Bert Ouellette Dominates at The NorthEast Classic
ProTruck Challenge teams headed to the Magic Mile, New Hampshire International Speedway Saturday April 18th for race two of the 2026 ProTruck Season. Teams are always proud to be part of The Northeast Classic presented by both the American Canadian tour and the Pro All Star Series. Competing at New Hampshire International Speedway is something not every driver will experience in their career. It’s a special moment just to pull on to the race surface.
15 ProTrucks dared take on the high speeds of New England’s premier oval. 13 were able to take a qualifying lap . The number 94 of Jason Parquette won the PMW Marine fast time in qualifying award for the second week in a row with a lap of 33.191 seconds . Bert Ouellette in the 151 was second fastest. Unfortunately for the second race in a row, Chris Taylor suffered mechanical issues and was unable to take time. As done at most events, the top 6 do a redraw for starting position. The 151 moved up front second to first while the 94 of Paquette was moved back to 5th in the order.
The show at New Hamshire moved quickly due to two days of racing being packed into Saturday. The ProTrucks moved down the back stretch with Taylor’s 47 outside of the 151, Rookie Randy Churchill’s 05 and the 77 of Adrien Paradis in row two. Jason Paquette’s 94 Toyota and last year’s Racing Times Magazine Rookie of the Year Ethan Heilborn made up row three. Ice Breaker winner, number 32 Randy Burr lined up inside the 52 of Mercedes Caron in row 4. The 1 of Dennis Charette and the 28 of JP (John Pereira) rounded out the top 10.
When flagman Jason Lamoi waived the green flag to the field, Todd Taylor jumped the start but quickly adjusted to let the 151 have his spot back. No penalty was assessed.
By lap 2 the field sorted out into the order they had started. Lap 5 saw Randy Burr and the 77 of Paradis make contact entering turn one. Burr moved by with Heilborn in tow. The temporary loss of momentum relegated Paradis to 7th. Both Sean Caron and Ethan Heilbron suffered mechanical failures on lap 6 causing both trucks to retire.
At the cross flags the 151 was cruising out front a quarter lap ahead of second place Todd Taylor. Paquette’s 94 was closing on Taylor. Burr, battling a loose race truck was doing his best to chase down the leaders. Randy Churchill was running a solid fifth. This is how they ran until the closing stages the closing laps where Paquette was able to grab 2nd away from Todd Taylor. Randy Burr completed a solid fourth place run. The finish was good enough to hold onto the points lead.
The surprise late was Mercedes Caron. She ran down the top 5. After contact with the 05 of Randy Churchill, Mercedes was able to grab a top 5 finish.
The star of the show was still Ouellette in the Cindy Burdick Motorsports owned, Gary’s Services 151. He seemed to run a bit higher than everyone else. He turned the top groove into added momentum. His pace was unmatched. Bert proudly motored the 151 under the checkered flag after a green to checkered run that never saw a challenge for his lead. This was Bert’s 5th ProTruck Tour Victory. It certainly is his most important Victory. He made it look easy.
The series next event is at the Waterford SpeedBowl June 6th. This season’s excitement is ramping up. Waterford is always a must- see event. Be there if you can.
Results for the NorthEast Classic: 1st 151 Bert Ouellette, 2nd 94 Jason Paquette, 3rd 47 Todd Taylor, 4th 32 Randy Burr, 5th 52 Mercedes Caron, 6th 1 Dennis Charette 7th 77 Adrien Paradis, 8th 05 Randy Churchill jr. 9th 28 John Periera, 10th Andy Pelligrini, 11th Ethan Heilborn, 12th 53 Sean Caron 13th Duane Noll
Randy Burr Finds Victory Lane for Second Straight Ice Breaker Win
The 2026 ProTruck season Saturday officially got underway at Thompson’s ice breaker Saturday. Teams once again will compete for their share of a $10,000 points fund. Last year’s champion Ryan Kuhn has moved on to compete with his super late model leaving a bit more opportunity for new teams to win.
