Chris Case Rides Into Redemption Thursday Night At Beech Ridge

Story By: AMY HARROP / RPW – SCARBOROUGH, ME – With just three weeks left in the 2017 Thursday Night Thunder season, drivers from all 8 divisions came into Thursday night with one thing in mind: victory.

The Legends division kicked off the racing action with their 25-lap feature. Ed Getty and Tylar Braunschweig started on the front row, followed by Ryan Doucette, Ivan Kaffel and Annette Humphrey®. The #19 of Kevin Girard, who is a noticeable figure every week at the top of the leaderboard, was absent from this week’s competition. Braunschweig broke out into the early lead, but the #78 of Ivan Kaffel was at his heels by lap 2. Last week’s winner Trevor Sanborn started plowing through the field early, breaking the top 5 on lap 3 after starting last in the feature. The #78 of Kaffel cleared Braunschweig for the lead on lap 5 in turn 2, pulling away from the pack.

Meanwhile, the #29 of Charlie Buxton was also moving swiftly through the field, breaking the top 5 on lap 6. He ended up clearing Trevor Sanborn for P4 on lap 15 in turn 3. Sanborn had a brief hiccup, falling to the back of the pack. The #71 went around on lap 17 in turn 1, bringing out the first caution of the night. Charlie Buxton powered his way up to third on the restart as the #78 of Kaffel pulled away from the field once again. The #47 of Chris Burgess got into Kaffel’s bumper on lap 20 in turn 1, sending the leader for a spin and drawing out the second caution. The #47 of Burgess was sent to the back of the pack, moving Charlie Buxton into the top spot. Buxton pulled away with the lead on the restart, but the #77 of Ryan Doucette was right there, ready to strike. The #29 of Trevor Sanborn went around on lap 20 in turn 3, but the race remained under green. The race ended early under caution with the #29 of Buxton getting turned around at the start/finish line. Ryan Doucette managed to pull off the win, followed by Charlie Buxton, Parker Varney, Trevor Sanborn and Tylar Braunschweig.

The Mad Bombers Junior Varsity division were up next. The #87 of Steve Holbrook led the field to green, followed by Seth Leeman, Richard Bourgeois-Lang, Tim Gosch and Kaleb Bean. Steve Holbrook took off with the early lead, pulling away from the pack. The #03 of Bob Wilson began to make his way through the pack, fighting his way into the top 3 on lap 5. The #18 of Devon McConologue went into the #11 of Cam Jones on lap 6 in turn 2, bringing out the caution. The #18 was sent to the rear of the pack for the restart. The #20 of Danny Wear was steadily climbing through the field, powering his way into the runner-up spot on lap 7 in turn 3. By lap 8, he was knocking at Holbrook’s door, hungry for the top spot. He cleared the #87 on lap 11 in turn 3, pulling away with the lead. The #53 of Seth Leeman went hard into the dirt on lap 12 in turn 2, drawing out another caution. The race was moved up to lap 17 under caution to speed things along. The #20 of Danny Wear pulled away once again on the restart. Meanwhile, the #38 of Garrett Lamb made his way into the runner-up spot on lap 21. The #20 of Danny Wear went on to win the feature, scoring his second Mad Bombers JV victory of the season. He was followed by Garrett Lamb, Brandon Johnson, Wade Kennedy and Cam Jones.

John Curtis and Will Potter started on the front row for the Junior Varsity Mighty Trucks feature, followed by Tanner McDougal, Robert Ferguson and Nick Calvert. Curtis immediately shot to the lead, but the #22 of McDougal was all over his bumper by lap 2. Calvert pulled up to the battle on lap 3, fighting for the top spot. McDougal powered to the lead on lap 4 in turn 1, maintaining a slight edge over the rest of the leaders. Calvert soon found his way to McDougal’s outside on lap 5, challenging him for the top spot. The two drivers maintained side-by-side through lap 9, with McDougal maintaining his edge over the #33 of Calvert. Meanwhile, Danny Wear was pulling double duty, making his way up to P3 on lap 11 after winning the previous feature. Calvert found his way to McDougal’s outside once again on lap 12, eventually clearing him for the lead on lap 14 in turn 2. The #69 of Curtis went around on lap 17 in turn 2, bringing out the caution. Nick Calvert powered to the front on the restart, pulling away from the pack. Calvert went on to win his fourth race of the season, continuing his dominance in the Mighty Trucks JV division. McDougal, Wear, Kimball and Potter followed, rounding out the top five.

The #5 of Jim Emmons led the field to green in the 20-lap JV Beetle Bug feature, followed by Darryl Quinlan, Brandon Lizotte, Alex Parechanian and the #45 of Chris Case, who was penalized by 20 points after last week’s victory due to a post-race inspection infraction. Case was able to keep his victory, but his 20-point penalty cost him the points lead, dropping him down to third in the standings, 10 points behind Alex Parechanian with 3 weeks to go in competition. The #5 of Emmons was slow on the restart, falling to the back of the pack. The #14 of Brandon Lizotte took full advantage, powering to the lead. Meanwhile, the #45 of Chris Case was on the move, making his way into the runner-up spot on the first lap. Case made his way to Lizotte’s outside on lap 2, clearing him for the lead in turn 3. Case sped away from the rest of the back, holding a steady ½ straightaway lead over the rest of the pack by lap 6. A competition caution was brought out on lap 15 to bring the field back together once again. Chris Case proved strong, pulling away from the field once again on the restart. Meanwhile, the #21 of Alex Parechanian made his way around the #14 of Brandon Lizotte for the runner-up spot on lap 18 in turn 4. Chris Case went on to win the feature, scoring his fourth win of the Thursday Night Thunder season. This victory was Case’s ride to redemption, proving that he can still be strong after facing a rough blow to his championship contention last week. Alex Parechanian, Brandon Lizotte, Alex Dargi and Darryl Quinlan followed, rounding out the top five.

