Barker benefits from leaders’ spin to claim ACT Coastal Clash 150

Even with thirty cars taking the green in Sunday’s Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour Coastal Clash 150, it seemed none of them had anything for Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. or Erick Sands.

At least, until the leading duo had it out for each other.

Brandon Barker dodged the front-of-the-pack fireworks on lap 122, then held off Jesse Switser to steal his second career ACT victory in front of his team’s hometown crowd at Star Speedway.

“They worked together all race just to screw themselves at the end,” Barker said of the duel that opened the door to victory lane.

It was a challenging afternoon for New England’s richest touring Late Model series, with full-contact bullring brawling betraying the Tour’s competitive reputation.

The Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour returned to action for the first time since mid-April, with a frustrating pattern of weekend rain postponing events at Oxford Plains Speedway and Thunder Road International Speedbowl. ACT’s loyal base responded to the rainouts with a bumper crop of entries at Star, forcing the addition of a B-feature to the day’s schedule and giving qualifying a clear sense of gravity.

Occasional entrants Geoff Rollins and Joey Doiron claimed the first two heats, with two-time champion D.J. Shaw and Série ACT standout Raphael Lessard winning the next two. Kasey Beattie and Chase Curtis captured consi wins, with Tanner Woodard and Cole Littlewood forced to transfer through the B-feature. Six cars were sent to their trailers early, including Trent Goodrow, Jaden Perry, and former Star regular Randy Cole.

Third-place heat finishers Renfrew and Joey Polewarczyk, though, stood atop the plus-minus pool after the consis, locking in the front row for the 150-lap main event with Sands and Switser in their mirrors.

Renfrew, last year’s Star 150 winner, went to the point immediately, with Sands filing into second. Only five laps in, smoke billowed in turn four as cars scattered. The worst of the damage was dealt to Taylor Hoar, who ducked in and out of the pits for layers of duct tape, and Shaw, who soldiered on with heavy left-side damage.

A single-car spin for Cole Littlewood brought out the next yellow. Two laps later, Cam Huntress was forced off the backstretch in a three-wide battle gone wrong. Huntress tried to correct course, but his car snapped around and nosed hard into the backstretch tire barrier, bringing out a red flag on lap 11. Huntress was okay, but his brand-new chassis was towed to the pits with heavy damage.

Two more yellows by lap 22 prompted race control to revert to single-file restarts until the field could settle down. The pack responded with a long green-flag stint, under which Renfrew and Sands lapped all the way into the top twenty. Sands, whose first career touring win came in last year’s season finale at Seekonk Speedway, shadowed Renfrew as they negotiated traffic.

But the lapped traffic proved troublesome for Polewarczyk, who was running fourth when he brushed up against Rémi Perreault. Polewarczyk’s right front fender locked into Perreault’s rear, forcing the yellow to fly on lap 71 so the two cars could be separated. Despite the early contact, all but three cars were still on track as the field gridded for another restart.

Defending champion Gabe Brown slipped by Switser for third on the restart, but Renfrew and Sands held sway out front as the field settled in for another green-flag stint. Pro All Stars Series Modified graduate Ryan Hewins, making his ACT Tour debut, spun in turn four to bring out the race’s seventh caution on lap 86.

Peyton Lanphear was the next to enter the spin cycle, going around off another driver’s bumper in turn three. Brown and Polewarczyk looped their cars slowing to avoid Lanphear’s stalled ride, though the duo lined up fifth and sixth for the ensuing restart.

Woodard and heat winner Rollins got together shortly after the restart, spinning through the soaked turn-one grass and spraying water across the pavement. Woodard headed to the pits for the afternoon, while track workers hastily dried the racing surface. The younger Lanphear sister’s afternoon would end a few laps later as she came to a stop in turn two on lap 98.

Out front, Renfrew, Sands and Switser continued to show the way, while Barker finally crept into the podium picture. Barker moved to third not long before Hoar and local racer Nathan Leclair got together to draw another yellow flag. Renfrew was stout on the restart, but Sands was less content to fade into second, clinging to the defending winner’s bumper.

Brandon Gray, testing the Late Model waters in 2025 after dominating ACT’s Flying Tigers for the last few seasons, was the next casualty, spinning out on lap 116 before retiring his black-and-blue mount. On the next restart, Beattie and Jonathan Bouvrette went around in turn three, Bouvrette planting his car atop the tractor tire barrier. Beattie, who had struggled to get out of the high line all afternoon, was able to continue, but Bouvrette was done for the day.

