Tuesday night was a picture-perfect day for racing, with clear skies, warm temperatures and a heavy crowd on hand for Beech Ridge Motor Speedway’s annual “American Celebration”.
The night would feature 50 laps for the Pro Series, 35 laps for the Sport Series and 30 laps for the Wildcats in addition to a fireworks display. This week is arguably the most-anticipated week of the season, with 3 nights of feature racing within 7 calendar days.
The Wildcats division was the first division to take to the track for their qualifying heats. Kaleb Bean’s day started out rough as he lost power before the qualifying heat and was pushed to the pits. Once the field got rolling, Ray Letellier took off with the early lead as Wade Kennedy quickly powered into the runner-up spot. Kennedy was all over Letellier for the lead by lap 10, but was able to hold him off, scoring the heat victory. Mike Roe rounded out the top 3.
The leaders were 3-wide for the first two laps of the second Wildcats heat before Nate Leavitt pulled away from the competition on lap 3. Dave Cameron was also on the move early into the heat, clearing Joe Morse for the runner-up spot on lap 4. Nate Leavitt was out to lunch at the front of the field, scoring the heat victory over Dave Cameron and Joe Morse.
Nick Cusack and Dan McKeage started on the front row in the first Pro Series heat. The two drivers were neck-and-neck for the lead for the better portion of the heat, but McKeage finally got the edge over Cusack on lap 10. McKeage went on to secure the heat victory, followed by Nick Cusack and Bill Rodgers.
Mike Rowe took off with the early lead in the second Pro Series heat. Dave Farrington, Jr. was right there on his toes, all over Rowe for the top spot on lap 4. He made his way to Rowe’s outside on lap 7, stealing away the position the following lap. Farrington, Jr. captured the heat victory, followed by Mike Rowe and Corey Bubar.
Curt Gleason also got off to a rough start in the first Sport Series heat, being pushed to the pits before the initial start. Once the field got rolling, Jason Curtis powered away with the early lead, but Todd Libby was quick to steal it away. Chasing the Checkered driver, Charlie Sanborn, was on the move in the early laps of the heat, clearing Devin Curit for the runner-up spot on lap 2. Curt Gleason powered through his troubles, returning to the track on lap 3.
Charlie Sanborn was still on the move mid-heat, clearing Jason Curtis for the runner-up spot on lap 6. Sanborn then made his way to the inside of Todd Libby for the lead on lap 8, clearing him just two laps later. Devin Curit quickly made his way around Todd Libby in the closing laps and was right on Charlie’s heels. Charlie held him off, scoring yet another heat victory. Todd Libby rounded out the top 3.
Matt Dow took off with the early lead in the second Sport Series heat, the final heat of the night. Bubba Pelton was right on his heels and stole away the lead on lap 4, pulling away from the competition. Frank Wear and Ryan Phillips spearheaded a battle for third on lap 6, continuing the back and forth position swaps for the entirety of the feature. Bubba Pelton took home the heat victory over Matt Dow. Frank Wear rounded out the top 3, beating Ryan Phillips to the line by a nose.
Once all three fields were set, Wade Kennedy took off with the early lead in the 30-lap Wildcats feature. Dave Cameron was on the move early, advancing into the runner-up spot on lap 3. By lap 4, Cameron was all over Wade Kennedy for the top spot, later making his way to Kennedy’s inside on lap 6. Lewis Anderson took a spin on lap 6 in turn 4, but the field remained green as Anderson was able to keep rolling.
Dave Cameron continued his pursuit the front of the field, taking over the lead on lap 7. Nate Leavitt was also on a mission a little further back. advancing to third over Ray Letellier on lap 8. Kaleb Bean’s race day woes continued as he took the right-hand turn down to the pits on lap 11.
Nate Leavitt made his way to Wade Kennedy’s inside on lap 12, challenging him for the runner-up spot and completing the pass the following lap. Cole Watson was on the move mid-race, advancing to fourth over Ray Letellier on lap 14. Nate Leavitt was hungry for more, finding his way to Dave Cameron’s inside on lap 21 and clearing him for the lead the following lap. Nate Leavitt took home the checkered flag, capturing his first feature victory of the 2019 season. Dave Cameron, Wade Kennedy, Cole Watson and Ray Letellier rounded out the top 5.
With two solid runner-up finishes in a row, Dave Cameron was able to extend his points lead to 31 points over Cole Watson and Nate Leavitt, who is still looking to recover points and play catch-up after his disqualification just two races ago. If he continues to win both the feature and heat races, he will for sure be headed in the right direction!
After a salute to America and the traditional out-of-car driver introductions, the Pro Series drivers took to the track for their 50-lap feature. Nick Cusack powered to the early lead as Gary Smith faced trouble in the early laps, falling to the back of the pack on lap 3. Donnie Colpritt, Jr. was on the move in the early laps, advancing into the runner-up spot on lap 5. Bill Rodgers was also coming through the field, going from fifth to third on lap 6 and later advancing to second over Colpritt on lap 8. By lap 9, he was all over Nick Cusack for the lead.
