Near perfect early summer weather greeted a large and eager crowd
at Maine's "Center of Speed" for the running of the annual Coastal 200
and Wiscasset Raceway's salute to the troops with Operation
Recognition. The program started with special opening ceremonies
honoring the men and women of the military and their famililies, plus
recognizining the efforts of Operation Recognition. When the dust
cleared and the marathon program ended, it was West Bath's Bill Whorff
Jr standing in victory lane holding the first place trophy and ready
to cash the $10,000 winner's check for winning the Coastal 200. Whorff
took advantage of a carefully thought out pit strategy and heavy
attrition in the early going to win the main event for the Smith
Construction Late Model Sportsman -- the biggest win of his racing
career and first ever at Wiscasset. "We decided before the race we
wanted to get to the 125 laps and let everyone else pit early, which
they did," Whorff said. "We needed to wait for the gas, to get the
rear weight percentage we wanted to get the car to go right." Whorff's
#10 AAA / Whorff Excavation Ford Taurus was one of only 2 cars to
finish on the lead lap of the race which took nearly 2 1/2 hours to
run and was marred by 19 caution periods. Darren Ripley of Appleton
finished 2nd and T.J. Watson of Harspwell was 3rd, one lap down, and
one of only 12 of 31 starters running at the finish. Watson was locked
in a great battle over the final 20 laps of the race with Joe Doiron
of Berwick and Josh St Clair of Liberty for the final spot in victory
lane. Doiron would finish 4th and St Clair 5th. Ricky Rolfe, Aaron
Ricker, Erik Nash, Chuck Colby and Scott Pooler completed the top ten.
Whorff not only worked the long Coastal 200, but he'd also put in well
over an hour in the Clark's Car Crushing Prostock feature earlier in
the afternoon. Twelve cautions thinned the field through the first 114
laps. Whorff pitted for the final time on lap 115 and had gobbled up
Ripley's straightaway lead in less than 10 laps. He passed him for the
point on lap 141. Ripley then rode around trying to protect 2nd place.
A caution flew on lap 186 -- and Ripley hit pit road for tires.
Problem was, the only tires he'd had left were old ones, taken off his
car when he mistakenly pitted on lap 54. His crew had made an
unfortunate miscalculation early in the race, thinking the number of
laps run was 82. "We pitted real, real early," Ripley said. "We made
that mistake that way, but we put the (first) tires on and that's all
we had." Whorff said he radioed in and knew that Ripley had old tires
on his car when he lined up outside of him on lap 185 and lap 196
restarts. "I really didn't worry," Whorff said. "I knew that they were
still 2 or 3-10ths slower than what we were running, even on new
tires. The car was just clicking along so well." Ripley was happy with
2nd, though, coming into this year driving for owner Bill Stilphen
after a 6-year absence from racing. "This was good," said Ripley, who
owned $4,000 for his runner-up spot. "I knew if I stayed out of
trouble -- no gambles -- we'd be OK. The car looks pretty good for 200
laps." Defending LMS champ Chris Thorne of Sidney, a prerace favorite
to win the Coastal 200 had his share of the lead early in the race,
leading from lap 8 through lap 31 when he was forced to the pits for a
flat tire. He would work his way back to the front and retake the lead
from Whorff on lap 81. Just 16 laps later Thorne would drop out of the
race with rearend problems. Race leaders included polesitter Bill
Childs Jr, Eddie McDonald, Thorne, Ripley and Whorff.
In support action on the afternoon, 6-time track champ Maurice
Young of Windsor continued his dominance in extra distance races for
the Keystone Automotive Strictly Streets. Young took the lead on lap 6
and covered the final 44 on the way to the win in the $500 to win 50
lap qualifier. With the win, Young locks himself into the starting
grid for the 100 lap Street Stock Nationals at Wiscasset Raceway as
part of Ray Haskell Ford "Fall Brawl" weekend October 4th and 5th.
Durham's Larry Emerson finished a distant second and Steve Peirpont of
Cushing took 3rd. Lisbon's Dave Brannon gave Young his toughest
challenge, chasing the leader within a car length from lap 12 through
28 when he dropped out with mechanical problems. "Big" John Phippen of
Bar Harbor picked up the win in the 40 lap feature for the Clark's Car
Crushing Prostocks. Phippen took over the lead following a lap 34
restart which involved the lead pair of Bill Whorff and Tim Turner.
Jesse Smith ran his best race at Wiscasset, picking up the 2nd place
trophy after a run up from 18th. Freedom's Randy Turner took over the
point lead in Wiscasset's top division with his 3rd place finish.
Oakland's Mike Landry won a caution filled 30 lap feature for the
Unicel / Budweiser Super Streets. For Landry, a former champ at
Beechridge, it was his first win at Wiscasset. Shawn Austin of
Norridgewock backed up his first career win from the previous week
with a run from 13th to finish 2nd. Bryan Fortin of South China
started 4th and shook of some early race troubles to race his way back
up through the field to finish 3rd. In the 25 lap feature for the
Aable Auto Part Mini Stocks, point leader Mac Hannan made quick work
of the field of cars, moving up from 19th to the lead by the halfway
marker. From there, he drove to his first mini stock win since his
championship season of 2002. Dylan Lancaster of Skowhegan started 18th
and notched his third straight podium finish in 2nd. 2-time Ministock
champ Shawn Kimball filled out the top three. Barry Poulin picked up
his 2nd win of the season in the 20 lap feature for the White &
Bradstreet Mini Trucks. Poulin was the opening day winner. In Sunday's
program he was joined in victory lane by week two winner Jason Giggey
of Unity and Kevin Oliver of Gray.
Wiscasset Raceway returns to action Saturday May 31st at 2:00pm
with a full program sponsored by Harold C. Ralph Chevrolet of
Waldoboro. All six weekly racing series divisions will be in action
with regular length heats and features on the schedule. For more
information, call the Wiscasset Raceway office at (207) 882-4271 or
check the track website at www.wiscassetraceway.info.
OFFICIAL FINISHES
COASTAL 200 - SMITH CONSTRUCTION LATE MODEL SPORTSMAN - with finishing
position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver name
and hometown.
