Hillary Renaud Leads Start to Finish- Wins Late Model Feature at Monadnock Speedway
Tim Wenzel Finishes on Podium in Third
7/24/2023
Monadnock Speedway
GRENIER WINS PURE STOCK SHOOT OUT & BELANGER, WENZEL SPLIT MODIFIED TWINS SATURDAY AT MONADNOCK
WINCHESTER, N.H. – Joel Belanger and Carlos Grenier each scored his first career Monadnock Speedway victory Saturday at the historic high-banked oval.
Belanger won the nightcap 30-lapper in the NHSTRA Modifieds, while Nate Wenzel topped the first open-wheel go-round. Grenier earned his victory lap by holding Colton Martin at bay to win the 50-lap Pure Stock main event. In the NHSTRA Late Models, it was Hillary Renaud scoring her first win of the summer and, in so doing, becoming the fifth different LM victor this year.
Steve Miller Jr. won for the first time this year in the Six Shooters, and Adrian Smith continued to outrun everyone as he dominated en route to his third 2023 Young Guns victory.
Wenzel’s win in the first Modified feature came gift-wrapped in the form of a Brian Chapin/Tyler Leary last-lap tangle that saw Wenzel avoid the mess immediately before him as he darted off to victory.
Chapin had taken control on lap three and was probably already making plans for where the night’s trophy would later be displayed when he and Leary, up to second on lap 25, jingled in turn two as the checkers awaited them less than a lap away. Wenzel steered clear and blasted to his second win of the summer.
In the nightcap, Belanger held off all challengers to wire the event for his first career victory on the high banks. Geoff Rollins got up for second on lap 15 but, on this night, was no match for the speedy Belanger. Rollins was the night’s overall Modified winner, putting together a pair of deuce runs. Aaron Fellows and Scott Zilinski each had a third for their hard night’s work.
A field of 21 potent chargers went to war in the night’s Pure Stock 50-lapper. Carlos Grenier, starting up front, had seen victory slip away from him in his last outing on the high banks and wasn’t about to let it happen again.
He led Dominick Stafford on laps one and two, with two-time winner Colton Martin then taking over on a restart and riding in Grenier’s shadow the rest of the way.
While the lap-two jingle didn’t affect the race’s outcome, it strongly impacted the mid-season points chase. Multi-time track champ and points titan Chris Davis, along with Zach Phillips and Andrea St. Amour were the big victims in this one, with Davis’ early demise dropping him to 20th on the night.
Grenier and Martin fought hard the rest of the way, with Zach Zilinski in close tow until 2022 Claremont champ Chris Chambers claimed third on lap 42. Grenier, third his last time out, prevailed to take a happy victory lap.
Hillary Renaud used her Saturday victory in the NHSTRA Late Models to leapfrog two spots in the points parade into second. She led all the way, with Haydon Grenier – up to second on lap two – strong in his runner-up performance. Points leader and reigning track champ Tim Wenzel used a final-turn blast to snatch third from JD Stockwell.
Steve Miller Jr. took the lead from Jacob Scott on lap three of the Six Shooter feature and never looked back. Scott then had his hands full for much of the race holding off Miller’s father, Steve Sr., for second, as Scott, Miller Sr., and Andrew Scott took the checkers nose-to-tail.
Adrian Smith took the lead from Madison Cousino on lap eight of the Young Guns feature and then blasted off to his third win of the summer. Cousino, impressive all night, held strong the rest of the way to earn her first career podium finish in second, while Markus O’Neil came home third.
After a week off, Monadnock Speedway will return to action on Saturday, August 5, when the high-banked speedplant will host another full night of oval track racing featuring 50 Lap Mini Stock Challenge!
Article Credit: Gary Dutton
Submitted By: Michelle Cloutier
For more information, visit https://www.monadnockspeedway.com
Posted: to Racing News on Mon, Jul 24, 2023
Updated: Mon, Jul 24, 2023