Action aplenty as Thursday Night Extravaganza kicks of PASS 400 weekend

Naples ME (9/11/2009) Over 100 mid-week racing warriors from throughout the region came together Thursday night to kick off PASS 400 Weekend at Scarborough Maine’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, and the action was fast and furious in all four divisions. 50 lap features were the order of the evening, and the extra distance features gave these racers a change to stretch their legs and, in some cases, come from behind.

Adam Polvinen and Scott Farrington Started on the front row in the four cylinder feature, and Farrington got the jump on Polvinen for the early lead. Natasha Dyer and Kyle Hewins used the outside groove to work their way to the front and Dyer took over the point on lap six. Polvinen regained the second spot, and tried to make his move under Dyer on lap 11. The pair raced side by side for several laps until Polvinen edged by on the bottom with Hewins, Troy Jordan and Farrington following Polvinen by Dyer as well.

A quick caution gave Hewins the outside pole on the restart, and he took advantage to take over the top spot. At the halfway mark it was Hewins, Polvinen, Jordan, Farrington and Dyer. A lap 27 caution brought the field back together and on the restart and Polvinen put his VW back out front, but Hewins came back to  challenge on the outside.  With ten to go it was still Polvinen on the bottom, Hewins still outside and Jordan right there in third. Jordan made his move under Hewins on lap 42 for second but Hewins quickly regained the spot. The caution flew on lap 43 for a minor fracas off turn four, setting up a seven lap shootout for the win. Hewins got the jump on the outside, with Polvinen hot on his heels. Jeff Hebert worked his way up to third and Jordan now fourth.   At the stripe it was Hewins in victory lane, Polvinen second and Hebert third.

The truck feature rolled off second with Chad Binette and Brian Beaulieu on the front row.  Binette got out front early and Tony Field took the second spot away from Beaulieu.  Binette started to work lapped traffic on lap 14 and continued to drive away from the pack. At the half way mark Binette was out in front by a straightaway over Field and Kevin Oliver.  The first caution flew on lap 34, tightening up the field but Binette was on a rail. He held the top spot on the restart and  the top two left the rest behind. At the checker it was Binette by a straightaway over Field, followed by Beaulieu, who was later disqualified in tech. Beaulieu’s DQ  gave  Oliver the third spot .

50 laps for the JV/305’s was next and  Archer Bernard led the twenty nine car field to green followed by Paul Ureneck , Renn Noble, John Lord and Tom Lovejoy. A quick caution set up a restart that saw Noble successfully make it three wide, just before  a melee on the front stretch that cost Ureneck his spot in the front of the field and spoiled Bernard’s’ night.

Noble lined up with John Lord on the restart, the front two battling with Lovejoy and Scott Dery. Noble kept the top spot until lap six when Tom Lovejoy took over. Lovejoy looked strong, motoring away from Jason Curtis, Dennis Hall, John Lord and Scott Dery. The field caught up to Lovejoy on several more cautions but he held sway on every one. At the half way it was Lovejoy, Hall, Dery, Curtis and Noble. Lap 39 saw caution number six fly, setting up a wild restart. Lovejoy pitted from the lead with problems , and it was now Scott Dery’s turn at the point with  Curtis second, Noble third with Lord now back in fourth. When the green flew Curtis took over the top spot with Dery and Lord in tow.  Curtis held on for the win but Paul Ureneck raced all the way from the back of the field to take second on the white flag lap over Dery and, Hall and John Lord.

The Varsity/Outlaw /Mad Bomber cars wrapped up the night with Josh Childs on the point and Larry Emerson to his outside. Emerson took the early lead but Childs spun all alone out of his second spot to bring out the caution. After a rash of yellows Larry Emerson kept the point but Matt Dow came up to challenge Emerson and came away with the lead on lap 18. Emerson rode second with Steve Moon third Kenny Robbins fourth and Jim Davis fifth. Josh Childs was putting on a show from the rear, running sixth at the half way mark. Childs got into Robbins on lap 29 and Robbins spun, giving Childs the fifth spot.

