Perfect weather and an
awesome crowd greeted the ProTruck competitors
Sunday May 6th as they squared off for race two of
the 2023 season. The 2nd Annual Duel at the Dog has
become a premier short track event in New England.
Monadnock Speedway was packed with competitors and
fans.
Noticeably absent in the pit area was the
15 of points leader Gerard Giordano Jr. Devin
Deshaies put everyone on notice early that his
Silverado had plenty of speed by leading both
practices. Qualifying was soon to follow.
Deshaies set fast time with a blistering fast time
of 14.213. Time trials set the field from 7th
back. The top 6 redraw for final starting
position. Randy Burr drew the pole position.
Devin would have to start 4th.
A field of 13 ProTrucks line up to take the green.
Outside of pole sitter Randy Burr was the 01
Silverado of Nikolas Frechette. Duane Noll had
his #2 Silverado lined up third. Deshaies was
outside in forth. Dennis Charette and #29 Jake
Vanada rounded out the fast 6.
Early season races often end up with early cautions.
Immediately the yellow was out as #6 Andy Pellegrini
got into turn one a bit too hard and ran in to the
back of Charett's #1. Pellegrini spun. The 02 of
Josh Stringer, and the 87 of Jim Thompson were also
involved.
The field was gathered up quickly. The 01
of Frechette got a great start and was able to hang
on the outside of Burr's #32 F-150.
Frechette's Silverado nosed ahead on lap 4.
Burr fought back and the low lane eventually
prevailed. Duane Noll, Jake Vanada and Devin
Deshaies freight trained the 01 of Frechette.
Before the 01 could get back in line he was all of
the way back to fifth.
The 14 of Roger Hunt was off the pace. On lap
10, Frechette pulled outside only to have Hunt
switch lanes unexpectedly. Frechette stood on
the binders as the mid pack cars scrambled and
bounced off of each other. Amazingly all of the
trucks were able to continue.
Deshaies made his charge
to the front early. By lap 12 he had moved by
the 29 of Vanada. On lap 14 he was able to
squeeze the nose of his truck under the 32 of Burr.
Deshaies had the lead as the two made their to the
front stretch. The field was slowed again as the 6
of Pelligrini spun in turn 1 for a second time.
The lap 20 restart sorted out quickly.
Deshaies pulled out to a 5 truck length lead in just
a few laps. Duane Noll was applying pressure
to Randy Burr. After a few laps of hounding,
he burrowed under Burr's 32 into on the back
stretch, and wrestled second place away. Entering
turn three Jake Vanada tried to follow underneath.
His #29 Silverado turned completely sideways.
He was able to gather the truck up without spinning
and hold onto forth. Certainly it was the save
of the day.
By lap 38 Deshaies was
cruising with a comfortable lead when the 02 of Josh
Stringer spun in turn 4. The yellow closed the field
once again.
It was a quick caution that only lasted for 2 laps The field was lined
up quickly and the ProTrucks were ready to rumble.
Coming to the restart
line it was the 64 of Deshaies with veteran and
former series Champ Duane Noll on his outside.
Randy Burr tucked in behind Deshaies. Vanada,
in the 29 was to his outside. The 87 of Jim Thompson
lined up next. Dennis Charette, in the 1ne,
lined outside of Thompson. Deshaies handled
the restart with ease. Noll in the 2, Burr in the
32, Vanada in the 29, and Charette in the 1 rounded
out the top five.
The final caution flew
with 10 to go as RJ Surdell spun his #151 F-150 in
between turns three and four. Deshaies would have to
survive one more restart. Noll lined up outside
again, Burr and Vanada made up row 2. Charette
was now in fifth with Todd Taylor to his outside.
Starter Kyle Souza showed the field the green with 6 to
go. Deshaies had the lead to himself by turn one.
Burr was able to hold the low groove. He positioned his
nose inside of Duane Noll to battle for second.
Noll could not get clear as the two battled side
by side for the next two laps. Noll tried to squeeze
into line between Burr and Vanada. Vanada was having
none of that and held his line. Noll had
contact and fought to keep his Silverado straight.
The 2 truck bounced off of the front
stretch wall but was able to continue. Charette
snuck by low. Noll would have to settle in at
fifth.
Coming to the white flag
Pelligrini's 6 spun into the infield again. Devin
was able to cruise by high and take the win.
