OXFORD, Maine - The apologies in victory lane were flying more quickly
than the trail of sparks and hurt feelings left behind on the lonely
ride to the garage area.
It was one of those Saturday nights at Oxford Plains Speedway, when a
day of weather-related uncertainty and a lengthy track-drying endeavor
that pushed the start of racing back until almost 8 p.m. left everyone
in an antsy and sometimes impatient mood.
Oh, don't misunderstand Billy Childs Jr.'s subdued celebration in
victory lane after a 40-lap Oxford Networks Late Model victory. He
wasn't about to give back the big trophy, his first in the top
division in almost two years. And after all, Childs was the
beneficiary, not the cause, of the four-car wreck that made him the
leader at the mid-way point.
"I guess luck was with me tonight," said the driver of the Lucas
Oil/Brown's Construction #1. "I don't know what was going on out
there. That was one of the roughest races I've ever been in here."
Wrinkled fenders and rankled feelings were fairly common in the other
divisions, too.
Mike Short didn't have to worry much about the intense racing thanks
to a healthy lead and convincing win in the Allen's Coffee Flavored
Brandy Strictly Stock class. Don Mooney took advantage of rookie Ken
Daigle's late motor problem to take command and become the first
Allen's Mini Stock repeat winner of the season.
Ben Krauter returned 'home' to the Macdonald Motors Runnin' Rebel
division and won in only his second start of the spring. Jake Burns'
mastery of the Call of the Wild RV Center Sport Truck class continued
with a hard-fought win over Ryan Farrar. And Terry Kirk, a 1970s
mainstay of the Charger and Sportsman divisions, scored his first OPS
feature win in 33 years in a 10-lap exhibition for the New England
Legends Cars.
Childs winds up a rose between two thorns
Five caution flags slowed the first half of the main event -- three of
them on ill-fated lap 20, alone. Childs found himself tucked somewhat
safely between two separate messes in turn one and on the backstretch.
The big one happened in front of Childs, when Zach Emerson and Jeff
White's bid to get around Kurt Hewins on the fifth and final restart
left all three cars, along with Ricky Rolfe's ride, badly damaged on
the wet infield grass.
Childs, who was in the middle of another top-five run that would have
maintained his splendid start to the season, averted disaster and
suddenly inherited an advantage that nobody in his mirror could touch.
He didn't accept the honors without issuing a mea culpa of his own.
"I got into Carey Martin, and things just went south from there. "I
have to apologize to Shawn Martin, too."
Point leader and reigning champion Travis Adams endured an even more
eventful night. Making little headway from the rear of the field at
lap 14, Adams made contact with a driver he glowingly called one of
his heroes, Dennis Spencer Jr., on the front stretch.
Spencer, steering the #95 of Conrad Childs for the first time this
season, was finished for the night. He expressed his displeasure to
Adams on his way to the Turn 2 pit gate.
"I need to say sorry to Dennis and the entire Childs family," remarked
Adams. "Dennis is one of the cleanest drivers out here, and I feel
that I am, also. That absolutely was not intentional."
Track officials assessed Adams a stop-and-go penalty, after which he
nearly lost a lap before staying in front of Hewins until the next
flurry of caution flags.
That returned Adams to the tail end of the lead lap, which turned out
an ideal place to avoid every ensuing fracas. In the same multi-car
melee that vaulted Childs to first, Adams emerged in fifth.
From there, the 2003, 2006 and 2007 champion quickly moved into the
top three and overtook surprising Matt Sanborn for the runner-up spot
with seven laps to go.
With many of the division's top competitors sidelined before the
finish, several underdogs enjoyed a career night. Sanborn charged from
20th starting position to third, giving Childs a spirited battle on
the final restart before settling in and chasing Adams to the
checkers.
"I've never seen guys drive like that in my life," Sanborn said. "They
just kept dumping each other, but whatever. Tony Ricci set up this
car. It's a Port City chassis, probably the only one up here. I didn't
think we'd even have a chance at a top-five tonight, but jeez."
Ben Ashline was one of the fastest cars on the track at the finish.
