SUNDAY, MAY 16th, 2021
 
 

PASS/ACT DOUBLEHEADER 
 
RE - DOIRON - GREEN
Photos by
Norm Marx
Maine Drivers Sweep PASS
Podium in New Hampshire

Story by: Ian Pettigrew, Speed51 Northeast Correspondent
Joey Doiron had the fastest car on the property at Lee USA Speedway Sunday afternoon, and he made sure everyone else knew it. The Berwick, Maine native dominated the second half of the Pro All Stars Series'150-lap feature, cruising to his first PASS North victory of the year and an all-Maine sweep of the podium.

Doiron never strayed far from the front of the field, saving his equipment for when he would need it the most. He kept in touch with Kate Re, who led almost every lap up to the halfway point, before surging around her to take the lead on Lap 76. Derek Griffith made a late charge, but when his engine expired with 10 laps to go, also collecting Derek Ramstrom, it all but secured the 10th series victory for Doiron.

"At the beginning, the 10 [of Re] was going really good, she just was going a little harder than I thought we should have raced at that point in the race," he said after the race. "I kind of backed off, and she got a little over a straightaway and we slowly started reeling her in, running the same consistent pace. With about 75 to go, Derek [Griffith] got clear of the traffic and I knew he was going to be coming. I knew he was probably the car we were going to have to race to win. So, it was time to go, we took the lead from [Re] on the outside and checked out."

Ryan Green, also from Berwick, ME, made a steady charge through the field, taking advantage of Griffith's late misfortune and the resulting restart to finish second.

"I'm happy, I would have gladly finished fourth for the way our luck has been going the last few times here," said Green. "It's unfortunate what happened to Derek Ramstrom and Derek Griffith, but to come home to second...Joey Doiron is my neighbor, and he gave me a hand this week, and for him to win and me second, can't ask for anything better out of Berwick. To finish second to Joey is like a win to me."

Kate Re, from Harrison, ME, led 65 laps before surrendering the lead to Doiron at the halfway point. She kept her car up front and out of trouble for the remainder of the race, ultimately finishing third.

"We had a pretty good car," Re said. "Definitely a huge learning experience compared to the [PASS] modified with this car here, but I definitely had a lot of fun."

"It's a huge confidence booster. After breaking my thumb at Thompson and totaling our brand-new car, bringing the backup car here, just really happy with this run and super happy for a great group of guys," Re continued.

Re did more than just score her career-best finish in PASS North, however; her third-place finish was the highest finishing position of any female driver in the PASS Super Late Model divisions - including the National Super Late Models. Moving forward, Re hopes she can continue this run of momentum through the rest of the 2021 campaign.

"I definitely hope so," she said. "After coming from 26th to 11th last weekend at Oxford, and a podium finish this weekend, I'm excited to see what the rest of the season holds."

The next race for the PASS North Super Late Models is at the White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, New Hampshire, on Sunday, May 23.

A full replay of Sunday's PASS race at Lee will be available soon on Speed51.TV.
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SUPER LATE MODELS at LEE USA
UN0FFICIAL RACE RESULTS - 5-16-21
1) 20x - Joey Doiron - 150 Laps
2) 93 - Ryan Green - 150
3) 10 - Kate Re - 150
4) 4 - Ben Rowe - 150
5) 60 - DJ Shaw - 150
6) 94 - Garrett Hall - 150
7) 14 - Scott McDaniel - 150
8) 52 - Jake Matheson - 150
9) 17 - Kevin Folan - 149
10) 82 - Bobby Baillargeon - 149
11) 81 - Dan Winters - 149
12) 56 - Evan Beaulieau - 149
13) 14me - Anthony Costantino - 148
14) 12g - Derek Griffith - 139
15) 35 - Derek Ramstrom - 139
16) 54 - Johnny Clark - 83
17) 15m - Jake Johnson - 77
18) 09 - Jeremy Davis - 43
19) 20 - Rowland Robinson - 36
SLM ENTRIES - LEE - 5/16/21
KING - COOKSON - MORSE
Photos by Norm Marx
 PASS MODS at LEE USA
UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS - 5-16-21
1) 39 - Max Cookson - 50 Laps
2) 31 - Spencer Morse - 50
3) 11 - Tyler King - 50
4) 21 - Zach Nicholson - 50
5) 38 - Garrett Lamb - 50
6) 00 - Zach Bowie - 50
7) 25 - Shawn Knight - 50
8) 12d - Kevin Durgan - 50
9) 2 - Ajay Cates - 50
10) 6m - Troy Morse - 50
11) 55 - Gary Dwinal - 50
12) 6pac - Chanler Harrison - 50
13) 52 - Colby Benjamin - 50
14) 41 - Mike Nichols - 50
15) 66 - Jake Madore - 50
16) 7 - Spencer Vaughan - 49
17) 8 - Keith Lovejoy - 46
18) 1 - Brandon Varney - 41
19) 9r - Alex Ricker - 39
20) 61 - Brad Hammond - 34
21) 9s - Mark Simond - 11
22) 44 - Ashley Beyea - 5
23) 33 - Billy DIxon - 2
DNS - 33me - Dan Morris
     