1. (12) 10 Bill Whorff Jr. - West Bath
2. (6) 70 Darren Ripley - Appleton
3. (25) 04 T.J. Watson - Harpswell
4. (5) 73 Joe Doiron - Berwick
5. (19) 33 Josh St. Clair - Liberty
6. (9) 51 Ricky Rolfe - Albany Township
7. (14) 22x Aaron Ricker - Tamworth, N.H.
8. (23) 31 Erik Nash - Richmond
9. (15) 11c Chuck Colby - Wiscasset
10. (24) 50 Scott Pooler - Vassalboro
11. (13) 15 Nick Hinkley - Wiscasset
12. (20) 3 Richard Jordan - Kingfield
13. (16) 7 Nick Reno - West Bath
14. (1) 1x Bill Childs Jr. - Leeds
15. (3) 17 Chris Thorne - Sidney
16. (2) 11 Adam Chadbourne - Woolwich
17. (28) 14 Dave St. Clair - Liberty
18. (10) 12 Seth Raven - Waldo
19. (7) 32 Mike Orr - Wiscasset
20. (26) 34 Tyler Robbins - Monteville
21. (11) 03 Bernie Dinsmore - Hope
22. (22) 24 Duane Love - West Gardiner
23. (8) 1 Jeff Burgess - E. Madison
24. (27) 22 Ajay Picard - Palmyra
25. (4) 17x Eddie MacDonald - Rowley, Mass.
26. (30) 77 Steve Reno - West Bath
27. (29) 5 Bill Pinkham - Wiscasset
28. (18) 29 Barry Gray - Belchertown, Mass.
29. (31) 25 Will Collins - Burkettville
30. (17) 6 Dan Smart - Buxton
31. (21) 75 Ben Ashline - Pittston
Time of race: 2 hours, 25 minutes. Margin of victory: 6 car lengths.
Caution periods: 19. Heat winners: Childs, Chadbourne.
Keystone Automotive Strictly Streets - Nationals Qualifier (50 laps)
1. Maurice Young - Windsor; 2. Larry Emerson - Durham; 3. Steve
Pierpont - Cushing; 4. Mike Short - Auburn; 5. Bob Mesimer -
Woolwich; 6. Ian Bresnahan - Bath; 7. Jeff Merrill - Mexico;
8. Ed Pierpont - Jefferson; 9. Glen Henderson - Litchfield; 10.
Zak Emerson - Durham; 11. Derek Pearson - Glenburn; 12. John Brill
- n/a; 13. Gerry Burgess - n/a; 14. Ken Carter - Winthrop;
15. Mike St Germain - Auburn; 16. Matt Stuart - Pittston; 17.
Zack Creamer - Bath; 18. Jeff Davis - Woolwich; 19. Mike Stewart
- Durham; 20. Dave Brannon - Lisbon; 21. Nate Yeaton - Bath;
22. Jamie Henderson - Litchfield
Clark's Car Crushing Prostocks (40 laps) 1. John Phippen - Bar
Harbor; 2. Jesse Smith - Bangor; 3. Randy Turner - Unity; 4.
Charlie Colby - Newcastle; 5. Bill Penfold - Yarmouth; 6. Matt
Lee - Albion; 7. Scott Moore - Anson; 8. Dave Farrington - Jay;
9. Gene Green - Manchester; 10. Ricky Morse - St. Albans; 11.
Scott King - Livemore Falls; 12. Jeff Burgess - E. Madison; 13.
Tim Turner - Freedom; 14. Bill Whorff Jr - West Bath; 15. Bryan
Robbins - Montville; 16. Gene Hatch - Winthrop; 17. Dale Brackett
- n/a; 18. Dale Cullivan - Palermo; 19. Dylan Turner - Freedom;
20. Ryan Deane - Winterport; 21. Jeremy Whorff - West Bath; 22.
Chuck Colby - Wiscasset
Unicel Super Streets (30 laps) 1. Mike Landry - Oakland; 2.
Shawn Austin - Norridgewock; 3. Brian Fortin - South China; 4.
Nate Weston - Madison; 5. Allen Moeller Sr. - Dresden; 6. Ryan
Robinson - Clinton; 7. Justin Karkos - Jay; 8. Kevin Douglass -
Sidney; 9. Ryan St. Clair - Liberty; 10. Jeremy Glasier-
Appleton; 11. Richie Morse - n/a; 12. Jason Gaboury - Readfield;
13. Dan Trask - Chelsea; 14. J.J. Small - Fairfield; 15. James
Osmond - Gardiner; 16. Frank Brown - Augusta
Aable Autoparts Mini Stock (25 laps) 1. Mac Hannon Jr. - Union;
2. Dylan Lancaster - Skowhegan; 3. Shawn Kimball - Pittston; 4.
Mike Wilson - Chelsea; 5. Ryan Ripley - Thomaston; 6. Brent Roy
- Vassalboro; 7. Pete McCollett - Readfield; 8. Shane Smith -
Augusta; 9. Cody Sleeper - Chelsea; 10. Mike Dulaney - Richmond;
11. Ed Sleeper - Vassalboro; 12. Tom True - Wiscasset; 13. Jeff
Minchin - Pittston; 14. Nathan Guptil - n/a; 15. Tim Collins-
Farmingdale; 16. Alex Cromwell - Woolwich; 17. Steve Howard -
Thomaston; 18. Chelsea Young - Winterport; 19. Ryan Hayes -
Jefferson; 20. David Cook - n/a; 21. Tim Grant - Augusta; 22.