The 17-year-old achieved his best career finish in fourth, followed by
rookie Tyson Jordan, last year's Macdonald Motors Runnin' Rebel
champion in his finest Late Model hour to date.
Long distance from Short to the field
Mike Short won the 1997 Allen's Strictly Stock championship without
the benefit of a feature victory. In fact, Short has carried the
checkers at OPS only seven times in his lengthy career.
When Short is the class of the field, however, the competition
typically needs to place a call to a different Zip code to get in
touch with him.
Short cruised past Joe Hutter on the fourth circuit and cruised to his
first 30-lap triumph of the season in the All-Purpose Builders #56.
It is the high point of a season that included one previous top-3 run,
a disqualification and a did-not-finish.
"Finally," exulted Short. "I haven't won a whole lot, but every time I
do win a race it feels like it comes too easy. I'm glad we hung in
there through the rain. It was a fun night."
Glen Henderson was runner-up for the second time this season, unable
to make a dent in Short's lead after a lap 17 restart but also
unchallenged by anyone in the brewing, three-car battle behind him.
"I tried to catch (Short) and make it at least kind of s race," said
Henderson, a three-time feature winner last season. "He had the car
tonight. He was pretty stout."
After running third throughout, Rick Thompson found himself under
siege from Skip Tripp and B.J. Chapman over the final two laps.
Chapman tried to sneak by on the inside, but Thompson slammed the
door. When both drivers lifted off the accelerator to straighten out
their cars, Tripp attempted to squeeze into the middle.
The three of them chose slightly different lanes in a paint-swapping
sprint out of the final corner, with Thompson hanging on for his first
trophy of the season. Tripp edged Chapman for fourth and padded his
point lead over the fellow second-generation standout.
"That was a great last lap," Thompson said. "It's been a struggle so
far this year, but it's the fun that brings us back."
Mooney makes late getaway
Mooney's margin of victory was nearly four seconds in the Allen's Mini
feature. That was the most deceiving statistic of the night.
Ken Daigle Jr. was the latest rookie to make a splash this spring in
the four-cylinder class, leading the first 20 laps from the pole until
sliding mysteriously up the track in turn three. Daigle took four more
sputtering laps around the oval before taking his #25 behind the wall.
"We blew up the motor," said car owner Wayne Parkin.
Mooney might have found a way around the early dominator, anyway. The
2000 and 2004 champion was right on Daigle's rear bumper when the
gremlins intervened.
He was untouchable after the inside pass.
"My family are the ones who keep me up here," Mooney said of his
success in the Reggie's Sales & Service #80. "They're the ones who
tinker on this thing and know what they're doing."
Continuing the theme of career-best finishes, first-year driver topped
his third-place run two weeks ago in second. Greg Watkins followed for
his first Championship Series trophy.
"I've been working for six years to get to this point," said Watkins,
a graduate of the Acceleration Series. "It's my first time up here on
the podium, and it's awesome."
Bill Thibeault used the outside lane to overtake Kevin Bishop on the
final lap for fourth.
True to form on a wild night, the attrition rate was high. Dave Mooney
made an early off-course excursion and was never a factor. Last week's
winner Bill Childs Sr. and point leader Darrell Moore both failed to
finish.
The Rebels were given first crack at the untested track after the
afternoon rain and twilight drying process, and the results was a
hairy 20-lap experience for leaders and pursuers alike.
Krauter collected his 12th career win with a courageous pass of Bill
Dunphy four laps from the finish. One year after attempting to
campaign a Strictly Stock, Ben is said to be tackling the Agren
Appliance Saturday Showdown series while dad Martin takes the wheel on
Wednesdays.
"It was easy to get all over the place," said Krauter, who started sixth.
Previous winner Gregg Norton charged all the way from 19th to second,
with Doug Degroat dashing from 13th to third.
"I can't believe I did this well," said Norton, who fell one spot of
extending his own record for Acceleration Series wins (20). "I have a
couple of new colors of paint on my car, and I'm sure those guys
aren't happy with me. The wins don't matter to me. This was a test
session for Wednesday night. I'm worried about points this year."
