With the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 race weekend one week away, New Hampshire Motor Speedway hosted media on Friday for a little taste of what's to come. Media members from across New England took part in the third annual Media Racing Challenge, and it was Timmy G. of the Wicked Fast Podcast on WROR/105.7 in Boston, Mass. that took home the win.
"I guess the third time really is the charm," said Timmy G. "I was confident in my driving skills today, but not in the tire change competition. The last two years, I couldn't pull it together in the tire change competition, but luckily today I finally had a top five finish, which helped me cut down on my fastest lap time. I really enjoyed competing against all the media members from all over the New England area. It also got me excited for next weekend's Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 and shows how much the driver and the pit crews need to work together to get to victory lane."
The Media Racing Challenge winner was determined by their fastest lap time on the track, while the five fastest media members to change a tire on the NHMS show car received a 10-second deduction from their best lap time.
Timmy G. was the fastest media member around the track at 39.89 seconds, while Nick Stoico (Concord Monitor), Andy Austin (WOKQ/97.5), Zack Derby (WLKZ The Hawk/104.9) and Brian Bell (Wicked Fast Podcast on WROR/105.7) rounded out the top five.
Bell was the quickest in the tire change competition, completing it in 33 seconds. Timmy G., J.R. Russell (WJYY/105.5, WFNQ Frank FM/106.3, WNNH Frank FM/99.1 and WNHW The Wolf/ 93.3), Josh Judge (Frank FM) and Rochelle Gagnon (WLKZ The Hawk/104.9) rounded out the top five, with all of them earning a 10-second deduction from their fastest lap time.
Once all the times from both parts of the competition were calculated together and the deductions were taken into account, Timmy G. came out on top with Bell, Gagnon, Judge and Russell rounding out the top five.
The media members also sampled a Taste of the Speedways, featuring a few food items from other Speedway Motorsports tracks that will be available in the Taste of the Speedways concession stand during race weekend. The food items included the Clark Cluck from Atlanta Motor Speedway, Gladiator Fries from Bristol Motor Speedway, the Double Dog Dare Y'all from Charlotte Motor Speedway, Granite State Poutine from right here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and from the healthy menu, the BLT Salad.
Best Lap Times:
- Timmy G. (Wicked Fast Podcast on WROR/105.7): 39.89 seconds = 95.48 mph (reduced to 29.89 seconds after tire change)
- Nick Stoico (Concord Monitor): 40.96 seconds = 92.99 mph
- Andy Austin (WOKQ/97.5): 42.67 seconds = 89.26 mph
- Zack Derby (WLKZ The Hawk/104.9): 42.93 seconds = 88.72 mph
- Brian Bell (Wicked Fast Podcast on WROR/105.7): 42.97 seconds = 88.64 mph (reduced to 32.97 seconds after tire change)
- Rochelle Gagnon (WLKZ The Hawk/104.9): 42.98 seconds = 88.62 mph (reduced to 32.98 seconds after tire change)
- Jon Bodell (The Concord Insider): 43.58 seconds = 87.40 mph
- Josh Judge (Frank FM): 44.43 seconds = 85.73 mph (reduced to 34.43 seconds after tire change)
- Kevin Wiles Jr. (WHDH/7News): 47.17 seconds = 80.75 mph
- R. Russell (WJYY/105.5, WFNQ Frank FM/106.3, WNNH Frank FM/99.1 and WNHW The Wolf/ 93.3): 47.25 seconds = 80.61 mph (reduced to 37.25 seconds after tire change)
- Chio Acosta (WOKQ/97.5): 49.60 seconds = 76.79 mph
- Mike Morin (Frank FM): 53.62 seconds = 71.03 mph
- Leroy Irvin (WBQT/Hot 96.9): 53.89 seconds = 70.68 mph
- Dakota Randall (NESN): 57.66 seconds = 66.06 mph
- Melissa Eannuzzo (WBQT/Hot 96.9): 1 minute, 4.87 seconds = 58.71 mph
- Alexi Iafrato (Boston Herald): 1 minute, 23.08 seconds = 45.84 mph
Tire Change:
- Brian Bell (Wicked Fast Podcast on WROR/105.7): 33 seconds
- Timmy G. (Wicked Fast Podcast on WROR/105.7): 38 seconds
- R. Russell (WJYY/105.5, WFNQ Frank FM/106.3, WNNH Frank FM/99.1 and WNHW The Wolf/ 93.3): 42 seconds
- Josh Judge (Frank FM): 43 seconds
- Rochelle Gagnon (WLKZ The Hawk/104.9): 44 seconds
- Zack Derby (WLKZ The Hawk/104.9): 45 seconds
- Kevin Wiles Jr. (WHDH/7News): 53 seconds
- Melissa Eannuzzo (WBQT/Hot 96.9): 57 seconds
- Alexi Iafrato (Boston Herald): 57 seconds
- Nick Stoico (Concord Monitor): 1 minute, 1 second
- Chio Acosta (WOKQ/97.5): 1 minute, 1 second
- Andy Austin (WOKQ/97.5): 1 minute, 2 seconds
- Leroy Irvin (WBQT/Hot 96.9): 1 minute, 19 seconds
- Dakota Randall (NESN): 1 minute, 19 seconds
- Jon Bodell (The Concord Insider): 1 minute, 22 seconds
- Mike Morin (Frank FM): 1 minute, 43 seconds
Overall Standings:
- Timmy G. (Wicked Fast Podcast on WROR/105.7)
- Brian Bell (Wicked Fast Podcast on WROR/105.7)
- Rochelle Gagnon (WLKZ The Hawk/104.9)
- Josh Judge (Frank FM)
- R. Russell (WJYY/105.5, WFNQ Frank FM/106.3, WNNH Frank FM/99.1 and WNHW The Wolf/ 93.3)
- Nick Stoico (Concord Monitor)
- Andy Austin (WOKQ/97.5)
- Zack Derby (WLKZ The Hawk/104.9)
- Jon Bodell (The Concord Insider)
- Kevin Wiles Jr. (WHDH/7News)
- Chio Acosta (WOKQ/97.5)
- Mike Morin (Frank FM)
- Leroy Irvin (WBQT/Hot 96.9)
- Dakota Randall (NESN)
- Melissa Eannuzzo (WBQT/Hot 96.9)
- Alexi Iafrato (Boston Herald)
For ticket information for all 2019 events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, including the July 19 Friday Night Dirt Duels presented by New England Racing Fuel, the July 19-21 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 race weekend and the September 20-21 Full Throttle Fall Weekend, visit the speedway website at NHMS.com or call Fan Relations at (603) 783-4931.