Lanpher, Sanborn & Lovejoy Continue Dominance At Beech Ridge

Column By: AMY HARROP / RPW – SCARBOROUGH, ME – Coming into the week with just two weeks left in the 2017 Beech Ridge NASCAR Nite season, drivers from all 3 divisions were completely focused on Saturday night.

With the 44th annual Oxford 250 happening on Sunday, drivers like Curt Gerry, Reid Lanpher, Corey Bubar and Mike Rowe were all pulling double duty. With Saturday night came the season’s final “Autograph Night”, which gives all fans the opportunity to meet & greet every single driver after the racing action is over.

The Pro Series were first in the schedule on Saturday night, likely due to the fact that a handful of drivers had to load up and head to Oxford Plains Speedway to be ready for Sunday’s full day of competition. Travis Buzzell and Evan Beaulieu started on the front row for the first qualifying heat, followed by David Oliver, Dan McKeage and Brandon Barker. Dalton Gagnon started in the #58 car opposed to his usual #11, utilizing Reid Lanpher Racing’s backup car. The leaders were neck & neck through lap 1. This battle continued through lap 3, when Buzzell pulled into a small lead over the #56 of Beaulieu. By lap 5, David Oliver was at Travis Buzzell’s outside, challenging him for the top spot. Meanwhile, Nick Cusack was on a roll, fighting his way up to the fourth spot on lap 8. Oliver finally cleared Buzzell for the lead on lap 11 in turn 2, pulling away with the victory. Travis Buzzell, Brandon Barker, Nick Cusack and Jacob Dore followed, rounding out the top five. Gary Smith started on the pole for the final Pro Series qualifying heat. John Peters started beside him on the front row, making his return to Beech Ridge in a brand new #51 car after they were forced to go to a new car following a vicious wreck in Wiscasset four weeks ago. Corey Bubar, Mike Rowe and Curt Gerry followed, rounding out the top five. Gary Smith pulled out into the lead early, leading the first lap. Curt Gerry was on the move early, making his way to Bubar’s inside on lap 6 for P3. He cleared Bubar on lap 7 in turn 4, setting his sights on Gary Smith and John Peters at the front of the pack. Peters showcased the strength in his new car, making his way to Smith’s back bumper on lap 9. Gary Smith was able to hold off John Peters for the heat win. Curt Gerry, Reid Lanpher and Mike Rowe followed, completing the top five.

Ryan Phillips and Ryan Villacci led the field to green in the first Sport Series qualifying heat. Mike St. Pierre, Frank Wear, Charlie Sanborn and Bob Bodwell followed. Ryan Villacci immediately shot into the lead, leading the first lap of competition. Frank Wear was on a mission, climbing into the runner-up spot on lap 2. Charlie Sanborn made his way around Bodwell on lap 5 in turn 3, claiming the fourth spot. Ryan Villacci sailed to the heat victory, followed by Frank Wear, Charlie Sanborn, Mike St. Pierre and Bob Bodwell. Alex Lacognata started on the pole for the final Sport Series qualifying heat, followed by Reggie Leeman, Terry Merrill, Clyde Hennessey, Richard Pelton and Nick Campbell, who was making a return to the track after taking a few weeks off due to the birth of his daughter. Alex Lacognata powered into the early lead, but Terry Merrill was right there. Merrill made his way to Lacognata’s inside on lap 4, challenging him for the lead. Meanwhile, Sally Gherardi was on the move, breaking into the top 5 on lap 5. Terry Merrill eventually cleared Lacognata on lap 7 in turn 1, claiming the lead. Terry Merrill ran away with the heat victory while Clyde Hennessey and Alex Lacognata had a wild battle for the runner-up spot coming to the checkered. Hennessey beat out Lacognata by a hair, taking P2. Richard Pelton and Sally Gherardi followed, rounding out the top five.

