Loudon, NH — For the third consecutive year, the Northeast Classic at New Hampshire Motor Speedway has started the season off in style. Great fields in all five divisions graced the storied asphalt of the Magic Mile with five deserving winners standing proud in victory lane for the fans in the stands and those at home watching on Racing America.
Thirty-six American-Canadian Tour teams were on hand to begin the 45th season of Championship Stock Car Racing for the international touring series at the Northeast’s biggest stage. After digging deep to take an unheard of +9 in heat three, D.J. Shaw began on the pole position with his high Plus/Minus handicap alongside Tom Carey III to his outside. While Carey snuck away with the lead to start Shaw powered back to take control on lap 3. Quickly forming a four-car breakaway at the front which included Carey, Derek Gluchacki and Jimmy Hebert, Shaw led the class of the field.
Derek Gluchacki jumped past Shaw to overtake the lead on lap 24 just before the Competition Caution on lap 26, allowing teams to make adjustments and change tires on their machines. The side-by-side battle between Shaw and Gluchacki would begin again on the restart until lap 30 when a stalled Bryan Wall, Jr. called up the first and only natural caution of the event. Back in high gear, the real battle on track was for third between a hard-charging Carey and Hebert alongside. Through the final five circuits, Tom Carey III began picking up speed and valuable time on the leaders, but it was too little, too late. Coming down to the line, with the Brookside Ride breathing down his neck, Derek Gluchacki took down his second-consecutive Northeast Classic victory over Tom Carey III by just 0.060-seconds. D.J Shaw took home third followed by Jimmy Hebert and Jimmy Renfrew Jr. to round out the top five.
The Pro All Stars Series twenty-seven car field of Super Late Models was led to green by Magic Mile Master Eddie MacDonald and defending Oxford Plains Speedway track champion Max Cookson. The four-way battle for the lead on the onset also included Nova Scotia’s Cory Hall and Hudson, New Hampshire’s Derek Griffith. The four would lead the pack side-by-side while the battle for tenth was superheated in three-wide fashion between D.J. Shaw, Brandon Barker and Mike Rowe.
Following the competition caution on lap 25, Eddie MacDonald regained the lead from Hall and brought the field all the way down to New Hampshire Motor Speedway victory lane on the way to his third PASS win at the Magic Mile and his first Northeast Classic victory. Max Cookson held on for a strong second-place run followed by Johnny Clark for third. Thompson Icebreaker winner Trevor Sanborn hard-charged to take fourth with a full head of steam followed by Justin Larson in fifth.
The largest field of tour-type Modifieds to date at the Northeast Classic had their 50-lap feature led to point by Anthony Nocella and Matthew Kimball. The first major caution would come on lap 3 as Kimball’s right-rear tire expired, sending him swirling on the frontstretch with the rest of the field scrambling for safety. Nocella retook command on the restart before a lap 11 caution for Mike Collins into the turn two wall would see the Nocella Paving machine head pit side for new Hoosier Racing Tires. On the return to green, Anthony Bello and Matt Swanson battled for the lead back-and-forth for over twenty laps as a five-car breakaway developed from a mix of veterans and greenhorns.
Jon McKennedy and Anthony Bello flip-flopped the lead in each corner before the final caution flag would fly on lap 48 for the spinning Woody Pitkat in turn two. The two-lap shootout between McKennedy and Bello began with a side-by-side showdown that also featured Nocella and Swanson pushing the leaders from behind. Bello threw a power-shot underneath Jon McKennedy in turn three to try and steal away the win but the veteran powered back coming out of turn four to take his second-consecutive Northeast Classic victory. Anthony Bello came home second followed by Matt Swanson in third. Matthew Kimball would bounce back from his early caution to take fourth followed by Long Islander Chris Young.
The Mighty Mini Stocks had their second event of the season following their debut at Thompson Speedway just one week ago. Climbing to the top of the heap was defending White Mountain Motorsports Park Mini Late Model champion Nick Anderson to lead the field down to green. In the 15-lap feature, the Oxford, Massachusetts-native Anderson led the way to the checkered flag followed by Cody LeBlanc and Desmond Skillings to round out the top-three. Both LeBlanc and Skillings worked through mid-pack starting positions to bob and weave for their Northeast Classic trophies.
