Ben Ashline, of Pittston, ME dominated the American Canadian Tour Armed Forces 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, May 20 to pick up his first ever ACT victory in only his second full season. He was followed to the line by Hudson, NH’s Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., and Oxford Regular Jeff White of Winthrop, ME. Brent Dragon of Milton, VT and Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, ME rounded out the top five.
Starting on the outside of pole sitter Rowland Robinson, Jr., Polewarczyk jumped to the early lead and looked like the car to beat. After a lap 35 caution, White flew to the top spot in the outside lane, but his lead was short lived after a challenge from young Ashline who stormed from the 13th starting position. The 2011 ACT Rookie of the Year rose to the challenge after two disappointing finishes in the first three events and put any ideas of a sophomore slump to rest, dominating the field for the remainder of the event.
Ashline spared only 7 cars from being lapped, and won by a whopping 7.515 seconds. His first career win after back-to-back disappointing finishes with a wreck at Thunder Road and mechanical failure at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
Randy Potter continued his consistent streak with a sixth place finish. Oxford star TJ Bracket came home seventh, Tommy Ricker, Quinten Welch, and Mark Lamberton completed the top ten.
The event was slowed by four cautions, one that dashed the hopes of point leader Wayne Helliwell, Jr. with cooling malfunctions, and another for a spin of second place point man Brian Hoar. The 150 lap race was completed in 1:01:49. A total of 46 cars attempted to qualify for the 33 car field.
Ashline becomes just the third qualifier for the Bond Auto ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 22. He joins Brian Hoar and Wayne Helliwell, Jr.
The American Canadian Tour will have the next month to rest before continuing the chase for the 2012 ACT Championship at White Mountain Motorsports Park on Saturday, June 23rd.
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Armed Forces 150
American Canadian Tour
Oxford Plains Speedway – Oxford, ME
Sunday May 20, 2012
Pos. (Start) Driver, Hometown, Laps Complete
1. (13) Ben Ashline, Pittston, ME, 150 Laps
2. (2) Joey Polewarczyk Jr., Hudson, NH, 150 Laps
3. (4) Jeff White, Winthrop, ME, 150 Laps
4. (8) Brent Dragon, Milton, VT, 150 Laps
5. (3) Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, ME, 150 Laps
6. (18) Randy Potter, Groveton, NH, 150 Laps
7. (5) TJ Brackett, Buckfield, ME, 150 Laps
8. (21) Tommy Ricker, Roland, ME, 149 Laps
9. (6) Quinten Welch, Lancaster, NH, 149 Laps
10. (10) Mark Lamberton, Mooers Forks, NY, 149 Laps
11. (27) Glen Luce, Turner, ME, 149 Laps
12. (28) Jamie Fisher, Shelburne, VT, 149 Laps
13. (26) Brian Hoar, Williston, VT, 149 Laps
14. (1) Rowland Robinson, Jr., Birch Harbor, ME, 149 Laps
15. (11) Ricky Rolfe, Albany Twp, ME, 149 Laps
16. (7) Bryan Mason, Stark, NH, 149 Laps
17. (33) Shawn Martin, Turner, ME, 148 Laps
18. (25) Tim Brackett, Buckfield, ME, 148 Laps
19. (23) Dave Farrington Jr., Jay, ME, 148 Laps
20. (31) Luke Hinkley, Claremont, NH, 147 Laps
21. (29) Chris Smith, Buxton, ME, 147 Laps
22. (17) #Jimmy Hebert, Williamstown, VT, 147 Laps
23. (32) James Linardy, Somerville, MA, 146 Laps
24. (20) Eric Williams, Hyde Park, VT, 145 Laps
25. (30) Nick Sweet, Barre, VT, 144 Laps
26. (19) Gary Chiasson, Peru, ME, 112 Laps
27. (9) Jeremy Welch, Lebanon, ME, 91 Laps
28. (16) Travis Stearns, Auburn, ME, 84 Laps
29. (24) Billy Childs, Jr., Leeds, ME, 67 Laps
30. (15) Wayne Helliwell Jr., Dover, NH, 65 Laps
31. (14) Ben Rowe, Turner, ME, 53 Laps
32. (12) Ryan Deane, Winterport, ME, 39 Laps
33. (22) Scott Luce, Strong, ME, 12 Laps
Lap Leaders: Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., 1-35; Jeff White, 36-46; Ben Ashline, 47-150
Time of Race: 1:01:49
Margin of Victory: 7.515 seconds
Cautions: 4 (Lap 35, 60, 65, 101)
Heat Winners: Ben Ashline, Jeff White, Ben Rowe, Ricky Rolfe
Consi Winners: Mark Lamberton, Quinny Welch
B-Feature Winner: Chris Smith
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