Cole Robie had nothing to lose Friday night. But when he took the checkered flag in his return to the Granite State Pro Stock Series presented by Hudson International Speedway, he had everything to celebrate.
There was the slow victory lap, and the victory lap that encircled the infield go-kart oval. And there was the final flourish, the tribute to a fallen idol and motorsports icon.
And while Robie had an eloquent victory speech ready for the crowd at Claremont Motorsports Park, in reflection later on, he was far more subdued.
“It was beautiful tonight,” he said. “I’m honestly lost for words.”
The Windham, Me. teenager and reigning GSPSS champion controlled the final third of Friday’s 150-lap feature to win his second series race and his first of the New England racing season.
Originally scheduled for Sunday, Friday’s event had been moved a few weeks prior to eliminate a conflict when the Pro All Stars Series booked a rescheduled show at Star Speedway on the same date. Robie, who shifted his focus to PASS for 2026, quickly booked an appearance at a track where he finished fourth and eighth a year ago.
The 17-year-old gridded fifth for the start, with season-opener winner Jeremy Sorel and 2024 champion Casey Call leading the field to green for the second race of the young season.
Call jumped out to the early lead, overpowering Sorel at the green flag but not distancing himself from the field. D.J. Shaw, Joey Polewarczyk and Robie filed in behind Sorel in a freight train, all pacing themselves for the first third of the race.
Before long, though, Sorel was pressuring Call’s chokehold on the point. While Sorel looked for an opening around Call, Robie was battling Polewarczyk for fourth. At last, Sorel got under Call and inched ahead with the lead on lap 65.
Meanwhile, as Robie cleared “Joey Pole” for fourth, the 2020 GSPSS champ slowed abruptly in turn two in a cloud of smoke. Polewarczyk limped his car to the pits as the yellow flew, a broken shock spelling an early exit for the veteran.
Sorel brought the field to the green but Call quickly found his way to the inside, challenging Sorel for the lead once again. With halfway approaching, Sorel wrested the advantage back, only for the yellow to fly again a few laps later as Evan Beaulieu lost power down the backstretch.
Robie restarted third as the lead battle singled out ahead of him on the restart. He made quick work of Call, then chased down Sorel to make a bid for the lead. After a brief challenge, Robie slipped by to take the lead on lap 88.
Sorel fell back into Call’s clutches, but on lap 92, he lost pace off turn two with Call on his bumper. Call sent Sorel for a spin off the turn, bringing the yellow back out with 58 laps to go. Race control sent Call to the rear for the contact as Sorel ducked into the pits. But as Call lined up at the back of the pack, a broken rear control arm forced him to a stop on the frontstretch, bringing an early end to his evening as well.
The trouble for the early leaders moved Shaw, the GSPSS’ all-time win leader with five series wins at Claremont alone, to the outside of the front row for the restart, with Alex Quarterley assuming third and Jamie Wright fourth. Shaw had little for Robie on the restart, though, settling into second as Robie set a quick pace. Sorel, back up to full power after his spin, worked his way through traffic for whatever redemption he could find.
But with a thinned field stretched out around the quirky third-mile, there was only so much Sorel could gain. He found his way to Shaw’s bumper in the closing laps, but passing the veteran was another story entirely.
In the final stretch run, Robie only had a couple lapped cars to clear, crossing under the checkered flags 2.221 seconds ahead of the pack to score his second-ever GSPSS win and his first at Claremont.
On his victory lap, Robie detoured to the infield, making a circuit of Claremont’s infield go-kart oval. Back on the frontstretch, he emerged from his car with the checkered flag in hand, bowing to the crowd with a familiar flourish.
The cathartic celebration was borrowed from NASCAR star Kyle Busch, who unexpectedly passed away Thursday after a brief illness. Many cars in the pit area bore decals in Busch’s remembrance.
Much like Busch, Robie felt there was only one acceptable outcome Friday.
“We had such a great night,” he said. “Coming out here, Kyle’s passing yesterday, and I came into today with one mindset and one mindset only. There was no taking time to finish second, there was no, ‘If I don’t have a car to win, don’t try and just sit where I’m at.’ I was going for it.
“I got out there and within the first ten laps, I told the boys over the radio that we had a car to win. And I wasn’t gonna risk anything too early. So I rode the first 90 laps.”
Shaw held on for second, holding off Sorel by a couple car-lengths. Sorel, who won his first career GSPSS race at Stafford Motor Speedway in April, sought out Call after the race, explaining that his car had shut off unexpectedly to set off the late-race contact that took both early leaders out of contention.
Quarterley, Sorel’s de facto teammate, finished a career-best fourth, with Wright the only other car on the lead lap in fifth.
Series rookie Matt Beers crossed the line sixth, ahead of Dan Winter and Joe Kendall. Call and Beaulieu, despite early exits, rounded out the top ten.
Eleven cars took the green Friday night after a handful of entries withdrew in the days leading up to the race. Shortly after the event was initially rescheduled, Lee USA Speedway’s weekly Super Late Model feature was announced to be an Oxford 250 qualifying event, drawing on Lee’s new relationship with PASS. Ten cars took the green at Lee for a 100-lap feature won by Sylas Ripley; only a few of those might have made the trip to Claremont.
With PASS full-timers Robie and Shaw finishing first and second, Sorel retains his grasp on first in the point standings, while expected contenders Call and Beaulieu remain mired deep in the standings after two races. The next event on the calendar could stand to shake that up. Speedway presented by Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is a seven-hour trip from the Pioneer Valley, a long trip to consider for the GSPSS’ Bay State contenders. A special event for PASS teams at their home track in western Maine presents a heads-up conflict that could draw some of the usual “ringers” that have won past features at the former Speedway 95.
So far, the series stands even with one feature won by a points challenger and one by a part-timer.
Robie has the honor of winning in both roles.
Unofficial Results
Granite State Pro Stock Series presented by Hudson International Speedway | Claremont 150
Claremont Motorsports Park, Claremont, N.H.
1. (29) Cole Robie
2. (60) D.J. Shaw
3. (7MA) Jeremy Sorel
4. (32Q) Alex Quarterley
5. (84) Jamie Wright
6. (11B) Matt Beers
7. (81) Dan Winter
8. (62) Joe Kendall
9. (90NH) Casey Call
10. (56) Evan Beaulieu
11. (97) Joey Polewarczyk
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