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By Jeff Brown, for Granite State Pro Stock Series
WALPOLE, N.H. – The 14th season of the Granite State Pro Stock Series draws to a close this weekend as part of one of New Hampshire’s most storied race weekends.
Lee USA Speedway once again welcomes the GSPSS to its own season finale celebration, headlining the third and final day of Russ Conway’s Oktoberfest.
Sunday’s 125-lap showdown is the GSPSS’ third venture to “New Hampshire’s Center of Speed” this season, pitting the series stalwarts against a who’s-who roster of regional aces. And whether a series regular or a ringer takes the checkered flag and the $5,000 winner’s purse, the series will also crown its 12th different champion.
Barring the unimaginable, Cole Robie is set to take home title honors in his first full GSPSS season. The 17-year-old from Windham, Maine, has made strides in his young stock car career, winning once at Monadnock Speedway and turning bad days into top-ten results. Robie carries a 50-point lead to Lee, and exceptional circumstances would be necessary for him to forfeit the title in the year’s last race.
Last year’s runner-up, Evan Beaulieu, entered last season’s Oktoberfest finale with the points lead and came up one marker short at the end. This year, the Durham, Maine, native has second place locked down. Beaulieu’s season has not been without challenge; however, he rallied from the loss of his mother and a season-altering crash to post his first two career GSPSS wins. Lee has not been kind to Beaulieu, but a strong run Sunday would give the family team something to grow on.
Reigning champion Casey Call is third in the standings heading to Lee. Call expected big results in his title defense, but season-long problems with both of his cars have stymied the Pembroke, N.H., racer’s bid for a repeat performance. Call skipped the penultimate race at Autodrome Chaudière, hitting the reset switch in hopes of closing the year with a win.
Early-season winners Wayne Helliwell, Jr. and Joey Polewarczyk have each faced their own misfortune since last taking the checkered flag, and Lee represents another shot for the friends and veteran campaigners to break back into the winner’s circle.
July winner and two-time GSPSS champ Joey Doiron returns to Lee after a third-place finish in his most recent outing at the track. Doiron is also fielding a car for close friend Ryan Green, who will make his first attempt since a grinding crash at Star Speedway in mid-September.
Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. clinched Lee’s track championship last month, but came up short in July’s GSPSS event after leading the opening laps. Renfrew and fellow Lee contenders Dave Farrington, Jr. and Corey Bubar are all former GSPSS feature winners, with Bubar picking up a series win last year.
Eddie MacDonald is the defending Oktoberfest feature winner, and the driver whose family operated Lee for decades will be back in search of a repeat performance. Angelo Belsito showed speed earlier this year at Hudson and has a long winless streak to break.
Cory Casagrande’s quest for his first GSPSS win continues this weekend. The Connecticut native is joined by fellow road-trippers Mike Mitchell, who scored a surprise podium finish in last year’s Oktoberfest showdown, and former Speedway 95 winner Josh St. Clair from Maine. Tom Carey III is back for more after an early exit at Lee two weeks ago, while Jeremy Sorel hopes to snag a win after a busy season away from the track. Vermont’s Cam Curtis has been steadily improving in his appearances this year.
Connor McDougal put on a late duel with a visiting Tyler Reddick two weeks back, and the New Hampshire native is learning the ropes of Pro Stock competition with the Golden R Motorsports team. Dan Winter needs a good run at Lee to cap off his season, and Frankie Eldredge is ready to score one for the locals this weekend.
It all comes down to 125 laps around one of the Granite State’s fastest short tracks as the season draws to a close.
Lee USA Speedway welcomes race fans to another edition of its season-ending Russ Conway’s Oktoberfest, where the Granite State Pro Stock Series takes center stage on Sunday, the third and final day of Oktoberfest festivities. Rounding out the day’s program are Lee’s Ridge Runners, Six Shooters, Crown Vics and Pure Stocks, along with appearances by the Senior Tour Auto Racers, Mini Cups, Outlaws and Daley Mods. General admission tickets are just $25; senior and junior tickets are $20 and kids 10 and under are free. Streaming coverage of the day’s action will also be available on RaceDayTV.
For more information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series, visit www.gspss.net or find us on Facebook and Instagram.
