reprinted from nelcar.net
Buffington Takes Sylvania 300 Pre Race Victory!
The Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour made a return to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Sylvania 300 Nascar Sprint Cup Series event. This race was huge not only because it had only the best of the best in New England in this invitational only event, but also because it marked a year since the first event for Legends Cars at “The Magic Mile.” Although the racing is much different than most drivers in the North East are used too, they have adapted well and put on a great show for the thousands who packed into the seats. Those fans were treated to a spectacular race as the drivers took to the quarter mile as the pre race for the Sylvania 300.
The 25 lap feature lineup was determined from practice speeds, and the 18 of Tom Gray took the top spot with his teammate Shawn Buffington in the 23 on the outside. On the start, the two drove side by side for the first few laps, with Buffington able to get the lead around the outside with Gray, the 38 of Matt Bourgoine and the 56 of Evan Beaulieu right behind. The drivers at the front were dicing it out for the race lead before Beaulieu went for a solo spin in turn three, bringing out the first and only caution of the race. During the caution period, Gray, running in second had to pull off with an oil leak, ending his hopes of winning early.
For the start with 14 laps remaining, Buffington got the jump on Bourgoine. While there was a mad dash for the second spot, Buffington was able to pull away just a bit over that battle between Bourgoine and the 79 of Max Zachem. As the final laps ran incident free, Buffington once again added to his dominance at NHMS, taking the win on Sylvania 300 weekend! Zachem was able to wrestle his way to second after starting deep in the field. Bourgoine ended up in third while the 59 of Reid Lanpher and the 20 of Taylor Martin rounded out the top five.
After post race inspection, Martin did not pass, handing the top five position to Beaulieu in the final rundown. While this race was not a NHMS or Nelcar points race, it was the final points race for the National Legends Points, which many drivers in the race were gunning for. The next race comes in just a week as the Tour will make it’s debut at Star Speedway on Saturday, October 1st. Racing starts at 6PM. For more info, news and how you can get into the fast and fun racing that Legends has to offer, visit Nelcar.net
