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Two 15-lap Sprint Cars of New England features cap SIG SAUER Academy Dirt Duels at The Flat Track. NXS, NWMT point leaders Cole Custer, Ron Silk to start out front for Saturday’s events after qualifying sessions canceled.
LOUDON, N.H. – Will Hull and Matt Tanner turned in stellar performances to cap a full day of dirt-track action at The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) on Friday.
Wet weather early in the evening forced some adjustments to feature lengths at New England’s quarter-mile dirt racing jewel and led to two 15-lap features to conclude SIG SAUER Academy Dirt Duels.
Hull, a two-time Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) champion (2018, 2019) from Plainfield, Vt., led every lap of the first feature for his first victory of the season and 22nd of his career.
Tanner, from Stephentown, N.Y., similarly dominated the second feature, notching his second win of the season and 10th career victory.
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) regular Chase Briscoe, last year’s SCoNE feature winner, placed second on Friday after starting on the front row alongside Tanner. Briscoe spun slightly exiting turn two on the opening lap, dropping back to third and did not come near the leader for the rest of the 15 laps.
Briscoe will pilot the No. 14 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing in the USA TODAY 301 NCS race at “The Magic Mile” on Sunday.
Other Friday Flat Track feature winners included:
- Granite State Mini Sprints 500s Feature: Nicholas Tosi
- Xtreme Dirt Midget Association Feature: Brandon Piastka
- Granite State Mini Sprints 600s Feature: Josh Wright
Earlier on Friday, qualifying sessions for Saturday’s SciAps 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race and the Mohegan Sun 100 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) race were canceled due to Friday afternoon’s inclement weather. Both starting grids will be determined by the respective series’ points standings.
Cole Custer and Chandler Smith will hold down the top two spots for the SciAps 200. Custer is still looking for his first victory of the year, which would lock down a spot in this year’s NXS playoffs.
“I always look forward to coming to New Hampshire,” Custer said. “You just hope that you have everything underneath you to go and compete for a win. I think at the end of the day we should have a shot at this weekend. Our guys are doing a great job. We just have to break through. I feel like we’re top five or so every single weekend and it’s very strange to be leading the points but also a little bit frustrated that you haven’t won yet. I think it’s coming. We just have to keep knocking on the door.”
NCS stars Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman are pulling double duty this weekend and will also be in the field for the SciAps 200. Bell has won all three of his previous NHMS NXS starts.
Green flag for the SciAps 200 NXS race is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
NCS regular Ryan Preece, a Berlin, Conn. native, posted the top NWMT practice speed at his home track earlier Friday with a lap of 132.103 mph (28.832 seconds), while Matt Swanson (131.25 mph) had the top consecutive-lap average.
Ron Silk is the NWMT points leader, with defending race champion Justin Bonsignore 16 points behind in second.
The Mohegan Sun 100 NWMT race is scheduled to take the green flag at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
For the latest schedules and updates, follow NHMS social media or visit: NHMS.com/Events/NASCAR-Cup-Series/Schedule/.
Tickets:
Log on to NHMS.com for tickets and more information on the weekend’s lineup of action-packed racing. Tickets for Doubleheader Saturday, featuring the SciAps 200 NXS race and the Mohegan Sun 100 NWMT race, start at just $49 for adults while kids 12 and under are free. Sunday’s USA TODAY 301 NASCAR Cup Series race tickets start at just $64 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under. Further details can be found on the NHMS website or by calling 833-4LOUDON.
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