Thursday, August 25, 2011

NHMS ~ 8/20/11

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


Tom Gray Takes Over At NHMS


The Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour was back in the Granite State this past weekend at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway once again for another exciting race on the quarter mile. With its tight turns and hard braking, it is without a doubt a very challenging track for the drivers to get accustom too. With 20 cars on the track things will get crowded in a hurry. Practice times as always determined the starting line up for the heat races and it was a few familiar faces at the front of the field.

Shaun Buffington in car 23 started on the pole with the 3 of Nick Ladyga on his outside for the first heat race. Buffington took off with the lead, but Ladyga was staying right on his bumper as he wanted the lead and the 56 of Evan Beaulieu right behind in third. Buffington and Ladyga swapped paint a few times in their battle for the win, but at the finish it was Buffington once again on top with Ladyga in second and Beaulieu in third.

For the second heat race, Tom Gray started on the pole with the 38 of Matt Bourgoine starting from second. The race went virtually incident free, as Gray pulled away with the win and Bourgoine finished second with the 59 of Reid Lanpher in third.

It was Buffington and Gray once again in the top spots for the feature, as they have been solid all season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, finishing in the top two spots in each race ran on the oval so far this year. The first caution flew on lap three when Lanpher went for a spin off turn four. Buffington was able to get back out to the lead on the next restart as he and Ladyga challenged each other hard as Gray, Beaulieu and Bourgoine were right in tow. At the halfway point, contact between Ladyga and Buffington sent the undefeated driver at NHMS for a spin, and Ladyga a penalty to the rear, giving opportunity to Gray, who inherited the race lead. After a few challenges from Beaulieu, Gray was able to hold him off and take his first win at NHMS! Beaulieu finished right behind in second, with Buffington coming from the rear of the field with just 12 laps left to finish third. Bourgoine and Ladyga rounded out the top five.

With the second place run, Beaulieu is able to grow his points lead to 61 points over Bob Weymouth in the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour points, and Buffington still holds a 65 point lead over Gray. The Tour is off next weekend but will return to NHMS in two weeks on September 3rd. For more news, info, and how you can race at NHMS in one of the most fun cars to drive, visit Nelcar.net.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Beech Ridge ~ 8/18/11

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

Sanborn Picks Up Win, Beaulieu Takes Thursday Thunder Championship

The Thursday Thunder series came to a close this past week at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. With just three points separating leader Kevin Hutchens and second place Evan Beaulieu, this was one of the closest battles for the championship that the series has ever seen. Along with the points battle, there was plenty of drivers who were looking for a win before the season ended. For the final time in 2011, the Legends took the track for what was set to be a fantastic close to the season.

For the feature, the 17 of Terry Kirk started on the pole with the 87 of Anthony Pagliarulo on his outside. Points leader Hutchens started from fourth with Beaulieu in thirteenth. At the start, Kirk took off with Hutchens right behind and the 05 of Jacob Dore running third. Kirk was holding his own on the inside keeping the field at bay while Hutchens was doing all he could on the outside to take the lead. The drivers up front were having a great battle for the lead when Hutchens and Dore made contact racing for second, sending them both in a spin and collecting the 2 of Ryan Hammar as well.

On the final restart, Kirk held the lead over new second place runner, Trevor Sanborn in the 14. The two ran each other hard side by side with Sanborn able to get his car out front. The Beech Ridge Pro Series regular was able to make his first trip to Legends victory lane as he took the win in the final night of Thursday Thunder. Kirk finished runner up, with the 88 of Steve Fox in third. Bob Weymouth finished fourth after a hard charge from his 21st starting spot. The championship fight wasn’t over until the checkered flag fell, as Hutchens drove back to the seventh spot at the end, but it wasn’t enough as Beaulieu got fifth with a handful of laps to go to secure the Thursday Thunder championship by just one point.

Another Thursday Thunder year has come to a close with another intense battle for the championship that showed two young drivers, who were just rookies in this division a few years ago, show off their talent in front of thousands of fans, and through ten races it came right down to the last lap. Another young up and coming driver was honored after Thursday’s race as well with Ryan Hammar being presented as Thursday Thunder rookie of the year. Now, the titles still left up for grabs are the overall Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour championship and the New Hampshire Motor Speedway championship, with their next event coming this Saturday, August 20th. For more news, info and how you can get into a Legends Car, visit Nelcar.net.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Unity Raceway ~ 8/6/11

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

Bourgoine Dominates For First Win At Unity


As the season heads into its final run to decide the champion, the Amsoil Nelcar Legends tour was back at Unity Raceway this past weekend for another thrilling event. As many of the top drivers in the series were set to start from the rear of the field, others who have yet to win were running out of time to do so, and tonight was a perfect opportunity to shine in the Unity lights. With 14 Legends Cars taking to the rough and tough track, the fans were treated to another great race.