"I ran a lot of Enduros here," added Degroat, "and I think that was
the scariest race of my life right there. That takes the cake."
Matt Dufault finished fourth, while Brady Romano rounded out the top
five after residing on the leader board throughout the event.
Burns and Farrar were the class of the Truck field. Farrar held the
preferred inside line for most of the caution-free clash, but Burns
boldly forged to the top side and took away the advantage with three
laps to go.
"I didn't know if I could get by him," Burns said.
"Not sure if Jake was just playing with me, or if he turned on the
nitro at the end there or what," said Farrar.
John Lizotte picked up the remaining trophy, backed by Tony Field and
rookie Ross Spurling.
Kirk won nine races at OPS between 1971-75. He even qualified for the
1975 TD Banknorth 250 before selling his starting position to late
NASCAR star Dwayne "Tiny" Lund.
He's competed only sporadically since then, mostly in a brief,
mid-1980s Charger stint. Kirk led Saturday's Legends dash from start
to finish to quash that 33-year drought.
"I appreciate us being to come here," said Kirk. "We try to put on a good show."
Bob Weymouth and Ed Getty finished second and third, closely in tow.
OPS cranks up the Acceleration Series this Wednesday, June 4, with the
10th anniversary season opener set for 6:30 p.m. Championship Series
action continues Saturday, June 7 with The Talking Phone Book Night.
Five divisions of racing include a 100-lap championship event for the
Allen's Strictly Stocks. Qualifying commences at 6:30 p.m.
OXFORD NETWORKS LATE MODEL (40 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (14) #1 Bill Childs Jr., Leeds, 40
2. (17) #03 Travis Adams, Canton, 40
3. (20) #84 Matt Sanborn, West Baldwin, 40
4. (7) #15 Ben Ashline, Pittston, 40
5. (21) #59 Tyson Jordan, Poland, 40
6. (11) #94 Shawn Martin, Turner, 40
7. (13) #56 Dale Verrill, Paris, 40
8. (9) #63 Don Wentworth, Bridgton, 40
9. (3) #52 Paul Bosse, Gray, 40
10. (4) #26 Corey Morgan, Lewiston, 40
11. (23) #44 Neil Martin, Freeport, 40
12. (1) #08 Gerald Parlin, South Paris, 39
13. (10) #25 Shawn Knight, South Paris, 39
14. (6) #2 Zach Emerson, Durham, 39
15. (2) #96 Kurt Hewins, Leeds, 28
16. (12) #10 Jimmy Childs, Leeds, 25
17. (5) #50 Jeff White, Winthrop, 20
18. (16) #51 Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township, 20
19. (15) #18 Carey Martin, Denmark, 20
20. (8) #6 Tommy Ricker, Poland, 18
21. #95 Dennis Spencer Jr., Oxford, 14
22. #22 Mark Childs Sr., Mechanic Falls, 6
DNS #85 Travis Stearns, Auburn
Lap leaders: Hewins 1-20, B. Childs 21-40.
Cautions: 5 (laps 14, 14, 20, 20, 20)
Time of race: 33 minutes, 52.888 seconds
Margin of victory: 1.204 seconds
Fast lap: Travis Adams, 16.265 seconds
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY STRICTLY STOCK (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (4) #56 Mike Short, Auburn, 30
2. (3) #57 Glen Henderson, Sabattus, 30
3. (6) #07 Rick Thompson, Naples, 30
4. (9) #12 Skip Tripp, South Paris, 30
5. (8) #81 B.J. Chapman, Bridgton, 30
6. (5) #63 Matt Williams, Brownfield, 30
7. (12) #13 Gerry Burgess, Sabattus, 30
8. (7) #0 Sumner Sessions, Norway, 30
9. (1) #2 Joe Hutter, Oxford, 30
10. (13) #70 Dan Bean, Alfred, 29
11. (2) #4 Michael Roe, West Paris, 29
12. (10) #24 Larry Emerson, Durham, 17
13. (11) #14 Dave Brannon, Lisbon, 13
Lap leaders: Hutter 1-3, Short 4-30.