Phil Chapman and Dylan Varney led the field to green in the first Wildcats qualifying heat, followed by Ray Letellier, Lyman McKeage and Ryan Lund, who was making his return to the track in a new car after getting into a vicious wreck in turn 3 just two weeks ago. Phil Chapman took the early lead as Lyman McKeage began to fade to the back of the pack. Ryan Lund was on the move in his new machine, powering into the runner-up spot on lap 3. Lund found Chapman’s outside on lap 7, where he began challenging him for the lead. Lund eventually cleared Chapman on lap 8 in turn 1, pulling away from the field. Ryan Lund took home the heat victory, followed by Phil Chapman, Travis Burrows, Lyman McKeage and Ray Letellier. Chaz Briggs and Zach Nicholson started on the front row for the final qualifying heat of the night. Travis Lovejoy, Dave Cameron and Lewis Anderson followed, rounding out the top five. Chaz Briggs pulled into the early lead as the #19 of Travis Lovejoy fell to the back of the pack before making his way into the pits. Dave Cameron made his way to the outside of Zach Nicholson on lap 2, getting the #21 car extremely loose in turn 4. Nicholson remained control over his car and didn’t give up the position, later making his way to the inside of Briggs on lap 4. He eventually cleared him on lap 5 in turn 3, pulling away with the lead. Zach NIcholson went on to win the heat, followed by Dave Cameron, Chaz Briggs, Adam Lovejoy and Lewis Anderson.

David Oliver and Travis Buzzell started on the front row for the 40-lap Pro Series feature, followed by Brandon Barker, Nick Cusack and Jacob Dore. Points leaders Curt Gerry and Reid Lanpher started back in 10th and 11th, respectively. David Oliver jumped into the early lead, pulling away from the rest of the pack. Brandon Barker had a fast car early, clearing Travis Buzzell for the runner-up spot on lap 3 in turn 2. Evan Beaulieu and Dan McKeage had an incident in turn 2 on lap 7, with Evan going into the dirt and McKeage backing into the wall. This led to the first caution of the night, after every qualifying heat went caution-free. Brandon Barker immediately pulled to Oliver’s outside on the restart, challenging for the lead. Reid Lanpher was on the move, breaking into the top 5 on lap 12. Corey Bubar had a single-car spin on lap 12 in turn 2, leading to the second caution of the feature. Barker got a good jump on the restart, clearing Oliver for the top spot in turn 2. Reid Lanpher was still driving toward the front, clearing Nick Cusack for P4 on lap 14 in turn 3. Corey Bubar and Kevin Kimball got into each other on lap 15 in turn 3, leading to an extended caution due to the cleanup. Barker briefly pulled away on the restart, but David Oliver was knocking on his door again on lap 18. Oliver cleared him for the lead on lap 19 in turn 4, setting his sights on the empty track in front of him. Lanpher was still fighting to the front, jumping up to P3 by lap 20. He found his way to Barker’s outside on lap 24, challenging him for the runner-up spot. He eventually cleared Barker in turn 4, quickly setting his sights on Oliver. He cleared Oliver for the top spot on lap 25 in turn 4, trying to pull away with his third consecutive victory. Defending track champion Curt Gerry was on the move, clearing Nick Cusack for P4 on lap 33 in turn 3. By lap 35, Reid Lanpher had pulled into a 5 car length lead over David Oliver. Reid Lanpher pulled away with his third consecutive victory, followed by David Oliver. Curt Gerry and Brandon Barker were neck & neck coming to the checkered, with Gerry edging out Barker by a nose. Nick Cusack followed, rounding out the top five. In addition to being Lanpher’s 3rd consecutive victory, the win was also Lanpher’s 5th victory of the 2017 NASCAR Nite season.

