Fellows tops season opener - race # 1

By Gary Dutton
 
CLAREMONT, N.H.- Aaron Fellows romped to victory in Saturday night’s 40-lap Super Street feature race at Claremont Speedway.
Chris Riendeau held off Lenny Silver to top the opening night Street Stock feature, Josh Rondeau earned the Wildcat victory lap, and Pine Tree State pilot Jacob Dore led early and often to win the Granite State Pro Stock Series 100-lap main event.

Friday evening showers moved the Thrasher Road speedplant’s scheduled first-of-the-summer event to Saturday – the rain date format will be used throughout the season – but the 24-hour delay did little to slow the speedy Fellows.

Firing from alongside Joe Brown on row one, the 11-time track champion quickly drove away, leading Brown early and, by lap ten, leading by almost a full straightaway over Ben Poland, with third very much up for grabs further back. The second of three caution flags waved on lap 17, as defending champ Ricky Bly spun out of fourth after cutting a tire. The restart brought Craig Smith, of  Newport, closer to the front, along with a charging Mark McClay.

McClay, from row six, would claim third on lap 21 and then the deuce a dozen laps later but on this night had to settle for second, 15 lengths behind Fellows. Poland completed his strong night’s work in third, Smith came home fourth, and steady Dylan Bodreau earned the five-spot. Bly began his title defense with a ninth-place finish.

Bryan Town set the pace early in the Street Stock feature, but on this night, it was Chris Riendeau who had the field covered.
Riendeau, from row three, charged into the lead out of turn four on the sixth go-round and never looked back. Lenny Silver grabbed the deuce a lap later but couldn’t take advantage of a lap-15 restart and had to settle for the well-earned runner-up finish ten laps later.
Enfield’s Joe Tetreault earned the three-spot, Town was fourth, and Kenny Thompson came home fifth. Town and Tetreault were earlier heat race winners.

The Wildcat feature closed the night’s action with Josh Rondeau leading all the way to win the caution-free 25-lapper, holding 2017 division champion Zach Lyn in his shadow all the way. With Rondeau and Lyn leaving the rest of their field far behind, third place was very much up for grabs. Kyle Currier would win that battle, with Freddie Rogers coming home fourth, and Chris Davis earning the five-spot.

Newbury’s Scott MacMichael started up front in the 100-lap Granite State Pro Stock main event and led the first two laps, two circuits marred by a pair of cautions and one red flag stoppage, the latter thrown for a six-car turn-one crash that eliminated five cars, including that of hometrack favorite Guy Caron.

When the smoke had cleared, Jacob Dore, of Sanford, Maine, was at the point, where he would sit for the final 98 laps, but seldom without someone knocking loudly at his door.

MacMichael and Mike O’Sullivan led the pursuit pack early, with both Joey Doiron and Matt Frahm charging through the field to join the hunt up front. O’Sullivan’s bid would end with a flat tire on lap 93, with Frahm spinning caution-free out of second a lap later.
Dore, watching it all happen behind him in his rear-view mirror, easily beat Doiron to the checkers. MacMichael’s hard work was rewarded with the third-place finish, Barry Gray was fourth, and Jeremy Davis fifth.

Claremont Speedway will resume its 2018 racing season this Friday, May 11, when the fast third-mile hosts the North East Mini Stock Tour, along with a full card of racing by the Super Street, Street Stock, and Wild Cat weekly racing series divisions.
Post time is 7 p.m.

For more information, visit www.claremontspeedway.net or the speedway’s facebook page.
 
CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY MAY 5 TOP TENS:
SUPER STREET: Aaron Fellows, Mark McClay, Ben Poland, *Craig Smith, Dylan Bodreau, Craig Smith, Alex Poisson, Joe Brown, Ricky Bly, Tyler Lescord.
* Craig Smith, Newport, N.H., second Craig Smith, Unity, N.H.
STREET STOCK: Chris Riendeau, Lenny Silver, Joe Tetreault, Bryan Town, Kenny Thompson, Dave Greenslit, Chris Colburn Chris Emerson, Robbie Streeter, Briana Akusis.
WILDCATS: Josh Rondeau, Zach Lynn, Kyle Currier, Freddie Rogers, Chris Davis, Chris Carver, Jon Alden, Raven Streeter, Ken LaFont, Bryanna Cook.
GSPSS: Jacob Dore, Joey Doiron, Scott MacMichael, Barry Gray, Jeremy Davis, Cory Casangrande, Luke Hinkley, Ray Christian III, Matt Frahm, Nick Lascuola.