Sands turned up the heat on the restart, pressuring Renfrew for the lead for the first time. On lap 121, Sands peeked inside Renfrew down the backstretch, pulling up to Renfrew’s door. But as they dove into turn three, Renfrew closed the door, instead spinning off Sands’ nose and coming to a stop as Sands drove by.

Renfrew, displeased with the contact, waited for the pace car to pass before pulling up the track into Sands’ path. Sands was sent to the rear for his involvement in the spin, ending the run for the two drivers who had played restart strategy to perfection all afternoon.

Barker, meanwhile, cycled into the lead under yellow. It was the first lead change of the race.

And as far as the Windham, Me. veteran was concerned, it was going to be the last.

While Renfrew and Sands tried to pick their way through traffic to salvage decent finishes, Barker was unassailable out front, leading the final green-flag sprint to the checkers.

A Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour winner in his first-ever start in 2023, Barker edged out Switser by just under a second to earn his second ACT Tour victory in his 11th career start.

Switser, who finished seventh in the season opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, continued to build on last year’s breakout season with his runner-up finish. Brown, despite his midrace spin, crossed the stripe in third to continue his title defense.

Reigning Star Speedway Late Model champion Connor McDougal was a surprise in fourth place, dodging the day’s incidents to come home with his best-ever ACT performance after starting 22nd. Polewarczyk finished fifth despite being caught up in two of the day’s incidents.

Lessard, a former NASCAR Truck Series race winner, finished sixth to post back-to-back top ten results for the Larue Motorsports team. Shaw was seventh at the end despite the damage to his ride. Derek Gluchacki took minor damage but persevered to finish eighth. Quebecer Alexendre Tardif, in his second start for Jason Glaude, was ninth at the finish, with consi winner Chase Curtis rounding out the top ten.

Renfrew and Sands could only claw their way back to 12th and 13th at the finish.

Barker’s second career Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour win was also his second for car owner Chad Sullivan, who additionally celebrated back-to-back wins at Star Speedway. Barker and Renfrew shared the Sullivan Family Racing “Eppin’ Express” in 2024, though Renfrew returned to a family-fielded effort of his own in 2025.

Sunday’s race was a departure from the expectations of close but clean competition that follow the American-Canadian Tour. The race clocked in at nearly an hour and forty minutes, with fourteen caution flags and the early red flag slowing the pace to a crawl. Notably, most of the incidents were single-car spins, many stemming from incidental contact. The earlier PASS-sanctioned features were not much cleaner; eight of the 17 PASS North starters failed to finish, and the PASS Mod feature had plenty of incidents of its own.

It bears recalling that the ACT field defied expectations at NHMS in April, turning in a clean and competitive race on the one-mile oval after last year’s calamitous Northeast Classic. Perhaps a combination of the lengthy layover and a large yet competitive field played a role in Sunday’s outcome.

Ultimately, on a tight quarter-mile oval, a crashfest happens every so often. Fortunately for New England fans, it is by far the exception, not the rule.

May’s postponed Community Bank 150 is the next race on the schedule, with June 1 serving as the rain date for the Tour’s Thunder Road homecoming. A visit to the tricky high-banked Vermont oval is a challenging event to serve as a rebuttal to critics of this week’s racing.

But short track racing is all about subverting expectations.

Unofficial Results
Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour | Coastal Clash 150
Star Speedway, Epping, N.H.
1. (0NH) Brandon Barker
2. (25NH) Jesse Switser
3. (47NH) Gabe Brown
4. (8NH) Connor McDougal
5. (97NH) Joey Polewarczyk
6. (48QC) Raphael Lessard
7. (60BH) D.J. Shaw
8. (03MA) Derek Gluchacki
9. (31CT) Alexendre Tardif
10. (27MA) Chase Curtis
11. (73MA) Cole Littlewood
12. (00NH) Jimmy Renfrew, Jr.
13. (36NH) Erick Sands
14. (18VT) Kaiden Fisher
15. (02NH) Geoff Rollins
16. (45NH) Kasey Beattie
17. (47MA) Justin Storace
18. (70ME) Ryan Hewins
19. (29NH) Aaron Fellows
20. (33QC) Rémi Perreault
21. (46VT) Taylor Hoar
22. (21ME) Joey Doiron
23. (41QC) Jonathan Bouvrette
24. (00VT) Brandon Gray
25. (10NH) Nathan Leclair
26. (22VT) Peyton Lanphear
27. (68NH) Tanner Woodard
28. (92ME) Colby Meserve
29. (5MA) Tom Carey III
30. (27NH) Cam Huntress

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