Teras dominates in GSPSS debut at rechristened Speedway

Saturday night, Austin Teras had a new number on a new car at a remodeled track with a new name. But despite all the changes, Teras was up to his old ways.

The reigning Oxford 250 champion fended off challenges from D.J. Shaw and Mike Hopkins to win the U.S. Army 100, the third race of the season for the Granite State Pro Stock Series presented by Hudson International Speedway.

And in the process, Teras became only the third driver in the last ten years to win in his GSPSS debut.

Saturday marked the first of three GSPSS appearances in 2026 at Speedway presented by Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, the third-mile oval in Hermon, Me. that has been the series’ Maine home track since 2023. Previously known as Speedway 95, the facility was purchased late last year by retired NASCAR star and broadcaster Ricky Craven.

Craven’s ten-year rejuvenation plan includes the return of Pro Stocks as a regional division. The Pro Stock class debuted in last Saturday’s rain-delayed opening day, with a number of GSPSS racers using the “weekly” feature as a test session.

Teras, whose deal to race at all in 2026 came together only days before, placed fourth in the season opener.

Season-opener winner D.J. Shaw was fastest in time trials, but a top-five invert placed Teras on the pole. Taking the outside lane for the green flag, Teras quickly singled out to take the point, while 2023 GSPSS Speedway feature winner Josh St. Clair battled Mike Hopkins for second. Shaw needed little time to join the fray, with Teras presiding over a three-way battle for the runner-up slot.

Hopkins prevailed in the battle for second, quickly closing the gap to Teras as he worked through traffic. The winner of both GSPSS features at Speedway in 2024, Hopkins easily took the lead a quarter of the way through the race, pulling away in traffic.

But Teras reeled in Hopkins nearing the halfway point, catching the local star on lap 51. After setting up the pass for a few laps, Teras charged back to the point. In his mirror, Shaw cleared St. Clair for third.

Chris Nickerson’s turn-three spin brought out the first caution flag of the night on lap 58, sparing Evan Beaulieu and Casey Call from losing laps under green. It was a bigger boon for Shaw, as the GSPSS’ all-time win leader inched closer to contention.

Teras pulled away from the pack by a car-length by turn one, but his gap on the second-place battle was short-lived, as Brenton Parritt’s spin bunched the field back together on lap 65.

Taking the inside line for the restart, Teras left a furious battle in his mirror as rookie Mathew Bourgoine entered the second-place fight. Bourgoine soon faded to fifth, with Hopkins and St. Clair dicing for second and Shaw trying to find a way past the two Mainers.

Shaw ultimately cleared Hopkins for second, but Teras had checked out on the field by then, and only a caution would erase his advantage.

With clear track ahead, Teras coasted to a 2.880-second margin of victory as he claimed his first GSPSS checkered flag in his first series start.

Teras, who won a NELCAR Legends feature at Speedway in 2017, said it all came down to the bottom groove.

“Mike got by me on the bottom and I paced him on the top, ran him down a little bit,” he said. “And I said, man, I think the bottom’s better. I tried it and got by him. And then that caution came out, and my spotter, my dad, was like, ‘Hey, you know, if you’re gonna pick the top here, you’re gonna have Hopkins on the bottom.’ I said, ‘I’m going to the bottom, I think the bottom’s better.’

“And we never left the bottom.”

With his victory, Teras keeps alive an intriguing streak: only once has a driver from outside the state of Maine won a GSPSS feature in Maine.

Shaw, whose 2016 win at Wiscasset Speedway is the last for a non-Mainer in the Pine Tree State, held onto second, taking the runner-up spot for a second consecutive race.

Fresh off a Pro All Stars Series win at Star Speedway last weekend, Hopkins was third at the finish, ahead of St. Clair. Rookie Bourgoine, a four-time NELCAR Legends winner at Speedway, held on for a fifth-place finish in his own series debut.

Nick Jenkins, Beaulieu, Ryan Deane, Matt Beers and point leader Jeremy Sorel rounded out the top ten.

