PASS North Series: Bradley Babb
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
Bradley Babb of Windham, Maine, returns to the PASS North Series with an eye on one of the marquee events of the season, the Southern Maine Chrysler Dodge Jeep 300 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Sunday, September 15. Babb, the 2012 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track champion at the track, enjoyed one of his best career PASS performances in this race in 2011 when he was running third in the late going before getting collected in a wreck. The son of a five-time Beech Ridge Motor Speedway champion is hoping to grab his first career series victory in the longest race of the season.
THE FACTS
WHO: Bradley Babb, Windham, Maine
TEAM: No. 14 Babb Wood Contractors/McGoldrick Bros. Blasting Chevrolet
CREW CHIEF: Bobby Babb, Windham, Maine
BEST CAREER BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY FINISH: 11th (May 2012)
LAST RACE AT BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY: 24th (July 2013)
WHAT: PASS North Series Southern Maine Chrysler Dodge Jeep 300
WHERE: Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile banked oval)
WHEN: Friday, September 13 – 11 a.m., practice; Saturday, September 14 – 10:20, practice; 12:15 p.m., qualifying; Sunday September 15 – 11:10 a.m., practice; 3 p.m., race.
PASS North Series
LAST RACE: September 7, Thunder Valley 200, Autodrome Chaudiere, Vallee-Jonction, Que. (N/A)
NEXT RACE: September 28, PASS Championship 150, Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (.375-mile oval)
DID YOU KNOW?
Bradley Babb became the first third-generation champion in Beech Ridge Motor Speedway’s top division when he won the 2012 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Pro Series championship at the track. His father Bobby Babb and grandfather Robert Babb are both multi-time Beech Ridge champions in the top division.
Bradley Babb was honored at the NASCAR Hall of Fame convention center in Charlotte, N.C., in December as both a state and track champion in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
Bradley Babb finished second in a 50-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series feature event at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on June 1.
Bradley Babb won the pole for two races at Oxford Plains Speedway this season.
Bradley Babb was the 2010 ACT Late Model Tour Rookie of the Year.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
BRADLEY BABB, Driver of the No. 14 Babb Wood Contractors/McGoldrick Bros. Blasting Chevrolet, On what it takes to win a 300-lap race at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway: “I’d say a fast car, because the year I had a fast car I had a chance to win. Last year, I didn’t and I didn’t even come close to having a chance to win.
“To tell you the truth, you’ve got to have the same thing you need to be good for 150 laps there, but you’ve got to be able to make it last way longer. You’ve got to sit there and ride as long as you can and keep your nose clean and not make anybody mad the first 200 laps. Then after the pit stop, you’ve got to get to front as quick as you can, and depending where you are with 60, 70, or 80 laps to go, you try to take off and get to the front.”
On how pit strategy plays out in the Southern Maine Chrysler Dodge Jeep 300: “Most people end up pitting at the same time, anyways. Back when PASS ran American Racer tires, it seemed there was a big advantage in pitting for right side tires twice instead of for four tires once. Two years ago, I couldn’t go much longer on fuel and got forced to pit earlier than everybody else. I was still third with 15 to go – but I had a really good car, especially to be able to hang on that long.”
On the importance of this race to him: “It’s always been a big deal. It’s the biggest race of the year at Beech Ridge. Ever since I ran it for the first time, it’s become way more to me. I realistically had the chance to win the race, but it didn’t work out. Now I want to win it even more. It’s a huge race.
“Even though it doesn’t have the history of an Oxford 250,it has a big purse and a big following, and I want to win it.”
UP NEXT
The PASS North Series wraps up its season with the PASS Championship 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine, on Saturday, September 28… Bradley Babb has won two poles at Oxford Plains this season in PASS North Series competition.