Ken Edgecomb - Readfield; 23. Scott Theriault - China
White & Bradstreet Mini Trucks (20 laps) 1. Barry Poulin - Clinton;
2. Jason Giggey - Unity; 3. Kevin Oliver - Gray; 4. James
Swan III - Clinton; 5. Jessica Norris - Portsmouth, N.H.; 6. Don
Giggey - Athens; 7. Josh Harjula - Boothbay; 8. Russ Anderson -
Portsmouth, N.H.; 9. James Howland - Rye, N.H.; 10 Rick Sirois -
Norridgewock; 11. Peter Bourque - Portsmouth, NH; 12. Josh
Kauffman - Unity; 13. Roger Allard - Cundy's HarborWISCASSET
RACEWAY PRESS RELEASE 5/25/08
BILL WHORFF JR WINS COASTAL 200 AT WISCASSET RACEWAY
Near perfect early summer weather greeted a large and eager crowd
at Maine's "Center of Speed" for the running of the annual Coastal 200
and Wiscasset Raceway's salute to the troops with Operation
Recognition. The program started with special opening ceremonies
honoring the men and women of the military and their famililies, plus
recognizining the efforts of Operation Recognition. When the dust
cleared and the marathon program ended, it was West Bath's Bill Whorff
Jr standing in victory lane holding the first place trophy and ready
to cash the $10,000 winner's check for winning the Coastal 200. Whorff
took advantage of a carefully thought out pit strategy and heavy
attrition in the early going to win the main event for the Smith
Construction Late Model Sportsman -- the biggest win of his racing
career and first ever at Wiscasset. "We decided before the race we
wanted to get to the 125 laps and let everyone else pit early, which
they did," Whorff said. "We needed to wait for the gas, to get the
rear weight percentage we wanted to get the car to go right." Whorff's
#10 AAA / Whorff Excavation Ford Taurus was one of only 2 cars to
finish on the lead lap of the race which took nearly 2 1/2 hours to
run and was marred by 19 caution periods. Darren Ripley of Appleton
finished 2nd and T.J. Watson of Harspwell was 3rd, one lap down, and
one of only 12 of 31 starters running at the finish. Watson was locked
in a great battle over the final 20 laps of the race with Joe Doiron
of Berwick and Josh St Clair of Liberty for the final spot in victory
lane. Doiron would finish 4th and St Clair 5th. Ricky Rolfe, Aaron
Ricker, Erik Nash, Chuck Colby and Scott Pooler completed the top ten.
Whorff not only worked the long Coastal 200, but he'd also put in well
over an hour in the Clark's Car Crushing Prostock feature earlier in
the afternoon. Twelve cautions thinned the field through the first 114
laps. Whorff pitted for the final time on lap 115 and had gobbled up
Ripley's straightaway lead in less than 10 laps. He passed him for the
point on lap 141. Ripley then rode around trying to protect 2nd place.
A caution flew on lap 186 -- and Ripley hit pit road for tires.
Problem was, the only tires he'd had left were old ones, taken off his
car when he mistakenly pitted on lap 54. His crew had made an
unfortunate miscalculation early in the race, thinking the number of
laps run was 82. "We pitted real, real early," Ripley said. "We made
that mistake that way, but we put the (first) tires on and that's all
we had." Whorff said he radioed in and knew that Ripley had old tires
on his car when he lined up outside of him on lap 185 and lap 196
restarts. "I really didn't worry," Whorff said. "I knew that they were
still 2 or 3-10ths slower than what we were running, even on new
tires. The car was just clicking along so well." Ripley was happy with
2nd, though, coming into this year driving for owner Bill Stilphen
after a 6-year absence from racing. "This was good," said Ripley, who
owned $4,000 for his runner-up spot. "I knew if I stayed out of
trouble -- no gambles -- we'd be OK. The car looks pretty good for 200
laps." Defending LMS champ Chris Thorne of Sidney, a prerace favorite
to win the Coastal 200 had his share of the lead early in the race,
leading from lap 8 through lap 31 when he was forced to the pits for a
flat tire. He would work his way back to the front and retake the lead
from Whorff on lap 81. Just 16 laps later Thorne would drop out of the
race with rearend problems. Race leaders included polesitter Bill
Childs Jr, Eddie McDonald, Thorne, Ripley and Whorff.
In support action on the afternoon, 6-time track champ Maurice
Young of Windsor continued his dominance in extra distance races for
the Keystone Automotive Strictly Streets. Young took the lead on lap 6
and covered the final 44 on the way to the win in the $500 to win 50
lap qualifier. With the win, Young locks himself into the starting
grid for the 100 lap Street Stock Nationals at Wiscasset Raceway as
part of Ray Haskell Ford "Fall Brawl" weekend October 4th and 5th.
Durham's Larry Emerson finished a distant second and Steve Peirpont of
Cushing took 3rd. Lisbon's Dave Brannon gave Young his toughest
challenge, chasing the leader within a car length from lap 12 through
28 when he dropped out with mechanical problems. "Big" John Phippen of
Bar Harbor picked up the win in the 40 lap feature for the Clark's Car
Crushing Prostocks. Phippen took over the lead following a lap 34
restart which involved the lead pair of Bill Whorff and Tim Turner.
Jesse Smith ran his best race at Wiscasset, picking up the 2nd place
trophy after a run up from 18th. Freedom's Randy Turner took over the
point lead in Wiscasset's top division with his 3rd place finish.
Oakland's Mike Landry won a caution filled 30 lap feature for the
Unicel / Budweiser Super Streets. For Landry, a former champ at
Beechridge, it was his first win at Wiscasset. Shawn Austin of
Norridgewock backed up his first career win from the previous week
with a run from 13th to finish 2nd. Bryan Fortin of South China
started 4th and shook of some early race troubles to race his way back
up through the field to finish 3rd. In the 25 lap feature for the
Aable Auto Part Mini Stocks, point leader Mac Hannan made quick work
of the field of cars, moving up from 19th to the lead by the halfway
marker. From there, he drove to his first mini stock win since his
championship season of 2002. Dylan Lancaster of Skowhegan started 18th
and notched his third straight podium finish in 2nd. 2-time Ministock
champ Shawn Kimball filled out the top three. Barry Poulin picked up
his 2nd win of the season in the 20 lap feature for the White &
Bradstreet Mini Trucks. Poulin was the opening day winner. In Sunday's
program he was joined in victory lane by week two winner Jason Giggey
of Unity and Kevin Oliver of Gray.
Wiscasset Raceway returns to action Saturday May 31st at 2:00pm
with a full program sponsored by Harold C. Ralph Chevrolet of
Waldoboro. All six weekly racing series divisions will be in action
with regular length heats and features on the schedule. For more
information, call the Wiscasset Raceway office at (207) 882-4271 or
check the track website at www.wiscassetraceway.info.
OFFICIAL FINISHES
COASTAL 200 - SMITH CONSTRUCTION LATE MODEL SPORTSMAN - with finishing
position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver name
and hometown.