ACT WINNER: DJ SHAW #04
Shaw Claims First ACT Victory in
Series Return to Lee USA Speedway
Lee, NH -- Center Conway, NH's D.J. Shaw took home his first career American-Canadian Tour (ACT) victory on Sunday, May 16 following a hard-fought Lee USA 150 at New Hampshire's Lee USA Speedway. The multi-time Pro All Stars Series (PASS) champion held off New Sharon, ME's "Thrillin'" Dillon Moltz for the runner-up spot on the track before being named the winner a little more than an hour later.

Shaw inherited the win after Wayne Helliwell Jr. was disqualified in post-race technical inspection for a chassis infraction. It bookended a day where reigning ACT champion Jimmy Hebert crashed hard in the final ACT practice session and was unable to even take the green flag as a result.
ACT LATE MODEL TOUR
LEE USA SPEEDWAY - LEE, NH - 5/16/21
LEE USA 150 - UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Pos., Start Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps
1. ( 3 ) D.J. Shaw ( 04VT ) , Center Conway, NH , 150 Laps
2. ( 5 ) Dillon Moltz ( 5ME ) , New Sharon, ME , 150 Laps
3. ( 6 ) Joey Polewarcyk Jr. ( 97NH ) , Hudson, NH , 150 Laps
4. ( 11 ) Jimmy Renfrew Jr. ( 00NH ) , Candia, NH , 150 Laps
5. ( 12 ) #Erick Sands ( 36NH ) , Derry, NH , 150 Laps
6. ( 8 ) Derek Gluchacki ( 03MA ) , North Dartmouth, MA , 150 Laps
7. ( 16 ) #Shawn Swallow ( 04NH ) , Lancaster, NH , 150 Laps
8. ( 7 ) Ben Rowe ( 4ME ) , Turner, ME , 150 Laps
9. ( 1 ) Stephen Donahue ( 2VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 150 Laps
10. ( 19 ) Joey Laquerre ( 15VT ) , E. Montpelier, VT , 149 Laps
11. ( 18 ) Peyton Lanphear ( 22VT ) , Waterbury, VT , 148 Laps
12. ( 13 ) Matt Anderson ( 49NH ) , Franklin, NH , 148 Laps
13. ( 21 ) Tom Carey III ( 5MA ) , New Salem, MA , 146 Laps
14. ( 20 ) #Kevin Vaudrien ( 70VT ) , Brattleboro, VT , 145 Laps
15. ( 2 ) Dylan Payea ( 7NH ) , Milton, VT , 140 Laps
16. ( 15 ) Reilly Lanphear ( 21VT ) , Waterbury, VT , 95 Laps
17. ( 10 ) Jesse Switser ( 25NH ) , West Burke, VT , 95 Laps
18. ( 14 ) Eddie MacDonald ( 17MA ) , Rowley, MA , 58 Laps
19. ( 9 ) Jamie Swallow Jr. ( 4NH ) , Stark, NH , 51 Laps
20. ( 22 ) James Linardy ( 77MA ) , Somerville, MA , 33 Laps
21. ( 17 ) Bryan Mason ( 10NH ) , Milan, NH , 23 Laps
DSQ ( 4 ) Wayne Helliwell Jr. ( 27NH ) , Dover, NH

Lap Leaders: Stephen Donahue, 1-2; D.J. Shaw, 3-12; Wayne Helliwell Jr., 13-66; Shaw, 67-86; Helliwell, 87-136; Shaw, 137; Helliwell, 138-150. (6 lead changes among 4 drivers)

Time of Race: 1 hour, 19 minutes, 12 seconds Margin of Victory: 0.362 seconds

Cautions: 10 (laps 5, 6, 6, 12, 39, 86, 96, 137, 140, 141)

Heat Winners: Stephen Donahue, Wayne Helliwell Jr., Dillon Moltz

Consi Winner: Jimmy Renfrew Jr.
      
The very first PASS race - May 20, 2001 at Lee. (Norm Marx photo)
PASS & ACT Return to Lee USA
for May 16 Doubleheader
For the first time in three years, the Pro All Stars Series and the American-Canadian Tour are coming to New Hampshire's Lee USA Speedway. The Lee USA MAY MADNESS  Sunday, May 16 at 2:00 PM is part of a showdown featuring three of the region's top touring series.

The stars of the ACT Late Model Tour the PASS Super Late Models, and the PASS MODS will race 350 total laps of green flag action. Joey Polewarczyk Jr., Derek Griffith, Ben Rowe, Jimmy Hebert, Johnny Clark, Wayne Helliwell Jr., Ryan Kuhn, and Dylan Payea are just a few of the big names that have entered at least one of the features as part of Lee's opening weekend.

