Matt Pappa Wins in First Nelcar Start
Matt Pappa has won races all over the East Coast in Legends Cars, and made his debut in the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour a memorable one at Seekonk Speedway. This past Sunday was the season opener for all Seekonk Speedway divisions, including the newly formed Nick’s Pitstop Friday Night Legends Series. Not only was it their first race but it was also the fourth Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour race, with a tight point’s battle. 26 Legends Cars were on tap for what was set to be yet another exciting Nelcar race.
The heat races were determined by time trials earlier in the day, and for the first heat race it was Pappa on the pole with the 3 of Nick Ladyga on the outside. Those two were able to take off from the start with Pappa opening up with the early lead. That would be how the finish ended up, with Pappa running away with the heat win. Ladyga was second with the 56 of Evan Beaulieu rounding out the top three.
In heat race number two it was the 18 of Tom Gray on the pole with his team mate Shaun Buffington to his outside. Those two ran side by side until the first yellow of the day came out for a spin by the 60 of Joey Parker. Parker was able to continue on. On the next run, it was still the Gray and Buffington show at the front while the 38 of Matt Bourgoine and the 89 of Nick Lascoula followed. At the finish, Buffington was able to beat Gray by .007 of a second and picked up the heat win.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
After their wins in the heat races, Pappa would start on the pole with Buffington on the outside. Pappa was able to get the early lead, but a quick caution came out as the 21 of “” went for a spin in turn one. After the track got clear, the green was back out with Pappa and Ladyga this time leading the field. The green didn’t stay out long again though, as the 87 of Anthony Pagliarulo suffered a mechanical issue, bringing out the yellow flag. The track was cleaned one more time, and this time the field was able to get some green flag racing in, but it was the same story up front as Pappa was able to distance himself from the rest of the field. On lap nine, the 96 of Legends Car rookie Wyatt Alexander, and the 13 of Carl Blandina made contact in turn three, sending Blandina for a spin and ending his day early. For the final restart of the day, it was once again Pappa who got up front, while behind him there was a huge scramble for positions as the 59 of Reid Lanpher came out on the winning end of that fight and found himself in fourth. The race would finish without any interruption, as Pappa picked up his first Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour win! Ladyga finished second, with Buffington rounding out the podium. Lanpher and Gray rounded out the top five.
After four races, there have been four different winners and the competition has never been stronger on the Amsoil Nelcar Legends Tour. The season is off to a great start and it will only get better as the season continues on. The Tour is back in action next Sunday, May 13th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, once again on the road course. Beaulieu and Buffington put on a great show for the fans the last time the Tour was turning right, and this next race will produce more of the same quality racing. For more information, news and how you can get into Legends racing, visit Nelcar.net.
Race Results
1 O1 MATT PAPPA
2 3 NICK LADYGA
3 23 SHAWN BUFFINGTON
4 59 REID LANPHER
5 18 THOMAS A GRAY
6 56 EVAN BEAULIEU
7 2 RYAN HAMMAR
8 89 NICHOLAS LASCUOLA
9 6 JOEY PARKER
10 399 BOB WEYMOUTH
11 38 MATHEW BOURGOINE
12 81 DAN WINTER
13 8 MATT CHAGNOT
14 47 RANDY CABRAL®
15 17 TERRY KIRK
16 12X SCOTT HAAG
17 49 PETE CANNELL
18 28 ALBERT WISIALKO®
19 21 CURT SNOW®
20 82 JOE PUTNAM®
21 96 WYATT ALEXANDER®
22 33 ALAN SMITH
23 13 CARL BLANDINA
24 87 ANTHONY PAGLIARULO
HEAT #1 FINISH
1 O1 MATT PAPPA
2 3 NICK LADYGA
3 56 EVAN BEAULIEU
4 2 RYAN HAMMAR
5 13 CARL BLANDINA
6 33 ALAN SMITH
7 81 DAN WINTER
8 399 BOB WEYMOUTH
9 49 PETE CANNELL
10 21 CURT SNOW®
11 12X SCOTT HAAG
12 28 ALBERT WISIALKO®
HEAT #2 FINISH
1 23 SHAWN BUFFINGTON
2 18 THOMAS A GRAY
3 38 MATHEW BOURGOINE
4 89 NICHOLAS LASCUOLA
5 59 REID LANPHER
6 47 RANDY CABRAL®
7 17 TERRY KIRK
8 6 JOEY PARKER
9 8 MATT CHAGNOT
10 O4 BRANDEN DION®
11 82 JOE PUTNAM®
Sources: Evan Beaulieu/Nelcar PR