Ryan Villacci started on the pole for the 35-lap Sport Series feature. Frank Wear, Charlie Sanborn, Mike St. Pierre and Terry Merrill followed, rounding out the top five. Ryan Villacci and Frank Wear were door-to-door coming off of lap 1, until Wear cleared Villacci for the lead on lap 5 in turn 1. Villacci wasn’t giving up easy, pulling back to Wear’s inside on lap 6. Terry Merrill was making moves behind them, clearing the #1 of Charlie Sanborn for P3 on lap 8 in turn 3. By lap 10, there was a 4-way battle for the top spot between Ryan Villacci, Frank Wear, Terry Merrill and Charlie Sanborn. Hennessey joined the battle on lap 11, making it a 5-car breakaway from the rest of the pack. Nick Campbell, Alex Lacognata and Matt Dow got caught up on lap 11 in turn 4, leading to the first caution of the feature. The leaders were even coming off of the restart, and there was an 8-car breakaway at the front of the pack by lap 15. Frank Wear cleared Ryan Villacci for the top spot once again on lap 18 in turn 4. Ryan Villacci got loose on lap 19 in turn 4, causing him to lose a handful of positions. This powered Charlie Sanborn into the runner-up position. Ryan Villacci and Alex Lacognata both went around on lap 22 in turn 1, leading to another caution. Frank Wear elected the outside line for the restart, leaving the #1 of Sanborn to his inside. Sanborn powered into the lead on the restart, pulling away from the rest of the leaders. Sally Gherardi was still fighting toward the front, making her way into P4 on lap 27. By lap 30, Sanborn had pulled into a 5+ car length lead over the #27 of Richard Pelton. Sanborn went on to win the feature, followed by Richard Pelton, Terry Merrill, Sally Gherardi and Clyde Hennessey. This was Sanborn’s fourth win of the season, which is an incredible accomplishment for the underfunded Sanborn Racing Enterprises team. If it weren’t for Sanborn being unable to start 2 races this season, he would be a serious championship contender. Right now, Sanborn has achieved more than he thought he ever would this season and lends all thanks to his hardworking crew, friends and family members.

Ryan Lund and Phil Chapman started on the front row for the 30-lap Wildcats feature, the final racing event of the night. Travis Burrows, Lyman McKeage and Ray Letellier followed, rounding out the top five. Ryan Lund immediately pulled into the early lead, but there was trouble brewing behind him. Tucker Cole and Joe Morse went around on lap 2 in turn 2, leading to the first caution of the feature. Ray Letellier was pushed to the outside on the restart, being left out to dry as he fell to the back of the pack. Chaz Briggs and Dylan Varney both took spins on lap 4 in turn 3 after a 3-wide battle for position with the #21 of Zach Nicholson. This led to the second caution of the feature. Chaz Briggs exited to the pits after the incident, yet managed to return to the track before the green flag dropped again. Ryan Lund powered back to the lead on the restart, proving that his new #69 machine is a force to be reckoned with. Dave Cameron was moving to the front quickly, making his way into the runner-up spot on lap 5. Adam Lovejoy followed closely behind him, powering his way into P3 on the same lap. Zach Nicholson found his way to Phil Chapman’s back bumper on lap 36, eventually clearing him for the runner-up spot on lap 9 in turn 2. Adam Lovejoy was navigating through the front of the pack, powering into the lead on lap 10 in turn 3. After falling back to third, Zach Nicholson cleared Ryan Lund for the runner-up spot once again on lap 12 in turn 3. Dylan Varney and Tucker Cole both spun on lap 19 in turn 3, leading to a late-race caution. Adam Lovejoy powered back into the lead on the restart, with Dave Cameron and Zach Nicholson battling it out for the runner-up spot behind him. Cameron eventually cleared Nicholson on lap 20 in turn 1, setting his sights on the #2 of Adam Lovejoy. By lap 25, there was a 3-car breakaway at the front of the field. Adam Lovejoy sailed into his sixth victory of the 2017 NASCAR Nite season, essentially sealing him the 2017 Wildcats Championship title. Dave Cameron, Zach Nicholson, Travis Burrows and Ryan Lund followed, rounding out the top five.

With Championship Week this upcoming Saturday, drivers from all 3 divisions will arrive to the track ready to fight for a top-5 points finish. Reid Lanpher, Sally Gherardi and Adam Lovejoy have all nearly secured their championship titles, but anything can happen in the racing world.

Check out the last night of competition at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway this upcoming Saturday, September 2nd. Racing action starts at 7:00 pm!