Track: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NH) Road Course
Event: World Finals
Date: Sunday, October 8, 2023
Winners: Keelan Harvick (Legends Young Lions); Jase Mongeon (Legends Semi-Pro); Landen Lewis (Legends Pro); Shaun Buffington (Legends Masters)
Photo Credit: USLCI
Story and results below, as posted by USLCI / INEX (click here).
Lewis, Buffington, Mongeon, and Harvick Cruise to RCWF Victories
Rain plagued the first two days of the 2023 Road Course World Finals in Loudon, New Hampshire. But on Championship Sunday, the sun shined over New Hampshire Motor Speedway, offering great conditions for the 27th edition of the Road Course World Finals to be contested under.
Keelan Harvick and Jase Mongeon won the Young Lions and Semi-Pro Division features, respectively. It was the first RCWF victory for both. Shaun Buffington scored his third-straight and fourth RCWF title overall, in the Masters Division. While Landen Lewis captured his third-straight RCWF victory and second in the Pro Division.
Joe Ryan Race Cars teammates Kai Johnson and Harvick occupied the front row of the Young Lions feature, which saw Johnson edge ahead of Harvick on the race’s initial start. But through the first series of corner’s Austin Warner and Ben Morabito collided. Morabito went over the top of Warner’s nose, ending Warner’s day before Turn 2. Morabito would spend the rest of the race in and out of the hot pit.
Without a lap completed, the race completely restarted. Johnson once again took control but by the Turn 6 bowl, Harvick was the leader and would go on to lead Lap 1.A caution soon flew for Kevin Davis, who stalled exiting Turn 10 with a flat tire. Isaac Kitzmiller pushed teammate Harvick on the restart and shot ahead of Johnson and Cole Robie, but was soon back to fourth after getting passed back by both. Robie’s control of third wasn’t to last as Kitzmiller soon found his way back around.
Harvick led a Joe Ryan trio out front, including through two more restarts. One of which was for Young Lions Road Course points leader Robie. He missed the Turn 3 chicane and when he came to a stop, he stalled the car. He’d make his way back up to fourth but pulled off the track with mechanical issues on Lap 9.
As the laps ticked away following the final restart on Lap 6, Harvick slowly edged away from Johnson, who gave a valiant effort to stick close to his teammates bumper. In the end, Harvick crossed the line nearly two seconds ahead of Johnson, with Kitzmiller maintaining third to complete a Joe Ryan Race Cars top three sweep. Finishing fourth was Nicholas Chaber Jr, who had recovered from an earlier spin, and Rodney Dowless completed the top five.
Despite his 11th place finish, Robie scored enough points to win the 2023 Young Lions Road Course National Championship.
Reigning Granite State Legends Cars overall champion, Jase Mongeon, showed his Semi-Pro Division competitors that he meant business in the Road Course World Finals championship feature. So much so, that he jumped the initial start of the race. The field was reracked and Mongeon was issued a warning. On the second attempt, Mongeon rocketed to a 10-car length lead over second place by Turn 3 with an excellent launch through Turn 2.
Chaos broke out around the track on Lap 5 when two cars came to a stop. James Stone’s Legend Car was parked on the frontstretch and Reilly O’Connell’s car was stopped in the grass inside of the Turn 6 bowl. When their cars were cleared from the track, Mongeon wasted no time on the restart resuming his commanding pace over the rest of the field. Devin Deshaies, Nate DiVone, and Dustin Gagne settled into second, third, and fourth. Behind them was the race’s most intriguing battle.
James Anderson, Devin Kelly, and Max Berry mixed it up for fifth place. All three mixing it up over the next four laps, drafting off each other on the frontstretch and diving into corners. Eventually, Anderson managed to stake a firm claim for fifth on Lap 9.
Mongeon’s lead slowly grew with each passing lap. He crossed the finish line with a 6.5 second gap to Deshaies, who finished second, followed by DiVone, Gagne, and Anderson. The victory secured the 2023 Semi-Pro Road Course National Championship for Mongeon, leaving him with a perfect 1200-point season.
The Legend Car and New England racing communities lost a good friend in Bob Weymouth earlier this year. Sunday’s Masters Championship Feature was named in Weymouth’s honor, who was a regular at New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s Granite State Legends Cars series.
Weymouth would’ve been enjoyed the first three laps of the Master’s feature, which saw three different drivers lead a lap. The race started with Masters Road Course National Championship contenders Buffington and Kevin Nowak leading the field to green. Darren Gallant pushed Buffington’s nose ahead of Nowak’s but it was Nowak leading as the field sailed down towards Turns 3 and 4. Buffington was on Nowak’s outside but it was Lonnie Hochstetler who took the lead as the field exited the Turn 6 bowl.
As the field snaked down the frontstretch to complete Lap 1, Nowak took the lead. Immediatley after, Hochstetler sent his white Legend Car into Turn 1 and passed Nowak, bringing Buffington with him. Hochstetler maintained control for the rest of Lap 2, which included a hard defense to ward off a charge from Buffington before Turn 11. But Buffington was determined not to be beat. Hochstetler lead Lap 2, but Buffington got him on Lap 3 as the pair entered Turn 1.
