Sanborn Grabs Elusive First PASS North Series Victory
Richard Moody Racing driver wins Summerfest 150 at Riverside Speedway
GROVETON, N.H. — Trevor Sanborn passed Richard Moody Racing teammate Travis Benjamin on lap 82 and never looked back, winning the PASS North Series Summerfest 150 at Riverside Speedway on Saturday night. The win was the first career PASS North victory for Sanborn, a two-time PASS South Series race winner.
“What an unbelievable feeling,” Sanborn said after leading a race-high 69 laps. “I’ve run a ton of races up here (in the North), I’ve led a lot of laps. I’ve always liked Riverside… and I’m just so glad I finally won.”
Sanborn led a 1-2 finish for RMR, the second in the organization’s history. Ben Rowe and Sanborn joined to give RMR a 1-2 finish in the PASS 300 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in September 2006.
Ironically, one of Sanborn’s close calls with PASS North Series victory lane came at Riverside in 2007, when he was leading Kelly Moore at the 100-lap mark of the Summerfest 150 before the track’s light system went out. Sanborn lost his full straightaway lead, Moore beat him on the restart and Sanborn was forced to settle for second.
On Saturday, however, there were no such troubles for Sanborn.
After starting fourth, he followed Benjamin into second place on lap 40. The race was slowed by just one caution — on lap 80 — and Sanborn capitalized on the break. After having his straightaway deficit erased by the yellow flag, he passed Benjamin just to laps after the restart by rolling around him on the outside of Turn 4 for the lead.
“He gave me plenty of room to get by him,” Sanborn said. “I thought even when he was leading that I would just save the car — and when I got the lead I could just pull away.
“At the end I was just praying there wasn’t going to be a caution, and thankfully there wasn’t.”