the frontstretch wall on lap 13.
Bell then again took charge and held off former track champ Steve Miller Sr. for the win. Garrett Barry, steady all night was third. Miller moved to the top of the points parade after his son, Steve Jr., was tossed for his involvement in the Aiken wreck.
Jessica Coulter wired the Ridge Runner feature to score her first career victory at CMP. The winner a week earlier at Hudson, she held off top points man Aiden White to top Friday’s 20-lapper. Heat race winner Jim Rhodes came home third.
The Senior Tour Auto Racers were in town Friday, with two divisions of vintage racers in action. Alan Zemla of Windham, Maine, aboard his 1937 Chevy coupe machine, topped the STAR Modifieds. Jim Allen was second, and Gary Moore third.
In STAR Sportsman action, Bob Guyon, of Winthrop, Maine, piloted his 1936 Chevy Coupe ride to victory ahead of Joe Gause’s Nova and Mark Parmentier’s Corvair bodied racer.
Claremont Motorsports Park returns to action next Friday, July 5, with one of its biggest events of the year when Fisher/Federated Auto Parts presents a huge night of fireworks, a ground-pounding 125 laps of Granite State Pro Stock Series excitement, and six divisions of NASCAR Weekly Racing Series action.
CLAREMONT MOTORSPORTS PARK JUNE 28 TOP FIVES
- SPORTSMAN MODIFIED: Nate Wenzel, Haydon Grenier, Brad Zahensky, Tyler Leary, Andrew Martell.
- OUTLAW LATE MODEL SEGMENT 1: Cole Littlewood, Aaron Fellows Jr., Ryan Bell, Steve Bly, Tyler Lescord.
- OUTLAW LATE MODEL SEGMENT 2: Guy Caron, Jeff Murray, Cole Littlewood, Josh Ruel, Tyler Lescord.
- OUTLAW LATE MODEL SEGMENT 3: Guy Caron, Jeff Murray, Cole Littlewood, Josh Ruel, Tyler Lescord.
- SUPER STREET: Brandon Gray, Chris Lindquist, Matt Sonnhalter, Dave Greenslit, Joe Tetreault.
- PURE STOCK: Adrian Smith, Amy Jaycox, Kyle Kenny, Keegan Tabor, Carlos Grenier.
- SIX SHOOTERS: David Bell, Steve Miller Sr., Garrett Barry, Paul Colburn, Erin Aiken.
- RIDGE RUNNERS: Jessica Coulter, Aiden White, James Rhodes, Richie Marrocco, Seth Drown.