SHANNON AND MCKEAGE CLOSE

OUT RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY WITH BIG WINS

            The P.A.S.S. sanctioned Riverside Speedway in Groveton, New Hampshire, closed it’s doors for the season with a great day of racing, with a pit full of racecars and a big crowd on hand to enjoy the season finale. On tap was the big Frostbite 250 enduro and the championship event for the P.A.S.S. Sportsman.

            Luke Shannon took over the early lead in the Frostbite 250 after Tyler Therrien was turned into the backstretch wall, thus ending his hopes of a big payday. Shannon then had to hold off the likes of Charlie Rockwell and Ricky Labrecque. Shannon mastered traffic well throughout the event, while Rockwell had an adventurous day, sliding over the top of turn one three or four times. Each time he would battle back and run Shannon down in traffic, but couldn’t make the pass for the win. Labrecque was in contention until a late race flat tire dashed any hopes he had of victory, leaving him nine laps off the pace. The final top five were Shannon, Rockwell, Labrecque, Scott Corey and Doug Bandy. This is the second time in three years that Shannon has walked off with the big paycheck. Complete results can be found on the track website, www.riversidespeedway.org.

            Dan McKeage battled his way to the front of the P.A.S.S. Sportsman 75 lap championship event, and then had to hold off repeated challenges from Terry Merrill, Bobby Nadeau and Steve Bennett. Lap after lap the top four cars jockeyed for position, while point leader Richie Morse struggled and finished 13 laps down in 9^th spot. When the checkers flew it was McKeage scoring the win over Terry Merrill. Nadeau scored a career best third place finish. Steve Bennett and Duane Seekins rounded out the top five. Unofficially, Morse captured the 2008 P.A.S.S. Sportsman championship.

            The 4x4 Tug O’ War championships were held. Winning the ½ ton class was Todd Rivers. Paul Morency won the ¾ ton division and Travis Plante picked up the Diesel class victory.

            That concludes the 2008 racing season at Riverside Speedway. The staff and management would like to thank all the race teams, crew members, race fans and sponsors, as well as all the employees, and special services for helping to make the 2008 racing season a huge success. With today’s economy, it took great teamwork to make this season a good one, and they are looking forward to 2009.

            Two events remain on the schedule. First, the Annual Banquet of Champions will be held on Saturday night, November 15^th at the Town and Country Motor Inn, Route 2 east, Gorham, New Hampshire. Tickets are on sale, and are available to the general public. Tickets are sold on a first come, first serve basis, and no tickets will be sold at the door. Order forms can be found on the website, and only 450 tickets will be sold.

            The final event in 2008 will be the 3^rd Annual Pre-Hangover 150 enduro, scheduled to go green on Saturday, December 27^th at 2pm. The event is open to four, six and eight cylinder cars, trucks, and minivans. No all wheel drives or four wheel drives allowed. No studded tires, chains or traction enhancing devices allowed. Entry blanks are also available on the website. The event will be sponsored by Rick’s Renovations and Dan’s Contracting & Mobile Homeworks.