By lap 15, there was a 5-car breakaway at the front of the field with Cusack and Rodgers still swapping the lead back and forth with every passing lap. Wyatt Alexander made slight contact with Josh Childs on lap 33, resulting in Childs taking a spin in turn 3. This incident was followed by Mike Rowe and Bobby Nadeau making contact in turn 3, resulting in Nadeau taking a ride on top of Rowe’s car before coming down on all 4 wheels. The incident left heavy damage to the left rear of Rowe’s #24 machine and led to a caution. Points leader Dave Oliver caught some damage in all of the chaos, also heading to the pits under yellow.
Nick Cusack elected the outside line for the restart, lining up next to Bill Rodgers. Mike Rowe made contact with Josh Childs on lap 35, resulting in Childs going around yet again in turn 3. The incident led to yet another late-race caution.
Bill Rodgers got a big jump on the restart and quickly began pulling away from his competitors. Dave Farrington, Jr. made his way to the inside of Nick Cusack on lap 37, challenging him for the runner-up spot. He cleared him two laps later, then setting his sights on Bill Rodgers at the front of the field. Farrington was all over Rodgers’ back bumper with just 5 laps to go.
Farrington pulled to Rodgers’ inside with just 3 laps to go, challenging him for the top spot. The two drivers battled it out, tooth and nail, until the very end, with Rodgers beating Farrington to the line by a .037 margin of victory. This is the third time this season that we have seen such a close battle on the last lap in the Pro Series, creating excitement for both the fans and competitors. Nick Cusack, Corey Bubar and Donnie Colpritt, Jr. rounded out the top five.
With his heat victory and second place finish, Dave Farrington, Jr. was able to move into the points lead over Dave Oliver, who had an uncharacteristic tough night. But, with still over half the race season remaining, things can change in the blink of an eye.
The 35-lap Sport Series feature was the final feature race of the night. Charlie Sanborn powered into the early lead, pulling away as his competitors battled it out for position behind him. Drivers were 3-wide for third on lap 4, with Mike St. Pierre holding onto the spot over both Bubba Pelton and Todd Libby. Frank Wear was on the move during the early laps of the feature, advancing to fourth on lap 7.
Bubba Pelton was also on the move early, challenging Mike St. Pierre for third on lap 9. With the battle going on outside the top 2, Charlie Sanborn and Devin Curit were able to pull into a healthy lead over the rest of the competition, with Curit lingering closely behind the #1 machine. Jason Curtis came to a slow on lap 23, heading down to the pits.
After battling it out for a handful of laps, Bubba Pelton finally cleared Mike St. Pierre for third on lap 24. He then set his eyes on the #5 of Devin Curit, clearing him for the runner-up spot on lap 26. After showing strength throughout the course of the day, Devin Curit began to lose steam in the closing laps, falling back due to having a tire going down at the end of the feature.
By lap 28, Charlie Sanborn held a healthy 1/2 straightaway lead over the rest of the field. Bubba Pelton attempted to reel him in over the course of the final 9 laps, but Charlie was already gone and away.
Sanborn took home the feature victory, which was well-deserved after a win-less season in 2018 and a tough start to the 2019 season. It was bittersweet for Sanborn and the #1 Sanborn Racing Enterprises crew, as Charlie has had success in heat races this season, but (up until this point) hadn’t figured out the formula to achieving the same success in the feature races. This is also the first feature win with Chasing the Checkered as the primary sponsor.
Charlie was over-the-moon excited in Victory Lane, jumping on the hood of his car, waving his checkered flag proudly and spraying the front stretch down with water. During his Victory Lane speech, he thanked his crew chief, Matt King, who works tirelessly on his car, teammate Dave Charest, his family and friends and his proud sponsors, including Chasing the Checkered. The win creates great momentum for the #1 team as we head into the second half of the 2019 NASCAR Nite season.
Charlie took home the feature victory, but Bubba Pelton, Frank Wear, Mike St. Pierre and Terry Merrill rounded out the top five. Even with a finish outside the top five, Clyde Hennessey still holds a ten point lead over Frank Wear and just 15 points separates the top 4 drivers in points, proving just how competitive the division is this season. With still 11 races remaining in the season, anything is possible!
Tuesday night brought a ton of excitement to Scarborough in more ways than one. Not only were fans able to enjoy fireworks, they were also able to see two first time winners (in 2019!) in Victory Lane and a heated/exciting race to the finish in the Pro Series. With so much of the race season still remaining, it’s only going to get better from here!
NASCAR Nite returns this upcoming Saturday, July 6th, at Beech Ridge. Racing begins at 7:00 pm. Adult admission is only $12 and as always, kids 12 and under get in for free.
See you there!
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