16-Year-Old Zach Nicholson Steals Show With First Victory In Beech Ridge Finale

Story By: AMY HARROP / RPW – SCARBOROUGH, ME – It was all business when drivers from all 3 divisions returned to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Nite season finale on Saturday. With the division titles nearly locked up by Adam Lovejoy, Sally Gherardi and Reid Lanpher, the race was on to finish in the top ten in points, granting drivers a seat at the end-of-season awards banquet in the fall.

The Wildcats division took to the track first for their two 12-lap qualifying heats. Phil Chapman and Dylan Varney started on the front row for the first heat, followed by Ray Letellier, Lyman McKeage and Ryan Lund. Phil Chapman pulled ahead in turn 2 on the initial start, taking the early lead. After spinning before the heat began, Joe Morse quickly faded to the back of the pack early after being left to dry on the outside line. Lund was making his way through the field quickly, fighting his way up to P3 by lap 3. His pursuit to the front carried through lap 5, where he then captured the runner-up spot. Jason Gammon was on a move in the #4 car, clearing Dylan Varney for P5 on lap 7 in turn 1. He later cleared Ray Letellier for P4 in turn 2 on the same lap, showing strength in Jeremy Morais’ ride. Phil Chapman went on to win the heat, followed by Ryan Lund, Lyman McKeage, Jason Gammon and Ray Letellier. Chaz Briggs led the field to green in the second qualifying heat, followed by Travis Lovejoy, Zach Nicholson and Lewis Anderson. Chaz Briggs got a good jump on the initial start, pulling into the early lead. Zach Nicholson was on a roll early, clearing Lewis Anderson for the third spot on lap 3 in turn 4. But, Dave Cameron was on a roll, fighting his way up to the runner-up spot on lap 5 after a 3-wide battle for position with Zach Nicholson and Travis Lovejoy. Adam Lovejoy, who was crowned the 2017 Wildcats division champion after his win last week, unexpectedly pulled to the pits early in the race. By lap 10, there was a 3-car breakaway at the front of the pack. Chaz Briggs took home the heat win, followed by Dave Cameron, Zach Nicholson, Travis Lovejoy and Tucker Cole.

Per usual, Ryan Phillips and Ryan Villacci started on the front row for the first Sport Series qualifying heat. Matt Dow, Mike St. Pierre and Chad Munro followed, rounding out the top five. Villacci pulled away from Phillips on lap 2 in turn 2, securing the top spot. Matt Dow was on a move early, challenging Phillips for the runner-up spot on lap 7. Alex Lacognata showed strength throughout the heat, fighting his way up to P4 on lap 10 after starting the race from the rear. Villacci sailed away with the heat victory as Ryan Phillips managed to fight of Matt Dow for P2. Alex Lacognata and Frank Wear followed, rounding out the top five. Terry Merrill and Nick Campbell led the field to green in the second Sport Series qualifying heat, followed by Clyde Hennessey, Richard Pelton and Sally Gherardi. Coming into the night, all that Sally Gherardi had to do in order to secure the championship title was to start the feature. Merrill maintained his lead through lap 1, pacing the field. Sally Gherardi powered through the field early, clearing Nick Campbell for the runner-up spot on lap 3 in turn 2. Last week’s victor Charlie Sanborn was on the move, breaking into the top 5 on lap 5 after clearing the #54 of Campbell in turn 2. Terry Merrill ran away with the heat victory, followed by Clyde Hennessey, Richard Pelton, Sally Gherardi and Charlie Sanborn.

