MacDonald Wins Second Straight TD Bank 250
ACT Competitors Take Six of Top Ten Spots
Rowley, MA’s Eddie MacDonald earned his second straight TD Bank 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, July 18. MacDonald inherited the lead from Center Harbor, NH’s Brad Leighton who had a flat tire on lap 203. MacDonald was uncontested for the remaining 47 laps to earn the $29,800 pay day, which included lap money.
Leighton climbed his way from his 5th starting position to take the lead from pole sitter Brian Hoar on lap 13. He would then proceed to lap all but the top five cars on the racetrack before a lap 140 caution (the second of the race). The majority of the field used the lap 140 caution to make pit stops for fresh tires. Hoar used a unique strategy and just took one tire on the pit stop and beat Leighton back onto the racetrack.
With fresh tires Leighton again jumped out to the lead and was for the most part uncontested until a flat tire on lap 203 sent him spinning off the top of turns 1 and 2, bringing out the fifth and final caution of the 250. Leighton was able to remain on the lead lap and returned to the track after changing his tire as the sixth and final car on the lead lap.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Hoar used this final caution period to make another pit stop and use his final three tires. Hoar, Leighton and Nick Sweet, who had just raced his way back onto the lead lap four laps before the caution, all raced their way through the field. The only other cars on the lead lap at the time were MacDonald, Brent Dragon and Corey Morgan.
With the freshest tires on the track, Hoar managed to get back to second and appeared to have the fastest car but ran out of time. Morgan, who also raced his way back onto the lead lap on lap 144, would finish third, while Dragon and Leighton completed the top five.
Sweet remained on the lead lap until his rearend broke going into turn one on the white flag lap. He was unable to finish the race and finished sixth, the first car down one lap. Patrick Laperle was the top finishing Canadian competitor and finished seventh, also down one lap. Don Wentworth, Dave Pembroke and Ricky Rolfe rounded out the top ten.
The American-Canadian Tour was well represented with Hoar, Dragon, Leighton, Sweet, Laperle and Pembroke all claimed top tens. Seventeen of the 39 TD Bank 250 starters are competitors on the ACT Late Model Tour, Serie ACT Castrol Edge or Thunder Road Late Models.
Many of the same drivers will compete in next weekend’s (Saturday, July 24) ACT Late Model Tour 150 lap event at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, ME. It will be the seventh event on the 2010 ACT Tour schedule. TD Bank 250 runner-up Brian Hoar was last year’s Beech Ridge 150 winner. Post time is 6:00pm.
Official TD Bank 250 Results
Sunday, July 18, 2010
37th ANNUAL TD BANK 250
1 – 17MA Eddie MacDonald
2 – 37VT Brian Hoar
3 – 26 Corey Morgan
4 – 55VT Brent Dragon
5 – 55NH Brad Leighton
6 – 88VT Nick Sweet
7 – 91QC Patrick Laperle
8 – 63 Don Wentworth
9 – 44VT Dave Pembroke
10 – 51ME Ricky Rolfe
11 – 85 Travis Steams
12 – 7ME Glen Luce
13 – 94 Shawn Martin
14 – 3 Dennis Spencer Jr.
15 – 60 Tim Brackett
16 – 71NH Scott Dragon
17 – 50VT Jay Laquerre
18 – 08 Donnie Lashua
19 – 03 Travis Adams
20 – 48QC Karl Allard
21 – 6 Tommy Ricker
22 – 12MI Brad Keselowski
23 – 10NH Ben Rowe
24 – 0x Shane Green
25 – 7VT Eric Williams
26 – 15 Ben Ashline
27 – 07ME Scott Luce
28 – 4 Bradley Babb
29 – 97NH Joey Polewarczyk, Jr.
30 – 88 Jeff Taylor
31 – 50ME Jeff White
32 – 78NH Quinny Welch
33 – 61 TJ Brackett
34 – 11RI Ryan Vanasse
35 – 6VT Cris Michaud
36 – 22VT Roger Brown
37 – 27NH Wayne Helliwell, Jr.
38 – 2ME Billy Childs, Jr.
39 – 5 Dale Verrill
Sources: ACT PR