For the first heat race, it was the 2 of Ryan Hammar on the pole with the 10 of Ed Getty to his outside. On the start, Getty used the preferred high line to his advantage as he grabbed from Hammar. As Getty pulled away, the 27 of Kevin Hutchens was on a march to the front and he took second from Hammar with just a handful of laps to go. He got to the back bumper of Getty and made a bid for the lead with one to go, but it wasn’t enough as Getty held on and took the first heat victory. Hutchens was second at the line with Hammar rounding out the top three.

In the second heat race, the 33 of Alan Smith was on the pole with the 38 of Matt Bourgoine on the outside. Once again the outside groove was the place to be, as Bourgoine drove to the lead with the 56 of Evan Beaulieu right behind. Bourgoine was able to drive away with the second heat win as Beaulieu finished second with the 30 of Ed Field in third.

As the sun set over the 3/8th mile track, the field took to the track for their feature event. It was an all rookie front row with the 81 of Dan Winter starting on pole with Ryan Hammar on his outside. As the field went green, Hammar got the early lead, but Bourgoine came from his fifth starting spot to take the lead early as he began to pull away from the field. As he was pulling away, Hutchens lead Beaulieu, Field and the 399 of Bob Weymouth on their way up through the field from the rear. When they got into the top five the first caution fell around the half way point for a solo spin from the 59 of Reid Lanpher in turn four.

When the field got back to racing, Bourgoine got just enough of a jump on Hutchens to clear him going into turn one and took the outside groove. It was a spectacular race up front as Bourgoine tried to hold off both Hutchens and Field as Weymouth and Beaulieu sat behind ready to pounce on a mistake from the top three. As Hutchens worked the bottom groove, Bourgoine was able to use the outside line and fend off the challenges, as he took the checkered flag for the first time in his Legends Car career. Hutchens made him earn it and wound up second, with Field in third, Weymouth fourth and Beaulieu in fifth. Bourgoine’s first victory comes after finishing right behind the drivers he was racing with tonight many times at Unity, as he had been so close to victory lane, making his first win just that much more special.

The points race is very tight with as the season is now in its closing stages and there are not many opportunities left to come out and see the best racing in New England with the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour. The next stop for the tour will be at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on Thursday, August 11th. Hutchens and Beaulieu are locked in a heated point’s battle for the Thursday Thunder championship and with five points separating them with two races left, it is set to go right down to the final lap to decide the champion. For more news, info and how you can get into the fun atmosphere of Legends racing, visit Nelcar.net.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Beech Ridge ~ 8/4/11

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

Jacob Dore Takes First Win of 2011 At The Ridge


With just three Thursday night races left to go, the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour was back at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway for round seven of Thursday Thunder. As the season is in its final stages, the racing on the track and the competition has never been better. With the first eight Beech Ridge races provided only two repeat winners, and many great finishes, tonight was set to be another great event. For just $4 to get in the stands, the fans were treated with yet another thrilling race.

The 13 of Connecticutt driver Carl Blandina was on the pole with the 70 of Tylar Braunschweig on his outside. At the start, Blandina got the lead. The action didn’t go long before the first yellow was flown on lap two for Braunschweig going for a spin in turn two, collecting the 1 of Aaron Lewis, and ending his night early.

On the next restart, Blandina was able to break away from the field but the 10 of Ed Getty was breathing down his neck in second spot. The front two got away while the 27 of Kevin Hutchens and the 05 of Jacob Dore were able to get up to the front and joined the fight for the lead while the 59 of Bob Weymouth, the 56 of Evan Beaulieu and the 30 of Ed Field worked their way from the rear as well right behind. With just a handful of laps to go, Getty was able to work his way under Blandina for the race lead, but his lead didn’t last long as Dore forced a hole on the final lap and got around Getty in turn three on the white flag lap. Dore beat Hutchens by inches at the finish to grab the Modified regular his first Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour win since his last full time season in 2007. Hutchens was second while Beaulieu snuck into third. Getty fell to fourth at the finish with Field rounding out the top five.

With his runner up finish, Hutchens gained just three points over Beaulieu in their tight points battle, leaving their gap at just five points with two races remaining. Terry Kirk sits just 53 points behind in third place, waiting for the top two to slip up. With just two races left, the racing action will only get better and with Hutchens and Beaulieu coming from the rear, you won’t want to miss next week. Tickets are just $4 and kids 12 and under get in for free, racing action starts at 7PM! For more news, info and how you can get into a Legends Car, visit Nelcar.net.