OXFORD, Maine - Darrell Moore turned his first lap around Oxford
Plains Speedway less than a year ago. It didn't take him long to look
as comfortable behind the wheel as a kid playing a video game.
The Oxford Championship Series rookie made his first win a special one
Saturday night, capturing the Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy 100 for
the Mini Stock division.
Moore's win punctuated a wild race on a wild night. Friday the 13th
seemed to arrive a day late, with multi-car incidents slowing all five
features and unforeseen, unprecedented circumstances providing an
unusual backdrop off the track, as well.
A power surge between the Acceleration Series and Championship Series
features knocked out the speedway's public address system, scoreboard
and electronic scoring for the final three events.
Nobody needed a transponder or a lap counter to see how fast Ricky
Rolfe was traveling. Rolfe took the lead in the Oxford Networks Late
Model feature even before seeing the crossed flags from chief starter
Kenny Tripp at the halfway mark, cruising to his second straight
40-lap victory.
Larry Emerson joined Skip Tripp as a repeat winner in the Allen's
Coffee Flavored Strictly Stock ranks, holding Tripp and Matt Williams
at bay over the second half of the 30-lap encounter.
Jake Burns (Call of the Wild RV Sport Truck) and Troy Jordan
(Macdonald Motors Runnin' Rebel) prevailed in Acceleration Series
competition.
Timing was everything for impressive rookie
Moore took the lead for good on lap 74 from Bill Childs Sr. -- one of
Oxford's most enduring veterans and the man who sold him the car he
drove to victory.
That outside pass came after at least a dozen laps of side-by-side
racing, with the two leaders running virtually door-to-door but never
making contact.
"I didn't think I had enough to get by him," said Moore, who made his
debut with a handful of four-cylinder races in Oxford's Acceleration
Series on Wednesday nights last summer. "I just had to keep working
and try to find the best groove for the car."
Rookies aren't always known for their patience, but it was Moore who
kept his cool while others charged to the front but fell by the
wayside due to spins or mechanical maladies.
Brad Dwinal, Shane Kaherl and Justin Karkos all led the race before
Childs. It was Karkos' charge from the rear of the field in only his
second OPS start of the season that prompted Moore to finally break
out of the pack.
"It was kind of hard because you couldn't see how many laps were left,
and I was trying to pace myself the best I could," Moore said. "I saw
Karkos was going pretty good, and I didn't want him to get too far
ahead of me."
Karkos fell from the lead pack due to a distributor problem. In
another twist of fate, Karkos won a 100-lap race last season in
Moore's #12 before dealing it to Childs.
Childs was content with his runner-up finish after a hard crash into
the front stretch retaining wall last week.
"That was the best that I had," Childs said. "That was a good, clean
race, though. He had way more power than me. I know what's in it."
Rick Giguere (third) and Greg Watkins (fourth) failed the post-race
technical inspection, vaulting Don Frechette to third in his first
start of the season.
Bill Thibeault moved up to fourth, while Chuck "Spanky" Higgins
finishing a career-best in only his third Mini Stock start.
Moore moved into the division point lead for the second time this
season, taking advantage of both his own victory and problems that
befell brothers Don and Dave Mooney throughout the night.
Don, a three-time feature winner this season, dropped out with
problems underneath the hood after charging into the top three shortly
after the drop of the green flag. Dave crashed out of both his heat
and the main event.
Moore joined his father, Andy, as an OPS feature winner. Andy Moore
scored his three victories in a 14-day span of 1982 in the old Street
Stock division.
'Better' was best by a bunch in Late Model
Someday, poor Ricky Rolfe will discover the perfect race car, and
he'll hope he's the one behind the wheel.
"We weren't good last week, even though we won, and we were way better
this week," Rolfe said.
After three sluggish, combustible attempts to get the Late Model
finale underway, the final 37 laps ran without a stoppage.
That was bad news for the competition, because as anyone who has
watched Rolfe's performance in American-Canadian Tour events at his
home track over the years would know, few drivers are better at
setting up their ride for the long run.
Rolfe was seventh when the 25-car field finally put two consecutive
green flag laps into the books at lap 5. He stayed in that spot for
seven more circuits before a jaw-dropping drive to the head of the
class.
Shawn Martin and Travis Stearns fell into Rolfe's clutch on lap 13.
