Cole Powell, Derek Kraus and Chase Dowling will lead their respective fields once the green flag drops on Saturday for the Visit New Hampshire 100, Apple Barrel 125 and Musket 250 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
In the first official "Bienvenue" to New Hampshire, NASCAR's Pinty's Series drivers from Canada descended on "The Magic Mile" in Loudon to make history and turn some fast laps. In the series' first-ever appearance on U.S. soil, Pinty's top drivers didn't disappoint in qualifying.
Cole Powell, driver of the No. 3 Copps Buildall/Kubota Chevrolet will lead the field when the Visit New Hampshire 100 goes green on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. Powell had the fastest qualifying lap Friday, with a time of 31.860 and a best speed of just under 120 mph. Kevin Lacroix, driver of the No. 74 Bumper to Bumper/Total/Gates Dodge qualified second and DJ Kennington, driver of the No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge will start third. Sitting in fourth position in the field is Alex Tagliani, driver of the No. 18 EpiPen/Rona/St. Hubert/Spectra Chevrolet. Pinty's Series leader L.P. Dumoulin qualified eighth in his No. 74 WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare/Berier Dodge.
In the K&N Series race, the No. 1 NAPA Toyota is also number one in the starting lineup of the Apple Barrel 125. Derek Kraus got around the track in 29.570 seconds to take the pole position of Saturday's race. He will be joined in the front row by Spencer Davis, driver of the No. 82 Horton Avenue Materials Chevrolet. Brandon McReynolds piloted his No. 74 IGA Food Markets/Reichert Group Chevrolet into the third slot and he is joined by K&N Series points leader Tyler Ankrum, who qualified fourth in his No. 17 Modern Meat Company Toyota. The Apple Barrel 125 is scheduled to start at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday.
Buckle up for the main event, the longest ever Whelen Modified race in series history. The pole position for the inaugural Musket 250 was captured by Chase Dowling, the driver of the No. 15 15-40 Connection/S&S Paving Chevrolet. Dowling turned a lap time of 29.447 seconds, which was tops in the field of 31 drivers. Chase will share the front row with Whelen Modified Tour points leader Justin Bonsignore, who hopes to wrap up a points championship on Saturday afternoon in his No. 51 Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet. Justin has seven wins in 13 races and has been a dominant force all season long. Rounding out the top five qualifiers are Patrick Emerling, No. 07 Buffalo Auto Auction Chevrolet; Ron Silk, No. 85 Stuart's Automotive Chevrolet; and Doug Coby, No. 2 Mayhew/Dunleavy's/AJ Romano's Construction Chevrolet. The Musket 250 goes green at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
For ticket information for events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, including the upcoming Extreme Chunkin Festival, Oct. 20-21, visit the speedway website at www.NHMS.com or call Fan Relations at (603) 783-4931.
