Story by Matt Grant
July 24, 2014
Scarborough, ME - The Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour made their way back to "The Ridge" for round seven of Thursday Thunder. The track had been washed down by a rainstorm the previous night, which took away most of the grip that the drivers have been accustomed to. As a result, the fans got a very interesting outcome of a race! 15 cars occupied the pit area for the 25 lap feature event. A pair of New Hampshire Masters, the 2 of Darren Johnson and the 8 of Matt Chagnot, started the race on the front row. Johnson was able to keep his car out front for over half the race, making his coupe as wide as he possibly could. On lap 15, the 59 of Reid Lanpher was able to use the outside line to make his way past Johnson for the lead from the 10th starting spot, with the 67 of Andy Santerre right on his heels. While the two teammates broke away from the pack, some intense two by two racing was going on from 3rd on back. The caution was nearly drawn on several occasions, due to spins and airborne cars after to wheel to wheel contact, but all the drivers were able to gather their cars up quickly and continue on without much of a hitch. The checkered flag fell for Reid Lanpher, as the 16 year old picked up his first win of 2014, and his first career Thursday Thunder win! Andy Santerre rolled to a 2nd place finish, and the 81 of Dan Winter grabbed his first podium of the season, finishing 3rd. The man he beat by inches for the 3rd spot, Matt Chagnot, earned his best career finish in legends with a 4th place effort. Matt Grant edged out the 10 of Ed Getty for 5th. The 38 of Mathew Bourgoine who was previously unbeaten at Thunder, finished 7th after having to check up to avoid some spinning cars. The next event on the Tour will be on Saturday, for the second of four visits to New Hampshire Motor Speedway's quarter mile oval. Can the NHMS regulars continue their dominance, or will one of the NELCAR faithful steal the show? For more information about legends cars and how YOU can get involved, visit www.NELCAR.net, Like NELCAR on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter @NelcarLegends !
Feature Finish
1-59 Reid Lanpher - Manchester - Y
2-67 Andy Santerre - Yarmouth - P
3-81 Dan Winter - Windham, NH - S
4-8 Matt Chagnot - Derry, NH - M
5-84 Matt Grant - Windham - P
6-10 Ed Getty - Gray - M
7-38 Mathew Bourgoine - Newport - P
8-19 Kevin Girard Jr. - Old Orchard Beach - S
9-399 Bob Weymouth - Topsham - M
10-70 Tylar Braunschweig - W. Newfield - P
11-2 Darren Johnson* - Pembroke, NH - M
12-17 Terry Kirk - Durham - M
13-72 Mike Humphrey* - Cornish - M
14-33 Alan Smith - Lincoln - M
15-29 Trevor Sanborn - Parsonsfield - S
* denotes rookie