Sanborn Speeds To Second Sport Series Victory Of ’17 At Beech Ridge

Column By: AMY HARROP / RPW – SCARBOROUGH, ME – Drivers were eager to get back into their cars on Saturday at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway for another action-packed night of racing. It was another humid summer night in Maine, but the weather wasn’t the only thing heating up.

With the points battles heating up in all 3 divisions, drivers were putting everything on the line on the race track, racing hard for every position possible. The Wildcats division took to the track first, kicking off the racing action.

Joe Morse and Phil Chapman started on the front row for the first qualifying heat, followed by Dylan Varney, Ryan Lund and Travis Burrows. Morse shot out into the early lead, but the #37 of Phil Chapman was at his door. Chapman lead lap 3 in a side-by-side battle with Morse. The #23 of Morse checked up, falling back through the field on lap 7 in turn 2. Meanwhile, Zach Nicholson was charging through the field, securing the runner-up spot on lap 10 in turn 4 after clearing the #33 of Travis Burrows. By lap 11, Nicholson was at Chapman’s door, challenging for the top spot. The two drivers pulled off a picture-worthy finish, coming into the S/F line door-to-door. Chapman edged out Nicholson for the heat victory. They were followed by Travis Burrows, Ray Letellier and Dylan Varney. The #19 of Travis Lovejoy started on the pole for the second qualifying heat, followed by Lewis Anderson, Adam Lovejoy and Dave Cameron. Travis Lovejoy pulled away with the early lead, leading the first lap. By lap 2, his brother Adam was all over his back bumper, fighting hard for position. Meanwhile, last week’s winner Chaz Briggs was climbing through the field, passing Lewis Anderson on lap 7 in turn 2 for the fourth position. Travis was able to hold off his big brother Adam for the heat victory. They were followed by Dave Cameron and Chaz Briggs.

Ryan Villacci and Matt Dow started on the front row for the first Sport Series heat, followed by Phil Pinkham, Ryan Phillips, Frank Wear and Charlie Sanborn. Matt Dow and Ryan Villacci were door-to-door coming off of the first laps, with Matt Dow breaking out into a small lead on the second lap, clearing Villacci in turn 3. Alex Lacognata, Frank Wear and Phil Pinkham went 3-wide on lap 7 battling for position. The #6 of Kyle Kramlich joined the battle, but both he and Lacognata lost out when they went around in turns 3 and 4. This was a tough break for Lacognata, who had just climbed up to the fourth spot before the caution. Matt Dow cleared Villacci on the restart, pulling away in turn 4. Villacci began to fade on lap 10, with Frank Wear and Charlie Sanborn clearing him on the final lap to capture P2 and P3. Matt Dow went on to win the feature, followed by Frank Wear, Charlie Sanborn, Ryan Villacci and Ryan Phillips. Reggie Leeman and Chad Munro led the field to green in the second qualifying heat, followed by Mike St. Pierre, Richard Pelton, Clyde Hennessey and Sally Gherardi. After the initial start was waved off by race control, the second restart was also called off. When the field got going on the next restart, Reggie Leeman immediately pulled into the lead. But, Mike St. Pierre was making moves behind him, moving into the runner-up spot on lap 2. By lap 3, he was at Leeman’s bumper, challenging for the top spot. There was trouble on lap 5 when the #85 of Michael Harrison has a single-car spin in turn 4, drawing out the caution. Leeman and St. Pierre were door-to-door coming off of the restart. But, St. Pierre managed to get the edge, clearing Leeman for the top spot on lap 8 in turn 3. Richard Pelton was also making his way through the field, capturing the runner-up spot on lap 10. St. Pierre went on to win the heat, followed by Richard Pelton, Clyde Hennessey, Reggie Leeman and Terry Merrill.

Travis Buzzell and Evan Beaulieu started on the front row for the first Pro Series qualifying heat. They were followed by Dan Winter, Brandon Barker and David Oliver. Buzzell got loose on lap 1 in turn 1, powering the #56 of Evan Beaulieu to the lead. After nearly going around in turn 2, Brandon Barker saved himself and charged toward the lead, capturing the top spot from Beaulieu in turn 3. It was smooth sailing for Barker from there, who went on to win the first qualifying heat. He was followed by Travis Buzzell, Evan Beaulieu, Nick Cusack and Dan Winter. Gary Smith and Garrett Hall led the field to green in the second qualifying heat, followed by Mike Rowe, Curt Gerry and Reid Lanpher. Garrett Hall was side-by-side with Gary Smith coming off of lap 1, with Hall leading the first lap. Soon after, Smith captured the lead once again, powering into the top spot on lap 2. Curt Gerry was charging through the field, clearing Mike Rowe for the third spot on lap 8 in turn 3. Reid Lanpher followed suit, passing Rowe in turn 3 on lap 11 for P4. Gary Smith ran away with the heat victory, followed by Garrett Hall, Curt Gerry, Reid Lanpher and Mike Rowe.

