Wayne Helliwell, Jr. Breaks Long Dry Spell With Claremont 125 Victory

Wayne Helliwell, Jr. Breaks Long Dry Spell With Claremont 125 Victory

By Jeff Brown, for Granite State Pro Stock Series

CLAREMONT, N.H. – A Sunday-night showdown between old friends and rivals ended with Wayne Helliwell, Jr. taking the checkers at Claremont Motorsports Park in the opening round of the Granite State Pro Stock Series’ fourteenth season.

Helliwell slipped past Joey Polewarczyk with fifteen laps left, then outdueled the former series champion on a late restart to take his first GSPSS win in over a decade.

Sunday’s 125-lap tilt in New Hampshire’s Upper Valley jump-started a schedule that was put on hold a month ago, when rains washed out the planned season opener at Lee USA Speedway and soaked every weekend to follow.

Reigning GSPSS champion Casey Call led the field to its first green flag of the season, but Polewarczyk overpowered the young racer to take the early lead. Helliwell, from fourth on the grid, charged to second as Call slid back through the field. All-time GSPSS win leader D.J. Shaw clawed his way to third, but neither Shaw nor Helliwell had an immediate answer for “Joey Pole,” who asserted himself at the front of the pack.

Slower traffic helped Helliwell to close the gap on the 2020 GSPSS champion, and on lap 70, he found an opening on the inside. Helliwell poked his nose out front for a couple laps before Polewarczyk closed the door, taking charge once again.

Shaw began losing ground on the leaders before coming to a sudden stop with a flat tire, drawing the caution flag at lap 94. Polewarczyk shook free of Helliwell, but the Pelham, N.H. veteran stalked his rival, watching for another slip. Rookie Cole Robie, running third, closed in on the leaders in a bid to steal the glory.

At last, Helliwell dove under Polewarczyk on lap 109, pulling ahead a lap later as Robie pressured Polewarczyk for second.

Three laps later, Angelo Belsito spun running seventh, bringing out a caution flag with eleven laps on the scoreboard. Polewarczyk lined up alongside Helliwell for the restart, but Helliwell powered to the point before Polewarczyk could mount a challenge.

In the final run to the checkers, Helliwell gapped Polewarczyk by a second en route to his first GSPSS victory since 2014 and the third of his career.

Jeremy Sorel shook free of a pack of traffic to claim third, while Robie edged out veteran Mike Mitchell for fourth. Title hopefuls Evan Beaulieu and Call were sixth and eighth at the line.

In addition to ending a long personal dry spell, Helliwell’s win for long time car owner Bruce Bernhardt ended a two-year stranglehold by champion car owner Peter Petit, who swept the first two races of 2023 and 2024 with drivers Travis Benjamin and Joey Doiron.

The next race on the GSPSS calendar is on June 21 at Speedway 95 in Hermon, Maine. Details on the season’s first visit to the Pine Tree State will be released shortly.

For more information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series, visit www.gspss.net [1] or find us on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Results, GSPSS Claremont 125:

1. (27NH) Wayne Helliwell, Jr.

2. (97NH) Joey Polewarczyk

3. (7) Jeremy Sorel

4. (29) Cole Robie

5. (40) Mike Mitchell

6. (56) Evan Beaulieu

7. (60) D.J. Shaw

8. (90NH) Casey Call

9. (7CT) Cory Casagrande

10. (81) Dan Winter

11. (8) Angelo Belsito

12. (32) Alex Quarterley

13. (77) Cam Curtis

14. (84) Jamie Wright

15. (62) Joe Kendall

16. (05) Bobby Frappier

17. (38) Danny Wear