Epping, NH – An intense weekend of ground-pounding action hit the high banks as All-Star Speedway held the second annual Nationals event on Friday and Saturday, headlined by three divisions of open-wheeled competition.

Mike Stefanik of Coventry, RI took down the big win in the final round of the Water Snogo All-Star Modified Showdown, coming from the back of the field to claim the victory.  Stefanik found trouble early in the race, when contact from Jim Storace got him out of shape just seven laps into the 100-lapper.

Stefanik collected local favorite Jon McKennedy as he fought for control, suffering a flat tire in the process and heading to the pits.  McKennedy’s car suffered more serious damage, and he was done for the night as a result.

When the action resumed, Silk had his hands full with Jim Storace and Matt Hirschman, who were going at it hard for the second spot on the leader’s back bumper.  Stefanik meanwhile, was picking his way back toward the front, and he didn’t stop until he got there.

With 66 laps showing on the board, Stefanik made his move past Silk for the lead, and he never looked back.  When the checkers waved at the end of the 100-lapper, Stefanik found himself sitting in All-Star’s victory lane for the second time this season.

Silk collected runner-up honors for the night, with Hirschman settling for third ahead of Kyle Ebersole, Rowan Pennick, Storace, Josh Cantara, Jacob Dore, Henry Stampfl, and George Baldwin.

In the final round of the Water Snogo Big Block Super Series, former multi-time track champion and Classic winner Russ Wood stormed to victory aboard one of the four Jeff Holbrook-owned machines in the field.

Seven laps into the race, “Super Dave” Sanborn broke and oiled down the track in turn one, sending the pack scattering, but most of the cars involved in the incident were able to rejoin the race.  Wood blasted past teammate Mike Ordway, Jr. on the restart to take over the lead, and he was off to the races.

Fresh off clinching the ISMA championship at the Thompson, CT Speedway the week before, “The Rowley Rocket” Chris Perley got past Ordway in the late laps, but there was nothing hw could do to stop the high-flying Wood. 

At the checkers, it was Wood taking down his first All-Star win of the season, with Perley, Ordway, Jeff Abold, Danny Lane, Jeff Holbrook, Jon McKennedy, Eric Lewis, Rick Wentworth, and Eddie Witkum, Jr. the rest of the top ten.

Lane backed up his fifth place run in the Big Block Super Series with an equally impressive run in the 350 Supers, where he led flag-to-flag to grab his first All-Star checkered flag of the season.  Lane held a comfortable lead most of the way, but Matt Seavey closed in late in the event to challenge.

Lane was up to the task however, and he led them across the stripe to score the win.  Seavey took a shot on the low side but came up a car length short, with Seavey, David Duggan, Dave Sanborn, and Tom Tombarello, Jr. closing out the top five.

Joey Doiron and Miles Chipman battled side-by-side for the lead when the New England Late Model feature went green, with Chipman eventually gaining the advantage and moving into the lead on lap three.

Doiron settled into second for the next several circuits, but on lap 20, he put a move and Chipman to take over the top spot.  Bryan Kruczek quickly joined the lead battle, making it a three-way fight for the lead. 

Chipman eventually lost the second spot to Kruczek, who began applying some intense pressure to leader Doiron in the late stages of the race.  But Doiron held tough, taking the checkers with Kruczek right on his bumper.  Geoff Rollins claimed the third spot, with Eddie Seffen and Chipman next across the stripe.

The Super Late Model main was cut short by rain, with Eric Hudson taking the win in the Newmarket Sand and Gravel-sponsored machine. Wayne Helliwell, Jr. picked up second place honors, with Ben Rowe, Rick Martin, Larry Gelinas, Rich Eaton, Barry Gray, Jeff Crowley, Mike Rowe, and Steve Knowlton the rest of the top ten.

The Super Streets only got in one of their two scheduled 50-lap features during nationals weekend, and it was Sandy Lee taking down the win.  Former champ Ron Bolduc moved in late in the race to challenge, but Lee held him off and scored the victory.

Tim Casey, Jr. put in a solid third place run, with Shaun Waites, Lee Weldy, Wayne Whitten, Jr., Chris Lee, Rob DeAlmeida, and Nick Gravel rounding out the top ten finishers.

Big Dan took his first career win in the Fast-8 feature event, coming on strong in the late laps to pick up the win by a fender over two-time winner Travis Collins.  Collins got past a spinning Andy Nichols for the lead with three laps to go, but the race was far from over.

Big Dan quickly made his move, ducking underneath Collins to take over with two to go.  Collins fought back on the outside, but his challenge came up short.  Christin Burns chased the leaders across the line in third, with Nichols and Brian DeStefano following.

Erik Bibeault only led one lap in the Fast-4 feature, but it was the one that counted.  Bibeault had a tough time on the start and had to play catch up, but the extra-distance feature was just what he needed to get the job done.

Jef James broke out of the pack at the drop of the green and remained on the point for the first 21 laps, when Scott Fisette took over the point.  A lap 40 skirmish sent Fisette to the pits with a flat, With Bibeault holding down the second spot until the checkers were in the air.

When the leader broke with the checkers in sight, the door opened for Bibeault, and he moved past to score his first career win after nine year of trying, with Matt Magee and James chasing him across the stripe.