Taylor Wins Beech Ridge Battle for First ACT Victory
Taylor Wins Beech Ridge Battle for First ACT Victory
Scarborough, ME – Farmington, ME’s Jeff Taylor claimed his first career ACT win after a race long battle with Wayne Helliwell, Jr. in the Beech Ridge 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, ME on Saturday, July 30. Taylor and Helliwell, both in Ford powered rides, swapped the lead seven times from lap 44 to the checkers. The two battled not only themselves but also heavy lapped traffic during long green flag runs.
With just three cautions during the event, Helliwell seemed to have the advantage on the restarts, but Taylor had the car to beat on the long runs. After the final restart on lap 134 Taylor finally got the edge and led the final 11 laps to take the win.
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In a night filled with close finishes, Deane Smart of Bradley led the Late Model feature from the pole to the checkers, but had to outrun the field through two restarts to do it. The first caution came on lap 18 when Dale Swoboda of Hermon and Wayne Parritt of Steuben came together in turn 3, spinning Swoboda out of fourth place. Both drivers were sent to the rear of the field for the restart. When the green flag flew, Smart outraced Winterport’s Ryan Deane to maintain the lead until lap 29 when Donny Blanchard of Bangor, Alex Waltz of Damariscotta and Ajay Picard of Palmyra spun on the front stretch, bringing out the second yellow of the night. That time Smart outgunned Steuben’s Brenton Parrit when race resumed, and held the lead to the checkers. Duane Seekins of Stockton Springs started last in the 11 car field and worked his way up to take second from Parritt in the final to laps. Parritt finished third, with pole sitter John Kalel II of Orrington fourth. Wayne Parritt recovered from his trip to the rear of the field to finish fifth. Sixth went to Swoboda, with Hermon’s Greg Ellis in seventh. Eighth went to Picard, Waltz was ninth and Blanchard finished tenth. Ryan Deane was credited with 11th, the only car not competing when the checkered flag fell. 
(Scarborough, ME) – Returning to a track that started one of most prolific stretch of races for a driver in the history of the American-Canadian Tour, maybe exactly what the #97 Poles Automotive. NH Precision Ford Fusion Team needs.