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By Jeff Brown, for Granite State Pro Stock Series
ALPOLE, N.H. – A busy summer stretch for the Granite State Pro Stock Series gets off to a bold start this weekend, as the New Hampshire-based touring series heads north and east for its first of two visits to the state of Maine.
Speedway 95 has been the GSPSS’ Pine Tree State home since 2023, and Saturday evening’s 125-lap showdown at the Hermon, Maine, third-mile continues that tradition.
It’s a tradition that has long favored the home-state contenders, as only one GSPSS race in the state of Maine has been won by a driver from outside Maine. D.J. Shaw won a 2016 GSPSS feature at Wiscasset Speedway, but every series event in Maine since then has been won by a Maine native. Last year’s Speedway 95 visits were swept by local favorite Mike Hopkins, while Garrett Hall and Josh St. Clair split the 2023 events.
Those numbers are music to Evan Beaulieu’s ears, as the title hopeful returns to the site of what he thought would be his first GSPSS win last July. Beaulieu led the opening stretch of last year’s event before getting caught up in mid-race chaos, and the Durham, Maine, racer would love to redeem himself with a first career win a couple hours from home.
Cole Robie’s short-track education remains in session this week, as the quick youngster is on the preliminary entry list. Wiscasset veteran St. Clair, the August 2023 winner, looks to repeat at Speedway 95, and fellow Mainer Nick Jenkins has also filed an entry for Saturday.
But home-state privilege only reaches so far. Defending champion Casey Call would love to follow in Shaw’s footsteps and become the first Granite Stater in years to claim GSPSS victory in Vacationland. Call, who calls Pembroke, N.H. home, experienced a crash in last July’s Speedway 95 race that quite nearly derailed his title chase. A win Saturday would be Call’s first with the series since 2023.
Also making the trip is Claremont winner Wayne Helliwell, Jr., who ended a decade-long winless streak in May and is preparing for his first-ever visit to Speedway 95. Cory Casagrande is on the short list of first-time visitors as well, making the long haul from Connecticut to post his first GSPSS appearance in Maine.
With a full season of racing still ahead, Saturday’s race sets the stage not only for the summer stretch run but for the championship battle to be settled in October. This is one race not to miss!
Speedway 95 welcomes the Granite State Pro Stock Series this Saturday, June 21 for the second event of the 2025 season. The 125-lap GSPSS main event caps off an evening that features NELCAR Legends, Street Stocks and Speedway 95’s own Cage Runners. Grandstands open at 5:00pm with a post time of 7:00pm. General admission is $20, with kids 6-11 just $5 and children under 6 admitted free.
For more information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series, visit www.gspss.net or find us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
