The first championship to be decided was in the Thunder Lights. After heat [...]]]> Hudson N.H. –“Pumkinfest 2011” was held on Sunday October 16th at Hudson International Speedway. It was a fun day for all with kids bikes races on the speedway before warm-ups, a costume contest, Enduros, and tight championship races in two divisions.

The first championship to be decided was in the Thunder Lights. After heat race points were calculated in, Chad Wendell held a ten point lead over Jarrod Soucy. With the car count in the Thunder Lights and it being a double points race, each spot in the feature was worth ten points more than the spot before it. So Wendell just needed to keep Soucy behind him and he would win his second Thunder Light championship in a row.

When the green dropped Soucy got ahead of Wendell first and was battling side by side with Carlos Esquivel with Wendell right behind them. Wendell then made a bold move going three wide into turn one and they all made it through turn two and started down the backstretch three wide but contact was made between them and both Wendell and Soucy went spinning off the track bringing out a caution. After the restart Wendell was able to get past Soucy. Soucy was able to get back by Wendell as the laps wound down. At the checkers Soucy crossed the line in fourth and Wendell in fifth. With that finish, Soucy and Wendell were tied in points and declared co-champions.

The Thunder Light feature was won by Justin Beecher. Austin Erickson in his “LL” Pinto has made much improvement in the last few weeks and finished second. Meegan Lord was third. Beecher won the heat.

Last weeks (Oct 9th) Race Report had a glitch and the Roadrunners weren’t reported on. In the Roadrunners last week Billy Osbourne won the 201st feature of his career passing the great R. Petty on the all-time list.

The Roadrunners had five drivers with a chance to walk away with the championship. Leading points going in to the day was Nick Fissette followed by Jason Carroll, Johnny Reefer, Jen Lord and Jef James.

Jen Lord jumped out to the early lead and was quickly caught by Jason Carroll. Carroll tried high and low but wasn’t able to make it past Lord. After the halfway mark Billy Osbourne joined the front duo in the battle for the lead. Osbourne went to the outside and got past Carroll. Osbourne could get a few feet in front of Lord but then would slip back some. Shaun Waites Jr. made it past Carroll and got to Lords rear bumper but time had run out as the trio crossed under starter Steve Gran’s checkered flag and Lord was able to celebrate her first career win. Osbourne was second and Waites Jr. was third. Carroll was fourth and Fissette fifth. Carroll and Osbourne won the heats.

Fissette won the championship by 3 points over Carroll and Lord finished third in points just 4 points behind Carroll.

Roger Tanguay Sr. won his first Rookie Stock feature. Tanguay Sr. led from green to checker but it wasn’t an easy road with the likes of Jerry Lepage and Steve Dickey on his bumper for the entire race. Tanquay Sr. had a lot of handling issues early in the season but kept working on his car and got better and better towards the end of the season and it all came together on the last race of the season for him. Lepage was second followed by Steve Dickey Jr. Corrie ”knock ‘em out of the way” Merritt was fourth and Dean Wendell was fifth. Lepage and Dickey won the heats. Slika Ennis finished 13th on the hook of the tow truck.

John Morin Jr. had clinched the Rookie Stock championship the previous week. Morin Jr. had an outstanding last half of the season. In late July Morin Jr. was leading by less than ten points but went on a winning streak that cumulated in clinching the championship with a week to go in the season.

Rusty Bryant won the Classic Light main followed by George Helliwell, Eddie Gilman, Paul Colson and Rob Bryant. Helliwell and Rusty Bryant won the heats.

Corrie Merritt won the Grand Enduro followed by Bob Murphy, Roland Laplante, Dave Levine and Ryan Foley.

Dave Helliwell won the 4 Cyl Enduro followed by Issac Chabot, Jake Joslin, Jay Keezer and Zack Leslie.

Ralph Coombs won the Spectator Drags. Scotty “The Fighter” Duval won the Flagpole Race. Richard Hennessey won the Spectator Race.

Hudson Speedway concluded its 64th consecutive racing season and will honor its drivers/crews at a banquet held in conjunction with Star Speedway. The banquet is being held November 5, 2011 at the Lowell MA Lodge of Elks at 40 Old Ferry Road Lowell MA 01854. Trophies will be presented to the top points finalists in each division. Many special achievement awards will also be presented. Doors open at 6.05 pm with a social hour. Awards presentations begin at 7pm followed by a full course roast beef and turkey dinner by Lenzi’s Catering. Tickets are $45 each and must be purchased in advance before November 1st. For more info please visit www.hudsonspeedway.info or star-speedway.com.

Peter Fiandaca and Dave Blanchard were the front row starters with Griffith starting in the third spot. Fiandaca took the lead in the early going with Blanchard settling into [...]]]> Hudson N.H. –Fourteen year old Derek Griffith won his second Outlaw feature of the 2011 racing season on Sept 18th at Hudson International Speedway.

Peter Fiandaca and Dave Blanchard were the front row starters with Griffith starting in the third spot. Fiandaca took the lead in the early going with Blanchard settling into second and Griffith third. The top trio stayed that way until a caution bunched up the field for a restart.

