NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) regular Chase Briscoe created his own fireworks before the real thing lit up the New England summer sky Friday night.

Briscoe, the first NASCAR driver to compete in a Sprint Cars of New England event, won the 30-lap feature at Friday Night Dirt Duels presented by New England Racing Fuel at The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS), kicking off the track’s NASCAR weekend.

Briscoe’s next challenge takes place at the neighboring 1.058-mile oval known as “The Magic Mile,” as he is one of 36 drivers scheduled to start in the Crayon 301 NCS race Sunday afternoon.

The Mitchell, Ind. native finished fourth in his heat earlier Friday and started eighth in the feature. By lap 13, Briscoe had weaved his way through the field before passing veteran Mark Cole for the lead.

Briscoe led all of the remaining laps and survived two subsequent restarts, holding off Jordan Fornwalt in second and teammate Matt Tanner in third.

Briscoe celebrated on the famed quarter-mile track before an overflow crowd that enjoyed four features across three divisions, including the Sprint Cars of New England, two classes of Granite State Mini Sprints and the Dirt Midget Association.

Other Friday Flat Track winners included:

  • Granite State Mini Sprints 600 Feature (15 laps): Chase Rodgers
  • Dirt Midget Association Feature (shortened to 20 laps): Seth Carlson
  • Granite State Mini Sprints 500 Feature (20 laps): Jack MacIntyre

Earlier Friday, NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) rookie Chandler Smith earned the pole position during qualifying for Saturday’s Ambetter Health 200 NXS race.

Smith, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, posted a lap of 126.291 mph (30.159 seconds). John Hunter Nemechek was second with a speed of 126.123 mph.

“I thought I did a horrible job,” said a laughing Smith, who also won the pole position last week at Atlanta. “I locked up a little on turn one. We’ll take it.”

Justin Bonsignore grabbed the pole for the Mohegan Sun 100 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) race with a lap of 129.90 mph (29.321 seconds). The three-time NWMT champion and Fall 2016 New Hampshire winner was just ahead of Anthony Nocella’s 129.705 mph (29.365 seconds).

On-track action continues Saturday with practice and qualifying for the Crayon 301 NCS race beginning at 12:05 p.m.

NHMS’s NASCAR weekend races include:

  • Ambetter Health 200 NXS | Saturday | 3 p.m. | USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  • Mohegan Sun 100 NWMT | Saturday | 6 p.m. | Flo Racing
  • Crayon 301 NCS | Sunday | 2:30 p.m. | USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Tickets:
Log on to NHMS.com for tickets and more information on the weekend’s lineup of action-packed racing. Doubleheader Saturday tickets start at just $45 for adults while kids 12 and under are free. Sunday’s Crayon 301 tickets start at just $59 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under.

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