Controversial contact opens door for Renfrew’s PASS Chummy Brown 144 win

Based on the boos from the bleachers at Star Speedway Saturday night, plenty of fans disagreed with the outcome of the Pro All Stars Series’ Chummy Brown Memorial 144.

But to their consternation, and to the delight of Jimmy Renfrew, Jr., there was nothing to review.

Renfrew outpaced Sylas Ripley in the final 44 laps to secure his second PASS North checkered flag of 2026, and his third PASS-sanctioned win of the year, in the co-headliner to the third night of the speedway’s 61st Annual Star Classic.

And after notching his first-ever touring win in the 2018 edition of the Star Classic, the Candia, N.H. racer was proud to add this trophy to his growing collection.

“I got my first Super Late Model win here,” Renfrew said after the race. “And now to get my first PASS win here and another Classic trophy is pretty cool.”

For the second year, PASS’ fendered feature at the Star Classic commemorated the legacy and car number of Kennison “Chummy” Brown, the late grandfather of Maine racer Rusty Poland. Poland raced briefly for Star owner Bobby Webber, Jr., delivering the Webber family a Star Classic victory in 2024 with Brown in attendance.

This year’s event, however, broke from the “Fendered Friday” pattern of past Star Classics, joining the New England Supermodified Series’ Bob Webber, Sr. Memorial Star Classic 100 on Saturday’s PASS-centric schedule.

It was a reversal of last year’s fortunes for Renfrew and defending race winner Joey Doiron. Doiron claimed last year’s photo-finish thriller after a post-race review, while Renfrew was sidelined by a late crash while battling through the field.

Doiron, winless this year so far, started from the pole this time around, pulling away from the pack by as much as a straightaway while dominating the first half of the 144-lap feature. Fifth-place starter Ryan Kuhn anchored himself in second as Renfrew drove from his handicapped starting spot to take third from Johnny Clark on lap 51.

Cole Robie, struggling through the race with power steering issues, spun on lap 79 to bring out the race’s first caution. Doiron, who had just lapped championship leader D.J. Shaw, saw his entire advantage evaporate as Kuhn pulled to his door and Renfrew to his bumper for the restart.

As soon as the green flag dropped, Renfrew was on attack, tucking up to Doiron’s bumper and powering past Kuhn on the inside for second. Seconds later, he was on the inside challenging Doiron for the lead. Doiron clung to the outside groove, pinning Renfrew against the curb so he could not get the run he needed off the corner.

But on lap 89, the two touched and Doiron slipped up the track, losing just enough pace for Kuhn to tag him in the bumper. Doiron bobbled across the start-finish line before spinning nose first into the frontstretch wall. The yellow flew quickly, slowing the race as Doiron rejoined the tail of the field.

Anticipation hung over the track, the crowd seeming to anticipate a rough racing penalty for Renfrew. But no such call came from race control.

Ripley made quick work of Kuhn for second on the restart, with Gabe Brown following in third. But Renfrew had already checked out on the field.

Doiron gave no quarter as Renfrew put the early leader a lap down in the closing circuits, allowing Ripley to close the gap to the lead. But Ripley found other lapped traffic less generous as Renfrew pulled away with ten to go.

In the end, Renfrew distanced himself by 1.862 seconds as he took his second PASS North feature win of 2026.

It was Renfrew’s second Star Classic feature win, as he picked up his first career Granite State Pro Stock Series win in 2018 with a spin-to-win performance. Renfrew also has a 2024 Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour win at Star; Saturday’s win gives him Star victories in all three of the region’s major Late Model touring factions.

“I’ve been wanting a PASS win here,” he said. “This is like one of my other home tracks, just like Hudson. This is one of the places I grew up racing and I’ve been wanting to win a PASS race here for many years, so I’m happy to finally be able to get it done.”

Despite the boos that greeted him out of the car in victory lane, Renfrew was polite but unrepentant about the mid-race contact that took Doiron out of contention.

“He was obviously holding me really tight,” he said. “He knew how important the track position was going to be, just like me. And at the end of the day, the 72 [Kuhn] took him out, not me.”

Renfrew and Doiron have squared off before, with Doiron on the winning end last year at Lee USA Speedway. This summer, the two faced off at Lee again before a broken rear end took Doiron out of contention. Renfrew went on to take his first PASS North checkered flag, but the two racers were cordial afterwards.

As for Doiron’s message in the final laps, Renfrew stamped it “return to sender.”

“I think you’ve gotta pay attention to who you’re gonna be mad at,” he said. “All we did was rub side by side. He got right-reared by the 72. At the end of the day, we’re both racing hard for the win, and we knew we had the best two cars. I got inside of him because he missed a corner down in [turns] three and four on the restart, allowed me to get inside of him, and he ran me so tight, he just held me in the grass, held me in the rumble strips for the next four or five laps.”

Ripley’s runner-up finish was his best of the year. After starting the season out slow, he has reeled off top-ten finishes in five of his last six starts.

Brown, who mixed it up with Renfrew in last year’s race, placed third for car owner Webber, the partnership’s sixth podium finish this season. Derek Griffith ran midpack in the first half of the race but rebounded for a fourth-place finish, edging out veteran Johnny Clark.

Shaw made up a lap on the first yellow flag to come home sixth, ahead of Ryan Kuhn. Dan Winter, a regular with the GSPSS this season, picked up his best PASS finish since 2022 with a consistent eighth-place run. Garrett Hall and Bobby Baillargeon rounded out the top ten.

Doiron limped home to a 12th-place finish.

Only three events remain to decide the PASS championship. While Renfrew tumbled to seventh in PASS points after an early exit from the Oxford 250, his win should bounce him back to third in the standings behind Shaw and Brown, with the title still up for grabs.

There are intriguing ties between the three contenders. Only separated by a few months in age, Renfrew and Brown both emerged in Super Late Model racing in 2017. Brown worked and learned under the tutelage of Shaw and his father Dale. Renfrew benefited from ties to the Shaw camp as well. Brown’s driving experience has been more directed and focused toward the Northeast, while Renfrew’s has been more diverse, with a greater focus on racing outside New England in recent years.

Both drivers have struck out on their own, with Brown starting his own setup shop and Renfrew carrying the Hamke torch in the Northeast. Brown is far more complimentary toward his mentors. Renfrew’s parting was far less amicable.

And while both drivers have a hard-nosed reputation, Brown has somewhat tempered his image with wins and championships. For Renfrew, the wins are starting to add up. But the benefit of the doubt bank, as evidenced by the fan reactions to his victory, has a low balance.

A strong and clean finish to the season would make for a modest deposit.

Unofficial Results
PASS North | Chummy Brown Memorial 144
Star Speedway, Epping, N.H.
1. (00) Jimmy Renfrew, Jr.
2. (09) Sylas Ripley
3. (47) Gabe Brown
4. (12G) Derek Griffith
5. (54) Johnny Clark
6. (60) D.J. Shaw
7. (72) Ryan Kuhn
8. (81) Dan Winter
9. (94) Garrett Hall
10. (82) Bobby Baillargeon
11. (44) Trevor Sanborn
12. (73D) Joey Doiron
13. (7CT) Cory Casagrande
14. (29) Cole Robie
15. (5VT) Pat Corbett
16. (27) Wayne Helliwell, Jr.
DNS (63) Kyle Salemi

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