Ladyga Dominates for Star Win
The Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour returned to Star Speedway this past weekend. With the biggest field of the season, totaling 26 cars, and with the competition as tight as its been all season, there were several drivers looking for a big day in the series first run at Star. Last season when the Tour went to Star for the first time ever for an exhibition race, it was won in dominating fashion by Nick Ladyga in the 3 car. He was looking to make it two in a row at the tough quarter mile.
The first of two heat races had defending Nelcar champion Evan Beaulieu on the pole with young driver Joey Parker in the 60 on his outside. On the start, Beaulieu got out to the early lead while Matt Bourgoine and Ladyga worked into the top three. Just a few laps into the race, Parker went for a spin off turn two. He was able to continue on but the 20 of Taylor Martin and the 33 of Alan Smith were involved in the incident as well, which saw Smith head to the pit area early. On the restart, Beaulieu once again got out to the early lead, but with a few laps to go Ladyga ran him down and was able to put the pass and get the heat race win. Beaulieu finished second with Bourgoine in third.
The second heat race would have Kevin Hutchens on the pole with former series champion Bob Weymouth on his outside. On the start, Hutchens was able to get out to the early lead withWeymouthright behind in second. Coming from a ways back however was the 23 of Shawn Buffington trying to work his way to the front. The heat ran incident free, with Hutchens taking the win. Buffington worked his way to second with the 11 of recent standout Steve Miller in third.
The feature lineup was determined by the heat race finishes, giving Ladyga the pole with the 27 of Kevin Hutchens on the outside. On the start, Ladyga was able to take off with the race lead, while Beaulieu followed through to take second. After a few laps in, Buffington was able to work his way into the third spot. It didn’t take long for the leaders to find lapped traffic, and would fight it the rest of the way throughout the caution free event. Ladyga was able to stretch his lead over Beaulieu. At the checkered flag, it was Nick Ladyga picking up his first win of the 2012 season. Beaulieu finished second with Buffington rounding out the podium. Bourgoine finished fourth and Miller rounded out the top five.
The race had cars spread out all across the tight track, and it was amazing job by all the drivers to navigate through the traffic with one an another and showcase why they are some of the greatest Legends drivers in the country. With the second place, Beaulieu has moved his way into a tie with Bourgoine for the points lead going into next weekends big return to Speedway 95 in Hermon, Maine. The Dysart’s Northeast Legends Showdown is set to be a big one, with a major purse up for grabs. Who will be the inaugural winner of what is sure to be a great event? Be at the track next Saturday, June 2nd to find out, racing starts at 5PM! For more info, news and how you can get into the affordable and fun Legends Cars action, visit Nelcar.net!
STAR FEATURE FINISH 5-26-12
FINISH CAR # NAME
1 3 NICK LADYGA
2 56 EVAN BEAULIEU
3 23 SHAWN BUFFINGTON
4 38 MATHEW BOURGOINE
5 11 STEVEN MILLER
6 27 KEVIN “Kman” HUTCHENS
7 99 MIKEALTON
8 399 BOBWEYMOUTH
9 18 THOMAS A GRAY
10 84 MATT GRANT®
11 2 RYAN HAMMAR
12 81 DAN WINTER
13 O5 JACOB DORE
14 6 JOEY PARKER
15 17 TERRY KIRK
16 87 ANTHONY PAGLIARULO
17 20 TAYLOR MARTIN
18 28 ALBERT WISIALKO®
19 8 MATT CHAGNOT
20 33 ALAN SMITH
21 15 TREVOR BLEAU®
22 64 JIM KARATSANOS
23 98D DEAN DEZAK®
24 49 PETE CANNELL
25 21 CURT SNOW®
26 12 ALICIA PERRY®
HEAT #1 FINISH
FINISH CAR #
1 3 NICK LADYGA
2 56 EVAN BEAULIEU
3 38 MATHEW BOURGOINE
4 99 MIKEALTON
5 18 THOMAS A GRAY
6 8 MATT CHAGNOT
7 2 RYAN HAMMAR
8 20 TAYLOR MARTIN
9 28 ALBERT WISIALKO®
10 64 JIM KARATSANOS
11 21 CURT SNOW®
12 6 JOEY PARKER
13 33 ALAN SMITH
HEAT #2 FINISH
FINISH CAR #
1 27 KEVIN “Kman” HUTCHENS
2 23 SHAWN BUFFINGTON
3 11 STEVEN MILLER
4 399 BOBWEYMOUTH
5 84 MATT GRANT®
6 17 TERRY KIRK
7 81 DAN WINTER
8 O5 JACOB DORE
9 8 MATT CHAGNOT
10 98 TERRY JOHNSON®
11 49 PETE CANNELL
12 15 TREVOR BLEAU®
13 12 ALICIA PERRY®
Sources: Evan Beaulieu/NELCAR PR