Story by Matt Grant
September 6, 2014
Wiscasset, ME - The Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour rolled through the gates of the friendly confines known as Wiscasset Speedway once again, to kick off the final month of racing in the 2014 season. With thunderstorms threatening the area most of the afternoon, the track crew was determined to get all the racing in, even if it meant waiting for several hours. A field of 13 cars took to the fastest oval in Maine for 25 laps of excitement!
For the first heat, the 8 of Matt Chagnot led the field to the green, but outside pole sitter Darren Johnson in the Circle 2 quickly grabbed the top spot. The two New Hampshire drivers pulled away from the pack, and held off the late challenges to secure the front row for the feature. Johnson earned his first career heat win, over Chagnot and the 96 of Wyatt Alexander.
Just before heat 2 was set to take the green, the skies opened up, and rain fell on the speedway for the better part of two hours. After things cleared up, the 84 of Matt Grant and the 44 of Andy Santerre occupied the front row. Santerre got a good jump on the start and moved into the lead. Grant and the 38 of Mathew Bourgoine hounded Santerre for nearly all 10 laps, but couldn't find a way around the four time NASCAR champ. Santerre held on to win, his first in a legends car, over Grant and Bourgoine.
As stated earlier, Darren Johnson and Matt Chagnot started on the front row for the feature race. Chagnot got a good start, and was able to put his familiar black and gold Hooligan Motorsports ride on the point in the early going. Mathew Bourgoine started 10th, and made quick work of the pack, slicing his way to the lead in only a handful of laps. Hot on his heels though, were Andy Santerre, Wyatt Alexander and Matt Grant, who rallied on the outside behind Bourgoine to take over spots two through four. Around lap seven, pole sitter Darren Johnson went for a solo spin to bring out the only caution of the race. On the restart, Bourgoine, Alexander and Grant distanced themselves from the pack, after a clutch failure on Santerre's car. The race ran clean and green the rest of the distance, and the small crowd who braved the elements watched Mathew Bourgoine add another win to his season total!
With the win, Bourgoine has won all four races at Wiscasset this season, and will have a chance to go 5-for-5 in a couple weeks. Wyatt Alexander never let the 38 out of his sights, en route to a strong 2nd place effort, Matt Grant took home a 3rd place finish, matching the result from the last time he raced (Spud), 4th place finisher Bob Weymouth in the 399 ran a quiet race and brought home some much needed Masters division points to help in his quest for the National Championship, and early leader Matt Chagnot earned himself a solid 5th place result.
Next up for the Tour is the highly anticipated PASS 300 weekend at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, an event that typically draws a high car count and a big crowd. Mathew Bourgoine will look to build on his points lead and earn another win, but it certainly won't be easy, as all the top guns will be aiming to grab the checkers for themselves.
For more information on how YOU can put yourself in the seat of a legends car, visit www.NELCAR.net, "Like " NELCAR on Facebook, and follow along on Twitter @NelcarLegends.
Feature Finish
1-38 Mathew Bourgoine - Newport - P
2-96 Wyatt Alexander - Ellsworth - Y
3-84 Matt Grant - Windham - P
4-399 Bob Weymouth - Topsham - M
5-8 Matt Chagnot - Derry, NH - M
6-33 Alan Smith - Lincoln - M
7-10 Ed Getty - Gray - M
8-70 Tylar Braunschweig - W. Newfield - P
9-17 Terry Kirk - Durham - M
10-00 Phillip Brackett III* - South Portland - Y
11-2 Darren Johnson* - Pembroke, NH - M
12-113 Casey Nash - Richmond - M
13-44 Andy Santerre - Yarmouth - P
Heat Finish
Heat 1
1-2 Johnson*
2-8 Chagnot
3-96 Alexander
4-33 Smith
5-399 Weymouth
6-10 Getty
7-70 Braunschweig
Heat 2
1-44 Santerre
2-84 Grant
3-38 Bourgoine
4-17 Kirk
5-113 Nash
6-00 Brackett III*
* denotes rookie