Following Deshaies was Randy Burr and Jake Vanada.
Devin Deshaies proved once again that he is
a force to be reckoned any time his 64 Silverado
pulls into the pit area. He won the Taylor
Landscaping, Karns Automotive fast time award.
He also pocketed $1000 for the win. Devin led 41
laps enroute to his win. A mechanical failure
took Deshaies out of the season opener. The
rebound win moved him into 5th in points. The
top 8 in points compete for the Championship in this
year's Chase.
Runner up Randy Burr also made a big
point improvement. The finish moved him to
second in the standings where he trails by a mere 3
points. Jake Vanada and his 29 team now hold
the top spot in points heading into the spring
break. The next series race is at Lee
USA where the Independence Celebration will get
underway with a 55 lap event. It was an awesome
weekend at JDV Production's 2nd Annual Dual at the
Dog. The series returns to Monadnock September 9th.
Congrats to Devin Deshaies and the entire 64 team.
As the pressure builds to make the playoffs, so does
the excitement. Round 3 gets underway at Lee
July 2nd.
Complete point standings can be found by clicking
the "2023 Results and Standings" button. For
compete race results , once on the standings page,
click the race date at the top of the column.
With Thompson's Ice
Breaker under their belt, the Evolve ProTruck teams
head to the Duel at the Dog with the expectation of
positioning themselves to qualify for this year's
Chase. The new points structure makes
missing an event tough to recover from. The shorter
schedule means each event has heightened importance.
At the Ice Breaker a few teams simply ran out of
racing luck. Shawn Passero suffered a
mechanical failure resulting in crash damage during
practice. The 151 of RJ Surdell lost a
motor as did the 5 of Chris Taylor. Despite
the mishaps, 23 trucks took the green.
Unfortunately, early on Andy Pellegrini also lost a
brand new motor. Most of those competitors are
ready for the Duel.
The race was a one man show. Duane Noll was
fast in every session including the feature event.
Reigning Chase Champion Gerard Giordano Jr's
number 15 Silverado couldn't find his way to mount a
challenge. Todd Taylor's 47 was fast. He
ran fast throughout the day. Devin Deshaies was also
fast but a mechanical failure took out the 64 early.
Two racers new to the series, Nicholas Frechette in the
01, and Jake Vanada in the 29 had their own private
duel lap after lap. Frechette won this round.
Number 78, Emma Monahan was quick as always. All of
these teams had outstanding performances.
When it was over Noll parked in Victory Lane.
The celebration was to be short lived. Pro Trucks
have a unique motor rule. All trucks
must pass a dyno test on Mondays. Noll
had changed carburetors. The new carb was a
great one. It was a bit to good and produced
way more horsepower than the team expected.
The 2 failed the dyno and was moved to the rear of
the field. The win was awarded to the 15 team.
Giordano is no stranger to victory lane at Thompson.
He also set fast time for the weekend.
The race was dedicated to the memory of Jim Boyle, a
driver that was lost over the off season..
Giordano and Boyle had many on-track battles over
the years, but had earned a mutual respect and
friendship. The Jim Boyle Memorial Trophy will
have a special place in Giordano's trophy room.
Giordano scored 192 points for the win, along with a
check for $1100.00.
As we head into Monadnock, Gerard Giordano holds the point
lead. Due to other commitments the 15 is not
expected at the next event. We will definitely
have a new points leader without Long Islands top
ProTruck team there. Who will it be?
Will Todd Taylor grab his first tour win? Can
Duane Noll rebound and find his way to victory lane?
How good is Nikolas Frechette? He turned heads
at Thompson. Without Giordano, or
Souza, or Lucas Leone, is this the week we see
Randy Burr's 32 head back to the winner's circle.
Will Jake Vanada prevail and get the trophy from his
brother Josh.
It is a must see event. Every truck in the
field is capable of winning. The Evolve Pro Truck
Challenge 55 is Saturday May 6th. Be
there if you can.
2023
Ice Breaker
The 2023
Season gets underway at Thompson Speedway Friday
night, and with it comes the first race of the new
Evolve Mortgage ProTruck Challenge Chase format.
Teams will have more emphasis on points. To
get in the Chase, the team will have to be in the
top 8 in points by the next to last race of the
season. Drivers will no longer have to win a
race to be a Chase participant.
