NHMS ~ 7/7/12

The #8 was running solid in the Top Ten for much of the race, until a faulty radio lead to the driver not hearing a request to move up one spot on a late race restart.  Instead of asking the car in front to drop back a spot or leaving the line up as is, the #8 suffered a severe penalty of being sent to the back of the pack.  We were then literally run into by another car in the back, resulting in a bent up rear bumper and a disappointing 16th place finish.

reprinted from nelcar.net
photos by RPM Photography

Buffington Shakes Off Strong Field To Win At NHMS

The Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour traveled back to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this past weekend for the fifth race of the Moat Mountain Legends Series, this time on the tight quarter mile oval. The track is one of the most difficult for all the drivers, as it is a much different discipline than any of the other tracks, with high speeds and hard braking through the sharp corners, these races always bring out the best, or the worst of the competitors. With a strong field of 24 Legends drivers, the season’s halfway point was set at NHMS.

As always at NHMS, practice times would set the field for the feature event. On the pole was the 18 of Tom Gray with the 23 of Shawn Buffington starting alongside him on the front row. On the start, Gray was able to get out to the lead over Buffington, with the 56 of Evan Beaulieu and 59 of Reid Lanpher right behind. On lap two, the car driven by Jim Karatsonas quit on him down the backstretch, bringing out the races first yellow flag. On the resulting restart, Buffington was able to work his way by Gray into the race lead, while Lanpher made a run into second with Beaulieu in third. Those four drivers were racing hard at the front of the field for a stretch of green flag racing before an incident with the 81 of Dan Winter and the 60 of Joey Parker off of turn four would slow the field down for the second time of the race with just eight laps to go. On the next restart, Buffington once again got out to the lead, while Beaulieu and Gray followed through behind him with Lanpher stuck in the outside line. After a few laps, the 11 of Steve Miller and Lanpher, both having great runs, made contact and both were sent spinning, bringing out another yellow flag. On the resulting restart, it was Buffington and Beaulieu on the front row. Buffington was able to get away and take home the victory, his third of the season at NHMS. Nick Lascoula was able to drive from the rear of the field to finish second, with Tom Gray finishing third. Beaulieu ended up fourth while Taylor Martin had a solid run, rounding out the top five.

An issue in post race technical inspection led to a disqualification for Lascoula, moving everyone behind him up the order. After the fifth race of the Moat Mountain Legends Series at NHMS, Shawn Buffington’s win was able to help him increase his points lead over Beaulieu by ten points. While it doesn’t sound like much, both Buffington and Beaulieu have been running at the front all season long, and as competitive as it’s been it is difficult to make up much ground in the points’ standings, and if either has a bad race, Tom Gray, Matt Bourgoine and Bob Weymouth are sitting right behind. Next weekend, the Moat Mountain Legends Series will continue at NHMS, with one of the biggest races for the Tour of the season, the Nascar Sprint Cup Invitational. The event will be held at 10 AM before the start of the Lenox 301 Nascar Sprint Cup Series race. With thousands of fans packing the Magic Mile for the Nascar event, the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour will be able to put on a show in front of one of the best audiences you could ask for. For more news, info and how you could get into a Legends Car, visit Nelcar.net.