1. (12) 10 Bill Whorff Jr. - West Bath
2. (6) 70 Darren Ripley - Appleton
3. (25) 04 T.J. Watson - Harpswell
4. (5) 73 Joe Doiron - Berwick
5. (19) 33 Josh St. Clair - Liberty
6. (9) 51 Ricky Rolfe - Albany Township
7. (14) 22x Aaron Ricker - Tamworth, N.H.
8. (23) 31 Erik Nash - Richmond
9. (15) 11c Chuck Colby - Wiscasset
10. (24) 50 Scott Pooler - Vassalboro
11. (13) 15 Nick Hinkley - Wiscasset
12. (20) 3 Richard Jordan - Kingfield
13. (16) 7 Nick Reno - West Bath
14. (1) 1x Bill Childs Jr. - Leeds
15. (3) 17 Chris Thorne - Sidney
16. (2) 11 Adam Chadbourne - Woolwich
17. (28) 14 Dave St. Clair - Liberty
18. (10) 12 Seth Raven - Waldo
19. (7) 32 Mike Orr - Wiscasset
20. (26) 34 Tyler Robbins - Monteville
21. (11) 03 Bernie Dinsmore - Hope
22. (22) 24 Duane Love - West Gardiner
23. (8) 1 Jeff Burgess - E. Madison
24. (27) 22 Ajay Picard - Palmyra
25. (4) 17x Eddie MacDonald - Rowley, Mass.
26. (30) 77 Steve Reno - West Bath
27. (29) 5 Bill Pinkham - Wiscasset
28. (18) 29 Barry Gray - Belchertown, Mass.
29. (31) 25 Will Collins - Burkettville
30. (17) 6 Dan Smart - Buxton
31. (21) 75 Ben Ashline - Pittston
Time of race: 2 hours, 25 minutes. Margin of victory: 6 car lengths.
Caution periods: 19. Heat winners: Childs, Chadbourne.
Keystone Automotive Strictly Streets - Nationals Qualifier (50 laps)
1. Maurice Young - Windsor; 2. Larry Emerson - Durham; 3. Steve
Pierpont - Cushing; 4. Mike Short - Auburn; 5. Bob Mesimer -
Woolwich; 6. Ian Bresnahan - Bath; 7. Jeff Merrill - Mexico;
8. Ed Pierpont - Jefferson; 9. Glen Henderson - Litchfield; 10.
Zak Emerson - Durham; 11. Derek Pearson - Glenburn; 12. John Brill
- n/a; 13. Gerry Burgess - n/a; 14. Ken Carter - Winthrop;
15. Mike St Germain - Auburn; 16. Matt Stuart - Pittston; 17.
Zack Creamer - Bath; 18. Jeff Davis - Woolwich; 19. Mike Stewart
- Durham; 20. Dave Brannon - Lisbon; 21. Nate Yeaton - Bath;
22. Jamie Henderson - Litchfield
Clark's Car Crushing Prostocks (40 laps) 1. John Phippen - Bar
Harbor; 2. Jesse Smith - Bangor; 3. Randy Turner - Unity; 4.
Charlie Colby - Newcastle; 5. Bill Penfold - Yarmouth; 6. Matt
Lee - Albion; 7. Scott Moore - Anson; 8. Dave Farrington - Jay;
9. Gene Green - Manchester; 10. Ricky Morse - St. Albans; 11.
Scott King - Livemore Falls; 12. Jeff Burgess - E. Madison; 13.
Tim Turner - Freedom; 14. Bill Whorff Jr - West Bath; 15. Bryan
Robbins - Montville; 16. Gene Hatch - Winthrop; 17. Dale Brackett
- n/a; 18. Dale Cullivan - Palermo; 19. Dylan Turner - Freedom;
20. Ryan Deane - Winterport; 21. Jeremy Whorff - West Bath; 22.
Chuck Colby - Wiscasset
Unicel Super Streets (30 laps) 1. Mike Landry - Oakland; 2.
Shawn Austin - Norridgewock; 3. Brian Fortin - South China; 4.
Nate Weston - Madison; 5. Allen Moeller Sr. - Dresden; 6. Ryan
Robinson - Clinton; 7. Justin Karkos - Jay; 8. Kevin Douglass -
Sidney; 9. Ryan St. Clair - Liberty; 10. Jeremy Glasier-
Appleton; 11. Richie Morse - n/a; 12. Jason Gaboury - Readfield;
13. Dan Trask - Chelsea; 14. J.J. Small - Fairfield; 15. James
Osmond - Gardiner; 16. Frank Brown - Augusta
Aable Autoparts Mini Stock (25 laps) 1. Mac Hannon Jr. - Union;
2. Dylan Lancaster - Skowhegan; 3. Shawn Kimball - Pittston; 4.
Mike Wilson - Chelsea; 5. Ryan Ripley - Thomaston; 6. Brent Roy
- Vassalboro; 7. Pete McCollett - Readfield; 8. Shane Smith -
Augusta; 9. Cody Sleeper - Chelsea; 10. Mike Dulaney - Richmond;
11. Ed Sleeper - Vassalboro; 12. Tom True - Wiscasset; 13. Jeff
Minchin - Pittston; 14. Nathan Guptil - n/a; 15. Tim Collins-
Farmingdale; 16. Alex Cromwell - Woolwich; 17. Steve Howard -
Thomaston; 18. Chelsea Young - Winterport; 19. Ryan Hayes -
Jefferson; 20. David Cook - n/a; 21. Tim Grant - Augusta; 22.
