PHOTOS: Quinny Welch celebrates his Clash of the Titans 150 victory with a smoky burnout at Riverside Speedway on Sunday. (Justin St. Louis/VMM photo)

GROVETON, N.H. — The second annual Clash of the Titans 150 at Riverside Speedway certainly wasn’t as pretty as last year’s inaugural race, but it was definitely entertaining. And at the end of it all, local favorite Quinny Welch pocketed five thousand dollars.

Welch, of nearby Lancaster, N.H., grabbed the lead five laps into the race and, despite a restart with three laps remaining, sailed to one of the bigger wins of his career. Welch started fourth on the 28-car grid and moved past defending race winner Wayne Helliwell, Jr., on lap five.

Backmarkers caused ten of the race’s staggering fifteen cautions before the halfway point, keeping Welch within sight of front-runners Helliwell, Rick Thompson, Jr., Roger Brown, T.J. Watson, and Eric Williams. A 42-lap run after a lap-67 restart, though, let Welch distance himself from the pack. Late cautions on laps 109, 110, and 124 gave drivers opportunities to make pit stops for fresh tires and adjustments, but Welch elected to stay on the track and retain the lead.

Brown and Stacy Cahoon gained the most from the pit stops, charging from the eighth and eleventh positions, respectively to enter the top five as the laps clicked away. Helliwell pitted on lap 132 for tires, and contact from Williams sent Thompson spinning out of third place — and a penalized Williams to the rear of the field — on lap 147.

Brown pulled alongside Welch — his brother-in-law — for the final restart, but was no match for the win. Cahoon, of St. Johnsbury, finished third.

“The car was good. Real good,” said Welch. “I was riding around for a lot of it. My spotter said, ‘You can back it down, you’ve got a mile,’ and I said, ‘I’m not really pushing it, I’m just going where the car wants to go.’”

At the point the caution flag flew on lap 109, Welch had opened up nearly a quarter-track lead over Helliwell. Welch’s pit strategy, he said, depended on what Helliwell did.

“I thought about tires and I said, ‘If Wayne’s not coming in, I ain’t going in.’ If he didn’t pit I thought it was gonna be me and him [for the win].” Helliwell’s eventual pit stop kicked him back to tenth, but he sliced through traffic during the final 18 laps to finish fifth, one spot behind hometown driver Corey Mason.

Watson finished sixth ahead of polesitter Jesse Switser. Donnie Lashua was eighth, and Williams and Thompson completed the unofficial top ten finishers.

Mike Landry of Oakland, Me., won the 75-lap Pro All Stars Series Sportsman event over Dan McKeage of Gorham, Me. Landry took the lead from Carey Martin after a lap-29 restart, then survived a restart with eleven laps remaining for the win. Martin was third, followed by Clyde Hennessey and Riverside Speedway regular Jeff Marshall.

Point leader Andy Shaw of Center Conway, N.H., won the 40-lap PASS Modified event over Alan Wilson, Scott McDaniel, Wayne Whitten, Jr., and Billy Dixon. Nick Pilotte of Jefferson, N.H., won the 100-lap Cyclone Enduro over Lorin Vear of Waterford. Greg Wolcott of Milton was the 6- & 8-cylinder winner.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS — Munce’s Superior Petroleum Products “Clash of the Titans 150”
Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H.
Sunday, August 15, 2010

(Pos.-Driver-Hometown)

Clash of the Titans 150
1. Quinny Welch, Lancaster, N.H.
2. Roger Brown, Lancaster, N.H.
3. Stacy Cahoon, St. Johnsbury, Vt.
4. Corey Mason, Groveton, N.H.
5. Wayne Helliwell, Jr., Dracut, Mass.
6. T.J. Watson, Cundy’s Harbor, Me.
7. Jesse Switser, West Burke, Vt.
8. Donnie Lashua, Canaan, N.H.
9. Eric Williams, Hyde Park, Vt.
10. Rick Thompson, Jr., Jay, Vt.
11. Cody Hodge, Orleans, Vt.
12. Russ Clark, Littleton, N.H.
13. Steve Patnaude, Pittsburg, N.H.
14. Matt Sanborn, West Baldwin, Me.
15. Bryan Mason, Stark, N.H.
16. Brett Gervais, Island Pond, Vt.
17. Randy Potter, Groveton, N.H.
18. Nate Brown, Craftsbury, Vt.
19. Sulo Burbank, Gorham, Me.
20. Cody LeBlanc, Gorham, N.H.
21. Bob Ailes, Sr., St. Johnsbury, Vt.
22. Matt Pepin, Webster, N.H.
23. Jeremy LaCoss, Lyndonville, Vt.
24. Zig Geno, Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H.
25. Dilyn Switser, West Burke, Vt.
26. Paul Schartner, III, Lyndon, Vt.
27. Bobby Baillargeon, Kingston, N.H.
28. Brandon Lambert, Colebrook, N.H.

PASS Sportsman (75 laps)
1. Mike Landry, Oakland, Me.
2. Dan McKeage, Gorham, Me.
3. Carey Martin, Denmark, Me.
4. Clyde Hennessey, Windham, Me.
5. Jeff Marshall, Jefferson, N.H.

PASS Modified (40 laps)
1. Andy Shaw, Center Conway, N.H.
2. Alan Wilson, Hebron, Me.
3. Scott McDaniel, Livermore, Me.
4. Wayne Whitten, Jr., Arundel, Me.
5. Bill Dixon, North Waterboro, Me.

Enduro (100 laps)

4-cylinder
1. Nick Pilotte, Jefferson, N.H.
2. Lorin Vear, Waterford
3. Jeff Ainsworth, Bethlehem, N.H.

6- & 8-cylinder
1. Greg Wolcott, Milton