Sloppy weather forces last-minute format change
LOUDON, N.H. (June 23, 2024) – It was not supposed to rain at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday, June 21, but it did. A lot. And the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) Tour adapted to every change that Mother Nature forced.
At the end of it all, both Will Hull and Matt Tanner stood tall with the spoils of well-deserved and hard-earned victories in the Sig Sauer Academy Dirt Duels presented by New England Racing Fuel at The Flat Track at NHMS.
SCoNE drew a near-record 25 entries, with a traditional format of heat races, a last-chance qualifier, and a 30-lap, $3,000-to-win A-Main planned. After a marathon day and night of fighting with the weather, ever-changing track conditions, and a fast-approaching noise curfew, the format was scrapped in a last-minute change with no qualifying held. SCoNE officials met with drivers just before race time and a new format of twin 15-lap, $1,500-to-win features was agreed upon. As such, the regular championship point structure was suspended for the event as well, and each driver received 50 appearance points regardless of finishing position.
Former two-time SCoNE Tour champion Will Hull drew the pole position for the first A-Main. The Plainfield, Vt., driver checked out on the rest of the pack at the drop of the green flag, but he was reeled back in for the race’s lone yellow flag with three laps complete. The restart proved to be no issue, and Hull scorched the field over the balance of the race to take his first SCoNE win of the season in convincing fashion and erase some of the bad luck that plagued him in the season’s first two events.
Johnsonville, N.Y.’s Tyler Chartrand turned his unpredictable day into a runner-up finish. The SCoNE rookie was headed on Saturday morning to the CRSA Sprints race at Outlaw Speedway near Ithaca, N.Y., when that race was cancelled by rain, and turned his trailer around to head nearly 400 miles east to NHMS. Chartrand’s 305-cubic-inch powerplant has become known in SCoNE as “the little engine that could” with a 200-horsepower disadvantage to the larger 360-cubic-inch SCoNE engines, but it was strong enough for second place. Jason Goff finished third in his first A-Main start of the year, with Jordan Fornwalt and Floyd Billington finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.
Due to a scoring error, only 11 of the 15 laps were completed in the first A-Main, but the race was deemed official as it had passed the halfway mark of its scheduled distance.
Like Hull, Tanner benefitted from the luck of the draw in the second A-Main, taking the pole position. His teammate for the day – visiting NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe – drew the outside of the front row. Briscoe had a better start, but his car slipped in the slimy outside lane and Tanner and rookie Donnie Ottati were able to get by. Tanner was long gone when the red flag came out on the third lap when Ron Davis Jr. had a hard flip on the frontstretch; Davis was uninjured.
At the restart, Stephentown, N.Y.’s Tanner blitzed the field and ran away for his second SCoNE win of the season. Briscoe, who won the SCoNE A-Main at The Flat Track at NHMS in 2023, was able to regroup for second place and fended off Chase Moran for the runner-up finish. Moran fell about a half-car-length short on Briscoe to settle for third. Travis Billington had a good season debut in fourth place, and young Quebec driver Tomy Moreau made a surprise appearance to finish fifth.
RACE NOTES:
• A field of 25 cars attended the event despite the rainy weather. Seven drivers – Jordan Fornwalt, Sam Comeau, Chase Briscoe, Travis Billington, Tomy Moreau, Mark Reynolds, and Ron Davis Jr. – each made their first SCoNE appearance of the season, with Moreau at his first-ever SCoNE event. The 25-car field is believed to be the largest car count for the Sprint Cars of New England Tour in more than a decade.
• Will Hull’s victory was the 22nd of his SCoNE career and his second at The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Hull is now tied with Clay Dow for third place on SCoNE’s all-time win list.
• Matt Tanner’s victory was the 10th of his SCoNE career, his second of the 2024 season, and his first at The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Tanner now has sole possession of sixth place on SCoNE’s all-time win list.
• The brand-new Fred Frame Championship Trophy was unveiled on Friday. The trophy, presented by McGee Automotive Family, lists the names of all past Sprint Cars of New England Tour champions and will be on permanent display in the New England Racing Museum at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
• The CK & Sons Trucking qualifying heat races were cancelled due to the weather and curfew.
• Karen’s Shirt Barn presented the Hard Charger Award, with $50 bonuses going to Floyd Billington and Chase Moran, who each gained four positions in their respective A-Main races.
The McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England Tour returns to action on Saturday, June 29, at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Vt., for the second round of the new Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports. To learn more about the Sprint Cars of New England, visit www.nesprintcars.com or find the “SCoNE – Sprint Cars of New England” page on Facebook.
OFFICIAL RESULTS – Sig Sauer Academy Dirt Duels presented by New England Racing Fuel
The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Loudon, N.H.
Friday, June 21, 2024
A-Main Feature #1 (15 laps – shortened to 11 laps due to scoring error)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(#) - denotes rookie
- (1) Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.
- (3) # Tyler Chartrand, Johnsonville, N.Y.
- (5) Jason Goff, Preston Hollow, N.Y.
- (2) Jordan Fornwalt, Bradford, Vt.
- (9) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
- (8) Jake Williams, Tuftonboro, N.H.
- (7) Nick Comeau, Hebron, N.H.
- (8) # Caiden Herbert, New Hampton, N.H.
- (4) Troy Comeau, Wentworth, N.H.
Did Not Start (4 drivers): Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, N.H.; Matt Hoyt, Campton, N.H.; Dylan Menditto, Brooklyn, Conn., Sam Comeau, Hebron, N.H.
Lap Leaders (0 lead changes among 1 driver): Will Hull, 1-11.
Cautions (1): Lap 3.
A-Main Feature #2 (15 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(#) - denotes rookie
- (1) Matt Tanner, Stephentown, N.Y.
- (2) Chase Briscoe, Mitchell, Ind.
- (7) Chase Moran, Fultonville, N.Y.
- (5) Travis Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
- (4) Tomy Moreau, St-Denis-de-Brompton, Que.
- (9) Caleb Lamson, Moretown, Vt.
- (3) # Donnie Ottati, Rumney, N.H.
- (8) Mark Reynolds, Satellite Beach, Fla.
- (10) Scott Holcomb, Granby, Conn.
- (6) Ron Davis Jr., Moultonborough, N.H.
Did Not Start (2 drivers): # Michael Hart, Nassau, N.Y.; # Nick Kruger, Rupert, Vt.
Lap Leaders (0 lead changes among 1 driver): Matt Tanner, 1-15.
Cautions (1): Lap 3 [red].
Contingency Award Winners:
• Karen’s Shirt Barn “Hard Charger” Award: Floyd Billington (+4 positions), Chase Moran (+4 positions)
• Highside Racewear Award: Tyler Chartrand, Chase Briscoe
• 802 Print Award: Jason Goff, Chase Moran
• VT Fire Award: Jordan Fornwalt, Travis Billington
• Venom Choppers/Keizer Wheels Award: Floyd Billington, Tomy Moreau
• Big Al’s Photos Award: Jake Williams, Caleb Lamson
• Waddell Communications & Repairs Award: Nick Comeau, Donnie Ottati
• 87Speed Award: Caiden Herbert, Mark Reynolds
• Dave Bowser Motorsports Rookie of the Race: Tyler Chartrand, Donnie Ottati
Upcoming Events:
• Saturday, June 29 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vt.
• Friday, July 12 – Unity Raceway – Unity, Maine
(Photos by Alan Ward/Big Al's Photos, NHMS, and SCoNE)