Joint Effort Among New Hampshire Tracks Bring State’s Racing Community Together Under NASCAR Banner
Both Norm Wrenn Jr. and Ben Bosowski’s dads raced under a system that allowed drivers to travel from track to track under the same rules, sanctioning body and points system.
Now, the duo is hoping to bring that same joint effort among tracks back to New Hampshire.
Wrenn and Bosowski recently purchased Hudson Speedway, a quarter-mile asphalt oval in Hudson, New Hampshire, and joined the track with four others in the state to have all five racing together under the same umbrella.
Lee USA Speedway in Lee, Star Speedway in Epping, Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, and Claremont Motorsports Park in Claremont, will join Hudson in the group of five tracks. All five are asphalt tracks ranging from quarter-mile to third-mile ovals.
And they’ll all do it under the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series banner.
Lee USA and Monadnock have been NASCAR staples for years; Lee USA since 1992 and Monadnock since 1986. Claremont was NASCAR-sanctioned from 2000-07 and boasted 2002 national champion Peter Daniels. Star was with NASCAR from 1989-2009, while Hudson will be joining the program for the first time.
Hudson Speedway
Lee and Claremont both hold races on Friday nights. Star and Monadnock race on Saturdays, and Hudson on Sundays, giving drivers a chance to go from track-to-track during any given weekend to collect points.
“When Ben’s dad was driving and my dad was driving back in the day they used to be able to load up on a Friday night, roll down the street, race Saturday, roll down the street, and race Sunday,” Wrenn said. “It got to the point where each track was trying to keep their drivers, it was going down hill with car counts and it just made it worse. Now with everyone being on the same page with the same rules and everything else it’s just going to increase from here.”
Claremont Motorsports Park |
Facebook |
Twitter
All five tracks will race under the same rules, operating procedures and protocols, something Bosowski said they’re modeling after similar race track communities in the south and west.
Wrenn said having the tracks work together will take away the rivalry among the tracks in the state.
“Basically what we did was we decided to put the old Hatfields and McCoy mentality away and start working with each other so we can increase the car counts at every track and give everybody who may not be able to race on Friday night the ability to go race on Saturday night or possible Sunday,” Wrenn said. “So that way they just get to get the races they can get in whether or not they can make every race at every track every time. We’re trying to support our drivers more than we’re trying to support ourselves. That’s kind of the way I look at it.”
Star Speedway |
Facebook |
Twitter
Bosowski owns Claremont, and Wrenn owns Monadnock and Lee. Star Speedway is owned by Bob Webber Jr.
The largest distance between any of the five tracks is about two hours, and Bosowski said the racing community in New Hampshire is small. Allowing drivers to go from track to track will not only help with regional racing awards, but more importantly it’ll help with bragging rights among drivers.
“The funny thing is a lot of people would just talk smack to each other. ‘Oh, my car would beat your car but I’m not changing it to go and race at your track,’” Bosowski said. “Now the top dogs at each track can go to another track and see if they’re actually faster than those guys or not.
“It’s kind of cool because it puts a lot of the talking to rest because now it’s, ‘All right, now you have no excuse. Let’s see if you can beat me at my own track or let’s see if I can beat you at your home track.’”
Monadnock Speedway |
Facebook |
Twitter
Among the benefits of going NASCAR sanctioned is awards and points, plus Wrenn said the insurance policy is unmatched.
“My father was actually injured at one point and NASCAR did pick up his medical benefits and stuff like that. It’s definitely a great benefit. I’ve seen it on the other end,” he said. “NASCAR does a great thing too for everyone. They send them plaques, they send uniforms for all the officials. To me the benefits work out.”
Lee USA Speedway |
Facebook |
Twitter
Both owners said the response from drivers on the joint effort has been positive. While there have been skeptics, Bosowski said most are realizing how good it can be.
“Originally they were kind of skeptical about it. But when they kind of realized, ‘Wait a minute, I can go for a regional championship and stay in New Hampshire,’ they were all excited. Now they can go on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday and stay in New Hampshire and they can race all weekend if they wanted.”
“There’s no way it can’t help it as far as I see,” Wrenn said. “I think once everyone does come on board and we get all the kinks worked out it’s going to be the best thing possible because across the board anyone can race any track with minimal changes.”
Star Speedway will open the season on April 20 with enduros, street stocks, and six shooters. Claremont will open on May 3, Monadnock on May 4, Hudson on May 5, and Lee on May 18.
Star Speedway Schedule |
Claremont Motorsports Park Schedule |
Monadnock Speedway Schedule |
Hudson Speedway Schedule |
Lee USA Speedway Schedule