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$10,000 ProTruck Challenge

Deshaies Dominates the Duel at the Dog

       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.

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Points

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    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:

1st $5000.00
2nd $2000.00
3rd $1000.00
4th $ 750.00

5th $ 500.00
6th $ 400.00
7th $ 300.00
8th $ 250.00

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.

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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.

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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.