NORTH WOODSTOCK, N.H. — A hot and humid day among the White Mountains greeted thirty-nine American-Canadian Tour teams with the international stars invading New Hampshire’s Favorite Short Track for the Tour’s longest event of the year. The $10,000-to-win Milton CAT Midsummer Classic 250 has been marked on many a calendar since last November’s ACT schedule release and the teams proved it on Saturday.
Three rounds of qualifying whittled thirty-nine teams down to twenty-nine starters. Rookies Jeremy Sorel and Kaiden Fisher split the heat race wins with former American-Canadian Tour champions D.J. Shaw and Patrick Laperle while Erick Sands and Bryan Wall Jr. took down the consolation round. Leading Series ACT Quebec driver Raphael Lessard took the Last Chance, B-Feature to qualify for Saturday’s main event.
By virtue of his +5 handicap in the ACT Plus/Minus qualifying system, Shaw, the defending champion, led the field to green with Tom Carey III to his outside. The early circuits gave way to a nose-to-tail freight train as the field kept it calm and cool with plenty of laps to go. As the event kept on, Jamie Swallow, Jr. and Gabe Brown came up on D.J. Shaw just in time for lap traffic to take its toll on the leaders.
Several one-car spin cautions slowed the field but it was the competition caution on lap 126 that played into the game. Tires and fuel were added to the majority of the field during their five-minute caution before retaking the field for the final 124 circuits. Shaw, Brown and Swallow continued to dominate the front of the field. With Shaw up high, Brown dug deep on the low side as Swallow, Jimmy Hebert and Carey III.
The final 50 laps proved to be the best of the evening starting right on lap 200 as Shaw, Carey and Brown ran nose-to-tail on the high groove around lap traffic to start the final sprint to the end. Fourteen laps later, and clear of lapped traffic, Brown only gained on Shaw for the lead until calamity struck on lap 226. A piece of wire lodged itself in the sidewall of Gabe Brown’s right front tire and sent the second-place runner nearly into the turn three tire barrier.
The chaos continued just four laps later as Jamie Swallow, Jr. and top-five runner Kasey Beattie traded paint and more with Swallow going around in turn three after pin-balling through the top 10. A thirty-lap shoot-out ensued with Shaw and Beattie duking it out lap after lap. Beattie attempted to psych Shaw from behind, moving up and down lanes before drawing alongside under the ten-to-go signal.
Try as he might, Beattie just couldn’t get the car to stick alongside Shaw. Under the twin checkered flags, it was Shaw taking home his second career Milton CAT Midsummer Classic 250 followed by Carey III beating Beattie at the line to take second from the 2023 King of the Mountain track champion.