The PASS Modified division made it’s return to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on Sunday, adding excitement to the Pro All Star Series program.
The day started out with two 10-lap heat races for the division.
Billy Dixon faced troubles from the get-go, getting a flat left rear tire on the first lap of the first heat.
Dixon made contact with the #14 of Mark Napolitano, leading to an early caution.
Wayne Allard took off with the top spot on the restart, but Wayne Whitten, Jr. and Jariet Harrison joined the battle on lap 4.
Harrison jumped to the outside of Allard and Whitten on lap 8, making it a 3-wide battle for the top spot.
He merely edged out Wayne Allard at the finish line, capturing the heat victory.
Bruce Helmuth powered away with the early lead in the second 10-lap qualifying heat.
Spencer Morse was on a mission mid-heat, peeking to the outside of Helmuth on lap 6, searching for the lead.
Helmuth managed to hold him off, capturing the heat victory and setting the field for the 40-lap feature.
Wayne Allard took off like a rocket in the early laps of the feature, extending his lead to 1/2 of a straightaway by lap 5.
Drivers were 3-wide for the runner-up spot on the backstretch on lap 5, with Harrison coming out on top.
The #33 of Billy Dixon took a hard spin on the front stretch that lap, collecting Patrick Sullivan and Kristina Nadeau. Derek Kneeland also caught a little bit of damage from the chaos in the #10 Kate Re machine.
The incident led to the first caution of the feature.
Drivers were 3-wide on the restart at the front of the field, with Bruce Helmuth powering into the runner-up spot.
Helmuth continued his pursuit to the front on lap 9, taking over the top spot.
After fighting his way through the field, Ben Tinker finally broke the top 5 on lap 10.
By lap 20, Tinker had climbed his way into the top 3.
While battling for position, both Ben Tinker and Jariet Harrison made hard contact with the backstretch wall on lap 20. The incident led to a mid-race caution and took both drivers out of contention for the win.
Spencer Morse was on the move in the second half of the race, immediately challenging Wayne Whitten, Jr. for the runner-up spot on the restart.
The two drivers made it a 3-way battle for the top spot on lap 25.
Whitten broke free of Spencer Morse on lap 30, challenging Helmuth for the top spot.
On lap 31, all 3 leaders briefly fell back in line.
Whitten made his way to Helmuth’s inside again on lap 36, advancing into the lead that lap.
Whitten took home the victory after making his incredible voyage from last to first.
Spencer Morse, Bruce Helmuth, Gary Shackford and Wayne Allard rounded out the top five.
After the wicked turn of events that occurred mid-race that took two heavy-hitter’s out of contention, it was cool to see some new faces in Victory Lane on Sunday.
You can catch the PASS Modified Series at their next event on Saturday, October 13th at Oxford Plains Speedway. The racing action begins at 2:00 p.m.
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!
