Friday, October 26, 2012

Oxford Plains ~ 10/20/12

We closed out the 2012 season with a pair of Top Ten finishes in a double header weekend of racing action in Maine.  The first half of the weekend was spent fighting the rain at Oxford Plains, where the #8 came home in 10th.  With the rain gone, the second half of the weekend proved to be perfect racing weather for a no-points, for fun only, race at Wiscasset Speedway where the #8 came home in 9th.

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reprinted from nelcar.net
photos by RPM Photography

Buffington Charges To Win, Bourgoine Crowned Champion at Oxford Plains
 
After mother nature postponed the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour finale twice already, the Tour was ready to finally finish off their 2012 season at Oxford Plains Speedway. The Tour was alongside the Pro All Stars Series as they had their finale as well. The title race was down between two of the best, the 38 of Matt Bourgoine has had a solid season all year and proved his potential from last season. The defending champion Evan Beaulieu sat 17 points behind after making a late season surge as of late, it was going to get interesting for the title. The stands were packed and the Legends Cars took to the track for the final race of the 2012 season.

The first heat race rolled out on to the track with the 12 of Charlie Buxton on the pole with the 4 of Peter Craig on his outside. Buxton jumped out to the lead with the 399 of Bob Weymouth working his way into second. Buxton lead overWeymouthand Buffington as they fought for the win. With just a few laps to go,Weymouthworked his way by Buxton for the lead and was able to get the heat win. Buxton was second with Buffington in third.

The second heat race took to the track with the 38 of points leader Matt Bourgoine on the pole with the 33 of Alan Smith on the outside. On the start, Bourgoine jumped out to the early lead as Terry Kirk drove into second place. Evan Beaulieu was able to get by Kirk with a few laps remaining and made a run to get Bourgoine, but it wasn’t enough as Bourgoine took the heat win with Beaulieu second. Kirk rounded out to the three.

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For the 35 lap feature event, it was longtime Legends competitors Buxton and Kirk sharing the front row. On the start, Buxton was able to jump out to the race lead with Ryan Hammar in the 2 driving into the second spot. Coming from the rear of the field was Buffington, as he worked the hard outside on his way through the field with Beaulieu right behind him. The first yellow came out on lap twelve as Matt Bourgoine and the 10 of Ed Getty made contact, sending Getty for a spin. He was able to refire his yellow machine and continue on. The race went back green with Buxton up front, but it wasn’t long before Buffington showed his strength and took the lead away. The top three drivers, Buffington, Buxton and Hammar ran away with the lead with Kirk in fourth. With a lot of positions up for grabs behind him, it was all Buffington up front, as he took the win in Nelcar’s return to Oxford Plains! Ryan Hammar was second with Charlie Buxton rounding out the podium. Terry Kirk finished fourth and Alan Smith rounded out the top five.

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With his seventh place finish, Matt Bourgoine was officially crowned as the 2012 Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour champion. It was a great season for Bourgoine as he ran a consistent season with four wins and took home the championship in what was one of the most grueling seasons the Tour has ever had. For the points chasers, there will be $13,500 in the points fund, one of the biggest in all of Legends Car racing. After 30 races, the points separation between the top two was just 17 points, showing once again just how competitive this Tour is. We would like to thank all of our competitors, the teams and most importantly the fans for a great 2012 season, and we are all looking forward to 2013! Be sure to stay updated during the off-season on our website, Nelcar.net, or by finding us on Facebook or Twitter.