Wednesday, July 20, 2011

NHMS ~ 7/17/11

reprinted from http://www.nelcar.net/

Buffington Takes Lenox 301 Pre Race Win

The Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour was on the big stage this past Sunday, July 17th. They were the opening event for the Nascar Sprint Cup Series event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. 21 of the best Legends Car drivers hit the quarter mile for what was one of their biggest races of the season. There was just a ten minute practice session to get the cars ready for the race, and the practice session doubled as qualifying for the feature. Tom Gray in the 18 car was the quickest, while the 23 of Shaun Buffington, who has dominated NHMS this season in Legends competition, on the outside of the front row.

When the 20 lap feature went green, Gray was able to drive off in the lead with the 21 of Sandro Vitelli fighting Buffington for the third spot. Those three and the 56 of Evan Beaulieu were able to get a little distance from the pack that were being a little rough on the tight track behind them. The first real incident of the race came on lap four, when the 4 of Peter Craig spun out of turn four and the 13 of Carl Blandina and the 38 of Matt Bourgoine. On the next restart, Buffington was able to get the race lead from his teammate, but he wasn’t able to open any distance as the field up front was tight. The field was able to run a few green flag laps, and the final incident came when Blandina spun and collected the 17 of Terry Kirk. This set up a green, white, checkered finish with Buffington up front and Vitelli on his outside. At the start, Buffington was able to get away and Gray was able to slide his way into second, leaving Vitelli and Beaulieu to fight for third. At the checkered flag, Buffington once again reigned victorious. Gray finished second to give their team a 1-2 finish, with Vitelli coming in third, Beaulieu in fourth and the 59 of Reid Lanpher in fifth.

After a post race tech issue, Lanpher was disqualified, giving the 2 of Ryan Hammar the fifth position. The race was a hit with the fans as they enjoyed watching the Legends Cars have a thrilling event before the big show. The next time the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour hit the track is next Saturday, July 23rd. The tour is also at the Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on Thursday, July 21st for the fifth round of Thursday Thunder. For more news, info and how you can get in a Legends Car before the next Nascar Sprint Cup Series race in September, visit Nelcar.net.