David Oliver Dominates Granite State Pro Stock Series Event To Win at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway
By Souza Media/Kyle Souza
SCARBOROUGH, Maine -- The story heading into Saturday’s Granite State Pro Stock Series (GSPSS) event at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway was about whether or not the local Pro Stock regulars could compete with the series regulars and come out on top.
After 150 laps of tough racing around the flat Maine oval, local track regulars proved to be the dominant force. David Oliver passed local favorite Joe Pastore with less than 40 laps to go and drove away to his first career Granite State Pro Stock Series victory. Pastore crossed the line 1.428 seconds back in the runner-up spot, while Rusty Poland, another local favorite, was third. Garrett Hall was fourth and Bobby Webber Racing driver Bryan Kruczek fifth.
Out of the top-10 finishes, nearly all had experience at the tricky Maine oval in their history. Wyatt Alexander, who won the 2020 GSPSS stop at the track -- was sixth, followed by Joey Doiron, Corey Bubar, Evan Beaulieu and former Seekonk Speedway regular and winner Kevin Casper.
Garrett Hall posted the fastest time in time trials with a lap of 15.119 seconds over Pastore, Oliver, Poland and Alexander. A total of 24 cars showed to the track on Saturday and competed in three heat races prior to the 150-lap main event. In qualifying heats, Hall, Pastore and Oliver scored victories -- cementing their spots near the front of the field for the start of the feature.
After a redraw, Poland led the field to green in front of a solid crowd of Maine race fans and led the first six laps, before Pastore took the top spot on lap seven. In a race that took only 57 minutes to complete, Oliver passed Pastore for the lead for the final time on lap 114 and never looked back en route to the win.
Series top point contenders entering the race Angelo Belsito, Devin O’Connell, and Gabe Brown, all had different runs at the end of the day. Belsito elected to skip the event, while O’Connell finished 15th, and Brown was 13th. Brown will take a small points lead over O’Connell into the next series event on June 19.
The Granite State Pro Stock Series returns to the track on Saturday, June 19, at Riverside Speedway in Groveton, New Hampshire. Entry forms are now available for the $3,000 to win special online. For more information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series, follow the series at gspss.net and on social media.
