Rookie Beattie Takes 1st ACT Victory in Barnburner 49th Spring Green 124 at Seekonk
Seekonk, MA — Thirty-four American-Canadian Tour teams entered the Cement Palace of Seekonk Speedway on Saturday afternoon with just one coming out on top. A spectacular day of racing set up one of the best late-race runs in recent memory with rookies and veterans alike digging-in side-by-side, often three-wide for position on Seekonk’s insanely competitive grooves. Under the fall of the checkered flags, the American-Canadian Tour has earned its third-straight first-time winner on the legendary circuit.
Leading Rookie of the Year candidate Kasey Beattie hauled down from St. Johnsbury, Vermont and flew through heat two from dead last to a third-place finish, taking the pole position with a +6 handicap. Fellow young-guns Jacob Burns, Jeremy Sorel and Gabe Brown made up the first two rows to start the 49th Spring Green 124. The action started early with Brown diving under Beattie and Burns for a three-wide move across the line on lap 3. The three-wide thrills continued with Kaiden Fisher running alongside Erick Sands and Burns in a bare-knuckle fight for third.
Following two quick one-car spin cautions, with many drivers jumping pitside for early adjustments, the battle up front intensified under restart conditions between Beattie, Brown and Fisher. Meanwhile, heavy drama was brewing as a back-sliding Burns was fighting to maintain a top-ten run with Jesse Switser. The pot over boiled as Burns went around off Switser’s bumper in turn two, finishing his day with the lap 51 caution and Switser was sent to the rear for his involvement.
Hometrack runner Derek Gluchacki joined the top-5 fray on the restart with the wick burning hot between himself and fellow title chaser Gabe Brown. The two rivals bumped, banged and shoved alongside Beattie, Fisher and Tom Carey III in the fight at the front. Nevertheless, leading rookies Kasey Beattie and Kaiden Fisher put on a clinic at the front of the pack, circuit after circuit, while a fellow rookie chaser lost his best run so far. On lap 109, Jeremy Sorel was running hard on the outside lane among the top-ten before his rear-end expired and spread oil across the high groove, ending Sorel’s best ACT run to date and prompting a lengthy clean-up effort by the Seekonk track crew.
The final fifteen laps proved to be some of the hardest-fought of the event. Beattie, Fisher, Erick Sands and Gabe Brown drove the doors of their machines, side-by-side, three-wide at times, fighting tooth and nail for inches at the finish line. On the final lap, Fisher made one final dive under Beattie for a chance at the lead in turn three that ultimately sent him sideways in a bloom of white smoke, sending the field scurrying back to the checkered flags.
Rookie Kasey Beattie, the 2023 White Mountain Motorsports Park track champion who climbed the ACT Ladder System of weekly divisions over his young career, took down his first ever American-Canadian Tour victory at Seekonk Speedway with the historic 49th Spring Green. Derry, New Hampshire’s Erick Sands earned his career-best ACT Tour finish in second with Gabe Brown rounding out the podium. Strong runners Tom Carey III and Derek Gluchacki would round out the top five.
Alexendre Tardif fireballed through the field from a last-place starting spot after a heat race wreck to finish sixth followed by defending Spring Green victor Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., Rochester, New Hampshire’s Cam Huntress, defending ACT champion D.J. Shaw and multi-time Seekonk champion David Darling to round out the top-ten.
The American-Canadian Tour takes a week-off before returning to Epping, New Hampshire’s Star Speedway for the Coastal Clash 150! The superstar showdown includes fellow headlining Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models, the New England Supermodified Series (NESS) and the PASS Modifieds for an all-out experience at one of New England’s most popular ovals!
For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @ACTTour.
49th Spring Green 124
Seekonk Speedway – Seekonk, MA
Saturday, June 8, 2024
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
1. 45NH #Kasey Beattie St. Johnsbury, VT
2. 36NH Erick Sands Derry, NH
3. 47NH Gabe Brown Center Conway, NH
4. 5MA Tom Carey III New Salem, MA
5. 03MA Derek Gluchacki Dartmouth, MA
6. 21QC Alexendre Tardif Notre Dame des Pins, QC
7. 97NH Joey Polewarczyk Hudson, NH
8. 27NH Cam Huntress Rochester, NH
9. 04VT D.J. Shaw Center Conway, NH
10. 52MA David Darling Seekonk, MA
11. 31CT Ray Christian III Uncasville, CT
12. 12RI Robert Pelland III Cranston, RI
13. 9VT Chip Grenier E. Barre, VT
14. 0NH Jimmy Renfrew Jr. Candia, NH
15. 18VT #Kaiden Fisher Shelburne, VT
16. 29MA Joshua Hedges New Bedford, MA
17. 25NH Jesse Switser W. Burke, VT
18. 33QC Remi Perreault St. Paul, QC
19. 98MA Ryan Flood Sandwich, MA
20. 72MA Ryan Kuhn E. Bridgewater, MA
21. 11QC Claude Leclerc Lanoraie, QC
22. 77NH Bryan Wall Jr. E. Kingston, NH
23. 7MA #Jeremy Sorel Westfield, MA
24. 38RI Connor Souza Riverside, RI
25. 08RI Richie Murray Tiverton, RI
26. 17RI Vinnie Arrenegado Warren, RI
27. 35MA Chase Belcher W. Wareham, MA
28. 30RI Jacob Burns E. Greenwich, RI
29. 41QC Jonathan Bouvrette Blainville, QC
DNQ 07MA Woody Pitkat Bellingham, MA
DNQ 47ME Brockton Davis Whitefield, NH
DNQ 73MA #Cole Littlewood Orange, MA
DNQ 42CT Manny Dias Danielson, CT
DNQ 91CT Jake Johnson Rehobeth, MA