Monday, April 30, 2012

NHMS ~ 4/28/12

The Hooligan Motorsports #8 took home our first Top Ten on a road course at the 2012 NHMS opening race with a solid 8th place finish!  Congratulations to the #56 for their win!

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Beaulieu Crosses One Off The Bucket List, Wins at NHMS

Evan Beaulieu has been going to New Hampshire Motor Speedway since he was a young kid, watching his heroes run on “The Magic Mile” and hoping that one day he would be able to take a checkered flag. After going winless at NHMS last season, Beaulieu opened up this year’s NHMS season with a big victory. Not only was this race the first of the season for the Moat Mountain NHMS series, but it was also a road course Regional Qualifier for the Nationals later this year. With each spot meaning so much to each driver, it was yet another great race on the 1.6 mile road course.

Leading the 22 car field to the green flag would be Tom Gray in car 18, ahead of Beaulieu by just one thousandths of a second in qualifying. The dominator at New Hampshire, Shaun Buffington, qualified third with Mike Alton in car 99 in fourth. At the green flag, it was Gray with a push from teammate Buffington. Gray would lead the first lap with Beaulieu and Buffington right on his tail. In turn three on lap two, Beaulieu made a move and took the lead. From that point on, it was the Beaulieu and Buffington show at the front. The two fierce competitors were in a dog fight for the rest of the race as neither would give an inch, but they showed each other a lot of respect throughout the road course. The first incident of the race was on lap six, when Tylar Braunschweig broke a rear end coming out of turn ten, but he was out of the racing groove and the race stayed green.

There were many battles across the track behind the great race for the lead, as there were at least three groups of drivers racing hard for position. With just a few laps to go, one of those battles got a bit too tight, as the 49 of Pete Cannel and the 17 of Terry Kirk made contact on the front straightaway, sending Kirk into a 360 degree turn, as the veteran kept his foot in the gas and saved the car from wrecking into the wall, and Kirk continued on.

As Beaulieu had the lead coming to the white flag, the 15 of TJ Bleau in his first Legends start, spun in turn one and that incident laid cones across the track. As the two leaders drove as deep as they could into the first corner, they had to give each other a lot of room to maneuver around the cones. Buffington would grab the lead out of turn three, but Beaulieu made a quick move to get back around, and he didn’t let up as he took the victory over Buffington. Gray would finish third, Alton was fourth and Reid Lanpher rounded out the top five.

With the win, Beaulieu leads the Moat Mountain NHMS Series after one race by three points over Buffington. Lanpher now leads the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour points, by five points over Matt Bourgoine, who finished ninth at NHMS. Due to his age however, Lanpher will not be able to compete in the next race at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. The race will be Saturday, May 5th as part of the Pro All Star Series race. The Tour will then head south to Seekonk,Massachusetts for the fourth race of the grueling season. For more info, news and how you can get into a Legends Car, visit Nelcar.net.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Legends Test the New Kart Track at NHMS

Upon the conclusion of the NELCAR Legends Oval and Road Course practice at NHMS on April 7, a few drivers were asked to test the Legends cars on the track's brand new kart oval...



Monday, April 23, 2012

Unity Raceway Photos ~ 4/21/12

The NELCAR 2012 season kicked off at Unity Raceway on Saturday, April 21st. Special thanks to Chris at RPM Photography for these shots...

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Unity Raceway ~ 4/21/12

reprinted from nelcar.net

Right Where He Left Off – Bourgoine Wins at Unity

The Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour 2012 season kicked off right where it left off at Unity Raceway. After ending last season on a hot streak, Matt Bourgoine picked up right where he left off in 2011 by opening up the season with a big win at “Maine’s Toughest Track.” While the forecast showed rain, the sun came out, and the Legends Cars hit the track for the first time of 2012.

For the first heat race it was former Nelcar Champion Steve Fox on the pole with Bourgoine on the outside. Bourgoine was able to use the outside fast line to his advantage and get the lead early as Fox settled into second. Coming from the rear was the 27 green machine of Kevin Hutchens, as he was making moves and trying to close in on Bourgoine. At the finish though, Bourgoine drove on with the heat win while Hutchens and Fox rounded out the top three.

