reprinted from nelcar.net
photos by RPM Photography
Evan Beaulieu Out Runs The Rain For Speedway 95 Win!
On the pole for the first heat race would be the 81 of Dan Winter with point’s leader Matt Bourgoine on his outside. On the start, Bourgoine got out to the lead with the 2 of Ryan Hammar right behind while Winter settled into third. The heat race was going smoothly until with a few laps Winter got loose off turn four, but was able to make a great save and continue on and the green flag stayed out. At the finish, Bourgoine was able to get the win over Hammar with Alan Smith rounding out the top three at his home track.
For the second heat race it was the impressive rookie Matt Grant in the 84 car on the pole with the defending series’ champion Evan Beaulieu on the outside. On the start, Beaulieu used the preferred outside line to his advantage and got the lead out of turn two. With Bob Weymouth working his way into second, he was doing all he could to get around Beaulieu, but it wasn’t enough as Beaulieu took the heat win. Weymouth was second with Reid Lanpher in car 59 rounding out the podium.
For the feature event, it was the 33 of Alan Smith from nearby Lincoln, Maine on the pole with the Durham, Maine driver Beaulieu on his outside. As the green flag flew, the drivers drew even going into turn one, but Beaulieu worked the outside lane once again and got out to the lead, with Weymouth once again closely in tow. Hungry for a win, Weymouth was all over the back bumper of Beaulieu for the lead and made a few runs until the first caution came out just past the race’s halfway point. Wyatt Alexander, celebrating his 13th birthday at the track and even getting race against his grandfather and longtime racer Bob Alexander for the first time, went for a spin off turn four but was able to get the car stopped before hitting anything. After the field realigned, Beaulieu was able to use the lane choose rule on the restart and opted for the outside lane with Weymouth on the inside. As the field went green, Beaulieu jumped out to the lead but was closely followed by Bourgoine who followed through to grab second. As rain drops starting falling on the track with just a few laps to go, Bourgoine worked the bottom of the track underneath Beaulieu and the two drivers ran side by side for the final laps, but Beaulieu was not going to be denied as he took his fifth win of the season! Bourgoine ended up second with Weymouth in third. Ryan Hammar was fourth and Alan Smith rounded out the top five.
With just three point’s races remaining, Bourgoine holds just a slight margin over Beaulieu in the point’s standings, and the battle is certainly going to go down to the final race on the road course at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on October 6th. The Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour is set to hit the big stage in what many drivers call the biggest race of the season, the PASS 400. The 50 lap Legends race is schedule on Saturday, September 15th with racing beginning at noon. The series’ sponsor Amsoil Four Seasons Synthetic is putting up $500 in purse money on top of the $400 to win if the race can run “Green to Checkered.” It is always a very interesting race and always has some of the craziest finishes; you won’t want to miss it! For more info, news and how you can get into a Legends Car, visit Nelcar.net.
