Clark, Davis, Carbone score feature wins at Riverside Speedway

Outlaw/Sportsman driver Jourdan Davis inherited the lead on lap 12 of the feature, and then held off stiff challenges from Jeff Marshall and Doug Laleme, earning his first feature win at Riverside Speedway in 2010. Other winners on Dad’s 4By Tool and Supply night included Russ Clark, Matt Carbone, Howard Switser, Chris Caron, Shauna Randall, and Lorin Vear.

Ninety-four cars filled the pit area and it didn’t take long for some great side by side racing to get started through qualifying races.

That had the large crowd eagerly awaiting the feature events. The Mason Enterprises Outlaw/Sportsman opened the features on the evening and by lap two Jeff Marshall had a rear view mirror of point leader Dan Sidney. The duo raced nose to tail for the first twelve circuits. Contact between the two had both racers spinning in turn one, drawing a yellow flag. That caution opened the door for Davis.

Davis took to the lead and got some competition over the final seven laps in the form of Laleme and the hard charging Marshall. Davis smoked the right rear tire of his race car off of the corner and held on to claim his first feature win of the year. Marshall went second and Laleme third. Marshall took the qualifying win.

The Isaacson Structural Steel Angels roared through their 20 lap feature running caution free. Second year driver Shauna Randall got her ride out in front early and then blistered the field for her first feature win in the division of the year. The #0 of Lisa Hodgdon ran second and point leader Lyndsey Christman finished third. Traci Nelson and Hodgdon won their qualifiers.

The Budweiser Super Stocks had a difficult time beginning their feature event, bending some sheet metal on several racers. After a stiff warning from director of competition, Doug Shannon, the Super Stocks finished caution free over the final 22 circuits. The race had a tremendous battle between the top two point leaders of the division in Matt Carbone and Jerrad Ledger. Carbone ran hard on the outside and did his best to keep up with the speedy Ledger. In a true show of racing class, the #44 of Ledger picked up a push in the center of the turn and kept his racer off of the #21 of Carbone. The duo battled door to door for more than 15 laps, until Carbone finally got by Ledger with less that five laps to go. Berlin’s Shawn Hood took home the third spot with David Allen fourth and Groveton’s Nick Gilcris fifth. Carbone won the heat race.

The Twisted Tea Dwarf Cars continue to be a crowd pleasing division. The hard charging Howard Switser made it three straight victories, using a “bons eye” pass of leader Dave Gyger on the back stretch in lapped traffic, with less than five laps to go. Toby Merchant in his #99 machine finished third, the #15 of Eric Corum fourth, and the very steady #16 of Dennis O’Brien fifth. Switser and Eric Hall won their heat races.

The Town & Country Motor Inn Street Stocks are quickly becoming the division to stay seated to watch. The streeters began the race nineteen strong, and went 30 straight laps to complete their feature in a blink of an eye. Not one car went down a lap during the race. That shows the true competitiveness within the class making it possible for anyone to cross the finish line first.

On this night it was the #32 of Chris Caron that held off the hard charging Dean Switser for the win. Whitefield’s Ben Belanger rolled to a third place finish. Brendan Hunt finished in the fourth spot and point leader Doug Duprey was fifth. The qualifying races saw Switser and Duprey carry the checkers.

The North Country Ford Late Models may have turned the corner on favorite driver’s night. The division has experienced some growing pains to date. However, on this night, the Riverside faithful was treated to a spectacular feature that was slowed by just three quick cautions. Littleton’s Russ Clark held off the repeated tries of Bryan Mason to pick another feature win. Lyndon Vermont’s Paul Scharner III rolled to a third place finish, exhibiting a new power plant under the hood. Youngster Jesse Switser ended his streak of misfortune keeping his #25 racer off of the concrete, bringing home a fourth place run and 2009 rookie of the year  Cody LeBlanc went fifth. Schartner and Mason won their respective heat races.

The Jiffy Mart Cyclones continue to impress the fans, running their feature caution free for the fourth time in 2010. Lorin Vear worked his way to the front for another feature win. Cole Kilby was second and Shaun Stetson third. Heat wins went to Aric Cole and Matt LeBlanc.

One of the biggest weekends of the season takes place this coming Friday and Saturday night at Riverside Speedway. Summerfest 2010 begins on Friday night. It is the annual Jake McDowell 100 event, that will attract close to 50 of the finest Street Stock competitors from the northeast. Driver’s from Riverside, Thunder Road in Barre, Vermont, and White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock are expected to try for the top $1000 prize. Time trials for the pole position begin at 6 p.m., with the heat racing starting at 7 p.m. Also on hand will be the North Country Ford Late Models, Caron Building Center Daredevils, and Isaacson Steel Angels. After the racing, the Monster trucks take center stage, and will put on a display car crushing that is second to none.

On Saturday night, the PASS tour will return to Riverside starting at 5 p.m., featuring the Super Late Models, PASS Modifieds, and the Nelcar Legends. Riverside’s own Budweiser Super Stocks and Jiffy Mart Cyclones will be featured along with a second day of Monster Truck action.

Riverside Speedway is located off of Brown Road in Groveton, NH. You can find all of the latest speedway news at www.riversidespeedway.org.