Monadnock Speedway Rt 10 Winchester, NH.......... Racing Saturday nights 6pm!
                                A visit to Yankee Clipper!

Kids revved up about race car
By Gary Gumuchian
Tue Jul 03, 2007
Littleton Independent


Littleton - Shannon Sturtz, age 9, loves everything about auto racing, including the
drivers.“I named my cat after Jeff Gordon,” said Sturtz. “I like how the cars go fast.
On this car, the steering wheel comes off and it has real cool yellow lettering.”
Was Shannon in Louden, N.H. for the NASCAR Busch series of stock car racing this
weekend? No, she was checking out the shiny black stock car, number 71, in front of
the Yankee Clipper Barbershop on Great Road in Littleton.

“I was at a car show with my kids. And I thought how cool would it be to have a race
car for the kids to check out at the shop,” said Noonan, proprietor of the Yankee
Clipper.During the auto show in Keene, Noonan met Rob Williams, owner and driver
of a car that races at Monadnock Speedway.“We got to talking about what it would
take to get the Yankee Clipper name on the car and have the car appear at the shop,”
said Noonan.

Williams, owner and driver of the car, was happy to come to an arrangement with
Noonan.“It is hard to get sponsors,” said Williams. “A lot of the established teams
have approached the businesses in immediate raceway area.”

The kids checking out number 71 offered their opinions.
“I like the race cars because they go really fast. This car seems like it would go fast,”
said Andy Sager, age 4.After he tried sitting behind the wheel and buckling on the
harness Sager said, “You need to click the seatbelts before you drive this car.”

Three-year-old Shea Gearty was impressed with the style of the car.“It is shiny and
has fire (decals) on the top,” said Gearty.
Clare Newman, age 7, sat in the car. When she came out she exclaimed, “There's no
horn, but the seat is comfortable. And it says 'Yankee Clipper' on the back!”

Nathanial Newman, age 9, commented that the inside is cramped. But the seatbelt
buckles are neat.” He also mentioned “the headlights are just stickers because the
track is always lit.”






“It is unfortunate that so much of racing coverage is oriented at the big events,
people don't even know about the local tracks,” said Williams. “Monadnock
Speedway, in Winchester New Hampshire, has a real family atmosphere and the
admission is reasonable.”

Williams and his wife Kelly spend about 20 to 30 hours a week maintaining the car.
“And that's if nothing is wrong.” said Williams. Racing is a labor of love for Williams
and his wife. They have been racing since 1994 in the Pro-Stock category.

Their car has a modified Chevrolet 355 engine, but the car is largely custom framed
and paneled. It proudly displays the “Yankee Clipper” on the rear of the car. The car
must conform to strict weight and balance requirements to be approved for racing.

The Williams race in a NASCAR sanctioned division, the Whelen All-American Series,
which is a program that has state and regional championships, and is considered
grass roots racing. The track at Monadnock is a quarter-mile high banked (16 to 18
degrees) oval. This means that the cars can complete a lap in under 13 seconds. The
raceway is a little more than an hour away.

According to Williams, driving race cars is stress relieving.
“Driving really clears the mind,” he said. “Anything going on in your life does not
exist when you are on the track. You are looking at the next five seconds at the
most.”