Ken Edgecomb - Readfield; 23. Scott Theriault - China
White & Bradstreet Mini Trucks (20 laps) 1. Barry Poulin - Clinton;
2. Jason Giggey - Unity; 3. Kevin Oliver - Gray; 4. James
Swan III - Clinton; 5. Jessica Norris - Portsmouth, N.H.; 6. Don
Giggey - Athens; 7. Josh Harjula - Boothbay; 8. Russ Anderson -
Portsmouth, N.H.; 9. James Howland - Rye, N.H.; 10 Rick Sirois -
Norridgewock; 11. Peter Bourque - Portsmouth, NH; 12. Josh
Kauffman - Unity; 13. Roger Allard - Cundy's HarborWISCASSET
RACEWAY PRESS RELEASE 5/25/08
BILL WHORFF JR WINS COASTAL 200 AT WISCASSET RACEWAY
Near perfect early summer weather greeted a large and eager crowd
at Maine's "Center of Speed" for the running of the annual Coastal 200
and Wiscasset Raceway's salute to the troops with Operation
Recognition. The program started with special opening ceremonies
honoring the men and women of the military and their famililies, plus
recognizining the efforts of Operation Recognition. When the dust
cleared and the marathon program ended, it was West Bath's Bill Whorff
Jr standing in victory lane holding the first place trophy and ready
to cash the $10,000 winner's check for winning the Coastal 200. Whorff
took advantage of a carefully thought out pit strategy and heavy
attrition in the early going to win the main event for the Smith
Construction Late Model Sportsman -- the biggest win of his racing
career and first ever at Wiscasset. "We decided before the race we
wanted to get to the 125 laps and let everyone else pit early, which
they did," Whorff said. "We needed to wait for the gas, to get the
rear weight percentage we wanted to get the car to go right." Whorff's
#10 AAA / Whorff Excavation Ford Taurus was one of only 2 cars to
finish on the lead lap of the race which took nearly 2 1/2 hours to
run and was marred by 19 caution periods. Darren Ripley of Appleton
finished 2nd and T.J. Watson of Harspwell was 3rd, one lap down, and
one of only 12 of 31 starters running at the finish. Watson was locked
in a great battle over the final 20 laps of the race with Joe Doiron
of Berwick and Josh St Clair of Liberty for the final spot in victory
lane. Doiron would finish 4th and St Clair 5th. Ricky Rolfe, Aaron
Ricker, Erik Nash, Chuck Colby and Scott Pooler completed the top ten.
Whorff not only worked the long Coastal 200, but he'd also put in well
over an hour in the Clark's Car Crushing Prostock feature earlier in
the afternoon. Twelve cautions thinned the field through the first 114
laps. Whorff pitted for the final time on lap 115 and had gobbled up
Ripley's straightaway lead in less than 10 laps. He passed him for the
point on lap 141. Ripley then rode around trying to protect 2nd place.
A caution flew on lap 186 -- and Ripley hit pit road for tires.
Problem was, the only tires he'd had left were old ones, taken off his
car when he mistakenly pitted on lap 54. His crew had made an
unfortunate miscalculation early in the race, thinking the number of
laps run was 82. "We pitted real, real early," Ripley said. "We made
that mistake that way, but we put the (first) tires on and that's all
we had." Whorff said he radioed in and knew that Ripley had old tires
on his car when he lined up outside of him on lap 185 and lap 196
restarts. "I really didn't worry," Whorff said. "I knew that they were
still 2 or 3-10ths slower than what we were running, even on new
tires. The car was just clicking along so well." Ripley was happy with
2nd, though, coming into this year driving for owner Bill Stilphen
after a 6-year absence from racing. "This was good," said Ripley, who
owned $4,000 for his runner-up spot. "I knew if I stayed out of
trouble -- no gambles -- we'd be OK. The car looks pretty good for 200
laps." Defending LMS champ Chris Thorne of Sidney, a prerace favorite
to win the Coastal 200 had his share of the lead early in the race,
leading from lap 8 through lap 31 when he was forced to the pits for a
flat tire. He would work his way back to the front and retake the lead
from Whorff on lap 81. Just 16 laps later Thorne would drop out of the
race with rearend problems. Race leaders included polesitter Bill
Childs Jr, Eddie McDonald, Thorne, Ripley and Whorff.
In support action on the afternoon, 6-time track champ Maurice
Young of Windsor continued his dominance in extra distance races for
the Keystone Automotive Strictly Streets. Young took the lead on lap 6
and covered the final 44 on the way to the win in the $500 to win 50
lap qualifier. With the win, Young locks himself into the starting
grid for the 100 lap Street Stock Nationals at Wiscasset Raceway as
part of Ray Haskell Ford "Fall Brawl" weekend October 4th and 5th.
Durham's Larry Emerson finished a distant second and Steve Peirpont of
Cushing took 3rd. Lisbon's Dave Brannon gave Young his toughest
challenge, chasing the leader within a car length from lap 12 through
28 when he dropped out with mechanical problems. "Big" John Phippen of
Bar Harbor picked up the win in the 40 lap feature for the Clark's Car
Crushing Prostocks. Phippen took over the lead following a lap 34
restart which involved the lead pair of Bill Whorff and Tim Turner.
Jesse Smith ran his best race at Wiscasset, picking up the 2nd place
trophy after a run up from 18th. Freedom's Randy Turner took over the
point lead in Wiscasset's top division with his 3rd place finish.
Oakland's Mike Landry won a caution filled 30 lap feature for the
Unicel / Budweiser Super Streets. For Landry, a former champ at
Beechridge, it was his first win at Wiscasset. Shawn Austin of
Norridgewock backed up his first career win from the previous week
with a run from 13th to finish 2nd. Bryan Fortin of South China
started 4th and shook of some early race troubles to race his way back
up through the field to finish 3rd. In the 25 lap feature for the
Aable Auto Part Mini Stocks, point leader Mac Hannan made quick work
of the field of cars, moving up from 19th to the lead by the halfway
marker. From there, he drove to his first mini stock win since his
championship season of 2002. Dylan Lancaster of Skowhegan started 18th
and notched his third straight podium finish in 2nd. 2-time Ministock
champ Shawn Kimball filled out the top three. Barry Poulin picked up
his 2nd win of the season in the 20 lap feature for the White &
Bradstreet Mini Trucks. Poulin was the opening day winner. In Sunday's
program he was joined in victory lane by week two winner Jason Giggey
of Unity and Kevin Oliver of Gray.
Wiscasset Raceway returns to action Saturday May 31st at 2:00pm
with a full program sponsored by Harold C. Ralph Chevrolet of
Waldoboro. All six weekly racing series divisions will be in action
with regular length heats and features on the schedule. For more
information, call the Wiscasset Raceway office at (207) 882-4271 or
check the track website at www.wiscassetraceway.info.
OFFICIAL FINISHES
COASTAL 200 - SMITH CONSTRUCTION LATE MODEL SPORTSMAN - with finishing
position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver name
and hometown.