On the PASS Super Late Model side, fans will get to watch PASS North point leader Johnny Clark of Hallowell, ME, PASS National point leader D.J. Shaw of Center Conway, NH, ARCA Racing Series standout Derek Griffith of Hudson, NH, and rising star Kate Re of Lovell, ME among others do battle. The event is one of seven doubleheader events this year for the PASS Super Late Model and the ACT Late Model ranks, with at least Rowe and Shaw planning double-duty.

The PASS MODS portion of the program is more than just a support show. The MODS began 2021 with great turnouts at both of their races at Oxford Plains Speedway and are in a period of growth. Defending champion Tyler King, A.J. Cates, Gary Dwinal, Spencer Vaughn, and many others will bring some hard-charging open-wheel flavor to the afternoon near the New Hampshire seacoast.

Sunday's event is the first trip to Lee USA for the ACT Late Model Tour since 2018. The tricky 3/8-mile oval is known for its high speeds and for being hard on tires. That means drivers will have to find the balance between going hard and saving something for the end.

Lee is part of a trio of Southern New Hampshire tracks joining the 2021 PASS and ACT schedules. The other two circuits, Hudson Speedway and Winchester's Monadnock Speedway, are hosting their first ACT events since the early 2000s. Because of these long breaks, few current ACT regulars have experience on the tracks -- and none of them on the new ACT Hoosier tire. It's a combination that may level the playing field for this year's events.

"Monadnock, Hudson, and Lee are going to kind of shake up the field -- especially with the new tire," Milton, VT's Dylan Payea said. "We won't have teams like the Heberts and the Helliwells with these huge notebooks on when the track was wet, when it was dry, when it was hot or cold, where they know exactly what to change. At these tracks, they're going to be on the same playing field as everyone else."

In addition to a new track for some and new tires for all, the ACT regulars will also have to contend with two of the most accomplished names in the series record books on Sunday. Hudson, NH's Joey Polewarczyk Jr. and Dover, NH's Wayne Helliwell Jr. have both entered the Lee USA 150 and are instantly on the short list of favorites.

The former champions each have a victory in ACT competition at Lee. Pole's win came back in the 2008 New Hampshire Governor's Cup while Helliwell claimed the 2015 edition. Each has run a partial ACT schedule in recent years and are making their first start on the ACT Hoosier tire introduced at Thunder Road. Still, both are a threat to win anytime they show up.

The ACT regulars will give their all with both a win and valuable points on the line. The Lee USA 150 marks the quarter-pole of the 30th ACT Late Model Tour season. With three races in the books, a picture will start to emerge about who is a contender for the $10,000 season-ending championship prize.

Turner, ME's Ben Rowe currently leads the standings after top-5 finishes in the first two events. The many-time PASS champion and former Lee USA ACT winner is also second in the PASS standings. Although the season is still early, fans can start dreaming about seeing Rowe battle for both championships in one year.

The only other drivers to finish in the top-10 at both ACT events are Payea and Graniteville, VT's Stephen Donahue and Milton, VT's Dylan Payea. They sit fifth and second in the standings, respectively, giving these upstart teams a shot in the arm for the summer ahead.

"I'm really excited to get back (to Lee)," Payea said. "It was a very nerve-wracking race for me back in 2018 being my rookie year. I also had radio problems that race, so I had no spotter. But all said, we were running pretty well inside the top-7 when I made a bonehead rookie mistake, pitted, and got caught up in a wreck

"I think with the direction we've been heading as a team, and with some of the things we're figuring out, we're going to be good," Payea continued. "We showed a lot of speed at Thunder Road, but we used up the tires a little too much in the heat and consi, so at the end of the feature we were struggling a little bit. But we figured out a lot of things with this car, and a couple things with the setup that I'm really happy with. Some of the success we've had at White Mountain I think is going to help translate to some success at Lee."

New Salem, MA's Tom Carey III is also running well with a third-place points position. Reigning champion Jimmy Hebert, meanwhile, is trying to bounce back after a rare mechanical failure at Thunder Road last time out. Lee USA was the site of Hebert's first ACT victory back in 2013, and now would be a really good time for an encore. East Bridgewater, MA's Ryan Kuhn, Carver, MA's Trenton Goodrow, West Burke, VT's Jesse Switser, and Hampton, NH's Erick Sands are some of the other hotshoes expected to take the green flag on Sunday.

The PASS/ACT MAY MADNESS doubleheader on Sunday, May 16 begins at 2:00 PM. Twin 150-lap features are on the card for the ACT Late Model Tour and PASS Super Late Models plus a 50-lap PASS MODS showdown. Admission is $30 for adults and $10 for kids ages 12 and under.

For questions or technical information on PASS events or divisons email passracing@roadrunner.com.

For more information about ACT, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.

 

Series Contact:  Tommy Mayberry - (207) 693-6497

email: passracing@roadrunner.com

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