The points battles were heating up in all 3 divisions, with Dave Cameron coming into the night with just an 8 point lead, looking to gather more points in the feature. Phil Chapman and Zach Nicholson started on the front row for the feature, followed by Travis Burrows, Ray Letellier and Dylan Varney. Nicholson fought to the front early, clearing Phil Chapman in turn 3 for the lead. Travis Lovejoy began to make his voyage to the front, moving up to P4 after clearing Travis Burrows on lap 3 in turn 2. By lap 6, Zach Nicholson was leading by nearly ½ of a straightaway, pulling away from the rest of the field. Travis Burrows went around on lap 6 in turn 4, drawing out the caution. The first restart was waved off by race control, but Travis Lovejoy got a good jump on the second restart, pulling away from Zach Nicholson. Dave Cameron followed suit, passing Nicholson for the runner-up spot on lap 8 in turn 3. Adam Lovejoy and Zach Nicholson were side-by-side on lap 16, battling for P3. The two drivers joined Dave Cameron for the battle for P2 on lap 18, going 3-wide for the position. Dave Cameron went around in turn 2 while Nicholson and Lovejoy managed to save their cars from going around. The caution was out once again, with Travis Lovejoy and Zach Nicholson back on the front row for the restart. Travis got a great jump on the restart, pulling away from the field once again. Meanwhile, Adam Lovejoy powered past Nicholson on the restart, moving into the runner-up spot behind his younger brother. Dylan Varney went around in turn 4 on lap 22, drawing out another caution. The initial restart was waved off once again, with Travis Lovejoy going up the track on lap 23, causing the cars behind him to check up. The #4 and the #21 of Zach Nicholson went hard into the turn 4 wall on lap 23, with Zach Nicholson needing help from Emergency Services getting out of his car. This was a scary moment for his family, fellow competitors and fans, but he was released later Saturday evening with a minor foot injury. Adam Lovejoy powered to the front on the restart while his brother Travis had to restart from the back of the pack. The #33 of Burrows went around once again on lap 25 in turn 2, bringing out the caution. Lovejoy held off the field once again on the restart, but Dave Cameron was climbing through the field, finding his way into the runner-up spot on lap 28. Travis Lovejoy went on to win the feature, followed by Dave Cameron, Ryan Lund, Lewis Anderson and Chaz Briggs.

Matt Dow and Frank Wear led the field to green in the Sport Series feature, followed by Charlie Sanborn, Ryan Villacci and Ryan Phillips. Dow pulled away with the early lead over Frank Wear, but Charlie Sanborn was making moves behind them. The #1 quickly powered into the runner-up spot, later making his way to the inside of Dow for the lead on lap 2 in turn 3. By lap 8, Sanborn was leading by over ½ a straightaway, dominating the rest of the field. By lap 16, that lead had become nearly a full straightaway. The #27 of Richard Pelton was also on a mission, navigating his way through the field quickly. He cleared Matt Dow for the second spot on lap 20 in turn 1, setting his eyes on the #1 of Sanborn. Curtis Gleason went around on lap 23 in turn 4, drawing out the first caution of the feature. After the initial restart was called off, Sanborn pulled away from the field once again, setting his eyes on the finish line. He took home the feature victory, followed by Richard Pelton, Matt Dow, Terry Merrill and Ryan Phillips. This victory was Sanborn’s second of the season and a follow-up to his win in week 2. Sanborn, who has never had a 2-victory season in the Sport Series, gave thanks to his hardworking crew, family and sponsors that support him every week, driving him to his most successful Sport Series season to date.

Brandon Barker and Travis Buzzell started on the front row for the final feature of the night. They were followed by Evan Beaulieu, Nick Cusack and Dan Winter. Barker immediately pulled away with the early lead. Defending Pro Series champion Curt Gerry went around in turn 4, drawing out the early caution. Barker pulled away from the field on the restart once again, setting his sights on the empty racetrack in front of him. Mike Rowe, Reid Lanpher, Garrett Hall and Curt Gerry all got into a scuffle on lap 1 in turn 2, leading to an incident that banged up all of the major points leaders. Hall took the worst hit of all, going hard into the wall in turn 2. Brandon Barker pulled ahead on the restart once again, but Nick Cusack was slowly climbing to the top of the leaderboard. Cusack cleared Beaulieu for the runner-up spot on lap 10 in turn 2, setting his eyes on the #88 of Barker. After being involved in the previous caution, Reid Lanpher was navigating through the field, making his way back up to P7 on lap 15. By lap 20, Nick Cusack was at Brandon Barker’s back bumper, challenging him for the top spot. After two previous incidents on the racetrack, Curtis Gerry found his stride, making his way up to P3 on lap 30. By lap 31, he was at Cusack’s back bumper. He captured the runner-up spot later that lap and made way to Barker’s back bumper, hungry for the top spot. He cleared Barker for the spot on lap 33 in turn 2. An emergency caution was brought out on lap 36, with the ambulance having to pull off into the pits. Gerry pulled ahead at the restart, powering himself to the victory. Following Gerry were Reid Lanpher and Brandon Barker, who were door-to-door coming into the checkered. Nick Cusack and Corey Bubar followed, rounding out the top five.

Saturday night at Beech Ridge was full of both triumphs and troubles for some of the biggest names at the track. Drivers like Curt Gerry, Charlie Sanborn and Adam Lovejoy continued to excel, while drivers like Garrett Hall and Zach Nicholson got caught up in the wreckage. The points battles continue to heat up in every division with the season winding down. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out over the coming weeks of competition.

We wish Zach Nicholson the best of luck in recuperating from his wreck. We hope to see you back really soon, better than ever.

Join us next Saturday, July 29, for some more racing at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway! Racing action always begins at 7:00 pm.