The ladies were up next with their 20-lap Ladies League feature. The #61 of Holly Gain started on the pole for the feature, followed by Mary Price, Sara Libby, Shelby Brannon and Kaitlynn Leavitt. Holly Gain ran away with the early lead while the #27 of Shelby Brannon quickly faded to the back of the pack. The #25 of Jenna Webster, a former Ladies League champion, went around on lap 1 in turn 1, bringing out the first caution of the feature. Holly Gain took off with the lead once again on the restart. Meanwhile, Kaitlynn Leavitt was quickly climbing through the field, finding her way into the third spot after the restart. The #15 of Lauren Cooper began to slow on lap 2 in turn 3, holding up the leaders. Holly Gain lost momentum, falling back to the third spot. Leavitt found herself at the front of the pack, but the #8 of Betty Nelson was right there, finding her way to Leavitt’s outside on lap 5. Nelson continued to push the issue, capturing the lead from Leavitt on lap 6 in turn 3. The #80 of Sara Libby went around on lap 10 on turn 4, but no caution was brought out. The two leaders (Nelson and Leavitt) had pulled away from the rest of the pack by lap 15, leading by nearly an entire straightaway. The competition caution was brought out after the completion of lap 15, bringing the field together once again. Betty Nelson pulled away with the lead once again, but Leavitt was at her heels. Meanwhile the #27 of Shelby Brannon showed strength, finding her way back into the top 3 on lap 16 after facing some issues at the beginning of the heat. Leavitt found her way to Nelson’s outside on lap 17, but Betty Nelson was able to hold her off for the victory. Shelby Brannon, Holly Gain and Mary Price followed, rounding out the top 5.

The #43 of Andre Gailloux and the #18 of Brian Picard started on the front row for the Mad Bombers Varsity feature, followed by Mark Pearson, Kirk Bean and Michael Dearden. The #18 of Brian Picard pulled into the early lead while the #70 of Kirk Bean was pushed to the outside, falling to the back of the pack. The #31 of Dale Alley went around on lap 2 in turn 4, drawing out the caution. The #32 of Kaitlynn Leavitt began to slow after the restart in turn 2, bringing her car to the pits. Brian Picard began to pull away from the rest of the field again, maintaining his lead. The #43 of Andre Gailloux went around on lap 3 in turn 2, but he was able to get going again, leaving no need for a caution to come out. Jason Gammon was making moves, finding his way into the third spot on lap 5. The #56 of Ed McConologue went around on lap 6 in turn 4, but no caution was brought out. By lap 10, a handful of competitors had pulled off and went to the pits, leaving just 16 cars left on the track. The leaders caught up to the tail end of the pack on lap 20, making the field completely spread out over the span of the race track. Brian Picard sailed into victory, picking up his first win of the season. Jason Gammon, Todd Libby, Chris Burgess and Archer Bernard followed, rounding out the top five.

The Mighty Trucks Varsity drivers were the next to take to the track, led by the #07 of Mark Grantham and the #5 of Matt Curtis. Brian Darling, Keith Petrin and Jeff Gillette followed. The points battle was tightening up, with Jeff Gillette coming into the night virtually tied with the #00 of Keith Petrin. Matt Curtis and Mark Grantham were neck & neck for the lead through lap 4, with Grantham eventually getting the edge over the #1. By lap 5, Keith Petrin was at Mark Grantham’s outside, battling for the top spot. Jeff Gillette joined this battle on lap 6, hungry for the top spot. He cleared Petrin for the runner-up spot, then making his way to Grantham’s outside on lap 8 for the lead. He eventually cleared Grantham for the top spot on lap 9 in turn 3, pulling away from the rest of the pack. A competition caution was brought out on lap 16, bringing the field together once again. Gillette pulled away on the restart, but Keith Petrin was on the move once again. Petrin cleared the #07 of Grantham for the runner-up spot on lap 16 in turn 2, setting his eyes on the #44 of Jeff Gillette. The #07 of Mark Grantham went around on lap 18 in turn 2, rolling over on his hood a couple of times before landing back on his wheels. The race was red flagged, ending under a red/checkered. Thankfully, Grantham was able to climb out of his truck and drive away after briefly speaking with Emergency Services. Gillette went on to win the feature, followed by Keith Petrin, Brian Darling, Troy Leach and Matt Curtis.

The Beetle Bug Varsity feature was the last of the evening, with Randy Pimpare and Gerard Cote leading the field to green. They were followed by Todd Hubbard, Craig Pyy and Dave Stone. The #14 of Randy Pimpare pulled into the early lead. Meanwhile, the #07 of Todd Hubbard briefly found his way into the runner-up spot before falling to the rear of the pack. The #28 of Dave Stone was on the move, making his way up to the second spot by lap 5. By lap 6, he was at Pimpare’s bumper, challenging him for the top spot. By lap 12, the two drivers had pulled away by a full straightaway, still battling it out for the top spot. Dave Stone pulled to Pimpare’s outside on lap 16, but Pimpare was able to hold him off. Randy Pimpare went on to score the victory, followed by Dave Stone, Craig Pyy, Gerard Cote and Todd Hubbard.

With just two weeks of Thursday Night Thunder competition left, things are bound to heat up in all eight divisions. Join us next week, August 10th, for some more Thursday Night Thunder racing action! Feature races always begin at 7:00 pm.