Twenty ProTrucks pulled into Thompson’s paddock on Saturday. 16 were able to take time with the number 94 of Jason Paquette winning the PMW Marine pole position with a lap of 21.659 seconds Yes 6 hundredths of a second faster than outside pole sitter Bert Ouellette in the 151. Last season’s ice breaker winner Randy Burr qualified 10th. Duane Noll had trouble with his race truck. He would move on to a backup and start last. Chris Taylor suffered mechanical issues and was unable to take time.
Soon after qualifying it was race time. Flagman Kyle Souza waived the green flag to the field where the number 94 of Jason Paquette got a great start and pulled off into the lead. Racing Times Magazine got his Rookie of the year candidate Randy Churchill jr. 05 Ford complete sideways on the back stretch. He was able to gather it up and head on into turn 3.
Bert Ouellette, in the Cindy Burdick Motorsports 151 hounded the leader until he was able to position himself low in turn 1on lap 6. He completed the pass and took over controlling the race. The 1 of Dennis Charette settled into 3rd place. Todd Taylor’s Silverado followed in the 4th spot while Randy Churchill Jr’s 05 rounded out the top five.
Randy Burr and Duane Noll were the trucks to watch as they were carving through the field. There was no doubt these two were going to be factors in today’s event.
The first caution of the day flew for Cris Palamar as his number 42 Dodge went up in a plume of smoke. Chris’s team has taken on the project of developing an LS motor program. Luckily the failure was a power steering line.
The lap 16 restart had Ouelette and Parquette still in the front row. 3rd was the 1 of Charette. The bright orange 32 of Randy Burr had worked his way from 10th to 4th. The 47 of Todd Taylor rounded out the top five. When the green waved the 94 nosed ahead in turn one. By turn 3 Ouellette moved back to the front. . Soon Burr moved into the second spot and the chase was on.
While Burr chased a mid-pack slugfest was on between Taylor, Churchill, Coates and Noll. Taylor got away first. The battle was suddenly interrupted when Mercedes Caron suffered a fiery motor failure. The 52 stopped at the end of pit row. Mercedes took things in stride. She will be ready for Saturday’s race at New Hamshire International.
The caution period set up a five-lap battle for the win. For the final restart it was Bert Ouellette out front. Joining Bert in the front row was the 32 of Burr. Paquette was now in the third spot. Charrette was outside of him. Taylor and Churchill shared row three. Both drivers got great starts however Burr was able to use momentum coming out of turn 2 to cruise his way into the lead. Behind the slugfest continued. Entering turn 3 Paquette and Charette remained side by side as did Taylor and Churchill. Coates, in the 90 buried his truck deep into the turn clobbering Taylor. Somehow those two drivers gathered their trucks up while Noll in the 2, and Pelligrini in the 6 snuck by low. Taylor and Coates were not done yet. They ran side by side on the front stretch. Coates went low in turn one. He slid into the side of Taylors 47. Taylor suffered from a left front flat from the contact.
Up front Paquette and Charette ran side by side as Noll followed trying to find a way by. After competing two laps door to door, Charette’s Silverado got a run down the back stretch where he went on to a 3rd place finish.
At the finish it was Randy Burr with his second Ice Breaker win in a row. Ouellette would have to settle for second. Following Charette and Paquette was Noll. From last to fifth in a back up truck proved to be very satisfying.
The series heads to the Magic Mile for a one day all inclusive event tomorrow, April 18th. Randy Burr seemed to have the field covered in last year’s event when a window net latch failed causing the 32 to be black flagged while leading. Ryan Kuhn went on to battle with Duane Noll for the win. Will Noll leave the Magic Mile with a win or will Randy Burr start season two for two? Is there a new player in the wings? Will Jason Paquette get his first touring win? Could the Cindy Burdick Motorsports 151 find it’s way to victory lane. We’ll know soon….
