New York track to host Challenge for the first time on Saturday
SOUTH PLATTSBURGH, NY – The Northern Modified Challenge Series returns to action on Saturday, July 26 to add a new page in the scrapbook. The second-year open-wheel stock car series will make its first-ever trip to Airborne Park Speedway for a pair of 25-lap shootouts, pitting the stars of the track’s weekly J&S Steel Sportsman Modified division against a group of Challenge Series invaders.
Inaugural NMCS champion Vince Quenneville, Jr., is among the drivers excited to head to Airborne on Saturday. The Brandon, VT veteran finished fifth in a recent weekly event at the 4/10-mile, progressively banked oval, and has momentum on his side after a victory at his home track at Devil’s Bowl Speedway earlier this month.
“I love racing up at Airborne, and I’m looking forward to this weekend,” the driver of the No. 78 Black Diamond Builders/Green Mountain Feeds entry said. “The hometown guys like Nick Heywood, Travis Bruno, and a few others will be tough, but I’m hoping to steal a couple of top-five finishes and hopefully a win in those twin 25s.”
Quenneville opened the Northern Modified Challenge Series season with a third-place effort at Thunder Road in Barre, VT on Memorial Day weekend. He trailed Jessey Mueller and Jason Durgan at the finish, and those two drivers have since combined to win 10 feature races at Airborne and Devil’s Bowl during the first half of the summer. Others expected to join them on Saturday are Leon Gonyo, Ron Proctor, Johnny Scarborough, Jamie LaFountain, Codie Aubin, and top rookie Jayson Criss.
Sanctioned by Devil’s Bowl Speedway management, the Northern Modified Challenge Series has a six-event schedule that allows Sportsman-style crate engine Modifieds to compete alongside restricted 358-cubic-inch “open motor” Modifieds. Drivers and conventional-suspension cars from both divisions are eligible to compete on Saturday night and will earn championship points in both the Northern Modified Challenge Series and Airborne Park Speedway’s weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Sportsman Modified division.
The Northern Modified Challenge Series event at Airborne Park Speedway begins at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 26. For more information on the Northern Modified Challenge Series, call (802) 265-3112, visit www.DevilsBowlSpeedwayVT.com, or follow @NorthernModCS on Twitter. Airborne Park Speedway is located on Broderick Road in South Plattsburgh, NY, one mile from Exit 36 on Interstate 87. For more information, call (518) 647-4444 or visit www.AirborneParkSpeedway.com.
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PHOTO: Defending Northern Modified Challenge Series champion Vince Quenneville, Jr. (#78) is among the top racers expected for the series’ first-ever trip to Airborne Park Speedway on Saturday, July 26. (MemorEvents photo)