From that point, it was all Buffington out front. Nowak reclaimed second from Hochstetler on Lap 5 and at times made gains on Buffington’s lead but in the end, he wouldn’t muster up enough speed to catch the orange Legend Car ahead of him.
Buffington would take the checkered flag that adorned Weymouth’s number, 399, and the flag was waved by Weymouth’s wife, Annemarie. Buffington’s Road Course World Finals Masters Feature victory secured him a perfect 1200-point season and therefore the 2023 Masters Road Course National Championship. Nowak finished second, followed by Hochstetler, Gallant, and Kim Petersen.
After scoring six victories in the Granite State Legends Cars series in 2023, Landen Lewis added a seventh win at NHMS on Sunday in the Pro Division championship feature.
Lewis was off to the races after the first set of corners, leaving Jordan O’Brien, Alex McCollum, and Danny Chisholm to fight for second. All three were nose to tail for much of the race and was consistently the closest battle on track. After several laps of nose-to-tail racing as Lewis pulled away, Chisholm pulled to McCollum’s inside down the frontstretch as they started Lap 8.
Chisholm completed the pass but only for a lap, as McCollum returned the favor on Lap 9. With two laps to go, McCollum moved to O’Brien’s inside as they approached Turn 1. McCollum had the advantage, being on the inside as they cornered through Turn 2. O’Brien upset his car traveling over the rumble strips and made slight contact with McCollum’s right rear, causing his car to lose speed. O’Brien slowed down enough that Chisholm bumped him, sending him up the track and out of the groove, nearly hit the wall.
Moments later in Turn 10, Chisholm passed McCollum for second, but lost it on the final lap when he locked up his right front entering Turn 1 and O’Brien got around him before Turn 3. Chisholm then had an issue approaching Turn 10 and went off course slightly, falling back in the field to seventh.
Lewis crossed under the checkered flag with ease, claiming his third-straight Road Course World Finals title and secured the 2023 Pro Division Road Course National Championship. McCollum, O’Brien, Brenden Ruzbarsky, and Liam Flanagan completed the top five finishers.
Two more INEX national events remain in 2023. Asphalt National takes place October 19-21 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, followed by Dirt Nationals at Fayetteville Motor Speedway, November 9-11. Both events can be streamed on uslegendcars.tv.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
PRO CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE (12 Laps): 1. 99-Landen Lewis; 2. 1-Alex McCollum; 3. 71-Jordan O’Brien; 4. 12R-Brenden Ruzbarsky; 5. 29-Liam Flanagan; 6. 43-Devin O’Connell; 7. 87-Danny Chisholm; 8. 23s-PJ Evans; 9. 87w-Daniel Wilk; 10. 72-Arto Ojaranta; 11. 97-Daniel Silvestri; 12. 15-Trevor Krouse; 13. 4-Tanner Reif; 14. 54-Heather Hadley; 15. 95J-Jack Walker; 16. 76-Jagger Robertson; 17. 9-Tyler Reif; 18. 20-Matthew Grant; 19. 08-Brandon Martinez; 20. 14z-Zach Martinez; 21. 145-Emil Persson
BOB WEYMOUTH MEMORIAL MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE (12 Laps): 1. 23s-Shaun Buffington; 2. 53-Kevin Nowak; 3. 31-Lonnie Hochstetler; 4. 05-Darren Gallant; 5. 4-Kim Petersen; 6. 58-Carl Cormier; 7. 14-Eugene Drew; 8. 14NJ-Bryan Gardella; 9. 68-Michael Hines; 10. 6-Eric Williams; 11. 91-Bryan Waller; 12. 84-Michael Sauer; 13. 88-David Ferguson; 14. 76-Russ Godbout; 15. 1-Robert Gayton
SEMI-PRO CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE (12 Laps): 1. 19MA-Jase Mongeon; 2. 64-Devin Deshaies; 3. 3NJ-Nate DiVone; 4. 11-Dustin Gagne; 5. 25-James Anderson; 6. 93-Devin Kelly; 7. 22NH-Max Berry; 8. 34-Kyle Caissie; 9. 24-Christopher Hines; 10. 67-Zach Godbout; 11. 30-Joey Przybylinski; 12. 11F-Michael Ferguson; 13. 11D-Elias Dib; 14. 2B-Aaron Linsky; 15. 34o Reilly O’Connell; 16. 68NY-James Stone
YOUNG LIONS CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE (12 Laps): 1. 62-Keelan Harvick; 2. 7-Kai Johnson; 3. 97-Isaac Kitzmiller; 4. 00-Nicholas Chaber Jr.; 5. 24-Rodney Dowless; 6. 43-Trenton Dillard; 7. 99-Milania Shilosky; 8. 47RI-Adam Harrison; 9. 10-Kevin Davis; 10. 86-Ben Morabito; 11. 29-Cole Robie; 12. 16-Sam Macedo; 13. 22-Austin Warner
, Jase Mongeon (SP), Landen Lewis (P), and Shaun Buffington (M).){kind=link}