The second heat race two of the Tour’s new young talents, Dan Winter in the 81 and Reid Lanpher in the 59 on the front row. Once again the outside proved strong, as Lanpher was able to get out with the race lead. Alan Smith in car 33 was able to fight his way into second with Ed Getty in the 10 car following into third. That’s the way it would finish as Lanpher picked up with first ever Legends heat win.

The start of the race saw the two heat winners, Bourgoine and Lanpher leading the 16 car Legends field to the green flag. Going into turn one, Bourgoine was able to clear Lanpher for the race lead while Hutchens and Smith followed. On lap three, the 12 car of Tour veteran Charlie Buxton had a steering column issue and stopped in turn one, bringing out the race’s lone yellow flag.

A new rule over the offseason is the leader of the race is able to choose whether they restart on the inside or outside, and Bourgoine was the first driver to take advantage of that as he jumped to the outside on the start. Hutchens made a charge for second on Lanpher as the two battled hard. Behind the leaders there was a great race going on for fourth between five drivers with Smith leading that battle. As the field kept driving hard, Bourgoine widened his gap, and picked up the win. Lanpher got his career best finish in second, while Hutchens rounded out the podium. Alan Smith was able to barely beat at a hard charging Bob Weymouth at the line for fourth.

Yet another season has begun and you can bet Bourgoine will be a threat throughout the season. Defending champion Evan Beaulieu started off the season with a sixth place finish and you can be assured those two will be having a great battle for the title while Bob Weymouth will be quick to point out, it’s an even year and each of his previous four championships have come in even years. Either way it will be a great 2012 season and it will continue next weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as the Tour will be going left and right on the 1.6 mile road course on Saturday, April 28th. For more news, info and how you can get into Legends Car racing, visit Nelcar.net.

NHMS Practice Day

Special Thanks to Chris at RPM Photography for these great shots from NHMS Practice Day!

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Get Your Hooligan Gear

Are you ready for racing season? Order your Hooligan Motorsports gear now! Choose from several styles of t-shirts, polo shirts and hoodies, including adult, womens, teens, toddler and baby sizes! We also have water bottles, coffee mugs, beer glasses, hats, totes/bags, jewelry, e-reader cases, stickers, key rings, pet items, flip flops and more! Check out our Cafe Press shop...


Make Custom Gifts at CafePress

Monday, April 16, 2012

Welcome Maine Hockey Media!

Hooligan Motorsports is pleased to welcome Maine Hockey Media to our family of sponsors!

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Maine Hockey Media is your source of information for Maine college hockey teams, the Portland Pirates and more!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Ready for 2012!

Racing season is just about here...
The NELCAR touring series kicks off the 2012 schedule in two weeks at Unity Raceway on Saturday, April 21st!  But before we head North to Unity, we'll be spending this weekend practicing at NHMS!  It's been a long off season and we can't wait to get the #8 back on the track!  Here's a little of the work we've been doing in preparation for 2012....

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Friday, April 6, 2012

NHMS FANtasy Drive - Saturday!

The Hooligan Motorsports #8 will be on display at the NHMS FANtasy Drive Open House on Saturday, April 7th from 9:00am - 4:00pm!  The event is FREE for everyone, so stop by and see us, as well as other NELCAR teams!


The FANtasy Drive Open House returns for its third year at "The Magic Mile" to kick off the 2012 season at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. As has become customary, the event takes place the day before Easter and serves as a grand welcoming back for fans to NHMS. The Open House is free to the public and offers unparalleled, all-access to the facility.  Visit NHMS.com to learn more!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Wretched Motorsports Modern Mopar Track Day

Check out this video of our sponsor Wretched Motorsports testing from Modern Mopar Track Day 3-30-12 NJMP running Thunderbolt. The Wretched Motorsports group had 2 GTO's and a Charger SRT8 there.



Wretched Motorsports offers complete suspension solutions for the 2010+ Camaro, 2008+ Challenger, 2005+ 300/Charger/Magnum, 2004-2006 GTO, 2008-09 G8, 2005+ Mustang and many more. Wretched Motorsports is not just suspension, they also offer products from a large number of companies and suppliers with names like Richard Petty Motorsports and Lingenfelter to name a few. Check out their website and if you don't see what you want, send them an email at info@wretchedms.com