The Thursday Night Thunder Season Rolls On At Beech Ridge

Column By: AMY HARROP / RPW – SCARBOROUGH, ME – Thursday was a picture-perfect day for some racing action, with 80 degree temperatures and more than enough sunshine to go around. The increasing temperature outside was met with an increase in fans visiting Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, leaving the grandstands practically full for the action-packed, 8-division night at the speedway.

The Legends division took to the track first, led by the #47 of Chris Burgess. Following Burgess were Ed Getty, Ryan Doucette and Kevin Girard Jr. Chris Burgess immediately shot out to the lead, but Kevin Girard Jr. was coming to the front quick, fighting his way up from 4th position. By lap 5, Girard had made his way up to the runner-up position after passing the #67 in turn 1 on lap 5. Charlie Buxton, a former Sport Series competitor on Saturday nights, was quickly making his way through the field in the #29 machine, breaking the top 5 on lap 7. Although Girard was gaining and Buxton was making moves, Burgess continued his lead — lapping cars by lap 9. Buxton made a surprise dive for the pits on lap 10, taking away his chance for a top 5 finish. By lap 12, Trevor Sanborn, last week’s winner that started at the back of the pack, settled into third place. By lap 15, Girard was at Burgess’ back bumper, fighting for the top spot. On lap 18, Girard was held back by lap traffic, moving him further away from the leader. Girard continued fighting, pushing his #19 machine to the limits as he nearly went into the speedbumps on lap 24 in turn 1. He wasn’t able to catch up to Burgess, who took home the feature win. Following him were Girard, Sanborn, Doucette and the #67 of Zachary Godbout.

The Mad Bomber Junior Varsity division were up next with their 25 lap feature. Leading the field to green was Wade Kennedy, followed by Bob Wilson, Tim Gosch, Richard Bourgeois-Lang and John McConologue. Kennedy pulled away with the lead, but Seth Leeman was in hot pursuit, making his way up to the 2nd spot on lap 1. Lap 5 had its fair share of drama, with a big pile-up happening in turns 1&2, collecting a large handful of drivers. Notably involved in this incident were Jimmy Dean, Cam Jones, John McConologue and Devin McConologue, among others. After the caution, Wade Kennedy pulled away from the field once again. Last week’s winner Jimmy Dean was making moves, making a 3-wide pass in turn 4 on lap 8 for the 7th position. Garrett Lamb was also fighting his way up to the front, making his way around the #7 of Tim Gosch on lap 13 in turn 1 for the 2nd position. The #18 of Devin McConologue was caught up in another accident in turn 2 on lap 14 as his #18 machine spun around, drawing out another caution. Wade Kennedy continued his dominance, pulling away from the field for the third time in the feature at the restart. Garrett Lamb briefly fell back, but he was closing back in on Kennedy by lap 20. The #2 of Jamie Savoie hit the wall in turn 4 on lap 24, causing the feature to end under yellow. Kennedy took home the victory, followed by Garrett Lamb, Tim Gosch, Scott Eck and Brandon Johnson.

The Mighty Truck Junior Varsity division was up next, bringing their 7-man field onto the track. Will Potter lead the field, followed by Travis Gosselin, Robert Ferguson, Jared Kimball, John Curtis, Tanner McDougal and last week’s winner Nick Calvert. Will Potter immediately ran away with the top spot, but Kimball was hot on his heels for the top spot. Kimball took to the outside of Potter for the lead in turn 4 on lap 1, briefly pulling away from the field. Nick Calvert had his eyes on the prize, making his way up to 2nd in under 2 laps after starting dead last in the heat. He eventually captured the top spot on lap 4 — making his way from last to first in just under 5 laps. A competition caution was brought out on lap 10, bringing the field back together. Calvert continued his dominating performance, making a big jump on the restart. Further back in the field, Robert Ferguson and John Curtis were neck & neck fighting for position, nearly taking each other out on lap 11 in turn 4. The two battled it out until lap 13, where the 2 were intensely battling for position, causing Ferguson to spin out in turn 4, cutting down a tire. The caution flag didn’t come out and the field continued on to the finish. Calvert took home another victory, followed by Jared Kimball, Tanner McDougal, Will Potter, Robert Ferguson, Travis Gosselin and John Curtis.

