Matt Lee First PASS Outlaw Late Model Winner

(Naples., ME -- April 30, 2006) George Fernald, Jr of Benton, ME and Gary Norris, Jr of W. Gardner, ME won the opening day heats in the Hight Chevrolet 106 at Unity Raceway, the first PASS Outlaw Late Model Series race in the Northern division for the 2006 season.

Over the first fifteen laps, Fernald and Norris couldn’t decide who was going to lead as they took turns at the point. On lap 26, Fernald finally pulled away and settled into the lead with Norris a car length behind.

On lap 38, many-time Unity winner Matt Lee of Albion, ME brought the #00 around the outside and took the lead from Fernald coming off turn four and started to stretch it out.

At the halfway mark, it was Lee, Fernald, Norris, Ben Erskine of Solon, ME in the #29, Jay Sands of Seabrook, NH in the #36, the “Showstoppa” Bobby MacArthur of Beverly, MA in the #55m, Billy Pinkham in the #5x, young Derrick Ramstrom of W. Boylston, MA in the #35, Chris Staples, of Brunswick, ME in the #5, and Jamie Swallow of Stark, NH in the #04.

Some of the best racing was for fifth as Sands and MacArthur went at it lap after lap until Sands would pull ahead, but MacArthur would be right back again for another try. This went on for over 20 laps.

On a lap 69 restart, Norris took second from Fernald as the #91 started to experience clutch problems and had to restart in high gear. On a lap 73 restart after the #02 of Greg Morse of St. Albans, ME and the #5 of Chris Staples got together on the backstretch, Fernald was slow and the field stacked up coming to the line. Bobby MacArthur got a good run on the outside and went around Jay Sands and Ben Erskine for third. However, he gave it all back as he got high in turn one and slipped back to seventh.

Norris was not giving up and on lap 82 he got by Lee only to have Lee reclaim the lead several laps later. Then on lap 86, Norris started to slow and lost positions quickly as the filed streamed by. He pulled off on lap 88 and was through for the day with a mechanical problem.

On lap 91, Pinkham in the 5x made his way past Sands to third with Staples and MacArthur close behind. With ten to go it was still the Matt Lee show, with Fernald, Pinkham, Erskine, Sands, MacArthur, and Staples close behind.

MacArthur got under Sands down the backstretch on lap 102 as he gave it one last try, but he couldn’t hold it and washed up into Sands in turn three. Sands was able to save it, but MacArthur went around and dropped back to 10th before he got going again.

At the finish, it was Lee, Fernald, and Erskine coming back to nip Pinkham at the line for the podium finish. Sands was fifth, Staples sixth, Frank Moulton form Unity in the #15 seventh, Joe Decker from Chesterfield, ME in the #01 eighth, Greg Morse in the #02 ninth, and MacArthur tenth. And a tip of the PASS hat to Derrick Ramstrom and Dillion Moltz, two young graduates of the Allison Legacy series who equipped themselves very well in their first start in the big cars. Derrick finished eleventh and Dillion was twelfth.

The Outlaw Late Model Series will open the Central Division Series at Canaan Speedway, Canaan, NH on Sunday afternoon May 21st with many of the teams at Unity making the trip over the mountain to Canaan, including Matt Lee who told everyone in Victory Lane that Canaan is his next show.