0
0
By Jeff Brown, for Granite State Pro Stock Series
PHOTO: Jayden Dole/GSPSS
WALPOLE, N.H. – After a long and restorative summer break, the Granite State Pro Stock Series returns to action with a four-week, four-race sprint to the season finale.
The title race begins in earnest this Saturday at Speedway 95, the third-mile in Hermon, Maine, that has served as the GSPSS’ “Vacationland” home over the last few years.
A mid-summer schedule adjustment has created a busy stretch run for the end of the season, with Saturday’s 100-lap tilt kicking off the final four weeks of the ten-race 2025 schedule. A new event at Lee USA Speedway pairs the GSPSS once again with New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s NASCAR touring weekend next Friday. A week later, the series ventures outside the United States for the first time with a $10,000-to-win showdown at Autodrome Chaudière in Quebec. The stretch run winds down at Lee on October 5, with the series anchoring the final day of Oktoberfest festivities at “New Hampshire’s Center of Speed.”
But it all begins at Speedway 95, where NASCAR national series veteran and former broadcaster Ricky Craven will take the helm as track owner for the 2026 season.
The series championship is still up for grabs with four races to go. Rookie Cole Robie, who broke into victory lane in July’s Keen Parts 100 at Monadnock Speedway, holds the points lead in his first full GSPSS season. The Windham, Maine, youngster and third-generation racer turned in some strong extracurricular performances this summer, as he has taken every opportunity to make laps and learn.
Twenty-two points separate Robie from title hopeful Evan Beaulieu, who may have benefited the most from the August recess. Beaulieu broke through with his own first GSPSS checkers at Speedway 95 in June, but last year’s runner-up nearly saw his season come to an end at Lee when his car was destroyed in an early-race wreck. After several long nights at his Durham, Maine shop, Beaulieu is ready to get back to racing, with hopes of sweeping the season’s events at Speedway 95.
Cory Casagrande also faced being sidelined after July’s Iron Sight 125 at Lee, but the Connecticut veteran remains third in points with plenty of time to close the gap. Wayne Helliwell, Jr. is a distant fourth, needing a turn of fortune to erase a run of bad luck after his season-opening victory. Defending champion Casey Call sits fifth in the standings, desperate for some podium performances to get him back into the points race.
History hints that Robie and Beaulieu stand to gain the most from this weekend, as no driver from outside the Pine Tree State has claimed a GSPSS win in Maine in several years.
And to that end, a Maine-centric entry list will try to keep that streak alive. Mike Hopkins may be the presumptive favorite, having swept last year’s GSPSS visits to his home track. Bryan Lancaster finished fourth last year at Speedway 95. Jamie Wright, Matt Beers and Shane Clark have also thrown their hats into the ring.
Casey Call, who looks to break the streak of Maine winners, will be joined by Connor McDougal in the Golden R Motorsports entry to represent New Hampshire in the field. Call still seeks his first win, while McDougal is out for redemption after an early exit to his Monadnock outing.
As Beaulieu and Call can attest, anything can happen at Speedway 95, especially as the series ramps up for four busy weeks on the road to award the championship trophy.
The Granite State Pro Stock Series returns to Speedway 95 Saturday night for 100 green-flag laps of action around Maine’s Family Fun Track. The R&R Race Parts Open Street Stock Series joins the GSPSS with the $1963-to-win Jeff Wentworth, Sr. Memorial 75, and Speedway 95’s own Cage Runners will round out the evening’s itinerary. The pit gate opens at 3:00pm with a post time of 7:00pm. General admission tickets are $20, with children 6-12 just $5 and kids under 6 admitted free.
For more information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series, visit www.gspss.net or find us on Facebook and Instagram.