Pos.
Points
1
175
Points are earned first by attempting to
qualify for any event. Connecticut
races will award 10 appearance points
per event, while races outside of
Connecticut will award 35 appearance
points. Positional points
earned from racing have also changed.
1 bonus point is awarded for a win,
leading a lap, leading the most laps and
setting fast time. Positional
points are going to revert to a break
down similar to the Classic NASCAR
method. The change is to reward
consistency. The winner of the
race will receive 75 points. Points will
decline by 5 for the remaining top 5
positions. Positions 6-10 will decline
by 4 points each. 11th thru 15th
will decline by 3 points each. 16
thru the remainder of the field will
decline by 2 points each.
Evolve Bank & Mortgage, Real Brokers LLC, and
Hoosier Tires have all teamed up to put
up a $10,000 points fund and still
maintain the $1000 to win purses.
Entering the next to last race of the
year, the teams in the "Elite 8",
will compete to get into the final 4
based on their performance in that next
to last race. The top 4 in
relation to each other at the finish
will move on to the final 4. Those that
did not qualify in the final 4 will be
awarded 5th thru 8th position in points.
They all will receive a Hoosier Jacket.
The final 4 will decide their point standings in
the final race of the season. They also
will receive a Hoosier Jacket .
The winner will also pocket $5000.00.
The 2023 Minimum Points Payout is as
follows:
The Pro Truck Challenge is not
possible without the support of
Lance Adie of-Evolve Mortgage Bank &
Trust, Derek Beatrice - Real
Brokers and Rob Summers - Hoosier
Tires East.
The 2023 season's first race is Friday evening at the Ice Breaker. It's a
must see event. Hope to see all our
fans there.
2022 EXIT Realty New England
Pro Truck Challenge Championship
The 2022 EXIT Realty
ProTruck Challenge concluded with a Chase race at the
Waterford Speedbowl in October. Smacktoberfest was
headlined with the series 2022 Championship event.
Within the race 5
Chase teams competed for 75 laps to decide who would be
the Chase Champion.
It was a must see event.
Practice seemed routine until Devin Deshaies #64 crashed
in turn one. A mechanical failure caused the
incident. Deshaies was the #1 seed in the playoff.
Immediately rumors circulated that the team's ProTruck
was done for the day. Devin
seemed
un-phased. If he had a truck, he wanted to race.
Otherwise he wanted to head where he could race. Tyler
Chapman generously made his ride available for the 64
Silverado was not going to be race-ready in time.
The year's winningest team would at least her a shot at
the Championship.
This year's Chase competitors were slated to start in
the front five spots of the Chase event . With no
practice in the new ride, Devin opted to start last .
This placed the 38 of Connor Souza on the pole.
Gerard Giordano shared the front row. Lined up in
row two were two very successful Waterford competitors.
Jim Boyle is always fast and has multiple wins over many
years. Andrew Morin has found his way to Victory
Lane at Waterford too. With Deshaies in the last row
in a borrowed truck, the
chances of the Chase Champion coming form the front
two rows increased dramatically.
The yellow flew on lap 1 for a mishap in the back of the
pack between the 47 of Todd Taylor and the 90 of
multi-time series champion Allen Coates. The teams
quickly reorganized for the restart and the race was
back on.
Souza charged out to an early lead. During
time trials Diego, Brody and Shawn Monahan had plenty of
pace. Shawn was in third by lap 7. He moved
by Jim Boyle into second on lap 12. The 38 had a
healthy lead at this point. Monahan patiently set on the
task of catching the leader.
Giordano moved by Boyle's 02 on lap 24.
He seemed to be pacing himself for 75 laps is a long way
at Waterford. The race always comes down to a late
race caution at the end.
Up front Souza was making it look easy. He
had no interest in letting Monahan get too close and
maintained a healthy advantage. By lap 35 the 55 had
worked his way into striking distance.
Eventually , on lap 47, as the leader worked his way by
a lapped truck, Monahan attacked. He leaned on the
38 with his front bumper just enough to make room and
take over the lead. Shawn had control of the race and it
was doubtful anyone had enough truck to challenge for
the win.
The Chase was still on, and two of the top
performers were now second and third. The 38 of Souza
found no comfort as the 15jr sat one truck length
behind, and the 55 had a truck length lead in front.
