Helliwell Jr. takes ACT NH Governor’s Cup 150
Wayne Helliwell, Jr and Lee USA Speedway seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly. Helliwell has raced every division at Lee USA and has won features in all of them, including the Oktoberfest. Now he can add the ACT Governor’s Cup 150 to his impressive win list.
The victory was by no means an easy one for the Dover NH driver as Jeff White of Winthrop ME applied pressure from lap one through three caution periods for minor spins. Helliwell’s Unique Ford- Ford fusion retained the lead with a pack of hungry drivers jockeying for position behind him.
A lap 77 restart finally allowed White to overhaul Helliwell for the lead until lap 82, when Helliwell worked his way past White with an inside move.
Then it was Eddie MacDonald’s turn to mount a challenge on lap 92. MacDonald’s lead would last until a lap 117 restart when Helliwell overpowered MacDonald and held on for the prestigious victory.Following Helliwell across the stripe was Brad Babb of Windham ME in the Speedway51 Ford Fusion, who came from his seventh starting position, but ran out of laps to challenge for the win.
Trying to take and hold the lead for a possible early victory due to the falling rain at about mid point in the race, MacDonald said he used up his car a little too early, crossing the line in third place. 2014 ACT series champion Alex Labbe of St. Albert, QC was an impressive fourth and Travis Fadden ran in the top six all day to come home in fifth.
In victory lane Helliwell said “Unbelievable, we’ve won so many races here and this one always gets away from us, today it was all about being patient. Jeff White and Eddie MacDonald ran me pretty hard and it didn’t seem right to let somebody go by, but you have to save something for the end and low and behold, we had something for them.”
Runner up Brad Babb said “I can’t thank Joey Laquerre enough for this opportunity, he’s done so much for me this last year. It means the world to me to be out here and have such a good strong run. I really think I had something for Wayne at the end, if I had a few more laps or a restart, but it’s a good finish and I can’t complain about second.”
Third place Eddie MacDonald said “Congratulations to Wayne, he had a fast car, he did a good job getting by me on that restart and taking the win from there. I gotta thank my guys for giving me a great car, it was pretty fast and I just used it up a little too early.”
Finish.
27NH- Wayne Helliwell Jr.
15NH- Brad Babb
17MA -Eddie MacDonald
48QC- Alex Labbe
16NH -Travis Fadden.
91CT- Larry Gelinas
50ME- Jeff White
9NH- Kyle Welch
97NH -Joey Polewarczyk Jr.
40VT- Nick Sweet
30NH-Rich Dubeau
1NH-Corey Mason
28ME-Rowland Robinson Jr.
16ME-Travis Stearns
9ME-Emily Packard
34NH-Todd Davis
49NH-Matt Anderson.
4NY-Brandon Atkins
29NH-Aaron Fellows
77MA-James Linardy
54VT-Mike Ziter
10MA-Tom Carey Jr.
00VT-Mike Bailey
00NH-AJ Panessiti
0NH-Miles Chipman
58VT-Jimmy Hebert
23ME-Dave Farrington Jr.
Story by Jim Snape/Yankeeracer.com