This past Saturday, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway hosted their third open-competition race day of the 2020 season. Limited fan attendance allowed for 200 spectators to enjoy racing from the grand stands and the Turn 5 Tavern. This new track/state mandate also welcomes drivers’ young children to finally attend the races and support their parents, which is a big step for the family-oriented sport that we love during the COVID era.
The day kicked off with the 20-lap Beetle Bugs feature. Notably absent from this week’s field was Brandon Lizotte, who picked up back-to-back feature victories in the last two races. But, we saw a bigger field of Beetle Bugs this week with both returning competitors and new faces taking on the competition.
Ed Johnson took off with the early lead in the feature, but the top four drivers were neck-and-neck by lap 5 with Josh Knoll riding on Johnson’s coat tails. Lap traffic posed a challenge for the leaders on lap 9 and allowed for Darryl Quinlan to jump into the runner-up spot behind Johnson.
Josh Knoll slid up the track on lap 12, allowing for Adam Warnock to advance into third. Warnock was on the warpath in the coming laps, advancing into the runner-up spot over Darryl Quinlan just two laps later. He posed a threat for Ed Johnson in the closing laps, but Johnson was able to hold him off, securing the victory. Josh Knoll, Darryl Quinlan and Robert Taylor rounded out the top five.
Brandon Johnson and Kris Knox went head-to-head for the lead in the early laps of the Mad Bomber Varsity feature, with Johnson gaining the edge on lap 2. Dean Hanscom posed a challenge for Scott Eck on lap 6, battling him for third. Eck won the battle as Hanscom began to fall back through the field.
Mike DeKoning and Chris Burgess powered into third and fourth over Scott Eck on lap 15, knocking last week’s feature winner off of the podium. Kris Knox was all over Brandon Johnson for the lead once again on lap 19, but Knox scurried sideways on lap 21, allowing for Mike DeKoning to take over the runner-up spot. Brandon Johnson was able to hold off his competitors, securing the feature victory. Mike DeKoning, Kris Knox, Chris Burgess and Scott Eck rounded out the top five.
The victory was Brandon Johnson’s first Varsity feature win and also his first checkered flag since 2016. Brandon and his father Ed shared a special father-son moment in Victory Lane as they embraced following Brandon’s win and posed for Victory Lane photos together, which was an unforgettable moment for the Johnson family.
Rob Flaherty took off with the early lead in the Street Devils feature. The #3 of Eric Parlin began smoking on lap 3 and Darryl Quinlan later made his way around him on lap 5 for the runner-up spot. Quinlan took a spin on lap 11 in turn 2, resulting in a yellow flag and forcing Quinlan to restart from the tail of the field.
Flaherty pulled away with the lead once again on the restart as Darryl Quinlan got to work, making his way back around Eric Parlin for the runner-up spot on lap 12. He was all over Rob Flaherty’s back bumper with one lap to go, but Flaherty was able to hold him off, securing the feature victory. Eric Parlin and Todd Sargent rounded out the top 4.
Josh Hodgdon, David Savoie and Joey Israelson stacked up in turn 2 on the initial lap of the Mad Bomber Junior Varsity feature, leading to an early-race caution. Tyler Lerman took off with the lead following the yellow with Jeremy Pratt in tow. After the earlier incident, Joey Israelson began to gain ground on lap 6, advancing to third over Brandon Williams with Josh Hodgdon in tow. Hodgdon overtook the lead shortly after this maneuver.
Israelson powered to the lead over Josh Hodgdon on lap 7, but Hodgdon was still there as the two drivers made contact on the very same lap, resulting in Hodgdon taking over the top spot once more. Israelson later fell off-pace on lap 22, retiring to the pits. Hodgdon held off his competitors, securing the feature victory. Brandon Williams and Jeremy Pratt rounded out the top 3.
Jeff Gillette, Sr. took off with the early lead over his son, Jeff Gillette, Jr., in the Mighty Trucks feature. Notably missing from the field, though, was weekly competitor and past champion, Keith Petrin. Brad Weismann took a hard spin in turn 3 on the initial lap, collecting the #5 of Kolby Morrell and resulting in an early-race caution.
Derrick Drown moved up to the outer groove on the restart, falling back to fifth place as Jeff Gillette, Sr. pulled away with the race lead once again. Kolby Morrell was on the move mid-race, advancing back into the top 5 on lap 12 after restarting at the tail-end of the field. Jeff Gillette, Jr. and Jared Kimball made contact on lap 15, resulting in Gillette going for a spin in turn 2. The incident led to the second caution of the feature.
Derrick Drown lost some ground on the restart as Kolby Morrell advanced into fourth over him, but he began making up that ground on lap 17 as he stole back fifth place from John Curtis. Dave Lamson was all over Jared Kimball for the runner-up spot on the final lap, but Kolby Morrell was right on their toes. Kimball was able to hold off his competitors as Jeff Gillette, Sr. scored his second consecutive feature victory in the division. Dave Lamson, Kolby Morrell and Derrick Drown rounded out the top five.
Week three of open competition at Beech Ridge brought both returning competitors and new faces to Victory Lane. Fans and teams also got to witness an unforgettable Father-Son moment in Victory Lane that their family will remember for years to come.
There are still four weeks remaining in the 2020 season and our local short tracks need our support more than ever before.
Make sure to do your part, support your local short track and help max out the capacity so these tracks can continue to thrive for years to come.
Open competition at Beech Ridge continues next Saturday, August 15th, at 3:00 pm. We hope to see you there!
