Laro Breaks Through for First Legends Win
EPPING, NH — Even with a gloomy forecast, rain couldn’t stop the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour from competing at Star Speedway in Epping, New Hampshire this weekend. After rain has delayed at least half of the events held at Star, the drivers were welcomed by a beautiful afternoon for racing. In front of a great crowd, the 19 car Legends Car field took to the track to do battle on the famous quarter mile.
The heat races once again went caution free, as they typically do in the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour. TJ Laro took the first heat win from the pole position with John Peters in the 51 and Wyatt Alexander in the 96 closely behind in second and third. In the second heat race, Ryan Hammar kept his hot streak in heat races going with another heat victory over defending tour champion Matt Bourgoine and Carl Blandina. With that, the field was set for the feature event.
TJ Laro started on the pole with Blandina on the pole, while the top three from the last event, Bob Weymouth, Matt Bourgoine and Ryan Hammar all had to start at the rear of the 19 car field per the Nelcar rule book. The green flag flew and it didn’t take long before the action started. With just three laps complete, the Peters and Blandina made contact, resulting in a spin for Blandina. The field scurried around and nobody else was involved. On the ensuing restart, the 15 of TJ Bleau made contact with Hammar, sending Hammar around and to the pit area to fix his car. Hammar was able to rejoin the field. The action wasn’t over yet though, as the field circulated the track a few more times before the races next caution, this time at the battle for third place involving Matt Grant in the 84 and Alexander, resulting in the 13 year old driver from Ellsworth, Alexander to go for a spin in turn one.
After just six laps on the board, Laro restarted from the lead once again with Peters closely behind. It was calm on the track until a spin on lap nine by Matt Chagnot while racing for fifth brought out the races fourth caution flag. The race would resume with 15 laps to go, with Laro once again in the lead. Peters wouldn’t let him get away easily, as he worked his 51 machine on the outside of the track. The two drivers put on a show as they drove side by side for the win. Before too long however, Matt Bourgoine would make his way to the leaders, as he worked his way around Peters for second and tried to make a move on Laro for the win. In the end however, Laro was able to grab his first career Legends victory at his “home track” of Star Speedway! Matt Bourgoine finished the race in second, with Peters in third. Tylar Braunschweig had a strong showing in fourth with Blandina rallying from his spin early to finish in fifth.
After six races, Bourgoine was able to open up some distance in the point’s race, as he holds a 19 point advantage over Hammar. The Nelcar Tour would like to thank the Wyatt Alexander Racing team for their donation in the meet and greet, as one lucky fan went home with a brand new bike! The next event for the drivers will be this Thursday night at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, as the popular VIP Thursday Thunder Series kicks off its ten race schedule. These races are not part of the Nelcar Tour point’s standings this season, but the drivers still have the VIP Cup to race for over the ten race period. Come to the track this Thursday night, tickets are only $4 and a two hour card of racing kicks off at 7 PM! For more news, info and how you can get into a Legends Car, visit Nelcar.net and uslegendcars.com.
NELCAR
STAR FEATURE FINISH 6-8-13
FINISH CAR # NAME
1 2X TIM LARO
2 38 MATHEW BOURGOINE
3 51 JOHN PETERS
4 70 TYLAR BRAUNSCHWEIG
5 13 CARL BLANDINA
6 399 BOB WEYMOUTH
7 96 WYATT ALEXANDER
8 33 ALAN SMITH
9 2 RYAN HAMMAR
10 81 DAN WINTER
11 60 ANTHONY PAGLIARULO
12 84 MATT GRANT
13 8 MATT CHAGNOT
14 17 TERRY KIRK
15 15 TREVOR BLEAU
16 49 PETE CANNELL
17 16 ERIC WILLIAMS
18 12 ALICIA PERRY
19 39 NICHOLAS LASCUOLA
HEAT #1 FINISH
FINISH CAR #
1 2X TIM LARO
2 51 JOHN PETERS
3 96 WYATT ALEXANDER
4 81 DAN WINTER
5 33 ALAN SMITH
6 60 ANTHONY PAGLIARULO
7 17 TERRY KIRK
8 49 PETE CANNELL
9 16 ERIC WILLIAMS
10 12 ALICIA PERRY
HEAT #2 FINISH
FINISH CAR #
1 2 RYAN HAMMAR
2 38 MATHEW BOURGOINE
3 13 CARL BLANDINA
4 84 MATT GRANT
5 70 TYLAR BRAUNSCHWEIG
6 15 TREVOR BLEAU
7 399 BOB WEYMOUTH
8 39 NICHOLAS LASCUOLA
9 8 MATT CHAGNOT
Sources: Evan Beaulieu/NELCAR PR