Brad Babb is coming home to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.

The former track champion from Windham and current contender on the American Canadian Tour wants it to be known he’s not holding any grudges.

Babb, 22, figures to be a top threat to win Saturday night’s 150-lap ACT race at Beech Ridge. The last time the tour visited Maine, at Oxford Plains on July 25, Babb and points leader Joey Polewarczyk of Hudson, New Hampshire, were in a battle for the lead. With four laps remaining, the two bumped together. Polewarczyk went on to the win – and was booed in Victory Lane – while Babb had to settle for 11th place.

Is Babb harboring ill feelings toward Polewarczyk?

“No. I’m more of a mind of going to the track to race and will try to give myself the best shot to win it,” Babb said. “We’ll see when we get there, but I’m not looking for any trouble.”

Avoiding trouble has been a hallmark of Babb’s season. Even with the spin at Oxford Plains, he has had a season free from extensive damage to the No. 15 car owned by Vermont racing legend Joey Laquerre.

“I’m really pleased with the way the season is going,” Babb said. “Realistically we could have had four or five wins now if things had gone our way, but that doesn’t always happen in racing. I’m just happy that we were able to win a couple and I haven’t really wrecked anything, so it’s been a really good season.”

Babb claimed his first career ACT win May 3 at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont. It was an emotional win for the team, Babb said. Before the race, a memorial tribute was given to Laquerre’s grandson, who died in a four-wheeling accident.

Babb’s first race for Laquerre was last season at the Ridge. At that time, there was no formal plan to form a driver-owner partnership. “Our families have known each other and gotten along for a long time, but I never imagined he would ask me to drive for him,” Babb said.

After winning ACT rookie of the year honors in 2010 in a family-owned car, Babb came back to Beech Ridge and claimed the 2012 Pro Series title, becoming a third-generation champ at Scarborough’s third-mile oval.

Babb’s grandfather, Bob, won Beech Ridge championships in 1976 and 1977. His father, Bobby, posted titles in 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2006.

“I always look forward to coming to Beech Ridge,” Brad Babb said.

In addition to the ACT 150-lap feature, the Ridge’s regular Saturday night features will be held, including a 40-lap Pro Series race.

Babb, who still has his Pro Series car, has raced in both Late Model (ACT-style) and pro stock (PASS-style) on the same day twice this season but will not be double-dipping at Beech Ridge.

“Where we’re racing for points on the ACT tour, it’s just too much to take on in one night,” he said.

Babb said his challenge will be to hold onto third in the ACT standings. Polewarczyk (876 points), who has won four of the eight races, has a seven-point lead on Wayne Helliwell Jr., of Dover, New Hampshire. Babb has 704 points, but only 16 points separate him from Nick Sweet in seventh place.

This year the ACT and Pro All-Star Series are working in concert, holding their marquee events on different weekends. That means ACT Late Model regulars could join the Oxford 250 the field on Aug. 30. Polewarczyk, the 2012 winner, and Helliwell have entered but are among the few ACT drivers to officially announce their intention to chase the $25,000 first prize.

Babb said he will not be racing the Oxford 250. Were he to try, he said he would need to race in his Pro Stock to be competitive.

“It’s great that (ACT and PASS are working in tandem). It’s made it a lot better for the racers,” Babb said.

“But it’s just so much money and we haven’t been going as good as we want with the pro series car. So if we know that we’re not going to have a chance to win the race, it’s just an expensive day.”

The Beech Ridge Pro Series championship battle has become a two-driver race between Reid Lanpher, 17, of Manchester and Scarborough’s Garrett Hall, but Lanpher has the momentum. He recently became the first driver since 2010 to win back-to-back Pro Series races at the Ridge and now has a 21-point advantage.

 

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