Story By: JEFF BROWN / GRANITE STATE PRO STOCK SERIES – WALPOLE, NH – The 2024 Granite State Pro Stock Series season reaches its halfway point this weekend, and a road trip to the Pine Tree State will set the stage for the run to the championship trophy.
Speedway 95, only a few minutes off its namesake interstate in Hermon, Maine, welcomes the GSPSS back for its third series event and the first of two stops planned this year.
Last year’s series debut at the bullring outside Bangor marked the return of Pro Stock/Super Late Model racing to the track for the first time since 2019. Former series winner Garrett Hall was victorious in the July outing, while Wiscasset Speedway veteran Josh St. Clair won his first-ever series race in August. Hall remains the only driver to win multiple GSPSS races in Maine since the series’ first visit to “Vacationland” in 2017.
Saturday night’s showdown is a rescheduling from the event’s original June date, which posed a scheduling conflict for many of the series’ racers. The new date this weekend means a full field of combatants will be on hand to settle the score at the series’ new Maine home.
This season has featured four different winners in its first four events. Reigning champ Travis Benjamin won May’s season opener at Star Speedway, with teammate Joey Doiron claiming victory at Claremont Motorsports Park later that month. D.J. Shaw won an Independence Day thriller at Claremont in July, while 2020 champion Joey Polewarczyk stole the show last Sunday night at Hudson Speedway.
None of those drivers are in the points race this year, though, with this year’s title combatants still seeking their first win of 2024.
Casey Call leads the standings after four races. Two runner-up finishes and two fourth-place finishes give him a 20-point advantage over his nearest challenger. That challenger, Ryan Green, was not necessarily counting on a title chase. But strong runs early on forced him to borrow a car for the July Claremont date. Back in his own car last week at Hudson, Green can still make a play for the series title.
Fellow Maine racer Evan Beaulieu picked up a podium finish at Hudson, his best of the year after a slow start. The Durham, Maine, entrepreneur finished fifth last August and is eager to break into the winner’s circle. Jamie Wright had a career-best outing at Hudson and wants to keep that momentum rolling.
Morgan Call and Miller Buzzell, rookies with the GSPSS this year, have not had an easy start to the year, but keep digging to find a competitive edge.
The path to the winner’s circle, though, will likely go through former winner St. Clair, or local veteran Gary Smith, or even a surprise road-tripper with an eye on an upset. Under the lights, it could be anyone’s race.
Saturday night’s program at Speedway 95 features the Granite State Pro Stock Series with 125 green-flag laps of action capping off the night. Speedway 95’s own Cage Runners and Street Stocks will set the stage for the $5,000-to-win main event. Post time is 7:00pm, with the grandstands opening at 5:00pm. Adult admission is $20.00; Senior/Military tickets are just $15.00, and Kids from 6 to 12 are only $5.00, and children under 6 are free.