Emerson, Pelton & Whittier Score PASS Weekend Victories On Sunday At Beech Ridge

Story By: AMY HARROP / RPW – SCARBOROUGH, ME – Not only did the PASS 150 race day event schedule include the PASS Modifieds touring division, it also included the Sport Series and Street Stock divisions. With it being open racing season, this gave drivers from Oxford Plains Speedway and other local racetracks the opportunity to try their hand at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.

The #5 of Devin Curit started on the pole for the first 8-lap PASS Modified qualifying heat. Jimmy Emerson, David Grystwicz, Matty Sanborn and Gary Shackford rounded out the top five. The #12 of Emerson jumped into the early lead. Matty Sanborn powered into the runner-up spot on lap 2, setting his sights on Curit. The #27 of Henry Sirignano went around on lap 3, bringing out the first caution of the day. Emerson pulled away at the restart, eventually taking home the heat victory. Matty Sanborn, Jariet Harrison, Devin Curit and Gary Shackford followed, completing the top 5. Mark Lunblad, Jr, and Bruce Helmuth started on the front row for the next heat, followed by Scott Alexander and Mike Carignan. Lunblad took the early lead, pulling away from the rest of the field. Ben Tinker fought toward the front early, breaking the top 5 on lap 5. He made his way into P4 on lap 6 and continuing his quest on lap 8 as he made his way around Bruce Helmuth for third. Lunblad took home the heat victory, followed by Scott Alexander, Ben Tinker, Bruce Helmuth and Mike Carignan.

Drew Morse started on the pole for the first Street Stock qualifying heat, followed by Bryce Mains, Jason Gammon, Matt Dufault and Rick Spaulding. Bryce Mains made his way around the #39 of Morse on the initial start, running away with the early lead. Morse took a wild ride on lap 3, taking a spin in turn 1 and hitting the speedway’s ambulance. Morse was able to drive away after the wreck and nobody was injured. Bryce Mains sailed away with the heat victory, followed by Matt Dufault, Zach Bowie, Dave Cameron and Billy Childs. David Whittier and Nate Leavitt started on the front row for the second heat, followed by David Vaughn, Kyle Hewins and Jordan Russell. Whittier pulled away with the early lead as Kyle Hewins made his voyage to the front, climbing up to third on lap 3. Jordan Russell also proved strong in the heat race, making his way around Leavitt for P4 on lap 7. Whittier took home the heat victory, followed by David Vaughn, Kyle Hewins, Jordan Russell and Kenny Harrison.

Frank Wear and Richard Pelton started on the front row for the first Sport Series qualifying heat, followed by Clyde Hennessey, Mike St. Pierre and Dave Charest. Pelton powered into the early lead. Meanwhile, Charlie Sanborn, 4-time ‘17 winner in the Sport Series at Beech Ridge, broke the top five on lap 5. Richard Pelton ran away with the heat victory, followed by Frank Wear, Clyde Hennessey, Mike St. Pierre and Charlie Sanborn. Ryan Villacci started on the pole for the second qualifying heat, followed by Scott Dorr, Ivan Kaffel, Alex Lacognata and Matt Dow. Villacci ran away with the early lead as Adam Lovejoy made his way from last to sixth in Nick Campbell’s #54 ride on the first lap. By lap 4, Dorr was all over Villacci’s back bumper, hungry for the top spot. Villacci managed to hold onto the lead to win the qualifying heat over the #60 of Dorr. Alex Lacognata, Terry Merrill and Ivan Kaffel followed, rounding out the top five.

