Note to those trying to keep Ben Byrne from winning: he likes the top groove.
The Deerfield driver used the outside lane to his advantage last Saturday, stalking leader Brian Chapin, of Palmer, for 18 laps until finally taking the lead in the 40-lap NHSTRA Sportsman Modified feature at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H. Byrne drove away over the final eight laps to secure his third victory of the season and second in a row.
“I was actually complaining on the radio a little bit that the car was too tight and didn’t like how it was handling,” Byrne told WWLP.com’s Matt Wiernasz. “I guess when you win the race you can’t complain about chassis setup too much.”
The race started with defending champion Todd Patnode leading the field to the green flag. Looking to end a streak of bad luck, Patnode led the first 14 laps before Chapin took over the top spot. The Palmer driver stayed at the point until Byrne drove ahead on lap 32.
Byrne is third in the points standings, 38 behind leader Brian Robie but only four back of Trevor Bleau for second. A disqualification in the season opener deprived Byrne of another victory that would have put him at or near the top of the leaderboard.
They can’t catch Aaron Fellows in the Late Model Sportsman division, but Orange’s Cole Littlewood gave it his best shot last week.
Littlewood had the lead until Fellows passed him with two laps to go in the 25-lap feature. Littlewood grabbed the top spot again, but Fellows passed him in turn three on the final lap to score the victory and add to his perfect season. Littlewood came home second, while his brother Justin was fifth. Springfield’s Willie Kuhn was fourth.
Justin Littlewood is third in the standings, 34 behind Fellows (300) with Cole 10 back in fourth.
Mike Douglas of Northfield placed second behind a dominant performance by Chris Davis in the 25-lap Pure Stock feature. Davis flew to the lead on lap two and didn’t look back.
Douglas retained his points lead (168) by four over Davis and eight ahead of Turners Falls’ J.D. Stockwell, who finished eighth last week. Greenfield’s Jimmy Zellman, who was 10th last week, is fifth.
A slew of local drivers wound up in the top 10 in Mini Stocks. Points leader Gordon Farnum drove from row three to the front, and he checked out to score his third win of the season.
Orange’s Kevin McKnight was sixth, Jake Puchalski was seventh and Shelby Avery of Bernardston was 10th.
Hillary Renaud’s attempt to repeat in Street Stocks got off to a good start as the Vernon, Vt., driver led the first 14 laps until the Curtis twins — Chase and Jaret — stormed to the front. Wilbraham’s Tommy O’Sullivan followed and soon Renaud was in fourth, where she ultimately finished. Chase Curtis took the checkered flag, followed by his brother and O’Sullivan.
Erving’s Mike Radzuik was seventh, and Montague’s Paul Barnard was ninth.
In the Iron Mike Memorual NEMA main event, Randy Cabral drove to the victory, wih Avery Stoehr claiming the win in NEMA Lites.
It was recently announced that Monadnock will host a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event on Aug. 29.
The quarter-mile bullring on Route 10 will be busy again this Saturday, with racing starting at 6 p.m. The main event will be the Granite State Pro Stock Series in a 100-lap feature.
LOOKING AT LOUDON: After being rescheduled once to accommodate another race on the Cup Series schedule, New Hampshire Motor Speedway will host the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 on Sunday. The grandstands and suites will be open to 50 percent capacity, and masks and social distancing are encouraged.
The stages end at lap 75, 185 and 301. Kevin Harvick is the betting favorite at 4-1, according to NASCAR.com. It makes sense given that he is one of the hottest drivers on the circuit and is a four time winner at Loudon, including last summer. Following that theory, three-time winner Denny Hamlin is second at 9-2.
Another three-time New Hampshire winner, Kyle Busch, is third at 7-1 as he pursues his long overdue first win of the season. Of those who haven’t yet hoisted Loudon the Lobster, Ryan Blaney and two-time Loudon runner-up Martin Truex Jr. are next at 8-1.
Further back are a trio of three-time winners: Kurt Busch at 25-1, Jimmie Johnson at 33-1 and Matt Kenseth at 40-1. Rookie Christopher Bell won at New Hampshire twice in the Xfinity Series and is a 33-1 shot.
There is no Xfinity Series race this year nor is there a Whelen Modified Tour event.
Jason Remillard is a copy editor and page designer at the Recorder. He can be reached at jremillard@recorder.com and followed on Twitter @racinwithjason.