Gates open early at NHIS. Be there if you can.
Results for the Ice Breaker: 1st 32 Randy Burr, 2nd 151 Bert, 3rd 1 Dennis Charette, 4th 94 Jason Paquette, 5th 2 Duane Noll, 6th 05 Randy Churchill Jr., 7th 90 Allen Coates, 8th 6 Andy Pelligrini, 9th 29 Jason Beal, 10th 20 Ethan Heilbron, 11th 53 Sean Caron, 12th 77 Adrien Paradis, 13th John Pereira, 14th Todd Taylor, 15th 52 Mercedes Caron, 16th 42 Chris Palamar
Hoosier 2026 Tire Schedule
The ProTruck Challenge will again compete on Hoosier Tires. Each Hoosier Tire’s chemical composition is known and able to be checked. Teams simply cannot use products that alter the tire to get an edge. Another sound reason for running Hoosiers is their cost effectiveness. Yes high quality racing tires are expensive however our teams are able to race two races easily. This allows most teams to run 10 races with only 20 tires. Certain weeks are new tire weeks. Others require used. Here is the 2026 tire schedule which for many reasons can have changes.
Race 1: Thompson’s Ice Breaker New
Race 2: NHIS’s NorthEast Classic New
Race 3: Waterford SpeedBowl Used
Race 4: Thomspon Tri Track Wed New
Race 5: Wiscasset Firecracker 55 Used
Race 6: Monadnock JDV 55 Used
Race 7: White Mountain New
Race 8: Star Classic BW sr 55 Used
Race 9: Thompson’s World Series New
Race10: Lee USA Championship Used
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One More Look Back at Thompson Speedway’s Banquet
The ProTruck Challenge Teams headed to Thompson Speedway for their annual banquet celebrating a very successful 2025 Season. Nick Bosse and his band performed both before dinner and after. Hopefully he is back next year for the 2026 banquet. The series sponsorship primarily is from Hoosier Tires East. EXIT and Evolve were not replaced in 2025. Competition director Marshall Hurley explained,
” We are lucky to have support from a number of sponsors like Advanced Overhead Door who played a huge role in putting on this banquet. For a title sponsor going forward there are offers. We want a perfect fit and we are willing to wait to find a great one. “
There was not a title sponsor for 2025, but there still was in excess of $18,000 in awards and recognitions to be handed out. Here is a summary of the top performers on track last season.
#72 Ryan Kuhn Post Season Awards $6800.00
Season Earnings of over $13,500.00
2025 ProTruck Challenge Champion
Short Track Challenge Champion
Innovation Award
Crew Chief of the Year Randy Burr
#47 Todd Taylor Post Season Awards $2950.00
2025 ProTruck Challenge Final Four
Best Appearing
#42 Chris Palamar Post Season Awards $1425.00
2025 ProTruck Challenge Final Four
Most Improved Driver
#11 Nikolas Frechette Post Season Awards $1500.00
2025 ProTruck Challenge Final Four
#94 Jason Paquette Post Season Awards $3050.00
2025 ProTruck Challenge Elite Eight
Speedway Challenge Champion
NWIII Award Winner
Iron Man Award for Crew Chief Daniel Lajeunesse
#151 Bert Ouellette Post Season Awards $1600.00
2025 ProTruck Challenge Elite Eight
Hard Charger Award
#1 Dennis Charrette Post Season Awards $800.00
2025 ProTruck Challenge Elite Eight
Sportsman of the Year
#52 Mercedes Caron Post Season Awards $375.00
Social Media MVP
9th in Speedway Challenge
#20 Ethan Heilborn Post Season Awards $525.00
2025 Rookie of the Year
8th in Speedway Points
#28 John Pereira Post Season Awards $300.00
Most Popular Driver
10th in Speedway Points
The attendees of the banquet had a special task. Each had opportunity to vote for the points system for 2026. They could opt to leave things the same, use classic NASCAR scoring or even utilize the new points system in place in Cup racing today. Overwhelmingly the teams chose to continue with the Chase. The 2026 ProTruck Challenge gets underway in April at Thompson Speedway’s Ice Breaker. Be there if you can!
