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Forecast Improving For Storm Of Activity At “Grovetona”
PHOTO: Jeff Brown
WALPOLE, N.H. – As Hurricane Debby works her way up the Atlantic Coast, race fans in New Hampshire’s Great North Woods have their hearts set on a different storm of activity this weekend.
The Granite State Pro Stock Series returns to Riverside Speedway this Saturday night, headlining Milton CAT Night with the seventh race of the season to set the stage for October’s championship showdown.
The Humphrey family’s high-banked oval in Groveton, N.H. has hosted six prior rounds of GSPSS competition since 2013, and the series’ stalwarts hope to stand in the eye of the storm after 100 green-flag laps around the quarter-mile.
A one-week reprieve gave the GSPSS teams a moment to breathe after a busy month of July, with four races in four weeks testing the mettle of the championship contenders. Stops at Claremont Motorsports Park, Hudson Speedway, Speedway 95 and Lee USA Speedway presented four unique challenges and four familiar faces in the winner’s circle, all while the momentum in the title race shifted from start to finish.
But reigning series champion Travis Benjamin won last June’s outing at “Grovetona,” giving promise to the drivers who remain in contention for this year’s title.
For now, that battle is a two-way tango between Evan Beaulieu and Casey Call. Beaulieu started the season slow, but the Durham, Maine, pilot found his momentum in the stretch run, overcoming obstacles to place no worse than sixth since the season opener. Beaulieu landed his first podium of the year at Hudson, though a mid-race incident at Speedway 95 that kept him from his first series win serves as a dose of motivation. Beaulieu took the points lead after Lee and hopes to carry that momentum to the season finale.
Call’s momentum has shifted in the opposite direction, with four top-four finishes to start the year coming to an end with a hard crash at Speedway 95. Call and his family team had no choice but to borrow a car to collect points at Lee, leaving them in a deficit to Beaulieu after two tough races. But the Pembroke, N.H. racer has a new mount, a proven winner at the hands of Bubba Pollard, that he plans to debut at Riverside. A win would erase the frustration of Call’s mid-July misfortunes as he seeks his first series crown.
Two drivers on the fringe of the championship battle have also had to scramble after mid-season crashes. Grinding crashes at Lee in June left both Ryan Green and Cory Casagrande without their early-season entries for the mid-summer stretch. Green reached out to friend and two-time GSPSS champ Joey Doiron to borrow a car while his was on the mend. Casagrande’s team rolled out their backup for July, scoring a fourth-place finish at Hudson. But both need misfortune for the point leaders to get back in the title chase.
Maine’s Jamie Wright and Morgan Call, each in their first full GSPSS season, lurk in the distance, with Wright’s fifth-place run at Hudson leaving him on the edge of the top five in points.
But wins, not points, top the agenda for a handful of drivers this weekend. Josh St. Clair, second at Speedway 95 in July and a winner there last summer, is on the early entry list and hopes to nab a road victory. Veteran racer and promoter Gary Smith had a strong start at Lee and is angling for a strong finish at Riverside. Maine rookie Cole Robie made his GSPSS debut at Lee and is coming back for more touring action as he finds his comfort zone in a Pro Stock.
The improving forecast is certainly cause for optimism as the GSPSS title race takes shape with only three races to go. And what transpires on the high banks at Riverside will set the tone for September and October’s closing rounds.
The Granite State Pro Stock Series season marches on Saturday night as part of Milton CAT Night at Riverside Speedway in Groveton, N.H. The GSPSS’ 100-lap main event joins a full program of weekly racing, including features for Late Models, Street Stocks, Lightning 4s, Cyclones and Dare Devils. Post time is 6:00pm, with the pit gates opening at 2:00pm. Adult admission is $25.00; Military and Senior tickets are just $20.00, and kids under 12 are free.
For more information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series, visit www.gspss.net or find us on Facebook and Instagram.
