Sanborn survives leaders’ troubles to snag PASS Icebreaker victory

At first, Eddie MacDonald gave away a clear victory in the Pro All Stars Series North lidlifter at Thompson Speedway. Then, on the ensuing restart, Derek Griffith gave it away, too.

But Trevor Sanborn was there to pick up the pieces, driving away down the home stretch to claim his fifth career PASS North win and his second Icebreaker 75 win in three years.

On a frigid Saturday afternoon in March, Sanborn and his Richard Moody Racing team were off to a hot start in their third season together.

The 51st running of the historic Connecticut speedway’s opening weekend may not have been as true to its name as last year’s event, when ice pellets pelted the teams in the moments before the first green flag of the day. But a tenuous weather front kept the day’s racing in doubt through most of the week. Promoters Tom Mayberry and Cris Michaud took action late Thursday, postponing Sunday’s program featuring the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to the following Sunday.

Saturday’s program, anchored by the PASS Super Late Models and the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series, slotted into a window in the weekend forecast, though the schedule was hastily modified that morning to accommodate inbound rains that would likely end any racing courtesy of the cold track.

Sanborn was fast all weekend, but the Parsonsfield, Me. native needed a break to get into the victory conversation.

Heat race winners Garrett Hall and Griffith led the field to the green flag to officially open the PASS North season and the Icebreaker’s feature racing. Griffith, on the mend from an offseason health scare, wasted little time getting to the point. The Granite Stater made the most of a clear track, building an advantage over second place as MacDonald settled into the runner-up slot.

After halfway, though, MacDonald began to close the gap on Griffith. With 49 laps complete, MacDonald was peeking around the defending race winner, Griffith fighting back however he could. “The Outlaw” ultimately made the move stick two laps later, sliding in front of Griffith and into the race lead.

The Massachusetts veteran and big-track ace was well on track for his sixth career Thompson win dating back to 2005. But with 62 laps in the books, MacDonald’s right front tire failed, sending him skidding into the turn-two wall and leaving him winless at the big oval since 2019.

Griffith assumed the lead with Sanborn gridding alongside him for the restart. But as the field thundered into turn one, something went awry on the black-and-red LCM Motorsports entry. Griffith’s car snapped around and corrected mid-pack, nosing into the outside wall and bringing the caution flag back out. Sanborn skated past unscathed, taking the lead back as officials sorted out the scramble to the yellow.

Sanborn brought the field to the green flag, and while a mad dash for second unfolded in his mirror, the veteran racer held steady out front, cruising home to a .443-second win over defending champion D.J. Shaw.

Saturday’s win was Sanborn’s third PASS North win for car owner Richard Moody. After a few short-term pairings, the duo reunited in 2023, with Sanborn winning that year’s Icebreaker to break a three-year winless spell for the Moody team.

Shaw, who won last fall’s Thompson tilt to clinch his sixth PASS North crown, made his season debut count in the closing laps, overcoming poor track position and a battle with lapped traffic to post the runner-up finish.

Cory Casagrande, the only Nutmeg State native in the lineup, surged to second on the final restart before settling for third. The podium performance matched his career-best in last October’s World Series feature after a challenging trip to Hickory Motor Speedway two weeks ago.

Polesitter Hall was fourth in the final rundown, with rookie Brandon Varney wheeling Dennis Spencer’s car to a fifth-place finish.

Former PASS champion Ryan Kuhn was sixth at the stripe, with Jeremy Sorel seventh. Vermont’s Bobby Therrien was the final car on the lead lap in eighth. Mike Scorzelli survived an eventful day to place ninth, ahead of Canadian J.P. Josiasse in tenth.

MacDonald and Griffith were not the only drivers bitten hard by the big track on Saturday. Seven-time PASS North champion Johnny Clark had just set his fast lap of the day before hammering the outside wall in practice. Clark’s team unloaded their backup car during heats, but the veteran only made a few laps in the feature before pulling to the pits.

Scorzelli, meanwhile, was on the losing end of a battle for third in his heat, making contact with Sorel before spinning hard into the turn-three concrete. Scorzelli’s team had their own backup car unloaded before the wrecked car was returned to the paddock, and the Feura Bush, N.Y. racer wheeled the hastily-prepared backup to a top-ten finish.

With only two weeks until PASS’ Northeast Classic at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the carnage leaves three of the early favorites – two-time and defending winner MacDonald, inaugural winner Clark, and Griffith – with plenty of work to do before the second race of the season.

The severity of the damage is likely a contributing factor to the short fields that have plagued the ⅝-mile oval in recent seasons. Fourteen cars took the green flag Saturday, an improvement over last fall’s ten-car World Series showing but a marked drop from last year’s Icebreaker feature. Seekonk Speedway legend Dave Darling turned laps in Friday’s practice sessions but did not race Saturday. Hickory winner Joey Doiron was on hand Friday to assist in dialing in Hall’s ride, but Doiron is planning a part-time trophy-hunting itinerary in 2025, and the larger tracks are missing from that schedule.

Super Late Models are hardly out of place on Thompson’s high banks, but a hard crash early in the year can set back a team’s entire season.

So it was for Sanborn in 2024. After limping to a poor finish in the Icebreaker, Sanborn and team lost a car in a grinding crash at NHMS. Deep in the hole in the PASS standings, the Richard Moody Racing operation shifted its midseason focus away from a full-time touring schedule. Racing primarily at Oxford Plains Speedway, the team won the track championship with Sanborn while picking up a PASS win at Oxford and a non-points victory at Spud Speedway to complement their season.

This year, Sanborn has the momentum and the big-track speed in place.

With the longest track on the schedule coming up quickly, Sanborn has a chance to make a big statement at NHMS.

Unofficial Results
PASS North | Icebreaker 75
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson, Conn.
1. (44) Trevor Sanborn
2. (60) D.J. Shaw
3. (7CT) Cory Casagrande
4. (94) Garrett Hall
5. (12V) Brandon Varney
6. (72) Ryan Kuhn
7. (7) Jeremy Sorel
8. (5X) Bobby Therrien
9. (18) Michael Scorzelli
10. (24J) JP Josiasse
11. (17F) Kevin Folan
12. (12G) Derek Griffith
13. (17MA) Eddie MacDonald
14. (54) Johnny Clark

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