Up front Matt Dow was looking like he had the field covered, with Emerson still second and Moon in a battle with Davis for third.  Caution flew at lap 37 and the front five lined up for the restart with no lapped cars in between. Emerson took the lead from Dow on top and Jim Davis looked low on Dow for second. Their battle gave Emerson a little breathing room, with Dow winning the skirmish for second. Childs got around Robbins for fourth spot just as the caution flew. At the green Emerson and Dow battled side by side with five to go, but Phil Knowlton’s car erupted in flames to bring out a red flag. The blaze was quickly extinguished, setting up a four lap shoot out for the win. Emerson held off Dow on the restart but Dow and Robbins got wide off turn four, handing second to Josh Childs and third to Jim Davis. Robbins and Steve Moon finished in the fourth and fifth spots.

PASS 400 Weekend   continues on Saturday with  qualifying races for all six weekend divisions and features for the NELCAR Legends, Road Runners and  a $1,000.00 to win   75 lapper for Wildcat/Strictly racers.The grandstands open at 10:00, just as practice takes to the track. The first qualifier goes green at 12:15 PM.

The front gate swings open at 11:00 AM on PASS 300 Sunday and there’s an hour of rotating final practice before the PASS Super Late Models get on track for their “B” feature. Then it’s time for the $2,000.00 to win PASS Sportsman 100 followed by a 50 lapper for the PASS Mods. Time and weather permitting, a front stretch driver meet and greet will precede the PASS Super Late Model 300.

The latest PASS news and standings is on line at www.proallstarsseries.com and www.racewithpass.com

Unofficial Top Ten by division – PASS 400 Week end / Thursday Night Extravaganza -  Beech Ridge Motor Speedway -  Scarborough ME -  9/10/2009

Four Cylinders – 50 Lap Feature              

1) 54 Kyle Hewins Leeds ME 2) Adam Polvinen Oxford ME 3) 86 Jeff Hebert Auburn ME 4) 59 Cory Beaulieu W. Paris ME 5) 521 Scott Farrington Minot ME 6) 32 Natasha Dyer Arrowsic ME 7) 83 Brady Romano Livermore Falls ME 8) 11 Jeff Walker Saco 9) 09 Chris Peters N. Waterboro ME 10) 93 Jamie Leavitt Minot ME

Race Trucks – 50 Lap Feature

1) 96 Chad Binette Buxton ME  2) 1 Tony Field Buxton ME 3) 28 Kevin Oliver Gray ME 4) 4) 3 Duane Booth Wells ME 5) 69 Ryan Farrar Sumner ME 6) 88 Chaz Briggs Westbrook ME 7) 02 Chad Emery Buxton ME 8) 68 Opie Allard Harpswell ME 9) 22 Jeff Schmidt Mechanic Falls ME 10) 17 Ross Spurling New Gloucester ME

JV/305’s – 50 Lap Feature

1) 5 Jason Curtis Hollis ME 2) 8 Paul Ureneck Portland ME 3) 16 Scott Dery Hollis ME 4) 11 Dennis Hall Scarborough ME 5) 21 John Lord Scarborough ME 6) 19 Ryan Tenny Scarborough ME 7) 64 Renn Noble Kennebbunk ME 8) 22 Tom Lovejoy Kennebunk ME 9) 25 Bob Hogan Wells ME 10) 88 Steve Swendsen Gorham ME

Varsity/Outlaws – 50 Lap Feature

1) 139 Larry Emerson Durham ME 2) 3 Josh Childs Oxford ME 3) 17 Jim Davis Gray ME 4) 36 Kenny Robbins Canton ME 5) 19 Steve Moon Gray ME 6) 84 Matt Dow Buxton ME 7) 00 Guy Childs Sr. Turner ME 8) 16 Brian Picard Gorham ME 9) 04 Zach Bowie Poland ME 10) 26 Corey Morgan Lewiston ME