Derek Hopkinson raced to his second straight win in Freehold Ford Modified stock car racing competition Aug. 5 by taking the “NAPA Night” 40-lap feature race at Wall Stadium Speedway. It was the Toms River resident’s second win on the season and the sixth Modified win of his career.
Shanon Mongeau of Manchester jumped to the lead in the early going with Ricky Collins of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, the runner-up. Blake Barney of Jackson slipped into the second spot on lap 25 before Collins went spinning from third a few laps later. Officials then decided that point leader Jimmy Blewett of Howell contributed to Collins’ miscue and sent him to the rear of the field.
Mongeau led on the restart, with Barney riding second as Hopkinson climbed to third. The second of just cautions then waved with four laps to go as Collins spun on the front stretch. Using the cone race format, Barney decided to drop from second to third on the restart as he stayed in the inside lane behind Mongeau. Hopkinson took up the challenge of the outside lane and moved to second alongside Mongeau.
On the restart, Hopkinson powered his car to the front past Mongeau and grabbed the win. Mongeau was the runner-up, while Holmdel’s Andrew Krause battled his way to third. Barney and Howell’s Eric Mauriello completed the top five.
“To win a race is real special,” Hopkinson said. “To win two in a row is just outstanding for this race team. When I went to the outside the car was a little loose. I had no choice. I wanted to get the win.”
Jarret DiGiantomasso of Jackson won his second Snap On Sportsman 25 lapper of the year, taking the lead on lap seven of a non-stop race. Nick Shaw of Warren, the early leader, held on for second with Tuckerton’s Robby Walton, Matt Langbein of Laurence Harbor and Lanoka Harbor’s Jonathan Laureigh wrapping up the top five.
Point-leader Scott Riggleman of Manchester used the cone race format to his advantage and won his fourth O’Shea’s Auto Repair Factory Stock 25-lapper of the year. Elliott Wohl of Beachwood, Tom Rajkowski of Fords, Mike Montano of Fort Myers, Florida, and Wall’s Tim O’Shea completed the top five.
Howell’s Brian Osborn won his third Surfside Collision 4-Cylinder Stock 25-lapper of the year stretching his point lead in the process. TJ Graves of Wall was the runner-up, with Wall’s Brian DeSarno, Darren Burdge of Jackson and Chris Silvestri wrapping up the top five.
Brian Doyle of Ronkonkoma, New York, won the 20-lapper for the Elite Maintenance Limited Late Models over defending champ Mike Tillett of Beachwood. Harry Schaeffer, Rob Ormsbee and Greg Miranda were the top five.
Nick Van Wickle of Edgewater Park won his first Green Flag Driving Experience 25-lap main event over defending champion Louie Keraitis of Toms River. Brick’s Chris Gall, Howell’s Robert French and Brian Spencer completed the top five.
Racing returns Aug. 12. The card will feature an early-evening on-track party where all fans will be welcome to walk the track, meet the drivers and look at all the cars up close. The Garden State Vintage Stock Car Club will be on hand to “Honor Hall of Fame Members.” On the track the Freehold Ford Modifieds, Sportsman, Factory Stocks, 4-Cylinder Stocks, Limited Late Models and the Legend Cars in will all compete in events. Pit area will open an hour early at noon, with practice running from 2-4 p.m. Grandstands will open at 4 p.m., and the on-track party will start at 4:30 p.m. Qualifying starts at 5:45 p.m. and main event action starts at 7 p.m.
More information on Wall Stadium and the 2017 Saturday night schedule can be obtained by visiting the website at wallspeedwayracing.com.
Wall Stadium is located on Route 34 in Wall Township, just 1 mile north of Garden State Parkway exit 98 and Interstate 195 exit 35B. The speedway hotline number is 732-681-6400 and email address is CKMotorsports@aol.com.
