Sanborn Sailed Away To Third Sport Series Victory Saturday At Beech Ridge

Story By: AMY HARROP / RPW – SCARBOROUGH, ME – With just four weeks remaining in the NASCAR Nite season at Beech Ridge, drivers from all 3 divisions were focused coming into competition on Saturday night. With the addition of the ACT tour, it was bound to be a long and exciting night full of racing.

The Sport Series drivers took to the track first for the first qualifying heat of the night. Curt Gleason and Kyle Kramlich started on the front row for the first heat, followed by Ryan Villacci, Charlie Sanborn and Matt Dow. The first start was waved off by race control, allowing for a more even retry. The #4 of Gleason pulled to the early lead as the #6 of Kyle Kramlich got shuffled back to P5. Ryan Villacci was on the move, clearing the #4 of Gleason for the top spot on lap 4 in turn 1. The #1 of Charlie Sanborn was charging through the field, battling Matt Dow for P2 on lap 4. He got into Dow’s left rear in turn 2, causing Dow to wiggle. Dow managed to save his car, but Sanborn was still there, capturing the runner-up spot on lap 8. By the final lap, Sanborn had made his way to Ryan Villacci’s door, challenging him for the top spot. Sanborn managed to edge out Ryan Villacci for the heat victory. They were followed by Matt Dow and Curt Gleason. Reggie Leeman and Frank Wear started on the front row for the final Sport Series qualifying heat, followed by Mike St. Pierre, Terry Merrill and Clyde Hennessey. The #71 of Reggie Leeman pulled away with the early lead. But, Sally Gherardi was quickly making her way through the field, breaking the top 5 on lap 4. The #15 of Mike St. Pierre was shuffled to the back on lap 5, mixing up the field. Sally Gherardi and Richard Pelton put on a good battle for fourth for the better half of the race, with Gherardi beating out Pelton for the spot at the checkered. Leeman took home the heat victory, followed by Frank Wear, Clyde Hennessey, Sally Gherardi and Richard Pelton.

The Wildcats division was next, with Joe Morse and Phil Chapman leading the field to green in their first qualifying heat. Dylan Varney, Ryan Lund and Travis Burrows followed, rounding out the top five. Phil Chapman pulled away with the early lead, but Joe Morse was all over him. Morse stole the lead away once again on lap 2 in turn 2, but Phil Chapman was back to his outside the following lap. The #42 of Dylan Varney went around on lap 7 in turn 3 after making contact with Travis Burrows and Ryan Lund, resulting in the first caution of the night. The #37 of Chapman fell back to third on the restart, pushing the #33 of Burrows up to P2. The #33 of Burrows was on a roll, clearing the #23 of Morse for the lead on lap 8 in turn 3. Burrows went on to win the heat, followed by Joe Morse, Phil Chapman, Ryan Lund and Dylan Varney. The #21 of Zach Nicholson started on the pole for the second qualifying heat, followed by Chaz Briggs, Travis Lovejoy, Lewis Anderson and Dave Cameron. Chaz Briggs got a good jump on the restart, but Zach Nicholson quickly pulled back to his inside, pulling ahead of the field once again. The #81 of Lewis Anderson went around in turn 3 after making contact with the #19 of Lovejoy. Dave Cameron also went around in turn 4, causing the caution to come out. The #19 of Travis Lovejoy was sent to the back of the pack for the restart. The race was set back to 0 laps, with Zach Nicholson getting the jump on the restart over Chaz Briggs. The #28 of Dave Cameron found his way to NIcholson’s outside in turn 4, clearing him for the lead on lap 2 in turn 1. The #81 of Lewis Anderson had a tire go down on lap 3, sending him into the dirt in turn 1 and drawing out the second caution of the heat. Cameron powered to the front once again on the restart, with Adam Lovejoy making his way to Zach Nicholson’s inside behind him on lap 6. Lovejoy cleared Nicholson for the spot in turn 3, setting his sights on the #28 of Cameron. Zach Nicholson lost momentum, falling back to P5 on lap 8. Dave Cameron ran away with the heat victory, followed by Adam Lovejoy, Zach Bowie, Travis Lovejoy and Zach Nicholson.