Then the caution flew on lap 66 and the battle for the
Championship was on.
The restart had the 55 of Monahan on the pole
with the 38 outside. Giordano was line up third.
Dennis Charrette in the Leone Racing number 1 was forth.
Burr held down fifth. Chase competitors Boyle and
Morin were back in striking distance restarting sixth
and seventh. Shawn's 55 Silverado jumped to a 2 truck
length lead at the drop of the green flag.
Giordano and Souza battled side by side. It was a
full lap before the 38 could secure second. Suddenly,
entering turn three smoke erupted from the pack.
Charrette got crossed up and pivoted off the 32's nose.
Burr continued as many of the front runners piled into
the melee. The 02 of Boyle was in it. His Championship
hopes were over. The field had to be stopped and
held under red as turn 3 was going to take some time to
make race ready.
For the final restart there were just two laps remained to decide a
race and a Championship. The top spot was
still held by Monahan. The 38 of Souza was in
second. G-rod lined up third. Outside G-Rod was
Devin Deshaies in the borrowed Chapman ride.
Somehow he had made is way from the back of the field to
have a shot.
Monahan had a great restart and set sail heading for
the checkers. All eyes were on the Championship
Battle between the 38 and 15 in second and third.
Whomever finished ahead was going to be the season
Champion. G-Rod moved to second. The
38 was not done. He caught the 15 and muscled his
way back by in between turns 3 and 4. Both trucks were
side by side coming to the white flag. G-Rod
sailed the 15 low to reestablish inside position in turn
one. There was contact between the two entering turn 3.
The 38 still held a slight edge exiting turn 4. Heading
to the front stretch it was a dead heat. G-Rod won the
drag race to the line and bested Souza by approximately
a foot to take the Championship. There was contact
after the start finish line as G-Rod fought for control.
As the two trucks entered turn two Souza retaliated by
hooking the 15. G-Rod was able to stay out
of the wall.
Monahan won the battle by making it two wins in a row in
the series. Diego prepped the 55. It was truly a
great ending to a Monahan family affair. Shawn won.
Brody placed 6th in his first ProTruck event.
Track Champion Emma Monahan finished right behind Brody.
Diego even finished after finding himself in the infield
during one of the late race cautions.
The Champion was G-Rod. Giordano won the war.
The 15jr had a trying year with a serious crash at
Monadnock causing them to miss races. They were
able to piece their truck back together and race at
Thompson. The team managed to regain their speed and run
up front all day. Being in position and saving their
truck went a long way in securing the top spot in the
Chase.
Souza had a spectacular year despite some disagreements
with the series. The team served a 1 race
suspension at Thompson. Waterford was their first
race back. Due to the driver's actions after
the checkers, they were removed from this year's Chase
moving Andrew Morin into the runner up Chase spot.
Devin Deshaies and company gave a heroic effort and
finished 3rd in the Chase. Jim Boyle took 4th in
this year's standings. The overall points Champion was
Devin Deshaies. The Rookie of the Year was Andrew
Pellegrini.
The series will celebrate Giordano's Championship and a
great 2022 which was also the last season with EXIT
Realty. EXIT has sponsored the series since 2018
when they took over for Mr. Rooter. It was
expected that the EXIT name would stay through 2023
however recent developments in the real estate industry
ended the pairing.
February 18th we will celebrate 2022 which saw the
emergence of some young stars. The series, sponsored by
EXIT persevered through COVID and tire shortages.
An announcement will come soon concerning the new title
sponsorship, however EXIT is certainly going to be
missed. We still have one more event. Let's
celebrate one more time with EXIT , Evolve and the Stars
of the EXIT Realty Challenge.
For tickets click the Banquet button in the left column.
The 2022 EXIT Realty New England ProTruck season has been packed
with excitement from the drop of the green flag in April through
last week's World Series. As we roll into Smacktoberfest at the
Waterford Speedbowl, the stage is set to crown a new Champion.
Five teams have qualified for this year's Chase race.
Remarkably , the excitement happening Saturday October 22nd
at the Speedbowl includes much much more than just the
Championship Chase. Here is who to watch.
