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Third annual Valentines Day Massacre Enduro at CMP
By Gary Dutton
CLAREMONT, N. H. – With snow covering both the top of the backstretch and turns three and four, a field of four dozen combatants battled for 100 laps Saturday in the first event of the year at Claremont Motorsports Park. –
Competitors from five New England states filled the CMP pits for the February 24 event, and it was clear from starter Dylan Zullo’s first wave of the green that two would dominate. Enduro whiz Matt Gauffin and Weekly Racing Series regular Brandon Gray battled for the top spot early and often, with Gauffin, aboard his battle-scarred but many-time victorious Saab 900 first under the checkers,
Racing through a blur of traffic often five cars wide, the pair battled bumper-to-bumper over the first half of the race, with Gauffin taking a lap-48 lead and then holding a slim advantage as the event hit its fast-paced halfway mark.
The Antrim, N.H. pilot would turn up the fire over the final 50-laps, almost lapping East Thetford, VT’s Gray at the checkers. Each, though, pocketed a sizable check for his short afternoon’s work on the third mile speed plant; Gauffin easily topped the four-cylinder division, while Gray brought his Volvo wagon home first atop the mixed six- and eight-cylinder division.
Keith Walton, hauling in from Tingsboro, MA, was second in the fours, and Green Mountain Boy Eric Griffin earned the bronze medal award. Maine pilot Danny Gilll was second to Gray in the big cars, and Lebanon’s Matt Boucher came home third.
In a show-opening 15-lapper, Weekly Racing Series ace Cameron Houle outdistanced Heather Sandini.
Claremont Motorsports Park will begin its ambitious 23-event 2024 summer Weekly Racing Series season with a huge two-day Spring Fling 2024 event on April 27 and 28.
FOUR CYLINDER TOP FIVE: Matt Gauffin, Saab; Keith Walton, Chrysler; Eric Griffin, Ford; Daniel LaBlaney, Toyota; Ed Wardwell, Honda.
SIX AND EIGHT-CYLINDER: TOP FIVE: Brandon Gray, Volvo; Danny Gill, Nissan; Matt Boucher, Ford; Keegan Tabor, Mercury; Tim Colby.
Miss Emm Photo