Over the course of the Northeast Classic weekend, the R&R Street Stock Open Series called in thirty teams from across New England to take their turn at the Magic Mile. After a stout qualifying run, Connecticut’s Ryan Waterman showed he was the class of the field and took down the 25-lap win over Maine’s Kris Watson and Vermont’s Jason Woodard. Ryan Phillips and Jimmy Renfrew Jr. rounded out the top-five.
Next up for the American-Canadian Tour is a trip 38-years in the making as the Stars and Cars of North America’s most historic short track series returns to Stafford Motor Speedway for the first time since 1985. Joining the 51st Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler, the ACT Tour headlines Saturday, April 29th alongside the NAPA Auto Parts Duels for Tour-type Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Street Stocks and Vintage All-Stars.
The Pro All Stars Series returns home to Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, April 23 to open up the Maine State racing season for 2023. The PASS Super Late Model 150 headlines the Sunday opener alongside the Kennebec Equipment Rental PASS Modifieds and the Oxford Limiteds in a 50 lap, $750-to-win Special.
For more information, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @ACTTour.
For technical information concerning all PASS divisions, and for media or marketing questions, please contact passracing@roadrunner.com or visit www.proallstarsseries.com. Don’t forget to "Like" the Pro All Stars Series on Facebook or follow on Twitter @PASSSLM14 to keep up with breaking news as it happens.
-ACT Media Press Release
New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Loudon, NH
3rd Annual Northeast Classic
Saturday, April 15, 2023
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
American-Canadian Tour Northeast Classic (50 Laps)
1. 03MA Derek Gluchacki North Dartmouth, MA
2. 5MA Tom Carey III New Salem, MA
3. 04VT D.J. Shaw Center Conway, NH
4. 58VT Jimmy Hebert Williamstown, VT
5. 00NH Jimmy Renfrew Jr. Candia, NH
6. 91CT Jake Johnson Reheboth, MA
7. 60ME Gabe Brown Center Conway, NH
8. 68NH #Tanner Woodard Waterbury Ctr, VT
9. 5CT Dillon Moltz New Sharon, ME
10. 38RI Connor Souza E. Providence, RI
11. 30RI Jacob Rowdy Burns E. Greenwich, RI
12. 4NH Jamie Swallow Jr. Stark, NH
13. 97NH Joey Polewarczyk Hudson, NH
14. 18QC Jean-Philippe Bergeron Terrebonne, QC
15. 36NH Erick Sands Derry, NH
16. 8NH Connor McDougal Wakefield, NH
17. 31CT #Andrew Molleur Woodbridge, CT
18. 66VT Jason Corliss Barre, VT
19. 22RI Mark Jenison Cranston, RI
20. 19QC Dany Trepanier St-Edouard,QC
21. 04NH Shawn Swallow Groveton, NH
22. 41VT Jamie Aube Bow, NH
23. 21MA Pete Yetman E. Greenbush, NY
24. 27NH Cam Huntress Rochester, NH
25. 25ME #Jason Gammon Hollis, ME
26. 0NH Quinten Welch Groveton, NH
27. 12CT #PJ Evans Uncasville, CT
28. 4CT #Reese Bogue Groton, CT
29. 33QC Remi Perreault Joliette, QC
30. 41QC Jonathan Bouvrette Blainville, QC
31. 65NH Tom Sheehan Bow, NH
32. 45VT Derek Ming West Burke, VT
33. 21QC Alexandre Tardif Quebec, Canada
34. 77NH #Bryan Wall Jr. E. Kingston, NH
35. 5ME #Dominic Curit Saco, ME
