PLATTSBURGH — Bucko Branham stormed out to an early lead and held off Robin Wood to notch his third J&S Steel Limited Late Model win on TD Bank Night at Airborne Speedway.
Branham started eighth in the Bud Light/Marsha Homes No. 20. He used the inside lane to advance and passed Fred Lagoy for the lead on lap eight. Wood had to work hard to get around third-place Jamy Begor and then set sail for Branham. Lagoy and Keith Pelkey completed the top five.
Branham’s win boosted him back into the Late Model point lead.
Josh Terry went wheel-to-wheel with his brother Tylor for a dozen laps before prevailing in the Key RD Trailer Sales Renegade 25-lap thriller. Joe Warren snuck under Tylor Terry for second through the final turns. Kevin Boutin and Robert Gordon gained ground late to claim fourth and fifth.
The Renegades raced in a tight formation for all 25 laps with an ever-changing cast of contenders. The Terry brothers swapped the lead four times. Boutin gained 14 spots after being spun out on lap 14 to rise back up to fourth and remain the Renegade point leader.
The Busch Mini Modifieds went extra-distance (25 laps) only to have apparent winner C.J. LaVair fail post-race tech inspection because of an illegal tire. That made a winner of Jayson Criss of Plattsburgh. Erick Sayles was the runner-up. Dale O’Neil and Kris Clark were next in line.
Lonnie Rivers was a runaway Sportsman Modified winner at the wheel of the Maple Grand Farms No. R7. Rivers started on the outside pole and quickly drew away from the rest of the field. Behind him, Travis Bruno, Jamie LaFountain and Sebastien Fournier went at it for a close 2-3-4 finish four car-lengths ahead of Nick Heywood in fifth.
Paul Lotier of Lebanon, Penn. Won the SpeedSTR Sprint Car 25-lap feature. Gabriel Richer of Les Coteaux, Quebec finished second two car-lengths off the pace.
