Joey Polewarczyk Jr Dominates in Granite State Debut

STAFFORD, Conn. — It didn’t take long for Joey “Pole” Polewarczyk Jr. to figure out the half-mile of Stafford Motor Speedway on Saturday, April 24. The defending Granite State Pro Stock Series champion took the lead on lap 15 from Eddie MacDonald and never looked back en route to the triumph in the Casagrande Builders 75.

Pole crossed the line over six seconds ahead of hometown favorite Cory Casagrande, with seven-time Seekonk Speedway champion David Darling finishing third.

“What an awesome track, thanks to Stafford for having the Granite State Pro Stock Series,” Pole said. “That’s one of the best cars I’ve ever had. It really came in during the race. I loved that there were almost no cautions, and we were able to run our own pace. It feels really good to come down here to Stafford and win.”

While Pole pulled away from a 24-car field, only a few cautions slowed the action. Early, it was a caution for a stopped Rick Duzlak in turn one, then an accident collected both Mike O’Sullivan and Craig Bushey on lap 11. From there, the caution flag was never used again. Pole drove by McDonald and left the rest of the field behind him, with DJ Shaw, Casagrande and Darling battling for second over the final 30 laps.

Casagrande got by Shaw for second on lap 56, with Darling on his bumper — then the two battled for the runner-up spot for the final 20 laps. Casagrande would beat Darling by a small margin at the finish.

MacDonald finished fourth, while former series champion Derek Griffith rallied from an early pit stop to round out the top-five. Devin O’Connell was sixth, followed by Shaw, Gabe Brown, Derek Gluchacki and Angelo Belsito.

Shaw, Griffith and Casagrande won heat races earlier in the day, while Shaw also set fast time in time trials.

The Granite State Pro Stock Series returns to the track on Sunday, May 2 at Monadnock Speedway.

For more information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series, visit gspss.net and follow the series on social media.

THE FINISH:

1. Joey Pole

2. Cory Casagrande

3. David Darling

4. Eddie MacDonald

5. Derek Griffith

6. Devin O’Connell

7. DJ Shaw

8. Gabe Brown

9. Derek Gluchacki

10. Angelo Belsito

11. Mike Mitchell

12. Bryan Kruzcek

13. Mike Scorzelli

14. Kevin Casper

15. Josh King

16. Tyler Tomassi

17. Alexander Pearl

18. Luke Hinkley

19. Casey Call

20. Bobby Pelland III

21. Adam Gray

22. Craig Bushey

23. Mike O’Sullivan

24. Rick Duzlak