WALPOLE, N.H. – Joey Polewarczyk Jr. wasn’t going to be denied on Sunday evening at Hudson Speedway.
The veteran late model competitor dominated the 100-lap Granite State Pro Stock Series return to the high banked oval, driving the No. 97 into victory lane for the second time this season. With the win, Polewarczyk became the first driver to win two races in the first five events. He did it in impressive fashion, passing rising star Casey Call for the lead early and never looking back.
Polewarczyk crossed the line nearly seven seconds ahead of his closest challenger, which at the tight New Hampshire oval is nearly half the track. Call, who led the first eight laps from the outside pole and challenged Polewarczyk for the lead in the first quarter of the race, finished second. New series points leader Gabe Brown drove to a third-place finish.
“That was unbelievable, the car was really good last time we were here and it was good, if not better tonight,” Polewarczyk said. “It was fun racing with Casey, and it’s so cool to be able to come here twice this year and win two of them.”
Polewarczyk started on the outside of the third row, but quickly worked his way to the front. He passed for the second spot on lap eight, and drove around Call one lap later to the lead. The first 15 laps of the race were marred with trouble, with Kevin Casper spinning in turn three early, then Angelo Belsito and Mike Mitchell getting together off turn two just a few laps later. When Belsito and Mitchell tangled, Kevin Casper, Kevin Folan and Bobby Cabral were collected in the crash, all with extreme damage that ended their efforts for the night.
From there, the race was clean and green amid a few sprinkles of rain. Polewarczyk drove away from the pack, lapping all the way up close to the top-five by the end of the race. Behind Polewarczyk, Call and Brown was Cory Casagrande in fourth and Bryan Kruczek, driving for Bobby Webber Racing, in fifth spot. Pole, Belsito, David Oliver and Kruczek have been to Victory Lane in the first five races of the year.
The second-place effort was a career best for Call.
“This year it just seemed like we couldn’t catch a break at all, just bad luck every week,” Call said. “Glad to get the monkey off our back and get a good run. Joey is just too good everywhere he goes. I had a couple of times where I showed him the nose, and then he just took off.”
Brown, who entered the race second in points, takes the points lead by 12 over former champion Devin O’Connell heading for the next race.
“We just wanted to have a good run, getting in the top three,” Brown said. “I can’t thank all of my guys enough, they came down here and worked hard. Hopefully going into our favorite track in the next race will be our chance.”
The finish:
Joey Polewarczyk Jr., Casey Call, Gabe Brown, Cory Casagrande, Bryan Kruczek, Angelo Belsito, Mike Mitchell, Devin O’Connell, Josh King, Bobby Pelland III, Alexander Pearl, Jason Ryan, Bobby Cabral, Kevin Casper, Kevin Folan, Billy Joerres.