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Epping, NH - Star Speedway’s second annual SBM 125 for
Modifieds attracted a star-studded field of entries
representing several different touring series, including
several drivers with championships on their resumes.
A
quick time trial session was run to set the lineup for
the qualifying heats, with Todd Szegedy setting fast
time at 12.291 seconds. Szegedy, Ryan Preece, and Bobby
Santos III grabbed the heat race wins, with Doug Coby
taking the last chance qualifier that set the final
starting positions for the 24-car, 125-lap main event.
An
inversion of the top six put Mike Stefanik on the pole,
and he was the first pace the field and collect lap
leader bonus money. Defending race winner Jon McKennedy
and Preece also spent some time out front pocketing
bonus money, but when it counted, the driver out front
was Northampton, PA’s Matt Hirschman.
Hirschman held on through a series of late-race restarts
to lead the field under the checkers, with Preece in for
a solid runner-up, as Josh Cantara and Mike Stefanik
spun across the finish line to collect third and
fourth. Dwight Jarvis, Santos III, Jim Boniface, Coby,
Richie Pallai, and Szegedy rounded out the top ten.
In
addition to the SBM 125, the track’s regular Kimball
Auto Body Roadrunners, Woody’s Auto Strictly Stocks, and
Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Outlaws all ran
qualifying and feature events as well, filling out the
night’s racing program with plenty of side-by-side
action.
Jack
Victoria made his first victory lane appearance of the
2012 campaign in the Kimball Auto Body Roadrunner main,
taking the lead from Ken McIlvaine with the laps winding
down, and leading them across the stripe to collect the
win. McIlvaine held on for second, with Jarrod Soucy,
Seth Stickney, and Melinda McCarthy closing out the top
five.
“Slammin’ Sammy” Peabody made it back-to-back wins in
the hotly-contested Woody’s Auto Strictly Stock feature,
holding off a determined Steve Douphinette to pick up
the win. Steve Dickey, Jr., Chris Augevich, Bret
Culleton, Matt Kawejsza, Andy Nichols, Garrett Renner,
and Chris Kingsley were third through tenth.
Another exciting round of Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy
Outlaw Late Model action saw veteran racer Jay Sands out
front early once again, but this time he went the
distance to make the trip to the winner’s circle for the
first time this season.
Rob
MacRae had a strong run to score runner-up honors,
followed by Jimmy Ryder, “Joey the Jet” Ventrillo, Lee
Weldy, Joe Squeglia, Jr., Gary Beauregard, Jimmy
Renfrew, Barry Raymond, and former champion Ron Bolduc. |