Travis Buzzell and Dan Winter started on the front row for the first Pro Series qualifying heat, followed by Evan Beaulieu, David Oliver and Dan McKeage. Dan Winter immediately made his way to Travis Buzzell’s outside, clearing him for the lead on lap 2 in turn 3. Evan Beaulieu was also on the move, finding his way to Buzzell’s inside on lap 5. He eventually cleared him on lap 6 in turn 4, setting his sights on the #81 of Winter. Dan McKeage was charging through the field, making his way up to P3 on lap 8. Dan Winter and Dan McKeage went around on lap 9 in turn 4, collecting Nick Cusack in the process. This brought out the first caution of the heat, with Evan Beaulieu and Nick Cusack starting on the front row for the restart. After 3 unsuccessful restarts, the field finally got rolling on the fourth attempt. Cusack spun his wheels on the restart, powering Beaulieu into the lead. Jacob Dore showed strength, making his way around Cusack for the runner-up spot on lap 10. Evan Beaulieu took home the heat win, which was a huge accomplishment for his #56 team that has struggled with handling over the course of the season. Following Beaulieu were Jacob Dore, Brandon Barker, Nick Cusack and Dan McKeage. Gary Smith started on the pole for the final Pro Series qualifying heat, followed by Corey Bubar, Mike Rowe, Dalton Gagnon and Reid Lanpher. The top two drivers were even coming out of the first lap, but the #75 of Gary Smith got the edge on the second lap, pulling in front of Bubar in turn 2. Reid Lanpher was fighting through the field, moving his way up to P3 on lap 2 while Mike Rowe powered himself into the runner-up spot. Curt Gerry made his way to Lanpher’s inside on lap 6 in turn 2, challenging him for third. He cleared Reid for the spot in turn 4. But, Reid wasn’t giving up, finding his way back to Gerry’s outside on lap 9. He stole the spot back in turn 4, setting his sights on the #24 of Mike Rowe. Lanpher made his way around Rowe on lap 10 in turn 4, clearing him for the runner-up spot. Gary Smith went on to win the heat, followed by Reid Lanpher, Curt Gerry, Mike Rowe and Corey Bubar.

Charlie Sanborn and Ryan Villacci found themselves on the front row for the 35-lap Sport Series feature, followed by Matt Dow, Chad Munro and Curt Gleason. The first start was called off by race control, with the entire field coming to a slowdown for the first retry attempt. Curt Gleason, Sally Gherardi, Frank Wear and Richard Pelton all suffered some damage from an incident in turns 3 and 4 on the first lap, drawing out the first caution of the feature. The lap count went back down to 0, with Sanborn and Villacci starting on the front row once again. Sanborn immediately pulled to the inside of Villacci, clearing him for the lead on lap 2 in turn 1. Matt Dow was also on the move, making his way to Villacci’s inside for the runner-up spot on lap 3. He eventually cleared the #08 on lap 4 in turn 3, focusing in on the #1 of Sanborn. Villacci powered back on lap 7, stealing the spot back from Dow once again. By lap 10, Charlie Sanborn was displaying dominance, carrying a full straightaway lead over the rest of the pack. Matt Dow and Ryan Villacci were still battling for position behind him, with the #84 of Dow stealing P2 back from Villacci on lap 11. The #68 of Chad Munro took a spin in turn 3 on lap 11, collecting the #6 of Kyle Kramlich in the process and bringing out the second caution of the feature. The #1 of Sanborn pulled away from the field once again on the restart, but there was trouble brewing behind him. Curt Gleason, Chad Munro and Ryan Phillips got together on lap 16 in turn 3, bringing out another caution. Charlie showed strength in his #1 car, managing to pull away from the field once more on the restart. By lap 25, he pulled away by ½ of a straightaway. Charlie sped away with the victory, making this his third victory of the season. Matt Dow, Clyde Hennessey, Reggie Leeman and Alex Lacognata followed, rounding out the top 5.

