Gabe Brown Dominates at Claremont, Opens Granite State Pro Stock Season in Victory Lane
By Jeff Brown, For Granite State Pro Stock Series
CLAREMONT, N.H. — The 2022 Granite State Pro Stock Series season opened a lot like the 2021 season closed – with an exuberant Gabe Brown in victory lane at Claremont Motorsports Park.
The reigning GSPSS champion made the most of a last-minute trip to the series’ home track, dominating Sunday’s fendered half of the Key Chevrolet Buick GMC of Newport Presents the Twin 100s to kick off the 75th year of racing at the third-mile New Hampshire oval.
Brown’s victory capped off a long and busy week for the nineteen-year-old. A crash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last Sunday left the nineteen-year-old scrambling to rebuild a heavily-damaged race car. Brown and his team got the car together just in time to head south to Connecticut for a race Saturday. A third-place finish with a clean car not only justified Brown’s team’s hard work, but opened the door for the trip to Claremont.
The Center Conway, N.H., racer swept both GSPSS races at the track in 2021. His three straight wins at Claremont not only tie DJ Shaw and Ray Christian III for the most GSPSS wins there, but also match Christian’s own threepeat in 2019 and 2020.
Luke Hinkley, the local favorite, was a bridesmaid once again, finishing second at his home track for the fifth time in GSPSS competition. Hinkley, still searching for his first career GSPSS win, finished in Brown’s tire tracks last October, his best result of the year.
Fast qualifier Joey Doiron, the 2019 GSPSS champion, finished third in his first race of the season.
Jimmy Renfrew, Jr., one of this year’s title hopefuls, backed up his aspirations with a fourth-place result. Third-year GSPSS regular Casey Call, who finished fourth in last year’s season finale, rounded out the top five.
Seekonk Speedway alumnus Dylan Estrella placed sixth in his first GSPSS start since 2020. Rookie Ryan Ripley finished seventh in his series debut. Vermont veteran Josh King, echoing Brown’s weekend doubleheader, was eighth at the finish. Former Beech Ridge Motor Speedway racers Nick Cusack and Dan McKeage, Jr. were ninth and tenth.
The next race for the Granite State Pro Stock Series is the Hedges Excavation 100 at Star Speedway on Saturday, May 7. The GSPSS will visit the Epping, N.H. quarter-mile twice this year – with Bryan Kruczek and Joey Doiron splitting last year’s appearances at Star.
For more information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series, visit www.gspss.net or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS, Key Chevrolet Buick GMC of Newport, N.H. presents the Twin 100s, April 24, 2022:
1. (50) Gabe Brown 2. (31NH) Luke Hinkley 3. (73) Joey Doiron 4. (00) Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. 5. (90NH) Casey Call 6. (46) Dylan Estrella 7. (09) Ryan Ripley 8. (21) Josh King 9. (2) Nick Cusack 10. (N40) Dan McKeage, Jr. 11. (01) Sammy Gooden, Jr. 12. (77) Jeremy Sorel
Photo Credit: Rob Branning/GSPSS