Cautions: 1 (lap 17)
Time of race: 12 minutes, 37.761 seconds
Margin of victory: 2.143 seconds
Fast lap: Mike Short, 18.320 seconds
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY MINI STOCK (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (11) #80 Don Mooney, New Gloucester, 30
2. (7) #7 Randy Kimball, Mechanic Falls, 30
3. (5) #29 Greg Watkins, Bridgton, 30
4. (12) #8 Bill Thibeault, Oxford, 30
5. (8) #08 Kevin Bishop, South Paris, 30
6. (10) #77 Ashley Marshall, Jay, 30
7. (4) #28 Craig Moore, Woodstock, 30
8. (3) #21 Rick Giguere, Auburn, 30
9. (6) #14 Matt Moore, South Paris, 30
10. (16) #48 Wayne Titus, Minot, 28
11. (9) #74 Bill Irving, New Gloucester, 28
12. (13) #65 Dave Mooney, Wales, 27
13. (1) #25 Ken Daigle Jr., Lisbon, 24
14. (2) #91 Brad Dwinal, Freeport, 14
15. (17) #9 Bob Guptill, Mechanic Falls, 14
16. (15) #10 Bill Childs Sr., Leeds, 5
17. #12 Darrell Moore, Mechanic Falls, 5
DNS #35 Dale Brackett, Oxford
DNS #19 Shane Kaherl, Jay
Lap leaders: Daigle 1-20, Don Mooney 21-30.
Cautions: 2 (laps 5, 6)
Time of race: 16 minutes, 2.644 seconds
Margin of victory: 3.711 seconds
Fast lap: Dave Mooney 18.253 seconds
MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN' REBEL (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (6) #82 Ben Krauter, Raymond, 20
2. (19) #119 Gregg Norton, Lewiston, 20
3. (13) #84 Doug Degroat, Oxford, 20
4. (12) #96 Matt Dufault, Turner, 20
5. (4) #83 Brady Romano, Livermore Falls, 20
6. (16) #7 Charlie Webster, Auburn, 20
7. (7) #27 Archie Watt Jr., Auburn, 20
8. (18) #88 Derek Cook, Livermore Falls, 20
9. (8) #19 Zach Audet, Wilton, 20
10. (11) #6 Troy Jordan, Turner, 20
11. (14) #106 Nathan Guptill, North Turner, 20
12. (9) #521 Scott Farrington, Oxford, 20
13. (10) #23 Mike Anderson, Lewiston, 20
14. (21) #46 Jason Berry, Turner, 20
15. (3) #34 Perley Garland, Auburn, 20
16. (20) #49 Dustin Couture, Auburn, 19
17. (2) #95 Jim Richards, Auburn, 19
18. (15) #3 Josh Childs, Oxford, 19
19. (17) #54 Kyle Hewins, Leeds, 19
20. (1) #4 Bill Dunphy, New Gloucester, 18
21. (5) #12 Calvin Rose Jr., Turner, 17
Lap leaders: Dunphy 1-15, Krauter 16-20.
Cautions: 1 (lap 18)
Time of race: 13 minutes, 10 seconds
CALL OF THE WILD RV SPORT TRUCK (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (5) #74 Jake Burns, Gray, 20
2. (4) #69 Ryan Farrar, Oxford, 20
3. (3) #1 John Lizotte, Mechanic Falls, 20
4. (7) #11 Tony Field, Buxton, 20
5. (6) #17 Ross Spurling, New Gloucester, 20
6. (2) #54 Devon Smith, Norway, 20
7. (8) #5 John Pinkham, Auburn, 19
8. (1) #30 Ryan Varney, Oxford, 17
Lap leaders: Farrar 1-16, Burns 17-20.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 6 minutes, 42 seconds
NELCAR LEGENDS (10 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. #17 Terry Kirk, Durham
2. #399 Bob Weymouth, Topsham
3. #10 Ed Getty, Windham
Lap leaders: Kirk 1-10.
Time of race: 3 minutes, 10 seconds.
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