reprinted from nelcar.net
photos by Nichole, Hooligan Motorsports
Beaulieu and Buffington Take Wins at Star!
On the pole would be the 2 of Ryan Hammar with Mike Alton in the 99 on the outside. On the start, Hammar got out to the early lead, but the 59 of Reid Lanpher was right behind after starting third. The 22 car field was racing very hard behind the leaders and the first yellow of the race came out on lap eight as the 81 of Dan Winter and the 33 of Alan Smith made contact in turn one, sending Winter for a spin off the track. After the yellow flag, Hammar was able to resume in the race lead with the 20 of Taylor Martin working her way into second spot. Four laps from the last yellow would be the next, as the 98 of Dean Dezak slowed through turns three and four. The race would resume after the yellow flag and once again Hammar jumped out to the lead over the 20 of Taylor Martin and Lanpher. Lanpher would move his way through however, and take the race lead with ten laps remaining, but he had company as the 23 of Shawn Buffington was right behind in second. The two drivers swapped the lead until the final yellow came out with just three laps to go for the 15 of TJ Bleau going for a spin down the backstretch. The race resumed, and Buffington didn’t look back as he drove from the rear of the field and claimed the first feature win! Lanpher was second with Hammar in third. Bob Weymouth and Matt Grant rounded out the top five.
The two heat races for the second feature were won by Reid Lanpher and Ryan Hammar, and the field was set for the main event. As both the drivers who won the heats had to go to the rear after finishing in the top three in the first feature event, it would be Taylor Martin on the pole with Evan Beaulieu on the outside. On the start, the two competitors drove side by side for the first two laps, with Beaulieu coming out with the race lead. After a hard wreck just two nights before, Beaulieu was back for redemption and had a sizeable lead until the first yellow came out on lap 19 for the 49 of Pete Cannel going for a spin in turn three. When the race resumed, Beaulieu was able to clear Martin once again and regain the lead, as Martin and Matt Bourgoine fought for second. As the checkered flag waved, Evan Beaulieu would cross the line first and take the win! Bourgoine was second with Martin getting her first podium with Nelcar. Lanpher was fourth with Buffington rounding out the top five after coming from the rear of the field.
After 25 races, Bourgoine has a 17 point advantage over Beaulieu in the overall Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour standings, and it is set to be an interesting battle between the two as the season reaches it’s final stretch. The Tour will take a week off this week, but will be back in action on Saturday, September 1st at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on the quarter mile oval. For more news, info and how you can get into a Legends Car, visit Nelcar.net.
