Alex Parechanian Powers Into His First Victory of the Season at Beech Ridge

With clear skies and a cool summer breeze, it was the perfect night for some racing on Thursday night at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.

The Beetle Bug Varsity division was the first division on track for the night, with racing veteran, Ed Johnson, pulling away with the early lead in the 15-lap feature. 

The #83 of Ray Phillips took a spin on lap 1 in turn 1, but the field remained green. 

Adam Sanborn was on the move in the early laps, climbing into the runner-up spot on lap 5. The competition caution was brought out on lap 9, bringing the field back together and changing the game completely.

Ed Johnson powered into the lead once more, but Jeff Walker was right there. Walker made his way around Johnson for the top spot on lap 10, later running away with the feature victory, which was his third consecutive victory of the season.

Ed Johnson, Jon Talbot, Adam Sanborn and Ben Krauter followed, rounding out the top five.

Betty Nelson took off with the early lead in the 25-lap Mad Bombers Varsity feature. Lyman McKeage was on a mission early, powering into the runner-up spot on lap 6. Johnny Wolfe was also on the move, climbing up to the fourth spot on lap 7.

Lyman McKeage made his way to the outside of Betty Nelson on lap 13, challenging her for the lead. He won the battle just two laps later, pulling away from the rest of the field. 

Jason Gammon made his way into the runner-up spot on lap 17, setting his eyes on the #38 of McKeage at the front of the field. By lap 20, there was a 2-car breakaway at the front of the pack. Gammon pulled to the outside of McKeage on lap 22, challenging him for the lead.

It was a wild last lap, with Ed McConologue and Johnny Wolfe both going around in turn 3 on the way to the finish line.

Lyman McKeage was able to hold Jason Gammon, taking home the feature victory. Jason Gammon, Jason Kennedy, Chris Burgess and Betty Nelson, rounding out the top five.

Kris Knox made his way around Will Potter for the early lead in the 15-lap Mighty Trucks feature. Defending race winner, Keith Petrin, quickly made his way into the runner-up spot. Jared Kimball was also on the move early, making his way around Mark Grantham for third on lap 8.

The two leaders were checked out by lap 10, leading to a competition caution to bring the field back together. 

Kris Knox and Keith Petrin were head-to-head on the restart, where they were beating and banging on the next to last lap.

Knox was able to hold off Petrin for the victory, snapping Petrin’s winning streak. Jared Kimball, Mark Grantham and Dave Lamson followed, rounding out the top five.

Taylor Graffam got a great jump on the field in the 20-lap Ladies League feature. Holly Gain and the #5 of Desiree LaChance made hard contact on the initial start, sending Gain to the pits with cosmetic damage to the front of her car.

Betty Nelson was fighting to the front in the early laps of the race, climbing up to the runner-up spot on lap 5. 

Donna Coffin took a spin on lap 7 in turn 3, but the field remained green as she drove away under her own power. 

Betty Nelson and Laura McKage had tracked down Taylor Graffam for the lead by lap 8, with Nelson making her way into the lead on lap 14.

Graffam slid up the track on lap 16 in turn 2, making slight contact with each other. This allowed Betty Nelson to put some distance between her and the rest of the field.

Nelson was able to hold off her competitors, taking home the feature victory, her second of the season. Taylor Graffam, Laura McKeage, Jenna Webster and Sara Libby followed, rounding out the top five.

The #77 of Ryan Doucette made his way into the early lead in the 25-lap Legends feature. Austin Teras was also on a mission in the early laps, making his way to third on lap 5 after starting at the tail-end of the field.

By lap 8, Teras was challenging Doucette for lead, later capturing the top spot on lap 10 as Parker Varney pulled into the runner-up spot. 

Defending race winner, Charlie Buxton, was on the move mid-race, breaking into the fourth spot on lap 12 after starting at the rear of the field. Chris Burgess followed suit, breaking into the top five just a few laps later.

Austin Teras was able to hold off the competition, taking home yet another victory in the Legends division. Parker Varney, Ryan Doucette, Charlie Buxton and Chris Burgess followed, rounding out the top five.

Kara Krauter pulled away with the early lead in the 20-lap Beetle Bug Junior Varsity feature. But, Alex Parechanian was on the move early, making his way up to third in the early laps of the race.

Parechanian continued to strike at the front of the field, clearing Jim Emmons for the runner-up spot on lap 3 and later challenging Kara Krauter for the top spot on lap 4. He cleared Krauter for the lead that lap, pulling away from the rest of the field.

Chris Case and Kara Krauter made contact on lap 6 in turn 2, resulting in Krauter taking a spin. The field remained green as Krauter was able to get going once again.

Robert Taylor fell off the pace on lap 10, retiring to the pits early as his competitors continued to battle it out.

Chris Case pulled to the outside of Brandon Lizotte on lap 11, challenging him for the runner-up spot. He later cleared him on lap 13, setting his sights on Parechanian at the top of the leader board.

The competition caution came out on lap 15, bringing the field together once more.

Alex Parechanian and Chris Case restarted on the front row, with Parechanian getting the edge once more. 

Parechanian, the defending champion in the division, took home his first feature victory of the season after a string of bad luck plagued him in the early weeks of the season. Chris Case, Brandon Lizotte, Max Dolliver and Mark Brulotte followed, rounding out the top five.

The Mad Bombers Junior Varsity 25-lap feature started out with a bang as Robert Pierce and Justin Gailloux made contact on the initial lap in turn 4. Gailloux made contact with the turn 4 wall as Pierce went hard into the dirt, leading to the first caution of the feature.

Jenna Webster took a hard spin on lap 2 in turn 2, but the field remained green. The #38 of Garrett Lamb later cut down a tire, taking a spin on the front stretch. This led to yet another early-race caution.

Cam Jones got a great jump on the restart as Bob Darrell Wilson powered into the runner-up spot. 

Scott Eck and Tom Lovejoy, Jr. made hard contact on lap 17 in turn 2, leading to Lovejoy losing a door panel and Scott Eck taking a spin. The incident led to a late-race caution, bringing the field back together.

Cam Jones pulled away with the lead once more, but trouble was brewing behind him once again.

Kyle Gailloux took a spin on lap 21 in turn 2, collecting Tom Lovejoy, Jr. once more.

The altercation led to a yellow-checkered finish, sending Cam Jones into victory lane. Kaleb Bean, Jason Ricker, Garrett Lamb and Bob Darrell Wilson followed, rounding out the top five.

Thursday was an exciting night of racing at Beech Ridge, where we saw both fresh winners and repeat winners getting it done on the track.

Thursday Night Thunder resumes this upcoming Thursday, July 19th. Admission is just $7 for adults and free for children 12 and under.

Get out there and support your local short track.

We hope to see you there!

Thank you again to Drown Excavation and Four Season Synthetic for their endless support for Chasing the Checkered. Contact Drown Excavation for all of your demolition and excavation needs and Four Season Synthetic for all of your oil, lube and filter needs!