Travis Buzzell and Evan Beaulieu led the field to green in the first Pro Series qualifying heat, followed by Dan McKeage, David Oliver and Jacob Dore. Travis Buzzell pulled away from Evan Beaulieu on lap 2, which Dan McKeage following suit. Corey Bubar was on the move in his back-up car, making his way up to P4 on lap 5 after starting in the rear of the field. He then pulled to Jacob Dore’s inside on lap 11, challenging him for third. Travis Buzzell took home the heat victory, followed by Dan McKeage. Jacob Dore managed to hold off Corey Bubar for third place. David Oliver followed, rounding out the top five. John Peters and Dalton Gagnon started on the front row for the final qualifying heat of the evening, followed by Mike Rowe, last week’s Oxford 250 champion Curt Gerry and points leader Reid Lanpher. Lanpher came into the night with a solid 20-point lead over Gerry. John Peters powered into the early lead, showing strength in his newly-built #51 machine. Reid Lanpher was dicing through the field early, powering his way into the third spot on lap 3. Mike Rowe made his way to John Peters’ inside on lap 3, challenging him for the top spot. He eventually cleared him on lap 4 in turn 3, pulling away with the temporary lead. Lanpher was in hot pursuit of the lead, making his way to the inside of John Peters for the runner-up spot on lap 5. He eventually cleared Peters on lap 7, setting his sights on the #24 of Rowe at the front of the field. By lap 10, Rowe and Lanpher had made a 2-car breakaway at the front of the pack. The two drivers fought it out until the finish, where Lanpher barely edged out Rowe for the heat victory by .002 seconds. John Peters, Dalton Gagnon and Curt Gerry followed, rounding out the top five. With the heat victory, this gave Reid Lanpher a new 28-point advantage over Curt Gerry, essentially securing him the championship title.

Phil Chapman and Ryan Lund led the field to green in the final Wildcats feature of the 2017 racing season. Lyman McKeage, Ray Letellier and Dylan Varney followed, rounding out the top five. Dave Cameron powered to the outside on the restart, only to viciously scrape the wall in turn 3 on the first lap of competition. Cameron held onto it, continuing his pursuit towards the front. Lyman McKeage showed strength early, powering into the lead on lap 2. Dylan Varney went hard into the wall on lap 3 in turn 2, leading to a somewhat strange chain reaction of events. Dave Cameron had a RF tire go down shortly after Varney’s impact while Lewis Anderson took a spin in turn 4. This led to the first caution of the feature. The #75 of Tucker Cole got into Dave Cameron on the restart, sending him for the spin and collecting the #42 of Dylan Varney in the process. After the second caution, Lyman McKeage pulled ahead on the restart once again. Travis Lovejoy got caught up on the restart with the #69 car in turn 1 on lap 5, leading to yet another caution. Mike Ramsey, Ray Letellier, Dylan Varney and Dave Cameron all got collected in a big pile-up on the restart in turn 2, leading to the fourth caution in the matter of minutes. Dave Cameron suffered from extensive damage, including getting the sheet metal on his door ripped off and having parts falling off of his car as he pulled into the pits. Lewis Anderson fell to the back of the pack on the restart, seemingly suffering from a flat right front tire. Anderson came to a complete stop in turn 1, leading to another caution. As the caution flag waved for Anderson in the #81 car, Dave Cameron’s right front tire came off, forcing him to come down to the pits once again. At this point, race control declared that there would be single-file restarts for the remainder of the race.

As Lyman McKeage maintained his lead on the restart, Chaz Briggs was on the move, clearing Phil Chapman for the runner-up spot on lap 6 in turn 4. Zach Nicholson was in hot pursuit after starting the feature back in ninth, making his way to the front of the pack quickly. He pulled to the inside of Chapman on lap 7, challenging him for P3. Phil Chapman and Jason Gammon tangled on lap 11 in turn 1, leading to another caution. Both cars were locked together, leading to an extended caution period. Chaz Briggs and Lyman McKeage nearly tangled in turn 2 on the restart, powering Zach Nicholson into a 3-way battle for the top spot. Nicholson pulled to the inside of Chaz Briggs on lap 15, challenging him for the runner-up spot. He cleared Briggs on lap 19 in turn 1, setting his sights on the #40 of Lyman McKeage, a Beech Ridge veteran. He showed strength in his #21 machine, pulling to the inside of McKeage on lap 20. He got McKeage loose on lap 21, later clearing him for the lead on lap 22 in turn 1. Travis Lovejoy and Tucker Cole tangled on lap 23 in turn 4, leading to a late-race caution. Zach Nicholson managed to hold off the field of cars behind him on the restart, leading him to his first career feature victory in the Wildcats division. Chaz Briggs, Adam Lovejoy, Lyman McKeage and Archer Bernard followed, rounding out the top five. At the young age of 16, Zach is the youngest contender at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in all 3 divisions. As he climbed out of his car, Zach’s family, friends and crew were there at the start/finish line to relish in his first victory with him. He was beyond words in Victory Lane, taken back by what had just happened. After taking a second to formulate some thoughts, Zach took the time to thank all of his sponsors, friends, family and fans that have supported him throughout his career and the 2017 race season. As Zach marveled in his first feature victory, Adam Lovejoy took home the championship title in the division.

