Full Grandstands, Great Racing On ‘Sunday’ At Beech Ridge

Column By: AMY HARROP / RPW – SCARBOROUGH, ME – After a washout on Saturday night, fans gathered at Beech Ridge on a warm Sunday night for the track’s Miller Lite American Celebration, a night focused on not just racing, but more importantly, America. The grandstands were full as the Wildcat division took to the track first for their first qualifying heat of the night, setting the stage for an intense night of competition.

Joe Morse and Dylan Varney lead the field to green, followed by Ryan Lund, Phil Chapman and Ray Letellier. Dylan Varney led the first lap, but Ryan Lund wasn’t far behind, racing hard for the top position. While Varney and Lund were battling it out at the front of pack, Lewis Anderson was climbing up through the field quickly, capturing the 4th position by lap 3. On lap 3, Anderson continued his march to the front, finding his way up to the runner-up spot after a 3-way battle with Lund and Letellier for position. By lap 7, Lewis Anderson had found his way to Dylan Varney’s door, hungry for the top spot. On the final lap, Travis Burrows and Ryan Lund made contact in turns 1&2. Phil Chapman had no time to veer out of harm’s way, making hard impact with Lund in turn 2. Anderson went on to secure the heat victory, but it took a while before the next heat race to begin due to the clean-up and safety crews doing work in turns 1&2. Once both the track and cars were clear, Lyman McKeage and Zach Nicholson lined up on the front row for the 2nd heat, followed by Dave Cameron, Zachary Bowie and Travis Lovejoy. Lyman McKeage maintained the lead through the first lap, but Dave Cameron, Zach NIcholson and Travis Lovejoy were close behind, battling it out for the runner-up spot. Travis won the battle for position, setting his eyes on the top spot. On lap 3, Lyman McKeage and the #2 of Adam Lovejoy made contact, causing Lyman McKeage to get up into Dave Brannon on the track in turn 4. This brought out the caution and left Lovejoy with some body damage on the right side of his car. Dave Cameron pulled away from the field at the restart, never looking back. He took home the heat win, followed by Travis Lovejoy, Zachary Bowie, Adam Lovejoy and Zach Nicholson.

Travis Buzzell started on the pole for the first Pro Series qualifying heat, followed by Evan Beaulieu, David Oliver, Brandon Barker and Dan Winter. Buzzell lead the first lap, but Beaulieu was at his door and Oliver was at his heels. Throughout the heat race, Evan Beaulieu, David Oliver and Dan McKeage put up a tough fight for the second position, with not one driver giving up an inch of space to the other. Buzzell took home the heat win. David Oliver edged out both Evan Beaulieu and Dan McKeage for the 2nd spot. Jacob Dore followed them, rounding out the top five. Corey Bubar and John Peters sat on the front row for the next qualifying heat, followed by Gary Smith, Mike Rowe and the #7 of Curtis Gerry, who was out for redemption after displaying dominance in last week’s Pro Series 125, only to have a part failure end his night early. Corey Bubar was quick to lead the first lap, but John Peters was at his heels. Peters eventually cleared Bubar for the top spot on lap 3 on turn 3, but Mike Rowe had fought his way up to second, searching for more. Rowe took the lead from Peters after clearing the #51 car in turn 4 on lap 9, running away with the heat victory. Rowe was followed by Curt Gerry, John Peters, Garrett Hall and Corey Bubar.

The #48 of Gary Modugno was back in action this week after failing to start the Sport Series feature last week due to a wreck in the qualifying heat. He started on the pole for this week’s qualifying heat, followed by Ryan Villacci, Richard Pelton, Ryan Phillips and Reggie Leeman. Ryan Villacci briefly pulled away from the field, but Modugno then propelled himself to the front of the field, stealing the top spot. Villacci momentarily fell back, getting passed by the #27 of Pelton before Pelton captured the top spot from Modugno on lap 3 in turn 4. Ryan Villacci wasn’t giving up, throwing himself into a 3-way battle for the runner-up spot with Reggie Leeman and Modugno on lap 4, capturing the spot in turns 1&2. Richard Pelton went on to win the heat, followed by Ryan Villacci, Reggie Leeman, Nick Campbelll and Phil Pinkham. Terry Merrill and Mike St. Pierre sat on the front row for the next heat, followed by Charlie Sanborn, Frank Wear and Clyde Hennessey. This heat also marked the emergence of the #21 of Taylor Pierce, who is the second female to compete the Sport Series division, joining the #77 of Sally Gherardi. Terry Merrill quickly pulled away with the lead, but Sally Gherardi was on the move further back in the pack. Gherardi found her way up to the 3rd spot on lap 10 after a turn 2 pass on Charlie Sanborn, but nobody was any match for the #12 of Merrill. Following Merrill were Clyde Hennessey, Sally Gherardi, Charlie Sanborn and Frank Wear.

