Buffington Opens New Season With Win at Wiscasset
After a harsh North East off-season, the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Car Tour was the first tour in the North ready to go racing in 2013. Braving the harsh winds and 40 degree weather, the Tour brought 21 cars to the newly re-opened, and one of Nelcar’s longtime homes, Wiscasset Speedway for opening day. The fans packed into see the re-opening of Maine’s fastest track, and another grueling season for the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour was set to begin.
The first heat race rolled onto the track with Shaun Buffington, who had a hot streak at the end of 2012, on the pole position with the 60 of Legends Car veteran Anthony Pagliarulo on the outside. On the start, Buffington got out to the lead, with defending Nelcar champion Matt Bourgoine closely behind. The heat ran caution free, and Buffington took the win over Bourgoine with Alan Smith holding off Bob Weymouth for third.
The second of two heat races rolled onto the track and proved not to be as calm as the first one. The front row consisted of Steve Johnson in the 42 with the 15 of sophomore driver TJ Bleau on the outside of the front row. On the start, Johnson took the lead while Bleau made a move to grab the second spot before Terry Kirk could steal it from third. That wouldn’t stop Kirk though, as he worked to the outside of the leaders and made his way to the lead. After two series of cautions, Kirk and the 2 of Ryan Hammar put on a great race for the lead, with Hammar getting the better of Kirk at the finish with rookie John Peters rallying to finish third.
The heat finishes would determine the starting positions for the feature event, putting Buffington on the pole with Hammar on the outside. On the start, Buffington got the edge with Bourgoine making his way under Hammar for second. It wouldn’t take long for Buffington to pull away from the rest of the pack, as Bourgoine rode alone in second. With great racing throughout the field, the best was for third as Hammar, Smith and Weymouth went door to door for the spot. The feature event went caution free, with Buffington picking up where he left off in 2012, in Victory Lane at Wiscasset Speedway! Second went to Bourgoine with Weymouth taking the third spot after starting seventh. Hammar finished fourth with Smith rounding out the top five.
After a successful first race that showed 21 cars, the drivers and their teams are all excited for the new season. There was great racing throughout the field with other highlights including the highest finishing rookie, John Peters in seventh after battling with Terry Kirk and Matt Grant for the entire race. Dan Winter picked up the most positions in the race from his starting spot in 20th after a spin in his heat, to the 13th finishing position in the caution free event. The next race for the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour will be on Saturday, April 20th at Hermon, Maine’s Speedway 95, with the National Qualifier at Oxford Plains Speedway with the Pro All Stars Series the next day. For more information, news and how you can get into a Legends Car, visit Nelcar.net.
NELCAR
WISCASSET FEATURE FINISH 4-6-12
FINISH CAR # NAME
1 23 SHAWN BUFFINGTON
2 38 MATHEW BOURGOINE
3 399 BOB WEYMOUTH
4 2 RYAN HAMMAR
5 33 ALAN SMITH
6 17 TERRY KIRK
7 51 JOHN PETERS®
8 84 MATT GRANT
9 10 ED GETTY
10 20 TAYLOR MARTIN
11 8 MATT CHAGNOT
12 15 TREVOR BLEAU
13 81 DAN WINTER
14 60 ANTHONY PAGLIARULO
15 96 WYATT ALEXANDER
16 7 SCOTT FERLAND®
17 49 PETE CANNELL
18 42 STEVE JOHNSON
19 32 LUKE HIEBERT®
20 113T NATHAN TRIBBET®
21 77 MAGGIE FERLAND®
HEAT #1 FINISH
FINISH CAR #
1 23 SHAWN BUFFINGTON
2 38 MATHEW BOURGOINE
3 33 ALAN SMITH
4 399 BOB WEYMOUTH
5 60 ANTHONY PAGLIARULO
6 20 TAYLOR MARTIN
7 96 WYATT ALEXANDER
8 49 PETE CANNELL
9 81 DAN WINTER
10 7 SCOTT FERLAND®
11 77 MAGGIE FERLAND®
HEAT #2 FINISH
FINISH CAR #
1 2 RYAN HAMMAR
2 17 TERRY KIRK
3 51 JOHN PETERS®
4 84 MATT GRANT
5 10 ED GETTY
6 8 MATT CHAGNOT
7 15 TREVOR BLEAU
8 42 STEVE JOHNSON
9 32 LUKE HIEBERT®
10 113T NATHAN TRIBBET®
Sources: Evan Beaulieu/NELCAR PR