PASS North Series: Austin Theriault
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway Race Report
SCARBOROUGH, Maine – Brad Keselowski Racing development driver Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, finished seventh in the PASS North Series Southern Maine Chrysler Dodge Jeep 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Saturday, May 4. Theriault’s finish was his best PASS North Series finish of the season, and it extended his streak to seven consecutive Top-10 finishes in PASS-sanctioned races dating back to last season. Theriault started 15th after qualifying through the first round, and he raced as high as sixth on a late-race restart. Track position proved crucial late, particularly as the car’s handling tightened up over the course of the 150 laps, and he ended up seventh at the checkered flag.
WHO: Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, Maine
TEAM: AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion
CREW CHIEF: Mickey Green, South Paris, Maine
WHAT: PASS North Series Southern Maine Chrysler Dodge Jeep 150
WHERE: Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval)
STARTED: 15th
FINISHED: 7th
NEXT RACE: May 18, PASS 150, Autodrome Chaudiere, Vallee-Jonction, Que. (.25-mile oval)
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AUSTIN, WOULD BETTER TRACK POSITION AT THE END HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE?
I think so. It’s always tough at Beech Ridge when you start outside the Top-10. Once it wears off, the track does change a lot. We kind of fought tight all weekend, but we definitely got the car better. It was good on restarts on the bottom, but then it went away after four or five laps.
We had to move up. Everybody had to move up, actually. That was a tough one.
HOW TIGHT WAS THE CAR’S HANDLING?
We tried to make a run on the bottom, but we just couldn’t get the car to turn in the center. You had to use up all the track coming up off (the turns).
I’m happy with the day overall. I think things went as good as they could have. There were definitely a couple of things we want to look at – a couple of things that we saw after the race – that I think would have definitely helped the car.
DID YOU ENJOY THE WEEKEND BEING BACK AT HOME?
We have a couple more races up here in Maine. I think we’ll have a shot at winning one of them. We’re getting closer every time. We kind of ended with a bang last year, winning at Oxford, but it was definitely a wakeup call at the beginning of the year at Oxford (two weeks ago).
We made some gains. It can only get better. I’m encouraged. We’ll get better next time.