0
0
Beaulieu, Call To Settle Championship Battle
By Jeff Brown, for Granite State Pro Stock Series
WALPOLE, N.H. – The Granite State Pro Stock Series’ thirteenth season draws to a close this Sunday as part of one of New Hampshire’s historic season-ending showdowns. But as drivers chase the last checkered flag of 2024 in the Bosowski Properties 125, two series regulars will be engaged in their own battle to become the GSPSS’ latest champion.
Once again, Lee USA Speedway welcomes the stars and cars of the GSPSS as part of its season-ending Russ Conway’s Oktoberfest spectacular, with the Pro Stocks headlining the third and final day of Oktoberfest festivities.
Through eight races, two drivers from similar backgrounds have swapped spots atop the season-long standings, shaking off hardships to keep the big picture in sight. And at the conclusion of Sunday’s race, one of them will be crowned the eleventh series champion under the GSPSS banner.
Evan Beaulieu carries a 21-point advantage into “New Hampshire’s Center of Speed.” The 31-year-old from Durham, Maine, and his family team, have climbed the ladder together from go-karts and Legends cars to Pro Stocks. With the demise of his home track three years ago, Beaulieu has found a new home with the GSPSS. Still searching for his first feature win, consistency and resiliency have planted him atop the standings with one race to go.
In hot pursuit is Casey Call, the early-season points leader. The Pembroke, N.H., native and two-time GSPSS feature winner started out strong, but a mid-season wreck forced his team to regroup, learning a new car in the second half of the year. In his fifth GSPSS season at the tender age of 21, the Legends graduate hopes to erase that 21-point margin by Sunday’s checkered flag.
But Beaulieu and Call lack the luxury of settling the title race one-on-one. One of the most popular stops on the GSPSS schedule, Lee has attracted a deep list of hopefuls who, unencumbered by the big-picture points race, will be laser-focused on taking home Sunday’s $6,500 winner’s purse.
Corey Bubar, Beaulieu’s fellow Beech Ridge Motor Speedway graduate and the winner of the last two GSPSS tilts at Lee, is angling for a third-straight win at the New Hampshire oval. Brandon Barker has multiple GSPSS wins at Lee and won June’s Keen Parts 150 en route to his second track championship in three years, making him an early favorite as well.
Barker will be joined by a phalanx of his fellow Lee combatants, from feature winners Nick Cusack and Skeeter Bearce to Connecticut long-hauler Cory Casagrande and Frankie Eldredge. Riverside Speedway winner Ryan Green, whose season looked to be over after a grinding crash two weeks ago, will be looking for redemption in the Joey Doiron-owned car he has already borrowed this season. Doiron, the winner of May’s North American Pro Stock Nationals, may be relegated to heading up Green’s effort after a mishap earlier in the week.
Another popular name at Lee will be in an unfamiliar seat, as “The Outlaw” Eddie MacDonald returns to his home track at the wheel of Dale Drew Racing’s familiar No. 50 in a one-off deal.
Joey Polewarczyk, the 2020 GSPSS champion and a victor at Hudson Speedway in July, leads a list of GSPSS feature winners that includes Wayne Helliwell, Jr., Josh St. Clair, Angelo Belsito and Mike Mitchell.
Western Massachusetts teammates Jeremy Sorel and Alex Quarterley, like Doiron, are hoping to pull double-duty this weekend, racing both Saturday and Sunday. Granite Stater Dan Winter has been celebrating the announcement of a new family member, but will try to add a trophy celebration before the season is out, too.
Fifteen-year-old rookie Sylas Ripley plans to make his GSPSS debut Sunday, along with weekly racer Cam Curtis. With veteran racers Gary Smith, Ryan Deane and Kevin Folan among the entries, they will have plenty of experience to learn from.
And not to be counted out, the series’ Maine-focused rookie class will be in attendance, with Jamie Wright, Morgan Call, and Miller Buzzell each hoping to break out in one of the year’s biggest races.
The Bosowski Properties 125 ties together the season’s storylines in one final flourish, but only two drivers can combine the night’s narratives. And while the big picture will be on their minds all day, both Evan Beaulieu and Casey Call will have an eye to closing out the year with a checkered flag and a championship trophy.
The Granite State Pro Stock Series’ 2024 season concludes Sunday as part of Russ Conway’s Oktoberfest at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H. The second race day of the season-ending fall spectacular features the GSPSS and New England Dwarf Car Series along with feature races for Pure Stocks, Six Shooters, Mini Stocks, Ridge Runners, 604 Modifieds, Street Stocks, Mighty Trucks, Outlaws, and Crown Vics in an action-packed array of excitement.
Grandstand gates open at 11am with racing action set to start at 1:30pm. Tickets are available online or at the gate; Sunday tickets are $25.00 for adults, $20.00 for Juniors and Seniors, and kids 10 and under are free. Streaming coverage is available through RaceDayTV for those who cannot be at the track.
For more information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series, visit www.gspss.net or find us on Facebook and Instagram.
