August 22, 2026 — Lee, NH — Dunstable, Massachusetts’s Jeffrey Battle remained the class of the New England Supermodified Series (NESS) at New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway on Friday, August 21. Battle took the lead on lap 26 of the Ollie Silva Midsummer Classic, then survived over 40 laps of pressure from Jonathan McKennedy to win the Supermodified crown jewel event.
It was Battle’s fifth straight victory and sixth of the season. Battle became the 14th different driver to triumph in the 24th edition of the Ollie Silva Classic, doing so barely an hour after his cousin James Witkum captured the 350 Supermodified portion of the program.
Battle started fifth under the NESS previous winner handicap and patiently chipped his way through the field as polesitter P.J. Stergios set the early tone. McKennedy did the same from his sixth-place grid position, and they eventually chased down Stergios. Battle swung to the outside and took the lead just past the one-third mark of the 75-lap feature, with McKennedy also getting past Stergios six circuits later.
From there, the two Supermodified studs sliced and diced through the traffic, with McKennedy never far from Battle’s rear bumper. As the duo worked through a large pack of lapped cars in the closing stages, McKennedy saw an opportunity, shot up the middle, and led lap 59 by a nose.
However, Battle was not to be denied. He kept his foot in the gas as the pair went three-wide around another lapped car entering turn one, somehow finding the grip he needed to reclaim the top spot. McKennedy never got another chance to pounce, as Battle bobbed and weaved his way to the win by 0.308 seconds, denying McKennedy a potential record-setting fifth Ollia Silva Classic.
McKennedy did receive a consolation prize as part of the Dr. Mom Says “School is Cool” Challenge. A 12-sided chance die was rolled in Victory Lane, and it landed on six, meaning the even-numbered finishers evenly split $4,000 between them.
Stergios finished third and was the only other car on the lead lap thanks to Battle and McKennedy’s scintillating pace. The Nottingham, New Hampshire driver also ran the event’s fastest lap on the 11th circuit. Former champion Dan Bowes was fourth. After missing qualifying because of mechanical woes, Matt Swanson drove from shotgun on the field to complete the top five.
A season-high 14 cars entered the event. Rob Summers, who was subbing for Anthony Nocella in the Vic Miller-owned #11, had to withdraw after a crash in the second practice session. A left-front spindle broke, sending the car hard into the turn-three wall. Dave Duggan also did not start, loaning his machine to Vern Romanoski after issues prevented Romanoski’s car from making the call.
The New England Supermodified Series heads to Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, August 30 as part of Nitro Trailers Oxford 250 Weekend. Post time is 1:30pm for a program that also includes the 53rd Oxford 250 for the Pro All Stars Series Super Late Models, the Kennebec Equipment Rental PASS Modifieds, Triple Crown finales for the Dow Excavating Limited Sportsmen and Street Stocks, and the Green Lawn Solutions Mad Bombers. Visit www.proallstarsseries.com for more information.
Photo by Terrill Covey
