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By Jeff Brown, for Granite State Pro Stock Series
HERMON, ME. – Since D.J. Shaw won the Granite State Pro Stock Series’ Maine debut in 2016, every race in the Pine Tree State had been won by a Mainer leading into Sunday afternoon’s showdown at Speedway 95.
And July winner Mike Hopkins kept that streak alive, picking up the win at his home track for a clean sweep of both visits to the Hermon, Maine, third-mile.
The penultimate round of the GSPSS title chase thrust full-season challengers Evan Beaulieu and Casey Call into a Vacationland turf war, with past Speedway 95 winners Hopkins and Josh St. Clair leading the charge alongside reigning champion Travis Benjamin, still winless at the historic speedway.
St. Clair and Hopkins topped the charts in time trials, with Dave Farrington, Jr. clocking in third. Beaulieu qualified fifth and Call eighth, both thinking about the big picture as the green flag flew.
Unencumbered by the bigger picture, Hopkins drove to the front, putting on a clinic in front of the hometown fans. Benjamin was Hopkins’ biggest threat, but he could not catch Hopkins in the final laps, coming up about four seconds shy at the checkered flag.
St. Clair settled for third, with Ryan Deane and Farrington rounding out an all-Maine top five.
Nick Jenkins was sixth, with title contenders Beaulieu and Call seventh and eighth. Veteran Gary Smith and Granite Stater Bobby Frappier rounded out the top ten.
Beaulieu now carries a 21-point advantage over Call into the season finale, with fans assured of a first-time GSPSS champion when the dust settles.
The GSPSS’ thirteenth season concludes on October 6 at Lee USA Speedway, where the championship will be decided as part of Russ Conway’s Oktoberfest. Details of the championship finale will be released soon.
For more information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series, visit www.gspss.net or find us on Facebook and Instagram.
Results, GSPSS 125 at Speedway 95:
1. (15) Mike Hopkins
2. (7ME) Travis Benjamin
3. (14) Josh St. Clair
4. (22) Ryan Deane
5. (23) Dave Farrington, Jr.
6. (32) Nick Jenkins
7. (56) Evan Beaulieu
8. (90NH) Casey Call
9. (75) Gary Smith
10. (05F) Bobby Frappier
11. (95) Morgan Call
12. (28) James Doucette
13. (84) Jamie Wright