36. 31x Jordan Hadley Quaker Hill, CT
PASS Super Late Models (50 Laps)
1. 17MA Eddie MacDonald Rowley, MA
2. 39 Max Cookson Pittsfield, ME
3. 54 Johnny Clark Hallowell, ME
4. 44 Trevor Sanborn E. Parsonsfield, ME
5. 18L Justin Larson Peru, ME
6. 83 Corey Hall Sackville, NB
7. 12 Dennis Spencer, Jr. Oxford, ME
8. 12G Derek Griffith Hudson, NH
9. 88 Brandon Barker Westbrook, ME
10. 72 Ryan Kuhn E. Bridgewater, MA
11. 13 Austin MacDonald Pictou, NS
12. 39L Nick Lascoula Hanson, MA
13. 9T Alan Tardiff Lyman, ME
14. 47B Gabe Brown Center Conway, NH
15. 24 Mike Rowe Turner, ME
16. 50 Andy Shaw Center Conway, NH
17. 7CT Cory Casagrande Stafford Springs, CT
18. 20 Joe Pastore Gorham, ME
19. 60 D.J. Shaw Center Conway, NH
20. 18 Michael Scorzelli Feura Bush, NY
21. 38 Garrett Lamb Windham, ME
22. 21 Josh King Vernon, VT
23. 24J JP Josiasse Ennismore, ON
24. 15 Mike Hopkins Hermon, ME
25. 73D Joey Doiron Berwick, ME
26. 5 Ben Rowe Turner, ME
27. 12X Corey Bubar Windham, ME
Open Tour-type Modifieds (50 Laps)
1. 79 Jon McKennedy Chelmsford, MA
2. 179 Anthony Bello Newtown, CT
3. 25 Matt Swanson Harvard, MA
4. 43 Matthew Kimball Bennington, NH
5. 49 Chris Young Calverton, NY
6. 92 Anthony Nocella Woburn, MA
7. 76 Kirk Alexander W. Swanzey, MA
8. 45 Brett Meservey Brewster, MA
9. 55 Ryan Doucette Framingham, MA
10. 66 Woody Pitkat Bellingham, MA
11. 52 Mark Bakaj Lebanon, CT
12. 27I Kevin Iannarelli Groton, MA
13. 17 Kevin Folan N. Attleboro, MA
14. 20 Vinny Marrone Farmingdale, NJ
15. 31C Andrew Charron E. Greenwich, RI
16. 27R Derek Robbie Bellingham, MA
17. 02 Mike Collins Deerfield, NH
18. 18M Andrew Martell Charlestown, NH
19. 47 Jacob Perry Pawcatuck, CT
20. 18B Tyler Berry Griswold, CT
R&R Race Parts Street Stock Series (25 Laps)
1. 75 Ryan Waterman Danielson, CT
2. 35 Kris Watson Kendeskeag, ME
3. 68 Jason Woodard Waterbury Ctr., VT
4. 89 Ryan Phillips Buxton, ME
5. 00 Jimmy Renfrew Jr. Candia, NH
6. 18 Devon McConologue W. Newfield, ME
7. 4VT Chris Riendeau Ascutney, VT
8. 24 Jeff Alley Machias, ME
9. 30 Andrew Morin Nashua, NH
10. 33 Bill Clement Manchester, NH
11. 15 James Goodman Carmel, ME
12. 27 Leslie Keyser Northfield, NH
13. 51CT Travis Jurcik Moosup, CT
14. 45VT Adam Maynard Milton, VT
15. 07 Jesse Bousquet Pittsfield, NH
16. 20 Garret Leiter Winslow, ME
17. 90 Brian Destefano Tewskbury, MA
18. 71 Donny Silva Hudson, ME
19. 61 Cole Robinson Clinton, ME
20. 16Z Dylan Zullo Claremont, NH
21. 24JF Jason Ferreira Lowell, MA
22. 4NH Shane Sicard Barton, VT
23. 44 Kirk Bean Jr. Alfred, ME
24. 8NH Ryan Bell Acworth, NH
25. 26 Scott Wiggin Somersworth, NH
26. 4 Jordan Russell Norway, ME
27. 29 Justin Harris Northwood, NH
28. 83 Mike Sherburne Lyndonville, VT
Mighty Mini Stock Series (20 Laps)
1. 55 Nick Anderson Oxford, MA
2. 7NH Cody LeBlanc Berlin, NH
3. 11 Desmond Skillings Antrim, NH
4. 57 Pat Houle Vernon, VT
5. 36VT Kodi Sabins Springfield, VT
6. 7 Kyle Wing Marshfield, CT
7. 1NH Ken Marier Newfield, NH
8. 97 Dave Trudeau Marshfield, CT
9. 87 Eric Bourgeois Oakdale, CT
10. 78 Evan Bourgeois Oakdale, CT
11. 1CT Jarred Roy Moosup, CT
12. 40 Nadine Coates Newport, NH
13. 88NH Emerson Cayer Contocook, NH