On the restart Griffith managed to get by Blanchard and set his sights on the sixty-one year old Fiandaca. Griffith tried the outside but couldn’t make it work so he went inside and got aside of Fiandaca coming off turn two. The two made contact going down the back stretch and Fiandaca got out of shape and lost many spots while trying to gather it back together. Dean Wendell had a good run and finished second and Geoff Rollins was third. Dave Blanchard and Jay Maki were fourth and fifth respectively. Matt Robinson and Ron Lord won the heats.

Dan Murphy Jr. won the Rookie Stock main. Roger Tanguay Sr. led the first few circuits until Murphy Jr. took over. John Morin Jr. moved into second past the halfway point and began chasing down Murphy Jr. Morin Jr. caught Murphy Jr. as the laps wound down and tried the outside and then the inside and then the middle but wasn’t able to pass Murphy Jr. The last few laps were classic short track beating and banging but Murphy was able to hang one for the win. Morin Jr. was second. Corrie Merritt would have loved to get his bumper into the action but wasn’t close enough and finished third. Bob Riopelle finished fourth. Scotty “Daisy Duke “ Duval was fifth. Murphy Jr. and Duval won the heats.

Ricky Porter and Jack Victoria made their first 2011 visits to Hudson International and finished first and second respectively in the Roadrunner main. Tommy Lord led the opening laps until the first caution. On the ensuing restart it was all Lord front row with Tommy’s daughter Jen on the outside. When starter Bob Munroe dropped the green, Jen took off and grabbed the top spot. Jen was able to outrun all the Hudson regulars from that point and ended with a very impressive third. Billy Osbourne was fourth and Jason Carroll was fifth. Tommy Lord and Porter won the heats.

Justin Beecher won the Thunder Lights feature. Chad Wendell was second. Austin Erickson was running third the whole race but got “Soucied” on the last lap and spun giving the last podium spot to Meegan Lord. Erickson won the heat.

Jeff McMillan won the Spectator Drags. ” Daisy Duke” Duval had the Spectator Race all wrapped up until the last laps when everybody’s buddy “Buddy” Wilkins came out of nowhere, blew his doors off, and won. Luckily for Duval, Wilkins had trouble in the Flagpole Race and Duval managed to win the Flagpole Race.

There is no racing on Sept. 25th. On October 2nd its Enduros, V-6 Modifieds, Rookies, Roadrunners, Thunder Lights, Spectator Drags, Spectator Race and Flagpole Race. Gates open at 11am and the first race is at 1.03pm. For more info please visit www.hudsonspeedway.info.

The race honored the longtime Hudson/Star competitor who lost his life in a tragic accident while working on his racecar in the garage. Lewis was a fierce competitor who started racing in 1988 and [...]]]> Hudson N.H.-Billy Clement Sr. won the “Mighty” Mike Lewis Memorial race this past Monday Sept 5th at Hudson International Speedway.

The race honored the longtime Hudson/Star competitor who lost his life in a tragic accident while working on his racecar in the garage. Lewis was a fierce competitor who started racing in 1988 and by 1992 had honed his skills enough to win the championship in the Strictly Stocks division. His battles with Dean Weber for the championship that season were epic and tempers flared on a few occasions between the two. Lewis moved up to the Street Stock division after his championship and while the wins weren’t as plentiful as in the Strictly Stocks, the smile Lewis always had while at the speedway remained.

Lewis was the only son of Norma and Richard Lewis but Lewis was blessed with six loving sisters. Lewis left behind a wife and two sons who will forever have him in their hearts. It’s been 13 years since we lost Mike Lewis but his memory will never be forgotten by those whose lives he touched.

The Lewis Memorial race was held in two segments. The first was twenty laps and the second was twenty five laps with the winner being determined by combining the finishes. Billy Clement Sr. was one of just a few drivers left at Hudson who raced with Lewis so it was fitting that he won the race. Clement Sr. hadn’t been driving much in recent years because he was focusing his attention on getting his son started in racing. Billy Clement Jr. must have been paying attention to his dad because he finished second overall. After the Clements it was John Morin Jr. , Steve Dickey Jr., Scotty “Two-time” Duval. Roger Tanguay Sr. was sixth. Tanguay was upstaged in the Tanguay household by his grandson who won one of the kid’s bike races earlier in the afternoon.

The Thunder Lights were knocking each other around again with Chad Wendell coming out on top. Justin Beecher was second followed by Jarod Soucy.

Keith Caruso won the caution free V6 Modified main. Allen Reiser Jr. was second and William Wallace third.

Loren Smith Jr. made a rare appearance at HIS and was the fastest in the Roadrunners. Smith Jr. took over the lead just past the midway point and wasn’t challenged after that. Johnny Reefer was second. Jen Lord has been running fantastic and finished a solid third. Look for Jen to get that breakthrough win real soon. Jen’s dad Tommy Lord finished fourth and Matt Lombard in his always cornering VW was fifth.

Bob Murphy won the Grand Enduro followed by Corrie Merritt, Barry Schonborg, David McCarthy and Roland Laplante.

Paul Wainwright won the 4 Cyl. Enduro followed by Issac Chabot, James Genlakis, Andrew Harmon and Jay Kezer.

Scotty “Two-Time” Duval won the Flagpole Race.