1. (12) 10 Bill Whorff Jr. - West Bath
2. (6) 70 Darren Ripley - Appleton
3. (25) 04 T.J. Watson - Harpswell
4. (5) 73 Joe Doiron - Berwick
5. (19) 33 Josh St. Clair - Liberty
6. (9) 51 Ricky Rolfe - Albany Township
7. (14) 22x Aaron Ricker - Tamworth, N.H.
8. (23) 31 Erik Nash - Richmond
9. (15) 11c Chuck Colby - Wiscasset
10. (24) 50 Scott Pooler - Vassalboro
11. (13) 15 Nick Hinkley - Wiscasset
12. (20) 3 Richard Jordan - Kingfield
13. (16) 7 Nick Reno - West Bath
14. (1) 1x Bill Childs Jr. - Leeds
15. (3) 17 Chris Thorne - Sidney
16. (2) 11 Adam Chadbourne - Woolwich
17. (28) 14 Dave St. Clair - Liberty
18. (10) 12 Seth Raven - Waldo
19. (7) 32 Mike Orr - Wiscasset
20. (26) 34 Tyler Robbins - Monteville
21. (11) 03 Bernie Dinsmore - Hope
22. (22) 24 Duane Love - West Gardiner
23. (8) 1 Jeff Burgess - E. Madison
24. (27) 22 Ajay Picard - Palmyra
25. (4) 17x Eddie MacDonald - Rowley, Mass.
26. (30) 77 Steve Reno - West Bath
27. (29) 5 Bill Pinkham - Wiscasset
28. (18) 29 Barry Gray - Belchertown, Mass.
29. (31) 25 Will Collins - Burkettville
30. (17) 6 Dan Smart - Buxton
31. (21) 75 Ben Ashline - Pittston
Time of race: 2 hours, 25 minutes. Margin of victory: 6 car lengths.
Caution periods: 19. Heat winners: Childs, Chadbourne.
Keystone Automotive Strictly Streets - Nationals Qualifier (50 laps)
1. Maurice Young - Windsor; 2. Larry Emerson - Durham; 3. Steve
Pierpont - Cushing; 4. Mike Short - Auburn; 5. Bob Mesimer -
Woolwich; 6. Ian Bresnahan - Bath; 7. Jeff Merrill - Mexico;
8. Ed Pierpont - Jefferson; 9. Glen Henderson - Litchfield; 10.
Zak Emerson - Durham; 11. Derek Pearson - Glenburn; 12. John Brill
- n/a; 13. Gerry Burgess - n/a; 14. Ken Carter - Winthrop;
15. Mike St Germain - Auburn; 16. Matt Stuart - Pittston; 17.
Zack Creamer - Bath; 18. Jeff Davis - Woolwich; 19. Mike Stewart
- Durham; 20. Dave Brannon - Lisbon; 21. Nate Yeaton - Bath;
22. Jamie Henderson - Litchfield
Clark's Car Crushing Prostocks (40 laps) 1. John Phippen - Bar
Harbor; 2. Jesse Smith - Bangor; 3. Randy Turner - Unity; 4.
Charlie Colby - Newcastle; 5. Bill Penfold - Yarmouth; 6. Matt
Lee - Albion; 7. Scott Moore - Anson; 8. Dave Farrington - Jay;
9. Gene Green - Manchester; 10. Ricky Morse - St. Albans; 11.
Scott King - Livemore Falls; 12. Jeff Burgess - E. Madison; 13.
Tim Turner - Freedom; 14. Bill Whorff Jr - West Bath; 15. Bryan
Robbins - Montville; 16. Gene Hatch - Winthrop; 17. Dale Brackett
- n/a; 18. Dale Cullivan - Palermo; 19. Dylan Turner - Freedom;
20. Ryan Deane - Winterport; 21. Jeremy Whorff - West Bath; 22.
Chuck Colby - Wiscasset
Unicel Super Streets (30 laps) 1. Mike Landry - Oakland; 2.
Shawn Austin - Norridgewock; 3. Brian Fortin - South China; 4.
Nate Weston - Madison; 5. Allen Moeller Sr. - Dresden; 6. Ryan
Robinson - Clinton; 7. Justin Karkos - Jay; 8. Kevin Douglass -
Sidney; 9. Ryan St. Clair - Liberty; 10. Jeremy Glasier-
Appleton; 11. Richie Morse - n/a; 12. Jason Gaboury - Readfield;
13. Dan Trask - Chelsea; 14. J.J. Small - Fairfield; 15. James
Osmond - Gardiner; 16. Frank Brown - Augusta
Aable Autoparts Mini Stock (25 laps) 1. Mac Hannon Jr. - Union;
2. Dylan Lancaster - Skowhegan; 3. Shawn Kimball - Pittston; 4.
Mike Wilson - Chelsea; 5. Ryan Ripley - Thomaston; 6. Brent Roy
- Vassalboro; 7. Pete McCollett - Readfield; 8. Shane Smith -
Augusta; 9. Cody Sleeper - Chelsea; 10. Mike Dulaney - Richmond;
11. Ed Sleeper - Vassalboro; 12. Tom True - Wiscasset; 13. Jeff
Minchin - Pittston; 14. Nathan Guptil - n/a; 15. Tim Collins-
Farmingdale; 16. Alex Cromwell - Woolwich; 17. Steve Howard -
Thomaston; 18. Chelsea Young - Winterport; 19. Ryan Hayes -
Jefferson; 20. David Cook - n/a; 21. Tim Grant - Augusta; 22.