Ryan Villacci started on the pole for the Sport Series feature, followed by Ryan Phillips, Matt Dow, Alex Lacognata and Frank Wear. Ryan Villacci pulled into the early lead as Ryan Phillips quickly fell to the back of the pack on the initial start. Matt Dow powered into the runner-up spot as Ryan Phillips fell to the back of the pack, keeping close to Villacci’s back bumper. By lap 12, only 2 car lengths separated Villacci and Dow at the front of the pack. Frank Wear was all over Matt Dow’s back bumper on lap 18, challenging him for the runner-up spot. He made his way to Dow’s inside on lap 20, fighting furiously to make a pass on the #84 car. By lap 25, Villacci had pulled away by ½ of a straightaway due to the drivers battling it out for position behind him. Clyde Hennessey nearly took a spin on lap 32 in turn 2, but he managed to save it as the field stayed green. Villacci sailed smoothly into victory, rounding out his 2017 racing season with 2 feature victories in the Sport Series. The battle for second remained constant through the finish, where Matt Dow edged out Frank Wear by .005 seconds at the checkered. Terry Merrill and Alex Lacognata followed, rounding out the top five. Sally Gherardi’s start in the feature nailed down her second career Sport Series championship.

Travis Buzzell and Dan McKeage led the Pro Series field to green in the final NASCAR Nite feature of the 2017 Beech Ridge season. Corey Bubar, Jacob Dore and David Oliver followed, rounding out the top five. Dan McKeage powered to the early lead on the outside, showing strength in his “Naughty” 40 machine. Jacob Dore and Travis Buzzell were neck & neck in the early laps, battling it out for the runner-up spot. With the cars behind him battling it out for position, Dan McKeage was able to break into a ½ straightaway lead by lap 15. The #71 of Kevin Kimball went around on lap 15 in turn 1, leading to the first caution of the feature. Jacob Dore immediately stuck to Dan McKeage’s outside on the restart, challenging him for the top spot. McKeage persevered, powering ahead of Dore on lap 16 in turn 1. David Oliver got pushed to the outside on lap 17, quickly falling to the back of the pack the following lap. Mike Rowe broke into the top 5 on lap 20, then making his way up to P4 by lap 25. Reid Lanpher followed suit, making his way around Travis Buzzell for P5 on lap 26. After showing power in this #51 car over the last two weeks, John Peters made an unexpected turn to the pits on lap 29, seemingly ending his night. Reid Lanpher was still on the move, making his way to Dore’s outside on lap 30, challenging him for the runner-up spot. He cleared him on lap 31 in turn 1, setting his sights on the #40 of McKeage. Lanpher made his way to McKeage’s outside on lap 32, eventually clearing him for the lead in turn 1 on the following lap. By lap 38, Lanpher was displaying pure dominance, pulling away by ½ of a straightaway over the rest of the field. Lanpher went on to secure the victory and the Pro Series championship, followed by Dan McKeage. Jacob Dore and Nick Cusack were door-to-door coming to the finish, with Dore edging him out for P3. Jacob Dore took a spin in turn 1 after the checkered flag had flown. Mike Rowe followed, rounding out the top five. This was Lanpher’s fourth consecutive Beech Ridge victory, sixth overall victory of the Beech Ridge season and his second track championship in 3 years, giving him and his team a lot to be proud of.

After all the racing action was over, last year’s champions Curt Gerry, Frank Wear and Lewis Anderson lined up in front of this year’s new champions on the track after the new champions drove out onto the track together in celebration of their titles. All three defending champions shared hugs, handshakes and words with the newly crowned champions, figuratively “passing the torch” to the new title holders. Fans were then allowed onto the track to meet & greet with the new champions, the defending champions and the top-5 finishers from each division.

The weekly racing action at Beech Ridge might be over for the 2017 season, but the final PASS race of the season is on the horizon. Join us on Sunday, September 17th for the Pro All Star Series 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. Racing action begins at 12:00 pm!