McKENNEDY TOPS OPEN MODS UNDER THE LIGHTS FRIDAY AT CLAREMONT
Claremont Motorsports Park Friday, June 19, event story
CLAREMONT – Open-wheel racing titan Jon McKennedy soared to an easy win Friday in the MRS Open Modified main event at Claremont Motorsports Park. His CMP win was the 39-year-old star’s second MRS victory in a week, following a win seven days earlier at Lee.
Other winners under the lights Friday at the storied Thrasher Road speedplant included Super Street ace Chris RIendeau, who scored his track-high sixth win of the summer, Tim Taft, who rocketed to his first career victory in the Pure Stocks, Michael Yeaton, who won his third of the year in the Six Shooters, and teen rookie Kyle Dumas, who was awarded his first career Ridge Runner feature win.
With a large crowd on hand for the Open Modified show, a stout field of 19 ground pounding , 600-plus horsepower, missiles squared off in the night’s 77 lap main event. Brian Robie, Patrick Emerling, and MRS rookie Tyler Leary won the Modified qualifying heats and then had to face off in a unique competition for the pole starting position.
Going head to head, or actually foot to foot, the trio ran 50 yards along the frontstretch, with the winner earning the top starting spot in the night’s main event. In a close one between Robie and Leary – who’ve battled one another many times over the years at both Claremont and Monadnock – Leary outran Robie to win by a nose.
That put the potent pair on row one to start the night’s main event, with Emerling – a distant third in the foot race – and McKennedy firing from just behind them.
Leary, taking full advantage of his hard-earned starting spot, blasted into the early lead, with Robie glued to his bumper and McKennedy quickly to third. The Chelmsford, Mass. hot shoe, who’s won here before in both Open Modified and Super Modified events, low-lined to second on lap 14.
Emerling, who was never far from the front, charged into the top three two laps later, but this one was all McKennedy’s. Taking the lead from Leary on lap 27, he would hold the top spot the last 50 laps around the fast third-mile.
But if McKennedy was dominant on this Friday night, there was plenty to be decided in a whirlwind of great action behind him. Emerling got up for second on lap 37, but the man to watch in the second half of this one was Joey Jarvis.
The second-generation Green Mountain star came from deep in the pack to blast past Brett Meservey for fifth on lap 55, rocketed into fourth three laps later, and then passed Leary for third with eight laps to go. He would finish at Emerling’s bumper for his second great run in as many weeks.
With McKennedy, Emerling, and Jarvis claiming the three podium finishes, Leary was strong in fourth, and Jacob Perry completed the top five. The second half of Friday’s top ten was comprised of Meservey, Matt Kimball, Brian Robie, Nate Wenzel, and Ryan Doucette.
In Friday’s RE Hinkley Fuels Super Street 25-lap feature, Chris Riendeau did what he’s done almost every race this summer. Only Robert Hagar has kept Riendeau from being undefeated in 2026, and Hagar was nowhere to be found Friday.
Making a daring three-wide explosion into turn two on the opening lap, Riendeau was quickly second and a lap later took the lead from Upper Valley star Joe Tetreault. Bay State blaster Daniel Petrowicz got up for third on lap four but on this night, only Tetreault could keep the high-flying Riendeau honest.
Finishing a single length behind the winner, Tetreault equalled his best summer finish in second, with Petrowicz earning his fourth trophy of the season in third. Erik Smith was fourth, and Marc Laroche Jr. came home fifth.
Gage Dillingham entered Friday night’s LaValley Building Supply Pure Stock competition as the division’s most recent winner. Chris Chambers had piled up five victories already. Tim Taft had never won.
Next week, it will be Taft gunning for two in a row.
Taft took the lead over Parker Fowler on a lap-four restart and never looked back en route to his first career victory in the deep Pure Stock division. Chambers soared into second on lap six but would spend most of the final 19 go-rounds two lengths behind the speedy Taft.
With Chambers closing to finish at Taft’s bumper to help his points lead in second, Dillingham backed up his win of seven days earlier in third, Fowler was fourth, and Ben Bushey fifth. Trevor Chamberlin, Dakota Bushey, Ben Smith, Caleb Cramer, and heat winner Jeremy Ruggeri rounded out the top ten.
Michael Yeaton became the speedway’s first three-time 2026 Six Shooter winner Friday. Taking the top spot on lap five, Yeaton – who’s won in multiple divisions at multiple tracks this summer – charged off to an easy victory over weekly foe Michael Casey.
Points leader Meghan Bell was gobbled up in someone else’s bobble early and pitted for new rubber,returning to finish deep in the field but holding onto her top spot atop the points parade while losing a healthy chunk of her early-season advantage. Former Six Shooter champ Steve Miller Jr. was third on the night, taking the spot from his dad, Steve Sr., on lap 19. Early leader David Bell was fifth on the night.
Friday night’s top spot in the JP’s Trucking Ridge Runners was decided in the post-race tech line. Apparent first and second place finishers Kyle Buck and Trevyr Young will both wait another week for a chance at trophy row.
The shakeup in Friday’s official finish moved first-timer Kyle Dumas to the top spot and, with it, his first career victory. Heat race winner Ethan Meyette, who’d led the first 17 laps before being caught up in a turn four jingle, was second, and Konner Janovsky third.
Teagan Edson was officially fourth Friday, while Lane Lantas’ fifth place finish boosted the Sunshine Towner to the top of the RIdge Runner points parade.
Next Friday, June 26, Claremont Motorsports Park will celebrate Independence Day 2026 a week early, with a seven-division double points event of NASCAR Local Racing Series action. Post time is 7 p.m. each Friday at CMP.–
Mike Parks
President
Claremont Motorsports Park
Granite State Pro Stock Series
C: 1-802-558-8954
T: @GSProStocks
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