The Beetle Bug Junior Varsity division was the next to hit the stage, led by the #1 of Derek Mckeen. Following him were Darryl Quinlan, Brandon Lizotte, Chris Case, Alex Parechanian and Jim Emmons. Mckeen pulled away with the lead, but Brandon Lizotte was closing in on his #1 machine. The #21 of Alex Parechanian went hard into the dirt in turn 2 on lap 8, but he was able to regain control and the caution flag didn’t wave. By lap 3, there was a 3-way battle for the top spot with Lizotte working the outside of Mckeen and Chris Case taking the inside. Case made his way up to the runner-up spot on lap 10 after an inside pass on Lizotte, but Brandon Lizotte was at his door again by lap 12. Case managed to pull away from Lizotte, keeping his eyes on the top spot. By lap 13, he had found the lead over Mckeen after making a gutsy outside pass on lap 13. While fighting for position on lap 14, both Mckeen and Lizotte went hard into the dirt in turns 3 & 4, allowing Case to pull away with his 2nd consecutive victory in just two weeks of competition. Following Case were Brandon Lizotte, Darryl Quinlan, Derek Mckeen and Alex Parechanian.

The ladies took to the track next for their heat, lead by the #15 of Lauren Cooper. Following Cooper were Mary Price, Kiyah Gammon, Sarah Libby, Holly Gain, Kaitlynn Leavitt, Shelby Brannon and Betty Nelson. Lauren Cooper maintained the lead, leading the first lap. Holly Gain and Shelby Brannon both went around in turn 2 on lap 1, collecting Betty Nelson in the midst. This drew out the first caution, bringing the field back together once again. By lap 2, Betty Nelson had found her way to the front after making a pass to the inside of Lauren Cooper, completing her voyage from last to first. Leavitt also made her way around Cooper for the runner-up spot, searching for more. She found her way to Betty Nelson’s back bumper, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Mary Price got into Lauren Cooper on lap 6 in turn 1, drawing out another caution. Kaitlynn Leavitt made her way to the inside of Betty Nelson for the lead on the restart, running away with the top spot. Kiyah Gammon went around on lap 9 in turn 2, but she was able to find her way back on track, leaving no need for another caution. Ladies’ League defending Champion Kaitlynn Leavitt took home the victory, followed by Betty Nelson, Shelby Brannon, Sarah Libby and Mary Price.

 

The large field of Mad Bombers Varsity cars were up next with their 25 lap feature. Leading the field to green was Mike Dearden, followed by Mark Pearson, Steve Taylor, Kirk Bean and Kaitlynn Leavitt, who was pulling double duty with Betty Nelson. Mark Pearson took the temporary top spot from Mike Dearden, briefly pulling away from the field. Betty Nelson went around on lap 2 in turn 2, but no caution flag was waved. Jason Gammon was also making moves, finding his way up to third place on lap 5 after a 3-wide pass for position. Pearson was lapping the field by lap 16, keeping a steady lead over the remainder of the pack. Betty Nelson was the source for more on-track drama on lap 18, getting into the #2 of Tom Lovejoy in turn 4. In the wake of the accident, Betty Nelson was black flagged and sent off track. After the restart, Pearson kept his control over the field, but Chris Burgess was at his heels. Pearson nearly went around in turn 1 of lap 23, but he managed to save his car, eventually running away with the heat victory. Following him were Chris Burgess, Jason Gammon, John Wolfe and Archer Bernard.

The Varsity Truck Division feature was next, with Brad Weismann leading the field to green. Following him were Jeff Gillette, Matt Curtis, Brian Darling, Mark Grantham, Keith Petrin and Kris Knox. Jeff Gillette took control of the lead early, but Brian Darling was making his pursuit to the front. Darling found his way up to 2nd after a pass to the outside of Weismann in turn 1 of lap 3. Last week’s victor Keith Petrin was also making moves, finding his way up to third place after a 3-wide pass on Weismann and Matt Curtis on lap 3 in turn 3. The field then spread out, leading to a competitive caution on lap 10 to bunch the field back together. While battling for position after the restart, Darling slid up the track, pushing him back to the fourth spot. This brought Keith Petrin up to the runner-up position, but he wasn’t able to catch up to Jeff Gillette. Gillette, the reigning Mighty Truck Varsity champion, took home the victory, followed by Petrin, Darling and Curtis.

The Varsity Beetle Bug division took to the track last for their 10-lap shootout. Leading the field to green was Todd Hubbard, followed by Gerard Cote, Dave Moreau, Noah Jalbert and Calvin Knoll. This was Jalbert’s first start in the Varsity Beetle Bug Division, making his way up from the JV division. Jalbert, a 3-year champion in the JV division, missed the first week of competition — making it hard for him to contend for the championship in such a small division. Todd Hubbard pulled away with the early lead, but, by lap 2, the #51 of Moreau was challenging him for the lead. Moreau found his way to the inside of Hubbard on lap 5 in turn 3, never looking back. He ran away with the victory, followed by Hubbard, Gerard Cote, Calvin Knoll and Noah Jalbert.

The stands were full and the excitement was high on this warm Thursday night full of racing. There are still 8 weeks remaining of Thursday Night Thunder competition, making for even more excitement on the horizon. Join us next Thursday, June 29th, for some more racing action at 7:00 pm. Adult admission is only $7 and kids 12 and under are free!