NORTH WOODSTOCK, N.H. — Jason Corliss got the upper hand for one of the most memorable finishes in recent American-Canadian Tour history at the Midsummer Classic 250 on Saturday, at Mountain Motorsports Park.
Driving the final four laps with almost no frontal vision after the hood flew up on his No. 66VT Burnett Motorsports Ford, Corliss still beat D.J. Shaw and Tom Carey III off the final corner to win the $10,000 top prize by just 0.065 seconds.
It was the fifth ACT Late Model Tour win for Corliss in his career — but the first such win outside his home track of Thunder Road. Corliss became the seventh different winner in seven point-counting ACT Tour events this year after an unforgettable home stretch in the year’s longest, richest event.
The eventual winner spent the first half of the event hanging around the top-five as other top ACT runners took turns at the front. East Bridgewater, MA’s Ryan Kuhn and Nick Sweet swapped the lead back and forth early before Sweet asserted command. Sweet paced the field through several cautions, including one at lap 78 that became the race’s mandatory fuel stop.
The excitement hit overdrive on lap 123 when the sixth yellow flew after Wayne Helliwell Jr. came to a halt with a flat tire. Most of the contenders used this time to put at least two fresh tires on their cars, including Shaw, Corliss, Kuhn, Ben Rowe, Chris Pelkey, and polesitter Mark Jenison. Sweet, Jeff Marshall, Ryan Olsen, and Tom Carey III were the only drivers on the lead lap who stayed out.
Marshall got the lead from Sweet on a lap-127 restart while Shaw quickly proved the value of new rubber, slicing from mid-pack to take the lead himself nine laps later with Corliss not far behind.
At the ninth caution on lap 139, Sweet, Carey, and Olsen finally headed to the pits. Marshall stubbornly remained out and actually got the lead back from Shaw on two separate restarts. The White Mountain regular could not hold on, though, as Shaw opened things up over a long green-flag run from laps 168 to 220.
The next twist came with 30 laps to go after Bryan Mason and Shawn Swallow tangled in turn one for caution number 13. Shaw, Corliss, and Sweet lined up nose-to-tail on the inside with lapped cars to their outside. Corliss surged on the restart, quickly clearing Christopher Pelkey and sticking his nose underneath Shaw. Sweet then joined the party, going inside both as they came to complete lap 222. The trio ran nearly an entire lap three-wide before Sweet ran out of real estate and spun coming off turn four.
Sweet was able to get his car going with no yellow as Corliss cleared Shaw for the lead. Corliss was starting to edge away as they came up on Sweet, but had trouble getting around his fellow Barre driver, allowing Shaw to take the top spot back with 18 laps to go.
The 14th and final caution on lap 236 for Ben Rowe’s flat tire set up the final act. Corliss got the break on the restart, and after Shaw held with him for several circuits, the Thunder Road champion opened a small gap. But with four laps to go, the hood pins broke on the Corliss car, sending the hood flying up and almost completely blocking the driver’s view of the track.
Corliss understandably hesitated slightly, which let Shaw jump to the outside and lead laps 248 and 249 by a nose.
At the same time, Carey had raced into the picture, with the three taking the white flag under a blanket. Despite his lack of sight, Corliss kept digging. As they came into turn three for the final time, Corliss and Shaw made slight contact, sending both sliding up the track. Carey tried to get to the inside but was unable to, and Corliss got on the gas soon enough to beat Shaw by about two feet.
Shaw’s runner-up result was still enough to unofficially give him the points lead by a single marker over Carey, who finished third after starting 30th.
Kuhn was strong the whole night and ended up fourth. Marshall finally changed right-side tires at the lap-220 caution but was only able to get to fifth, the final car on the lead lap.
After knocking on the door for the entire season, Ryan Ware finally broke through to get his first career Wells River Chevrolet Flying Tiger victory.
Jillian Baumgardner was also a first-time winner in the Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Strictly Stock Mini’s.
Thomas Smithers VI went back-to-back in the Dads 4 By Tool and Supply Kids Trucks.
The finish:
Jason Corliss, D.J. Shaw, Tom Carey III, Ryan Kuhn, Jeff Marshall, Christopher Pelkey,
Derek Gluchacki, Ben Rowe, Shawn Swallow, Mark Jenison, Erick Sands, Jimmy Renfrew Jr., Nick Sweet, Scott Dragon, Bryan Mason, Matt Anderson, Jason Kenison, Stephen Donahue, Wayne Helliwell Jr., Ryan Olsen, Peyton Lanphear, Brockton Davis, Mike Hopkins, Reilly Lanphear, Quinten Welch, Justin Eldridge, Mike Foster, Robby Gordon Douglas, Jamie Swallow Jr., Jimmy Hebert, Dillon Moltz.