Ken Edgecomb - Readfield; 23. Scott Theriault - China
White & Bradstreet Mini Trucks (20 laps) 1. Barry Poulin - Clinton;
2. Jason Giggey - Unity; 3. Kevin Oliver - Gray; 4. James
Swan III - Clinton; 5. Jessica Norris - Portsmouth, N.H.; 6. Don
Giggey - Athens; 7. Josh Harjula - Boothbay; 8. Russ Anderson -
Portsmouth, N.H.; 9. James Howland - Rye, N.H.; 10 Rick Sirois -
Norridgewock; 11. Peter Bourque - Portsmouth, NH; 12. Josh
Kauffman - Unity; 13. Roger Allard - Cundy's HarborWISCASSET
RACEWAY PRESS RELEASE 5/25/08
BILL WHORFF JR WINS COASTAL 200 AT WISCASSET RACEWAY
Near perfect early summer weather greeted a large and eager crowd
at Maine's "Center of Speed" for the running of the annual Coastal 200
and Wiscasset Raceway's salute to the troops with Operation
Recognition. The program started with special opening ceremonies
honoring the men and women of the military and their famililies, plus
recognizining the efforts of Operation Recognition. When the dust
cleared and the marathon program ended, it was West Bath's Bill Whorff
Jr standing in victory lane holding the first place trophy and ready
to cash the $10,000 winner's check for winning the Coastal 200. Whorff
took advantage of a carefully thought out pit strategy and heavy
attrition in the early going to win the main event for the Smith
Construction Late Model Sportsman -- the biggest win of his racing
career and first ever at Wiscasset. "We decided before the race we
wanted to get to the 125 laps and let everyone else pit early, which
they did," Whorff said. "We needed to wait for the gas, to get the
rear weight percentage we wanted to get the car to go right." Whorff's
#10 AAA / Whorff Excavation Ford Taurus was one of only 2 cars to
finish on the lead lap of the race which took nearly 2 1/2 hours to
run and was marred by 19 caution periods. Darren Ripley of Appleton
finished 2nd and T.J. Watson of Harspwell was 3rd, one lap down, and
one of only 12 of 31 starters running at the finish. Watson was locked
in a great battle over the final 20 laps of the race with Joe Doiron
of Berwick and Josh St Clair of Liberty for the final spot in victory
lane. Doiron would finish 4th and St Clair 5th. Ricky Rolfe, Aaron
Ricker, Erik Nash, Chuck Colby and Scott Pooler completed the top ten.
Whorff not only worked the long Coastal 200, but he'd also put in well
over an hour in the Clark's Car Crushing Prostock feature earlier in
the afternoon. Twelve cautions thinned the field through the first 114
laps. Whorff pitted for the final time on lap 115 and had gobbled up
Ripley's straightaway lead in less than 10 laps. He passed him for the
point on lap 141. Ripley then rode around trying to protect 2nd place.
A caution flew on lap 186 -- and Ripley hit pit road for tires.
Problem was, the only tires he'd had left were old ones, taken off his
car when he mistakenly pitted on lap 54. His crew had made an
unfortunate miscalculation early in the race, thinking the number of
laps run was 82. "We pitted real, real early," Ripley said. "We made
that mistake that way, but we put the (first) tires on and that's all
we had." Whorff said he radioed in and knew that Ripley had old tires
on his car when he lined up outside of him on lap 185 and lap 196
restarts. "I really didn't worry," Whorff said. "I knew that they were
still 2 or 3-10ths slower than what we were running, even on new
tires. The car was just clicking along so well." Ripley was happy with
2nd, though, coming into this year driving for owner Bill Stilphen
after a 6-year absence from racing. "This was good," said Ripley, who
owned $4,000 for his runner-up spot. "I knew if I stayed out of
trouble -- no gambles -- we'd be OK. The car looks pretty good for 200
laps." Defending LMS champ Chris Thorne of Sidney, a prerace favorite
to win the Coastal 200 had his share of the lead early in the race,
leading from lap 8 through lap 31 when he was forced to the pits for a
flat tire. He would work his way back to the front and retake the lead
from Whorff on lap 81. Just 16 laps later Thorne would drop out of the
race with rearend problems. Race leaders included polesitter Bill
Childs Jr, Eddie McDonald, Thorne, Ripley and Whorff.
In support action on the afternoon, 6-time track champ Maurice
Young of Windsor continued his dominance in extra distance races for
the Keystone Automotive Strictly Streets. Young took the lead on lap 6
and covered the final 44 on the way to the win in the $500 to win 50
lap qualifier. With the win, Young locks himself into the starting
grid for the 100 lap Street Stock Nationals at Wiscasset Raceway as
part of Ray Haskell Ford "Fall Brawl" weekend October 4th and 5th.
Durham's Larry Emerson finished a distant second and Steve Peirpont of
Cushing took 3rd. Lisbon's Dave Brannon gave Young his toughest
challenge, chasing the leader within a car length from lap 12 through
28 when he dropped out with mechanical problems. "Big" John Phippen of
Bar Harbor picked up the win in the 40 lap feature for the Clark's Car
Crushing Prostocks. Phippen took over the lead following a lap 34
restart which involved the lead pair of Bill Whorff and Tim Turner.
Jesse Smith ran his best race at Wiscasset, picking up the 2nd place
trophy after a run up from 18th. Freedom's Randy Turner took over the
point lead in Wiscasset's top division with his 3rd place finish.
Oakland's Mike Landry won a caution filled 30 lap feature for the
Unicel / Budweiser Super Streets. For Landry, a former champ at
Beechridge, it was his first win at Wiscasset. Shawn Austin of
Norridgewock backed up his first career win from the previous week
with a run from 13th to finish 2nd. Bryan Fortin of South China
started 4th and shook of some early race troubles to race his way back
up through the field to finish 3rd. In the 25 lap feature for the
Aable Auto Part Mini Stocks, point leader Mac Hannan made quick work
of the field of cars, moving up from 19th to the lead by the halfway
marker. From there, he drove to his first mini stock win since his
championship season of 2002. Dylan Lancaster of Skowhegan started 18th
and notched his third straight podium finish in 2nd. 2-time Ministock
champ Shawn Kimball filled out the top three. Barry Poulin picked up
his 2nd win of the season in the 20 lap feature for the White &
Bradstreet Mini Trucks. Poulin was the opening day winner. In Sunday's
program he was joined in victory lane by week two winner Jason Giggey
of Unity and Kevin Oliver of Gray.
Wiscasset Raceway returns to action Saturday May 31st at 2:00pm
with a full program sponsored by Harold C. Ralph Chevrolet of
Waldoboro. All six weekly racing series divisions will be in action
with regular length heats and features on the schedule. For more
information, call the Wiscasset Raceway office at (207) 882-4271 or
check the track website at www.wiscassetraceway.info.
OFFICIAL FINISHES
COASTAL 200 - SMITH CONSTRUCTION LATE MODEL SPORTSMAN - with finishing
position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver name
and hometown.