The #33 of Travis Burrows started on the pole for the Wildcats feature. Joe Morse, Phil Chapman, Ryan Lund and Dylan Varney followed, rounding out the top five. The #24 of Ray Letellier, the #19 of Travis Lovejoy and the #82 of Chaz Briggs were all collected in an incident between turns 2 and 3 on the first lap, with the #24 of Ray Letellier losing a tire and taking big hits from both sides. This began the night full of carnage in the Wildcats division. The #33 of Burrows took the lead once again on the restart. But, the #28 of Dave Cameron was on a roll, making a gutsy 3-wide pass for position on lap 3, powering him into the runner-up spot. Cameron was hungry for the top spot, making his way to the inside of Burrows on lap 6 for the lead. He eventually cleared him for the top spot in turn 2. Adam Lovejoy was on the move behind him, settling into the runner-up spot on lap 6. The #19 of Travis Lovejoy took a spin on lap 11, bringing out the second caution of the feature. Dave Cameron pulled ahead of Lovejoy on the restart, moving into a small lead over the #2 car. Zach Nicholson proved strong, powering his way into P3 on lap 11. Zach Bowie bobbled on lap 12 in turn 2, later taking a spin in turn 3 due to a cut RF tire. This led to the third caution of the night, bringing the field back together once again. Dave Cameron pulled ahead once more on the restart, but Adam Lovejoy was right there, making his way to Cameron’s inside on lap 13. The #17 of Bob Wilson and the #04 of Zach Bowie got tangled up on lap 13 in turn 1, leading to the fourth caution of the feature.

After the initial restart was waved off by race control, the field began rolling once again. Dave Cameron pulled ahead on the restart once again, but Chaz Briggs came to a slow in turn 4, leading to yet another caution. At this point, race control declared that there would only be single-file restarts for the remainder of the feature. Dave Cameron had troubles getting going on the restart, leading Adam Lovejoy to his back bumper. The #19 of Travis Lovejoy took another spin in turn 1. The #75 and the #17 of Bob Wilson tangled in turn 2, with the #17 of Wilson taking a hard hit as his entire tire flew across the track. Adam Lovejoy made his way to Cameron’s inside on the restart, clearing him for the lead on lap 17 in turn 3. The #23 of Joe Morse took a hard hit on lap 19 in turn 3, leading to another caution. After this caution, race control narrowed the race down to 25 laps opposed to the intended 30 laps for time purposes. Adam Lovejoy got a good jump on the restart, but Cameron wasn’t letting him off easy, making his way back to Lovejoy’s outside on lap 22. Cameron cleared Lovejoy for the lead in turn 4. Cameron drove away with the victory, with Adam Lovejoy, Zach Nicholson, Lewis Anderson and Travis Burrows completing the top five. Tensions were running high after the completion of the race, with Adam Lovejoy spinning out Dave Cameron in turn 2 after the conclusion of the race.

The Pro Series took to the track for their feature, ending the night of weekly racing activities before the ACT 100. Evan Beaulieu and Jacob Dore led the field to green, followed by Brandon Barker, Nick Cusack and Dan McKeage. The #05 of Dore immediately challenged the #56 of Evan Beaulieu for the lead, pulling ahead to lead the first lap of competition. He fully cleared Beaulieu on lap 3 in turn 3, briefly pulling away from the rest of the field. By lap 17, Reid Lanpher was charging to the front of the pack, making his way to Gary Smith’s outside, clearing him for P5 in turn 3. Lanpher was on a mission, making his way to the inside of Dan McKeage on lap 19, battling him for the fourth position. He cleared him that lap, setting his sights on the #56 of Evan Beaulieu. He cleared Evan on lap 21 in turn 2, capturing P3 and wanting more. Curt Gerry got into the #75 of Gary Smith on lap 22 in turn 1, sending Smith for a spin and bringing out the first caution of the feature. Jacob Dore pulled away from the field on the restart, but Reid Lanpher was on the prowl. Lanpher made his way to Dore’s inside on lap 26, clearing him for the lead on lap 27 in turn 1. Curt Gerry was on the move, making his way around Evan Beaulieu for P4 on lap 33 in turn 4. He then set his sights on the #05 of Dore, challenging him for the third spot on lap 36. He eventually cleared both Dore and Nick Cusack on lap 37 in turn 1, capturing the runner-up spot. By lap 39, Reid Lanpher had pulled away with a full straightaway lead over the rest of the pack. Lanpher sailed away with the victory. Curt Gerry, Jacob Dore, Nick Cusack and Evan Beaulieu followed, rounding out the top five.

With just a few weeks left in the 2017 NASCAR Nite season at Beech Ridge, Sally Gherardi is maintaining a safe lead in the Sport Series point standings. The Wildcat and Pro Series point leads are up for grabs each and every week, with drivers swapping positions at the top of the points leaderboard and battling it out to be the champion at the conclusion of the season.

Join us next Saturday, August 19th, for more NASCAR Nite action at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway! Racing always begins at 7:00 pm.