The Pro All Star Series returned to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon for the PASS 150, the final PASS event of the 2018 race season at the track.
The day started out with three 15-lap heat races for the feature division.
Dan Winter took off with the early lead in the first qualifying heat.
2017 Beech Ridge track champion, Reid Lanpher, was on the move early, clearing Derek Kneeland for the runner-up spot on lap 3.
Lanpher continued his pursuit to the front on lap 5, clearing Winter for the top spot.
Gary Smith was on a roll in the second half of the heat, challenging Winter for the runner-up spot on lap 8.
He successfully cleared Winter the next lap, but Reid Lanpher ultimately took home the heat victory.
Hudson, New Hampshire’s Derek Griffith powered into the early lead in the second 15-lap heat.
The #40 of Nick Sweet was all over him for the top spot on lap 4.
Sweet pulled to Griffith’s outside on lap 5, challenging the #12G for the top spot.
Sweet cleared Griffith the following lap, pulling away from the competition.
Garrett Hall was on the move in the second half of the heat, breaking the top 3 on lap 12.
Sweet held off Griffith and Hall, pulling away with the heat victory.
Westbrook’s John Peters was quick to steal the lead in the final 15-lap heat.
He held onto the lead until lap 10, where TJ Brackett pulled to his outside to challenge him for the top spot.
Brackett took over the lead the following lap, eventually taking home the heat victory over Peters and Scarborough Texas Roadhouse driver, Donnie Colpritt, Jr.
Once the field was set, it was time for the 150-lap feature.
TJ Brackett took off with the early lead in the feature, but John Peters successfully stole it away from him on lap 4.
Garrett Hall was on the move early in the #94 machine, breaking the top 5 on lap 7.
Gary Smith was slowly closing in on John Peters at the front of the field, diminishing his lead to just two car lengths by lap 27.
Smith made his way to Peters’ inside on lap 30, challenging him for the top spot.
The leaders began approaching lap traffic on lap 32, allowing Peters to put a little bit of distance between him and the #75 of Gary Smith.
It only took Gary Smith a handful of laps to catch back up to Peters, with Smith taking over the lead on lap 38.
Jeff Taylor was on the move, stealing the runner-up spot away from John Peters on lap 55.
By the halfway mark, Gary Smith had extended his lead to a full straightaway over his competitors.
Points leader DJ Shaw and J.T. Thurlow made contact on lap 84, sending both drivers into the turn 2 wall. The incident led to the first caution of the feature.
The caution was a big break for fan-favorite Curt Gerry, who was just car lengths away from surrendering a lap to the leader after starting the race deep in the field back in 28th.
Gary Smith had a good cushion on the restart with a handful of lap cars separating him from Jeff Taylor back in the runner-up spot.
Reid Lanpher was on the move mid-race, breaking the top 5 on lap 87.
After having a solid run all day, TJ Brackett took a spin on lap 98 in turn 4. The incident led to another caution.
Corey Bubar got the lucky dog under the caution and fell to the back of the line of lead lap cars, leaving no cars separating the leaders on the restart.
After running up front all day, John Peters took a spin on the restart. Everyone miraculously avoided any damage, but Corey Bubar took a spin as well.
The incident led to another caution, but it also powered Curt Gerry into the top-5.
Reid Lanpher made his way to the outside of Jeff Taylor on lap 104, challenging him for the runner-up spot. He eventually cleared him on lap 109, setting his sights on Gary Smith at the top of the leaderboard.
Curt Gerry made his way to Garrett Hall’s inside on lap 122, challenging him for the fourth spot.
After racing side-by-side with Jeff Taylor in traffic, Reid Lanpher took a spin on lap 130 in turn 4.
Lanpher lost a handful of spots, falling back to eighth as the field remained green.
Kelly Moore took a hard slide through the front stretch grass on lap 148.
The field remained green after the incident, but held Garrett Hall up, who fell back to fourth as Curt Gerry took over third.
Gary Smith rolled into the victory, taking home his first-ever career victory at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and only his second-ever Pro All Star Series win.
Jeff Taylor, Curt Gerry, Garrett Hall and Travis Benjamin rounded out the top five.
The Pro All Star Series sure brought the heat to Beech Ridge on Sunday with 150 laps full of action-packed racing!
You can catch the next PASS event this Friday, September 28th, at Thunder Road in Barre, Vermont.
Will you be there?
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