WINCHESTER, NH – If there’s any end in sight to Patrick Emerling’s current dominance of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, it wasn’t visible Saturday at Monadnock Speedway.
The Orchard Park, NY speedster won the fifth annual JDV Productions Duel At The Dog energized by USNE Power Modified main event at the storied high-banked oval, using his third consecutive Tour victory to stay atop the points parade and, as an added bonus, picked up an additional $5,000 check for topping the three-race JDV Whelen Midsummer Championship.
And he did it with relative ease. Beating Tyler Rypkema to the checkers by 2.321 seconds, Emerling now has 13 Whelen Modified Tour victories to his credit, two of them scored at Monadnock.
With a huge crowd on hand for the JDV Duel event, other winners Saturday at the fast quarter-mile included Granite State Pro Stock Series rocketman DJ Shaw, and third-year Pro Truck Challenge hot shoe Jason Paquette, who scored his first career Pro Truck victory in front of the thundering Duel at The Dog crowd.
Matt Hirschman set fast time in Whelen Modified Tour qualifying, touring the high banks in 11.836 seconds. The Keystone State hot shoe was one of ten drivers in the 21-car field to turn sub-12 second laps. It was the third week in a row that Hirschman had set fast time but a top-ten redraw Saturday would place him ninth on the starting grid for the night’s 200-lap main event.
Jon McKennedy, a winner of many events at Monadnock over the years, started on the pole, with defending Tour Champion Austin Beers at his side. At their bumpers, were six-time Champion Doug Coby and Emerling. McKennedy quickly took charge.
With Coby, Beers, and Ronnie Williams riding in his shadow, McKennedy would lead the first 35 laps. Emerling, content to survey the task before him, moved up to third on lap 18.
The first lead change occurred on lap 37, with Beers low-lining to the front. Two circuits later, his mirror was filled by Emerling. He would take charge on a lap 86 restart and never look back. Beers would stay right with him on restarts, racing wheel-to-wheel with the eventual race winner, but each time Emerling would again best him and pull away.
Tyler Rypkema, aboard the fabled Boehler Old Blue, blasted into second on lap 137, actually inching ahead of Emerling to lead lap 148 by inches, but two go-rounds later, the Empire State star was back in front to stay. Rypkema’s strong second-place performance was his third Whelen Modified Tour runner-up finish of the summer.
Beers held strong to earn the third-place hardware, followed by 15-year-old rookie sensation Paulie Hartwig III and Tommy Catalano.
Positions six through ten went to Teddy Hodgdon, Eric Goodale, McKennedy, Coby, and Stephen Kopcik. Hirschman, after his promising start, finished 12th on the night.
Second generation superstar DJ Shaw did what’s become expected of him in big northeast Pro Stock events Saturday. The Center Conway, NH ace patiently worked his way to the front in the 100-lap Granite State Pro Stock Series main event, pounced at the first opportunity, and then sped off to victory.
Teen star Cole Robie – the series’ defending champion and defending Duel at the Dog Champion – set fast time in Pro Stock qualifying Saturday with a lap of 12.136 seconds, but a redraw put Tom Carey III and Cory Casagrande up front as the race went green.
Carey, with Casagrande glued to his bumper, had the best seat in the house for the first 72 circuits, but Shaw – from row three – was methodically working his way to the front. Taking third from points leader Jeremy Sorel on lap 11, he was content to sit there until low-lining into turn three 40 laps later to swipe second from Casagrande.
With the same move on lap 73, Shaw was at the front and off to the races, Casagrande kept it close, but there was no stopping Shaw once he was in front. Saturday’s big Duel At The Dog score was his second GSPSS victory of the summer.
With Casagrande holding strong for a close second, Carey’s strong performance brought him home third. Hudson, NH’s Joey Pole was fourth under the checkers, and Robie completed the top five.
Pro Truck Challenge driver Jason Paquette couldn’t have picked a better day to earn his first win. Racing in front of the huge Duel crowd, the Scotland, CT hot shoe took the lead from pole starter Nate Smith on lap 26 and then held ageless wonder Duane Noll at his bumper the rest of the way.
With Noll finishing glued to the winner’s bumper, Tyler Chapman was third on the day. Four-time winner and series points leader Randy Burr got as high as third before settling for fourth, and Adrien Paradis was fifth in the 16-truck field.
Saturday’s USNE energized event at Monadnock Speedway was this season’s only JDV show at the fast quarter-mile and it was one that will be talked about fondly for a very long time. For news on future headline events, follow the JDV Productions website.
Recap by Gary Dutton
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