1. (12) 10 Bill Whorff Jr. - West Bath
2. (6) 70 Darren Ripley - Appleton
3. (25) 04 T.J. Watson - Harpswell
4. (5) 73 Joe Doiron - Berwick
5. (19) 33 Josh St. Clair - Liberty
6. (9) 51 Ricky Rolfe - Albany Township
7. (14) 22x Aaron Ricker - Tamworth, N.H.
8. (23) 31 Erik Nash - Richmond
9. (15) 11c Chuck Colby - Wiscasset
10. (24) 50 Scott Pooler - Vassalboro
11. (13) 15 Nick Hinkley - Wiscasset
12. (20) 3 Richard Jordan - Kingfield
13. (16) 7 Nick Reno - West Bath
14. (1) 1x Bill Childs Jr. - Leeds
15. (3) 17 Chris Thorne - Sidney
16. (2) 11 Adam Chadbourne - Woolwich
17. (28) 14 Dave St. Clair - Liberty
18. (10) 12 Seth Raven - Waldo
19. (7) 32 Mike Orr - Wiscasset
20. (26) 34 Tyler Robbins - Monteville
21. (11) 03 Bernie Dinsmore - Hope
22. (22) 24 Duane Love - West Gardiner
23. (8) 1 Jeff Burgess - E. Madison
24. (27) 22 Ajay Picard - Palmyra
25. (4) 17x Eddie MacDonald - Rowley, Mass.
26. (30) 77 Steve Reno - West Bath
27. (29) 5 Bill Pinkham - Wiscasset
28. (18) 29 Barry Gray - Belchertown, Mass.
29. (31) 25 Will Collins - Burkettville
30. (17) 6 Dan Smart - Buxton
31. (21) 75 Ben Ashline - Pittston
Time of race: 2 hours, 25 minutes. Margin of victory: 6 car lengths.
Caution periods: 19. Heat winners: Childs, Chadbourne.
Keystone Automotive Strictly Streets - Nationals Qualifier (50 laps)
1. Maurice Young - Windsor; 2. Larry Emerson - Durham; 3. Steve
Pierpont - Cushing; 4. Mike Short - Auburn; 5. Bob Mesimer -
Woolwich; 6. Ian Bresnahan - Bath; 7. Jeff Merrill - Mexico;
8. Ed Pierpont - Jefferson; 9. Glen Henderson - Litchfield; 10.
Zak Emerson - Durham; 11. Derek Pearson - Glenburn; 12. John Brill
- n/a; 13. Gerry Burgess - n/a; 14. Ken Carter - Winthrop;
15. Mike St Germain - Auburn; 16. Matt Stuart - Pittston; 17.
Zack Creamer - Bath; 18. Jeff Davis - Woolwich; 19. Mike Stewart
- Durham; 20. Dave Brannon - Lisbon; 21. Nate Yeaton - Bath;
22. Jamie Henderson - Litchfield
Clark's Car Crushing Prostocks (40 laps) 1. John Phippen - Bar
Harbor; 2. Jesse Smith - Bangor; 3. Randy Turner - Unity; 4.
Charlie Colby - Newcastle; 5. Bill Penfold - Yarmouth; 6. Matt
Lee - Albion; 7. Scott Moore - Anson; 8. Dave Farrington - Jay;
9. Gene Green - Manchester; 10. Ricky Morse - St. Albans; 11.
Scott King - Livemore Falls; 12. Jeff Burgess - E. Madison; 13.
Tim Turner - Freedom; 14. Bill Whorff Jr - West Bath; 15. Bryan
Robbins - Montville; 16. Gene Hatch - Winthrop; 17. Dale Brackett
- n/a; 18. Dale Cullivan - Palermo; 19. Dylan Turner - Freedom;
20. Ryan Deane - Winterport; 21. Jeremy Whorff - West Bath; 22.
Chuck Colby - Wiscasset
Unicel Super Streets (30 laps) 1. Mike Landry - Oakland; 2.
Shawn Austin - Norridgewock; 3. Brian Fortin - South China; 4.
Nate Weston - Madison; 5. Allen Moeller Sr. - Dresden; 6. Ryan
Robinson - Clinton; 7. Justin Karkos - Jay; 8. Kevin Douglass -
Sidney; 9. Ryan St. Clair - Liberty; 10. Jeremy Glasier-
Appleton; 11. Richie Morse - n/a; 12. Jason Gaboury - Readfield;
13. Dan Trask - Chelsea; 14. J.J. Small - Fairfield; 15. James
Osmond - Gardiner; 16. Frank Brown - Augusta
Aable Autoparts Mini Stock (25 laps) 1. Mac Hannon Jr. - Union;
2. Dylan Lancaster - Skowhegan; 3. Shawn Kimball - Pittston; 4.
Mike Wilson - Chelsea; 5. Ryan Ripley - Thomaston; 6. Brent Roy
- Vassalboro; 7. Pete McCollett - Readfield; 8. Shane Smith -
Augusta; 9. Cody Sleeper - Chelsea; 10. Mike Dulaney - Richmond;
11. Ed Sleeper - Vassalboro; 12. Tom True - Wiscasset; 13. Jeff
Minchin - Pittston; 14. Nathan Guptil - n/a; 15. Tim Collins-
Farmingdale; 16. Alex Cromwell - Woolwich; 17. Steve Howard -
Thomaston; 18. Chelsea Young - Winterport; 19. Ryan Hayes -
Jefferson; 20. David Cook - n/a; 21. Tim Grant - Augusta; 22.
Ken Edgecomb - Readfield; 23. Scott Theriault - China
White & Bradstreet Mini Trucks (20 laps) 1. Barry Poulin - Clinton;
2. Jason Giggey - Unity; 3. Kevin Oliver - Gray; 4. James
Swan III - Clinton; 5. Jessica Norris - Portsmouth, N.H.; 6. Don
Giggey - Athens; 7. Josh Harjula - Boothbay; 8. Russ Anderson -
Portsmouth, N.H.; 9. James Howland - Rye, N.H.; 10 Rick Sirois -
Norridgewock; 11. Peter Bourque - Portsmouth, NH; 12. Josh
Kauffman - Unity; 13. Roger Allard - Cundy's Harbor
No comments:
Post a Comment