This past Sunday, the Pro All Star Series voyaged up to Spud Speedway in Caribou, Maine for the track’s second annual “Firecracker 200” event, a day of racing which included an 150-lap PASS Super Late Model Race and a 50-lap PASS Modified race.
Nick Sweet was fast all day during practice and his heat and he pulled away with the early lead in the main event. Brandon Barker was on the move in the early laps, breaking the top 3 on lap 5. Ben Rowe was also climbing through the field, overtaking Bobby Therrien for fourth on lap 28. By lap 35, the leaders were already catching the tail-end of the field.
DJ Shaw was on a voyage to the front of the field, challenging Andy Saunders for fifth on lap 41. He completed the pass and had made his way up to third by lap 52. Ben Rowe was still in hot pursuit, all over Brandon Barker for fourth on lap 56. Aroostook county native, Kirk Thibeau, fell off-pace on lap 69, coming to a stop in turn 4. The incident led to the first caution of the feature.
As Nick Sweet pulled away with the lead once again on the restart, DJ Shaw began challenging Shawn Martin for the runner-up spot, taking over the position on lap 78. Last year’s race winner, Derek Griffith, was also coming through the field, challenging Brandon Barker for the runner-up spot on lap 91. The two drivers made contact the following lap and Griffith went for a spin on the front stretch. Mike Hopkins clipped him as he went around and the incident led to a mid-race caution.
DJ Shaw was all over Nick Sweet for the lead on the restart, making his way to his inside on lap 96. Shawn Martin had a belt failure on lap 99, causing him to fall to the back of the pack. He came to a stop in turn 3 just two laps later, bringing out the yellow and taking Martin out of contention for the win.
DJ Shaw and Nick Sweet were head-to-head again on the restart, with Shaw finally taking over the spot on lap 112. Scott McDaniel blew a tire on lap 115, causing him to come to a slow on the backstretch. The incident led to a late-race caution.
Derek Griffith was on the move in the closing laps of the feature after his earlier incident in the race, challenging Garrett Hall for third on lap 125. Kirk Thibeau had a tire go down on lap 128 and made it to the pits before drawing out another yellow.
There was a top-2 breakaway at the front of the field with just 15 laps to go. Ben Rowe took over fourth place with just ten laps to go and then got to work on Garrett Hall for third, finally taking over the spot on lap 96.
DJ Shaw took home the feature victory, scoring redemption after losing out on the victory just one year ago at Spud Speedway. Nick Sweet, Ben Rowe, Garrett Hall and Derek Griffifth rounded out the top five. Austin Theriault, a Fort Kent native that just made his first two career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts, came home in sixth place.
Official Results:
1) 60 – DJ Shaw
2) 40vt – Nick Sweet
3) 4n – Ben Rowe
4) 94 – Garrett Hall
5) 12g – Derek Griffith
6) 57 – Austin Theriault
7) 01 – Andy Saunders
8) 47 – Gabe Brown
9) 96 – Wyatt Alexander
10) 8 – Mike Rowe
11) 14 – Scott McDaniel
12) 97 – Chris Duncan
13) 28 – Kirk Thibeau
14) 5x – Bobby Therrien
15) 94x – Shawn Martin
16) 75 – Gary Smith
17) 16 – Brandon Barker
18) 15 – Mike Hopkins
The Pro All Star Series put on one Heck of a show for the county at Spud Speedway, leaving fans already excited for next year’s event!
You can catch the Pro All Star Series next this coming Sunday, August 11th, at Oxford Plains Speedway. The racing kicks off at 5:00 pm. See you there!
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