Mark Lunblad, Jr. and Devin Curit started on the front row for the 40-lap PASS Modified feature, followed by Jimmy Emerson, David Grystwicz and Gary Shackford. As Devin Curit settled into the early lead, Matty Sanborn fell to the back of the pack on lap 1. The #44 of Grystwicz went around on lap 3, collecting Randy Sanborn, Scott Alexander and Jariet Harrison in the process. Jimmy Emerson got a good jump on the restart, powering to the top of the leaderboard. Ben Tinker was on a roll, finding his way up to third on lap 6. After falling to the back of the pack early, Matty Sanborn battled his way back up to P4 on lap 8. Natasha Dyer, who was making her first Modified debut, went around on lap 9 in turn 1. This led to the second caution of the feature. Ben Tinker muscled his way into the runner-up spot on the restart, setting his sights on Emerson. Emerson managed to hold onto the lead, but Ben Tinker had cut his lead down to 3 car lengths by lap 20. By lap 23, the leaders had approached lap traffic. Jimmy Emerson was able to make it out of the lap traffic unscathed and still in charge. He took home the feature victory, followed by Ben Tinker, Mark Lunblad, Jr., Mike Carignan and Matty Sanborn. This was a bittersweet win for Emerson, who was in tears in Victory Lane. His own daughter Jordan got caught up in a very serious Whiz Kidz wreck in 2007 at Beech Ridge that profoundly impacted the Emerson family and the entire Maine racing community. It was a special moment in Victory Lane as Jimmy Emerson shared the special victory with his daughter.

Bryce Mains started on the pole for the 75-lap Street Stock feature, followed by David Whittier, Matt Dufault, David Vaughn and Zach Bowie. Mains took off with the early lead, but trouble was on the horizon. The #09 of Mark Turner went hard into the dirt on lap 4 in turn 2, leading to the first caution of the feature. After the restart, Kenny Harrison and Skip Tripp were collected after making contact with the #4 of Jordan Russell in turn 4. Dave Whittier powered into the lead on the restart, pulling away from the #77 of Mains. By lap 20, there was a 2-car breakaway at the front of the pack with Whittier and Mains leading the way. Dave Cameron slammed the turn 3 wall on lap 22, bringing out another caution. This led to a string of cautions, with Drew Morse taking a spin on lap 23, Kenny Harrison going around on lap 32 and 2017 Beech Ridge Wildcats champion Adam Lovejoy making contact with David Vaughn at the Start/Finish line on lap 33. After the field finally got rolling again, Tyler King broke into the top five. By lap 50, Whittier had extended his lead to 5 car lengths over Bryce Mains. Tyler King was all over Kyle Hewins’ back bumper on lap 55 for P3. He finally cleared him for the spot on lap 64. King made a valiant effort to get to the front of the pack, but Whittier managed to hold off everyone for the victory. Bryce Mains, Tyler King, Kyle Hewins and Billy Childs followed, rounding out the top five.

Richard Pelton started on the pole for the Sport Series feature, followed by Ryan Villacci, Frank Wear, Scott Dorr and Clyde Hennessey. Villacci barely edged out Pelton to lead the first lap, but he eventually pulled away on lap 2. Pelton made his way back to the inside of Villacci for the lead on lap 13, but Villacci maintained his edge over the #27. By lap 20, there was a 4-car breakaway at the front of the pack. Adam Lovejoy finally broke the top 10 on lap 22, showing strength in his first Sport Series start. Curt Gleason, Frank Wear, Charlie Sanborn, Dave Charest and a handful of others got caught up in a wreck on lap 26 in turn 3, leading to the first caution of the feature. After Ryan Villacci took control for nearly half of the race, Richard Pelton stole away the lead from him on the restart. Terry Merrill followed suit, powering into the runner-up spot. Sally Gherardi and Scott Dorr made hard contact on lap 27, sending both cars into the wall in turn 3. Adam Lovejoy and Matt Dow tangled on lap 29 in turn 1, leading to another caution. Terry Merrill took control of the lead on the restart, pulling away from the #27 of Pelton. Alex Lacognata won a 3-way battle for P3 on lap 33 after battling it out for position with Ryan Villacci and Barry Poulin. By lap 45, Terry Merrill had pulled away with nearly a ½ straightaway lead over the rest of the field. He ran away with the feature victory. Richard Pelton, Alex Lacognata, Barry Poulin and Ryan Villacci followed, rounding out the top five.

The PASS Weekend open racing made for an exciting Sunday full of racing at Beech Ridge. With a healthy balance of both Oxford Plains and Beech Ridge cars, all competitors put on a great show for all of the spectators at Beech Ridge. Although the 2017 season is officially over at Beech Ridge, you can catch the PASS Modified Series next Saturday, September 23rd at White Mountain Motorsports Park. Racing action begins at 6:00 PM.