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The 2026 ProTruck Rules have been posted. Every year there are revisions. The series or competitors propose new or updated rule changes. Some are approved and some are not.
This year the series proposed eliminating 4bbl carburetors from competition except for claimer motors. Competitors pushed back and were not ready to give up their four barrel carbs. The competitors, led by the 94 and 47 teams tested. They were instrumental in ciming up with some rule adjustments.
Claimer motors are still exempt from carburetor rules however competitors with 602 Crate Motors may run a 650 4bbl carburetor provided they take their truck to the Chassis Dyno before racing. When they do race, they will need the dyno sheet. Having pretested at the dyno does not preclude the truck from post-race testing.
The series is attempting a cost saving measure was put into place. For 2026 most teams may use a spec front shock and receive a 100 lb. weight break. These shocks are available for under $150.00.
This type of racing has always utilized stock type front snouts. Unfortunately, these snouts are getting scarce. Companies like Howe racing, Johnson Chassis and Hamms welding have recognized this problem. They hand craft some fine replacement snouts that often turn out cheaper than prepping the stock ones. Most are lighter than the stock ones. Those replacements are legal but now have appropriate weight adjustments required.
Some pretty impressive new chassis have found their way to the series in recent years. Rules governing the set back, height and construction were reemphasized.
There were some body changes for 2026. Often teams fight overheating issues. Louvers are now allowed on the hood that may help that issue. By team request roof rails are now allowed. Spoilers have some new placement specifications and a new 8 inch Five Star Spoiler has been made legal. The new spoiler makes the Thompson and New Hampshire races especially interesting.
The new rules are posted and 2026 is officially underway.
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2026 Starts with the Annual Rules Meeting
The 2026 ProTruck Season is fast approaching. When the season ends, teams immediately start prepping their trucks for the next year. The first step is the annual rules meeting. There will ber a grace period where teams may feedback or offer adjustments to the new changes. It will be tough to get an adjustment once the changes are published on January 1 2026.
This year’s event will be held in Connecticut and hosted by Mike Leone, owner of the 1NE ProTruck team.
Some of the major 2026 Proposed Rule include,
- All weights being increased 50 lbs. except Seekonk Metric or S Chassis
- Snouts-Tubular in appearance will have a 30 lab per frame rail weight increase. The series is based off Metric Snouts.
- Enforcement of the rules governing setback and height of the main cage will be emphasized.
- Hood Louvers will be allowed to aide in cooling and handling.
- Roof Rails will be allowed
- The 10 inch rear spoiler can run Triangular side panels
- An optional 8 inch Five Star Rear Spoiler is now available
- The claimer engine program will continue to expand with motors expected to be purchased directly from the series soon.
- Engine sealing may be a process performed directly through the series in the near future. As for right now the Engine Alliance seals are preferred.
- All engines except claimers will be resuired to run the 4412 2bbl
- Seekonk Sport Trucks may convert to 3 points.
- If teams other than Seekonk Metric or Sport Truck opt for the Afco 1475, or 1474-6 shock package on the front, they will receive a 100 lb weight break. Otherwide the shock rule is unchanged.
As always, the teams discuss the 2026 schedule. A few more events could be added. The addition of Wiscasset is a pleasant surprise. The Championship most likely being decided at Lee USA’s Oktoberfest. The series is awaiting a SpeedBowl date.
All of the points series are expected back in 2026 including the $10,000 ProTruck Challenge, the Super Speedway Challenge, and the Short Track Challenge. The next event for the ProTruck teams is the 2025 Banquet where the series will hand out over $18,000 in awards. That date is expected next week.