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Champion of Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup To Be Crowned Saturday; Tour 150-lap Race Part of Full Racing Card
By Jeff Brown, for JDV Productions
Photo Tom Morris Racing Photography
The sights and the sounds of fall are still a couple weeks from full bloom. But if you count the blur of paint and vinyl and the roar of racing engines among them, the aura of autumn is at your fingertips in western New Hampshire this weekend.
Monadnock Speedway welcomes the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for the inaugural Winchester Fair, the second Tour appearance this season at the high-banked quarter-mile in Winchester, N.H., set for 150 laps.
Saturday’s program at “Mad Dog” is a must-see showdown that sets the stage for the final few races of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule, but also crowns the champion of the three-race second annual Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup, with a full complement of support features to keep fans on the edge of their seats all evening.
May’s Duel at the Dog 200 was the inaugural round of this year’s Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup, with six-time NWMT champion Doug Coby dominating the field en route to victory. Coby led all but 12 laps to earn his 35th NWMT victory and establish himself as a threat for his seventh title.
Coby and Tommy Baldwin Racing stepped back from full-time competition in August as car owner Baldwin battles cancer, but the team will come back to the track Saturday to defend their early-season win and chase the $5,000 Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup bonus money.
Coby’s closest challengers for the honor have faced their own mid-season challenges, with Lee USA Speedway winner and defending Whelen Short Track Cup champion Matt Hirschman sidelined with a broken arm. But lurking only six points behind Coby is Whelen Modified Tour sophomore Austin Beers, twice a winner in 2023. Seven points back is red-hot Ron Silk, third in the spring, a four-time winner this season and current series overall points leader. Coby will need another lights-out performance like he delivered in May to clinch the crown.
However, Saturday’s tilt is still the 14th race of the NWMT season, leaving four more races through the fall after Saturday to determine the series championship. Silk, victorious last week at Oswego Speedway, leads Bonsignore and Beers in the overall title chase, and the 2011 NWMT titlist will be focused on the big picture even with the Short Track Cup bonus in sight.
Saturday’s race will include a healthy serving of local flavor, too, as regional stars Brian Robie, Sam Rameau, Matthew Kimball and Cory Plummer will look to score big on their home turf against Silk, Beers, Bonsignore, Coby, and the rest of the NWMT stars.
Making their own road trips to Cheshire County are the Evolve Pro Truck Challenge and the New England Pro 4 Modifieds, both regular visitors to Monadnock. Monadnock’s NHSTRA Modifieds and Late Models lead a strong contingent of local racers enthusiastic to shine under the brightest lights of the season. With a variety of feature racing rivaling the offerings on a fair midway, Saturday’s Winchester Fair is primed to become part of your fall traditions.
Saturday’s Winchester Fair at Monadnock Speedway is headlined by the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, with features for the visiting Evolve Pro Truck Challenge and New England Pro 4 Modifieds, NHSTRA Modifieds, NHSTRA Late Models, Mini Stocks, and Pure Stocks. Grandstands open at 1:30pm with qualifying for all divisions to begin at 4:00pm.
General admission seating is $45 for adults, and children 12 and under are free. JDV Experience All-Access tickets are $99 each and include reserved seating and a behind-the-scenes tour.
For more information on JDV Productions, visit JDVProductions.com and follow on social media for the latest updates throughout the season, including updates from the track on race day with feature winner posts.
