$10,000 ProTruck Challenge
 

   The 49th Annual IceBreaker
set to kick-off the 2023 Season
 
      The Evolve Bank & Trust Mortgage ProTrucks once again will kick off their season at Thompson. The 49th Annual IceBreaker's Saturday events include a 35 lap event for the trucks.  The series is  proud to be part of such a historic event.

       The series will make it's way to Thompson with heavy hearts.  One of the most entertaining drivers, Jim Boyle, was lost on February 28th.   There is no question Boyles 02 team was a favorite both on and off the track.  Boyle traveled all over the country.  If it was a big event, he wanted to be part of it.  Boyle's team started 40 events and took home the winners trophy 4 times. He was the series most versatile driver.  He won on Devil's Bowl Vermont's Dirt, Monadnock's 1/4 mile bull ring, New Hampshire International's Magic Mile and at Thompson's World Series. He'll always be remembered for his Charity work. This year's IceBreaker is dedicated to the memory of Jim Boyle.  In his honor, his family has put together a program that allows donations. Over $2000 has been added to the purse to make this event the best paying ProTruck IceBreaker ever.  He finished 3rd in last season's Chase Championship.  His final race was a GoKart event at the 2022 Banquet.  He won that event .  There will be other surprises honoring Jim at Saturday's IceBreaker event. 

     EXIT Realty has been the sponsor of the ProTruck Challenge in recent years.  The series had a great pairing however 2023 has a new title sponsor.  Evolve Bank & Trust Mortgage will take over.  The new sponsor makes possible our best Chase format ever.  The Chase format has also been changed. 
     
     The ProTrucks will be part of Star Speedway's Classic Weekend in September. The top 8 teams in points after the Classic event will make up the Evolve ProTruck Challenge Elite 8. 

     The series will return to Thompson Speedway for the 60th Annual World Series in October. At that race the Elite 8 will compete in relation to each other.  At the end of the Thompson event, the top half of the Elite 8 will now be the  Evolve ProTruck Challenge Final 4. 

     In the final event of the year, the Final 4 will again compete in relation to each other. The team that finish ahead of the other 3 will be the 2023 Chase Champion.

     What are the racing for? 
  • Positions 5-8 of  the Elite 8 will receive custom  Jackets, Banners and a check for a minimum of $250 each recognizing their accomplishments.
  • Positions 2-4 of the Final 4 will also receive Jackets and Banners recognizing their accomplishments. 4th place will also earn a check for $500.  3rd in the final Chase standings will receive $1500.  2nd will receive $2000.
  • The Champion will receive $5000.   

The Total payout for the Evolve ProTruck Challenge is a cool $10,000.  This should be our most exciting Chase season ever.  Teams only need to find a way into the top 10 in points to get a shot at that $5000 check.

      Many ProTruck Teams have already committed to the full season. Multi-time and current Champion Gerard Giordano Jr. is planning on defending his title.  Duane Noll is expected to make a run at yet another ProTruck title.  RJ Surdell in the Cindy Burdick Motorsports 151 is definitely taking his best shot.  The 32 of Randy Burr  is due to win a Championship.  He is a favorite.   Dennis Charette will take over the 1ne.  Certainly that truck is a threat to win any time it runs.   Todd Taylor is expected to run his first full season on tour.  The 2022 Rookie of the Year Andy Pellegrini will be hunting for his first win and Championship.  Let's not forget Dangerous Dave Koenig, the 2021 Champion in his 97.

     There are other teams that have not committed to competing yet, but could get off to a good start and end up competing full time. The 64 of Devin Deshaies is expected at Thompson.  Waterford Champion Emma Monahan could easily qualify for the Chase.  If she qualifies, she would be a favorite to win it all.  The young one, Brody Monahan has proven to be fast.  No one should overlook the 31 team. Never count out Jim Thompson.  He has finished in the top 8 in points many times. He would be a good pick to make the Elite 8.  Make the Elite 8 and anything can happen.

     The series should have a great "Rookie of the Year" battle.  Jake Vanada in the 29,  RJ Surdell in the 151, Brody Monahan in the 31 and Nicholas Frechette in the 18 are just a few of the expected drivers that could make this the best Rookie of the Year battle ever.

    Another feature offered all season is the Karn's Automotive and Taylor Lawn Care Hot Lap.  That award pays $100 to the fastest lap turned for the weekend.  The lap can be turned in qualifying or in the actual race.

The $10,000 Evolve ProTruck Challenge gets underway April 1st at the IceBreaker. Although it is carried on streaming services, everyone knows the truck show is always one of the best races of the weekend.  Most races feature some tailgate banging door slamming competition right down to the wire. It is a race that race fans need to be there to see.   Here is a list of some of the over $2000.00 in specialty awards offered in addition to the $1000 to win purse for the Jim Boyle Memorial 35 lap event at the Ice Breaker.

   

Lap Sponsor Position Amount  
         
1 AKA Racing 2nd $25.00  
2 Deanne Boyle 3rd $25.00  
  Emma Monahan Racing 1st $50.00  
3 Andy Lindeman 3rd $33.00  
  Joann Alberico   $25.00  
4 The Barrett's 2nd $25.00  
  TBH Motorsports 2nd $25.00  
5 Whitey Slaven 5th $55.00  
  TBH Motorsports 2nd $25.00  
6 In Memory of John F Carpenter 6th $25.00  
  TBH Motorsports 2nd $25.00  
7 Fierce for Shannon 7th $25.00  
8 Washburn Motorsports 6th $50.00  
  TBH Motorsports 2nd $25.00  
9 Bob Guptil 1 $25.00  
10 Bob Guptil 1 $25.00  
11 Fanning Family 1 $100.00  
  Christy-Ann Lauber 11th $25.00  
12 Caddick Chassis 12th $25.00  
13 Dimond Racing 10th $25.00  
14 Fierce for Shannon 7th $25.00  
15 Cindy Burdick Motorsports 5th $25.00  
16 Nicholas Hovey 16th $25.00  
17 Porter Family Racing 7th $25.00  
18 John & Judy Carpenter 10th $25.00  
  R&R Detailing LLC 8th $25.00  
19 Kyle Gero 2nd $25.00  
20 Deshaies Motorsports 2nd $25.00  
21 Fierce for Shannon 7th $25.00  
22 Baker Family Racing 10th $25.00  
  Emma Monahan Racing 1st $50.00  
23 Joe Brunell   $100.00  
24 MLB Racing Photography 4th $50.00  
25 Billard Lauber 1st $25.00  
26 Bob Depoutot Last $50.00  
27 Bob Depoutot Last $50.00  
28 M&D Racing 5th $25.00  
29 Stringer Racing 2nd $25.00  
30 Brooke Wormstedt Foundation 10th $25.00  
  The Canestrari's   $25.00  
31 BC Motorsports 3rd $25.00  
  JB1 6th $25.00  
32 Brandon Burr 13th $25.00  
33 Tyler Morse 2nd $25.00  
34 Race Day Photography Keith & Heidi   $25.00  
35 Fierce for Shannon 7th $25.00  
  Street Legal Stock Car Tributes 12th $25.00  
         
  Specialty Awards      
         
  Jim's Southern Pit Crew Pole Award $100.00  
  Fierce for Shannon Fastest Lap $100.00  
  Robinson Farms Woodhull NY Hard Charger $100.00  
  Standard Welding Last Place $250.00  
    Hard Luck $  50.00  
    Most Laps Lead $  50.00  

 

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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.