The temperatures were cold in Scarborough on Saturday night, but the action at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway was red hot.
The Pro Series, Sport Series and Wildcats returned to the track for their second week of competition in the track’s 70th annual season.
The Pro Series were the first division on the agenda, with two 12-lap heat races starting out the racing action.
Nick Cusack started on the pole for the first heat, immediately pulling away from the field. Dalton Gagnon had reeled Cusack in by lap 5, finding home at his back bumper. By lap 11, the two drivers were door-to-door, battling it out for the top spot. The two drivers came to the finish line side by side, with Gagnon edging out Cusack for the heat victory.
Dave Farrington, Jr. started on the pole for the second heat, but got held up on the initial start on the inside line. This propelled the #88 of Brandon Barker into the lead, who eventually sailed away with the second (and final) Pro Series heat victory.
The Wildcats division was up next, with Dave Turner and Brian Caswell starting on the front row for the first 12-lap heat. The two drivers collided on the initial start, which resulted in Caswell retiring to the pits early. This powered Beech Ridge newcomer, Josh Childs, into the lead.
Tucker Cole and Dave Turner tangled on lap 5, an altercation that sent both drivers into the dirt in turns 3 and 4. After the caution for the incident, Josh Childs and Dave Cameron were left to battle it out on the front row. After racing hard for position for a handful of laps, Dave Cameron took off with the lead and began pulling away from the field. Cameron went on to win the Wildcats heat in his black and pink #28 machine.
Cody Webster took off with the early lead in the second heat while the competition was heating up behind him. Lewis Anderson, Travis Burrows and Dylan Varney engaged themselves in a wild 3-way battle for the runner-up position on lap 5. Anderson came out on top and began setting his eyes on the top spot.
Returning competitor Ryan Lund took a spin in turn 3 on lap 7, bringing out the first caution of the heat, Lewis Anderson stole the lead away from Webster on the restart, running away with his second consecutive heat victory in two weeks.
The Sport Series 35-lapper feature was the highlight event of the night, meaning that the division took to the track last for their two qualifying heats. Taylor Pierce took a spin on the first lap of the first heat, leading to an early-race caution.
By lap 5, Chasing the Checkered driver Charlie Sanborn had found his way to the inside of race leader, Devin Curit, after hunting him down from his initial starting position in fourth. The two leaders continued fighting tooth and nail for the top spot for the remainder of the heat, with Charlie Sanborn coming out on top with the heat victory.
Matt Dow pulled away with the early lead in the second Sport Series heat, making it look easy as he sailed away with the final heat victory of the night.
Dalton Gagnon stole the lead away early from Nick Cusack in the 40-lap Pro Series feature, briefly pulling away from the leaders. Bill Rodgers quickly made his way into the runner-up spot, later challenging Gagnon for the top spot on lap 5. The following lap, Rodgers took control of the top position.
Last week’s Pro Series winner, Corey Bubar, faced troubles late in the race. Bubar caught a piece of the backstretch wall on lap 31, coming to a stop in turn 4. This brought out the first caution of the feature, stacking the field together once more.
Rodgers managed to fend off Dalton Gagnon for the victory, with Trevor Sanborn, Brandon Barker and Dan McKeage rounding out the top five.
This was the first podium finish in the Pro Series for Dalton Gagnon, who had a strong night altogether. It was also a highly emotional victory for Bill Rodgers, who dedicated the win to his Father who recently passed away.
The Wildcats drivers took to the stage next for their 30-lap feature, with Dave Cameron and Josh Childs starting on the front row. As Dave Cameron began to pull away from the field in the early laps, trouble was brewing behind him.
Dan Bean took a hard lick on lap 3, making impact with the turn 3 wall. This brought out the first caution of the feature.
Dave Cameron managed to wiggle free from Josh Childs on the restart as Lewis “Dirty Lew” Anderson began to make his pursuit to the front of the pack. By lap 12, Anderson had powered his way up to third and was fighting for more.
Wade Kennedy, Travis Burrows and Ed Connolly got into each other on lap 16, beginning a string of mid-race cautions. On the restart, Lewis Anderson, Josh Childs and Dylan Varney got tangled up in turn 1. Following the caution, returning driver Cole Watson blew a right front tire and retired to the pits.
His involvement in the caution forced Lewis Anderson to restart in the rear after making his way all the way up to the front of the pack. Dave Cameron held onto the lead once more as Lewis Anderson continued his pursuit back to the front. Anderson got into Tucker Cole on lap 23, turning him around in turn 3. The caution flag did not wave, but this power move landed Anderson back in the top five.
Dave Turner took a spin on lap 26 in turn 2, leading to yet another caution. Dylan Varney, Tucker Cole and Ryan Lund were all involved in a hard wreck on the restart. Cody Webster faced troubles on the following lap, taking a spin in turn 4 as the caution flag waved once more.
After this string of late-race cautions, Dave Cameron continued his dominance and sailed into Victory Lane for the first time this season. Travis Burrows, Joe Morse, Lewis Anderson and Josh Childs followed, rounding out the top five.
The Sport Series drivers took to the track last for the final feature of the night. Charlie Sanborn and Devin Curit started on the front row for the 35-lap showdown. After battling side-by-side in the beginning laps, Curit managed to edge Sanborn out by a car length on lap 6. Sanborn wasn’t letting him out of his sight, pulling back to the inside of Curit again on lap 10 as he challenged him for the lead.
Parker Varney took a spin on lap 14 in turn 1, leading to the first caution of the feature.
Sanborn started on the outside on the restart, which allowed him to get the edge over Curit. The inside line got stacked up on the restart, resulting in Sanborn being able to put a few car lengths between his #1 machine and the rest of the field.
Terry Merrill was on the charge, pulling to the outside of Matt Dow on lap 20 for the runner-up position. After battling it out for a handful of laps, Merrill tucked back in behind Dow on lap 25.
By lap 31, Matt Dow was at Charlie Sanborn’s tail, knocking on the door for the top spot. The following lap, Merrill held him up by challenging for the runner-up spot once more.
All 3 leaders were neck-and-neck for the final 3 laps, resulting in a 3-wide battle to the finish. Terry Merrill managed to come out on top, followed by Charlie Sanborn, Matt Dow, Alex Lacognata and Mike St. Pierre.
It was a frustrating second place finish for Charlie Sanborn, who dominated for the better half of the race, only to come up a hair short at the end.
The victory was bittersweet for Terry Merrill, who dominated the 70th annual season opener last week, only to face troubles mid-way through the feature race that sent him to the rear of the field. This was the second “victory” of the night for Terry Merrill, who also won the “Best Appearing Car” award for the Sport Series earlier in the evening.
Beech Ridge NASCAR Nite competition is taking a break this week while the track hosts the first Day of Destruction on Saturday, May 19th. Normal weekly competition will resume on Saturday, May 26th at 7:00 pm.
Oxford Plains Speedway will be hosting their PASS/ACT doubleheader on Sunday, May 20th as well as their weekly competition on Saturday night. Wiscasset Speedway will also be hosting their “Group 1” on Saturday with 5 exciting racing divisions taking to the track.
Although Beech Ridge is taking a week off, their is still plenty of racing action to enjoy here in Maine. Please get out and support your local short track. We hope to see you there!
