Wednesday, June 22, 2011

NHMS ~ 6/19/11

Read the NHMS race recap and see video here on the NHMS website.

the following is reprinted from http://www.nelcar.net/

Buffington Remains Undefeated at NHMS With Win on the Road Course

The Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour was back at the famous New Hampshire Motor Speedway this past week, once again turning right and left on the difficult road course. Not only was this a regular points race, but it was a National Qualifier for the Legends Road Course Nationals being held later this year. 26 Legends Car drivers, mostly oval regulars, took to the track for what would be an excellent race.

Practice doubled as qualifying, along with a random invert afterwards. Once the invert was drawn, it was the 99 of Mike Alton on the pole with the 38 of Matt Bourgoine on the outside. When the green flag flew, Alton was able to take off while the 23 of Shaun Buffington, who so far is undefeated at NHMS, moved to the second spot early from his sixth starting spot. Alton was able to lead the field around the first lap, but Buffington made his move on the second lap and took over the race lead. While Buffington was able to get away from the field, Alton, Bourgoine, the 56 of Evan Beaulieu, the 18 of Tom Gray and the 399 of Bob Weymouth were all locked in a tight battle for the second spot, one of the many battles on the track. The race was clean until lap eight, when the 6 of Joey Parker went off the track in “the bowl.” The incident would end Parker’s day early.

On the restart, it was Buffington still holding the lead with Beaulieu lined up right behind him. The two stayed locked together through the first half lap until the next yellow came out for the 20 of Taylor Martin and the 81 of Dan Winter getting together coming out of turn two. Buffington held onto the race lead while it was Beaulieu, Bourgoine, Gray and Weymouth right behind.

Buffington was able to get away on the final restart, leaving Beaulieu to hold off Bourgoine and Gray for the second spot. During the final laps, Buffington made it known why he’s one of the best Legends Car drivers in the country as he was able to take home the victory and the granite trophy with it. Bourgoine made a bid on Beaulieu going through turn three, but Beaulieu was able to get back around and take the second spot. Gray finished fourth while Weymouth rounded out the top five.

Buffington was the qualifier in the Pro class, while Bourgoine got the Semi-Pro qualifier and Tom Gray was the Masters qualifier for the Road Course Nationals in the fall. The next Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour race is this Thursday, June 23rd at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway for round two of Thursday Thunder. The next time the Tour heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway is on July 19th, the morning of the Nascar Sprint Cup Series race, which is guaranteed to be a great race! For more news, info, and how you can get in a Legends Car and race with the best, visit Nelcar.net.