Andy Pellegrini was running well in the Ice Breaker until he
spun exiting turn four. The number 6 Silverado slid
through the infield and on to the top of the infield pit lane
wall. A twentieth place finish is a rough start for any
team. Andy was able to make six more starts and wrap up the 2022
Rookie of the Year title on the strength of five top ten
finishes.
Emma Monahan raced only a few times on the tour in 2022.
She competed at the SpeedBowl and became the first female
Champion of a Saturday evening division. You'll know her by the
crowd noise. Cousin Brody won the Legends
Championship. Uncle Shawn teamed up with Emma's father
Diego for the World Series where Shawn wheeled his #55 ProTruck
to a win. Saturday at Waterford you will see Emma, Diego,
Brody and Shawn Monahan all competing in the 75 lap ERC event.
There are not many racing families that get four members racing
in one event. This will surely be exciting to see.
Another ProTruck to keep an eye on is the 81 of Tyler Chapman.
In the last two events Chapman's 81 Silverado has been
lightening fast. In the last tour event at Waterford, Chapman's
fastest lap was bested by eventual winner Deshaies by a mere 7
hundredths. Both Waterford and Thompson events saw Chapman
taken out of contention through no fault of his own. He is a
past winner on the tour, and a frequent winner at the Speedbowl.
Saturday night could be his night.
The main story is the Championship. Five drivers. All
think they should be the Champion. We'll start with Andrew
Morin. At 18 he is a veteran EXIT Realty Challenge racer. He has
two touring series wins, one of which was this event last year.
He is only second to Devin Deshaies in season points. He has
scored 10 top tens, six top fives, and led 24 laps. He finished
second in the last event at the SpeedBowl. Due to getting into
the playoff race as the wild card, he must win to be the
Champion. If the race falls his way, Andrew Morin is a
good pick to win.
Unlike the Wild Card entry, the remaining 4 will finish in
points in the top 5 based on how they finish in relation to each
other. If Morin does not put his number 10 in Victory
Lane, the battle is on to finish ahead of the others. The
2021 Champion, Dave Koenig, made his pass in the final lap to
grab the top spot. It is a race within a race. All of
these trucks will carry special markings on their rear spoiler
so fans can watch the battle rage on:
Taking on our youngest Chase field ever at 52 years old is Jim
Boyle in the 02. He was last season's wild card. He
earned his way into the Chase race with a victory at Monadnock.
Jim missed a few events this year, and has chased a few
gremlins that have kept him from scoring more victories however
make no mistake, Jim Boyle knows how to win at the Waterford
Speedbowl and remains a threat to come home with the
Championship Saturday.
Long Island's Gerard Giordano Jr. is always a threat to win.
The 15 team was on fire early in the season. G-Rod is the
all-time winningest driver with 12 EXIT Realty Challenge wins.
The team suffered a huge set back when they were taken out early
in a crash at Monadnock in August. The incident resulted
in missing three events. G-Rod has won both points and Chase
Championships and knows his way to Victory Lane at the
SpeedBowl. Never count the series' favorite New Yorker
out.
The number 38 of Connor Souza owns second place in the
standings. Some say you have to lose a Championship to know how
to win one. Last year's Championship race was a heart
breaker for the 38 team. Souza was clearly the fastest
ProTruck out there but a rash of tire failures took Connor out
of contention. This season he has been a threat to win at every
track. The team is solid. Many feel this is his year.
The number one seed in this year's Chase is the youngest driver,
15 year old Devin Deshaies.
He has won on the Magic Mile and also found victory lane on the
quarter miles. In 11 starts the 64 found victory lane 5 times.
Devin has 8 top fives and has led 153 laps. He won the
last race at Waterford. It wasn't easy though. He
had to be very aggressive using the bumper to get by the 10 of
Morin late.
Devin will start the weekend with a coin toss.
The toss will determine if all 5 Chase contenders will be
starting at the rear of the field, or in the top 5 spots.
If all five contenders have to start in the final five spots,
Morin's work will be much harder for he will be starting last.
Starting in the rear also makes all of the teams navigate some
heavy traffic. Of course the flip could go the other way placing
the Chase teams up front. Start in the front gives all five a
clear shot to be Champion. Wherever they start, the race
within the race is surely going to come down to the wire.
The 2022 EXIT Realty New England Chase Race for the Championship
has plenty of drama for all to enjoy. It is a must see in person
event. Get tickets by visiting
www.speedbowlct.com.