The #81 of Lewis (“Dirty Lew”) Anderson led the field to green in the Wildcat feature, followed by Dylan Varney, Ray Letellier, Travis Burrows and Dan Bean. Lewis Anderson pulled away with the early lead, but the field was stacked up behind him. Ray Letellier broke free on lap 4, clearing Dan Bean for the runner-up spot in turn 4. Adam Lovejoy and Dylan Varney made contact at the Start/Finish line on lap 5, putting both cars into the wall. Adam Lovejoy showed frustration as he hopped out of his car after the wreck, assessing the damage on his #2 car. Much to the surprise of commentators Andy Austin and Rob Steele, Adam was able to drive his car back to the pits under his own power. He stunned everyone in the crowd as he joined the field for the restart with extensive front end damage, but he quickly pulled back onto the pits, ending his night. Lewis Anderson pulled away from the field once again at the restart, but Cameron was challenging him for the top spot. Cameron got bent out of shape in turn 4 on lap 7, falling back from the #81 car of Anderson. Cameron fought his way back to Lewis’ door, clearing him for the top spot in turn 1 on lap 14. Anderson was still at his heels, ready to strike at any minute. Zach Nicholson was also making moves, breaking the top 5 on lap 23 after starting 13th for the feature. He continued his quest for the front on lap 24 after passing the #24 of Ray Letellier for 4th place. Dave Cameron ran away with the feature win; his second of the season. He was followed by Zachary Bowie, Lewis Anderson, Zach Nicholson and Ray Letellier. This win (with the help of the Lovejoy brothers’ struggles) put Dave Cameron back on top in the Wildcat point standings. In Victory Lane, he thanked his family and friends, as all drivers do. “Me and Lewis haven’t exactly had a fun time racing each other this season, which isn’t any secret.” he said, speaking of his season rival Lewis Anderson. But, he praised Lewis for his clean racing throughout the night. This was also the first night of competition all season where neither Lovejoy brother was a major factor in the race, which was a surprise to many seeing how dominant the two brothers have been all season. With a handful of weeks left in the season, the Lovejoy brothers plenty of time to bounce back and continue their winning seasons.

The Pro Series drivers lined their cars up on the front stretch and climbed out of their cars for the “American Salute”, a Beech Ridge tradition. All drivers were introduced to the cheering crowd before hopping back into their cars for the 50-lap feature. Travis Buzzell led the field to green, followed by David Oliver, Evan Beaulieu, Dan McKeage and Jacob Dore. David Oliver led the first lap, but Travis Buzzell was right there at his door. Dan McKeage was also there, making it a 3-way battle for the top spot. McKeage came out on top, passing both drivers on lap 8 in turn 4 for the lead. Meanwhile, Reid Lanpher was charging through the field, finding his way up to the 8th position on lap 14 after passing Evan Beaulieu in turn 4. Curt Gerry was out for vengeance after last week’s finish, breaking into the top 4 on lap 17 after passing the #21 of David Oliver. By lap 21, Mike Rowe had found Dan McKeage’s bumper, hungry for the top spot. On lap 26, Curt Gerry joined the fight, making it another 3-way battle for first. Gary Smith went around in turn 2 on lap 29, drawing out the caution. Dan McKeage elected the outside line for the restart, but Mike Rowe captured the top spot with Curt Gerry at his heels. Gerry cleared Rowe for the lead on lap 35 in turn 1, eventually pulling away with the feature victory. He was followed by Reid Lanpher, Dan McKeage, Nick Cusack and Garrett Hall. This was the first career Pro Series victory for Curt Gerry, last year’s Pro Series champion. Consistency has been key with Gerry, which is the key factor that led to his championship last season. But, this week, he was able to get a leg up on the rest of the competition. “The car has been fast…the winning car every week. But, this week, all the pieces fit together.” he said in Victory Lane, also thanking his friends, family and crew for their support. After his troubles last week, this victory gave Curt Gerry all the momentum he needs to contend for another championship.

After the annual Beech Ridge fireworks presentation, the Sport Series took to the track for the final feature of the night. Richard Pelton and Ryan Villacci started on the front row, followed by Reggie Leeman, Nick Campbell and Gary Modugno. Pelton and Villacci were neck & neck coming out of lap 1, but Villacci eventually cleared Pelton for the lead in turn 3 on lap 3, pulling away from the field. By lap 12, Pelton had found his way to Villacci’s back bumper, challenging him for the top spot. Meanwhile, Sally Gherardi was making moves, finding her way into the top 5 by lap 15, later passing the #8 of Clyde Hennessey on lap 22 for the 4th spot. By lap 25, the top 5 drivers had broken away from the pack with all drivers duking it out for track position. Pelton had found his way to Villacci’s door again at lap 32, where the two drivers were door-to-door crossing the Start/Finish line. Charlie Sanborn and the #6 of Kyle Kramlich went around in turn 4 on lap 33, bringing out the caution. This made it a green-white-checkered, with Pelton electing the outside line for the restart. Trouble was brewing, though. Coming off of the restart, a slow-down in the front of the field started a pile-up, collecting a handful of competitors in the midst. Involved in the crash were Ryan Villacci, Mike St. Pierre, Charlie Sanborn and Clyde Hennessey, among others. Ryan Villacci was able to rejoin the field for the restart, as were St. Pierre and Clyde Hennessey. The same couldn’t be said for Charlie Sanborn, who suffered extensive body damage to his race car. Once again, Pelton elected the outside line for the restart, but Reggie Leeman was able to propel himself to the front. On the final lap, Nick Campbell went around in turn 2, but the caution didn’t come out. Reggie Leeman took home the victory, followed by Sally Gherardi, Richard Pelton, Frank Wear and Terry Merrill. In Victory Lane, Reggie Leeman thanked his friends and family, saying that he was unsure of whether or not he could hold off the competition, but he’s sure glad that he did.

After a stormy Saturday, Beech Ridge was still able to host an eventful and intense night of racing on Sunday. Drivers like Dave Cameron, Reggie Leeman and Curt Gerry prevailed, while other fan-favorites struggled during the the 6th week of competition. Next week, Beech Ridge will be hosting The PASS Series with the Pro All-Star Series 150, which will also feature a 35-lap Sport Series feature and a 30-lap Wildcat feature. Join us next then, July 8th, at 7:00 pm for more racing action!