Teras is the tenth driver in GSPSS history to win in his first series start, but only the third in the last decade. Fellow Mainer Dave Farrington, Jr. won at New London-Waterford Speedbowl in his 2016 series debut, and Alexendre “Fireball” Tardif won last fall’s inaugural event at Autodrome Chaudiere in his native Quebec.

But neither the Granite State Pro Stock Series nor Speedway seemed like likely destinations for Teras last year.

Teras races for father Jay Cushman, with a focus on PASS and Oxford Plains Speedway. Since 2023, Teras’ talent and Cushman Competition’s performance have been in harmony, with Teras racking up wins both in weekly and touring trim. Last August, the father-son tandem realized a decades-long dream with a blockbuster win in the Oxford 250.

But Teras’ run of success was not without controversy. Cushman, an outspoken critic of crate engines, insists on built Ford engines in his cars. After another dominant win in October’s season-ending PASS 400, Teras’ engine was pulled and sent for further evaluation. And after an offsite teardown, Teras was stripped of the victory.

While Teras’ and Cushman’s rebuttals were well-received on social media, the record book read otherwise. In short order, the PASS rule book was updated as well, phasing out built engines like those in Cushman’s inventory. With GSPSS rules already mandating crate engines, and with Ford crate engines not a viable option for either tour, there were few alternatives left for Teras and team to do it their way.

Teras was far more concise: “We decided we’d be better off taking a break from racing.”

But an opportunity arose in the form of Bangor-area car owner Anthony Wilcox, who had entered a car for Hopkins in a PASS race last year.

“I went up to Hopkins’ shop to hang out and deliver some stuff,” Teras explained. “Willy was there and he asked if I had any interest in driving his race car and I said, ‘Yeah, probably.’ I said I’ve wanted to race Speedway 95, now Speedway presented by Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, for eight years and I’ve never had the opportunity to. And he said, ‘well, maybe we can make something happen.’

“And they had their opening day and he called me Wednesday morning and asked if I wanted to come finish the car and get it ready, and I said, ‘Yup.’ A couple of weekends later and now we’re here.

“I didn’t really see it coming.”

What appealed to Teras about racing at Speedway?

“I raced Legends cars here a long, long time ago,” he said, “and I had so much fun. And I always thought a Late Model would be so fun here. There’s two distinct grooves, and it’s a race track that lends itself to being crafty, and figuring out what works in the moment, not just what works all the time. And I had so much interest to come here, I just never could.”

While it rolled out of the familiar Cushman hauler Saturday, the Wilcox-owned car is a different animal from Teras’ own Distance cars. The chassis is derived from a Port City center section with custom clips. The red Mustang body bears a blue oval on the grille. As for what lies under the hood, Cushman would only raise his hand in protest when asked.

Teras’ plans so far include the Boss Hogg 150 at Wiscasset Speedway, then a trip to Berlin later this year with his own equipment. Defending last August’s win is not likely in the cards.

Indeed, racing looks a bit different this year for Austin Teras.

But Saturday night, the view from the winner’s circle was about the same.

Unofficial Results
Granite State Pro Stock Series presented by Hudson International Speedway | U.S. Army 100
Speedway presented by Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, Hermon, Me.
1. (39) Austin Teras
2. (60) D.J. Shaw
3. (15) Mike Hopkins
4. (14) Josh St. Clair
5. (99ME) Mathew Bourgoine
6. (32) Nick Jenkins
7. (56) Evan Beaulieu
8. (22) Ryan Deane
9. (11B) Matt Beers
10. (7MA) Jeremy Sorel
11. (81ME) Bryan Lancaster
12. (84) Jamie Wright
13. (18) Chris Nickerson
14. (27) Brenton Parritt
15. (01) Joe Decker
16. (81) Dan Winter
17. (32Q) Alex Quarterley
18. (62) Joe Kendall
19. (90NH) Casey Call
20. (5P) Troy Patterson
21. (8) Connor McDougal
22. (97) Joey Polewarczyk
23. (7) D.C. Alexander

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