Tommy Ricker was next, and brief contact between Dennis Spencer Jr.
and Corey Morgan moved Rolfe into third on lap 14.
Morgan surrendered the runner-up role two laps later, and next time
around Rolfe waved goodbye to early leader Kurt Hewins and everyone
else.
"I was just waiting for the tires to get hot enough to pull out,"
Rolfe said of his strategy. "I didn't think I was that far ahead. (The
crew wasn't) telling me how far ahead I was."
Hewins, who settled for a distant second after running a strong third
last Saturday, could have filled in the details.
"He's got something," Hewins said, shaking his head. "I don't think
that car's going to get much better."
Other than Rolfe, the happiest team in the pit was the dual operation
of car owners Conrad and Kerrie Childs. Following Hewins' #96 across
the stripe was teammate Spencer in the #95.
Spencer, who owns two OPS Late Model championships and four division
titles in all, returned to the podium in only his third Oxford start
since a top-five run in last summer's TD Banknorth 250. His run marked
a full recovery from a hard impact with the front stretch wall two
weeks ago, a trip that essentially destroyed the rear clip of his
machine.
"I thought we were headed back there tonight. I got a little boot
there. That was a little scary," Spencer said. "At the beginning of
the race I couldn't run the outside. At the end of the race, I
couldn't run the bottom.
"We just have a little fine-tuning to do," he added. "The car's pretty
good. We've been playing with it, trying to get it ready for the 250."
The partnership with the Childs family and Spencer is a win-win for
Hewins, a former Limited Sportsman champion who has mostly campaigned
a Strictly Stock since his lone Late Model feature win in 2005.
"Dennis pretty much turns all the wrenches. They're both good cars,"
Hewins said.
Shawn Martin applied late pressure to Spencer before settling for
fourth. Billy Childs Jr. snuck underneath point leader Travis Adams
late in the race to claim fifth.
It's junkyard now for Emerson, later for others
Emerson was a huge exception to the Strictly Stock rule Saturday
night. He got his difficulty out of the way before the sun went down.
"I cut some tires down in practice and one in the heat," said the only
three-time champion in the history of the division, adding with a
laugh, "Junkyard tires are the way to go."
Many of his rivals will be raiding the junkyard or the parts trailer
after a 30-lap rumble that saw half the field sidelined at the finish.
Williams led early before multiple cautions and clever moves in
traffic gave Emerson an opportunity to snag the top spot. Emerson was
the only driver in the lead pack to escape the mayhem when Williams,
Tommy Tompkins and Mike Short collided with one another and brushed
the concrete on a lap 14 restart.
"I saw what coming on and I just steered clear of it and went to the
inside," Emerson said. "That was a tough race."
Point leader Skip Tripp and a resurgent Williams were able to latch
onto Emerson during a four-lap shootout at the finish, but neither had
the power or precision to deny Emerson his second win of the season
and 38th at OPS in six different divisions. Seven, counting Enduro
competition.
"We found our problem," said Tripp, who has faced his share of
adversity since winning back-to-back features to start the month of
May. "The sway bar went to (crap). I had nothing for him tonight. Next
week I will."
Glen Henderson and Rick Thompson rode out the carnage and soldiered on
to fourth and fifth, respectively, the final cars on the lead lap.
Henderson was close enough to give Williams some anxious moments at the end.
"I was just trying to stay with (Tripp) so Henderson couldn't get
under me," said the opening-night feature winner.
Burns, Jordan miss the messes
First-lap cautions jumbled the order of both Acceleration Series features.
A four-truck pileup on the backstretch provided the lone restart of
the Truck tangle. Not that extra ones would have made any difference.
Ryan Farrar made several approaches in Burns' rearview mirror. He
couldn't get closer than the tailgate, though, as Burns extended his
season-opening hit streak to 3-for-3 in Agren Appliance Saturday
Showdown competition.
"I have some work to do on it now," said Burns, a reference to an
apparent overheating issue and a warning that shouldn't be welcome
news for the rest of the field.
Farrar showed promise with his best run of the season in second.
Earlier in the week, Farrar announced that he is considering a Mini
Stock rookie challenge in 2009.
Burns dedicated his win to another Mini racer, teammate and former
Truck champion "Wild" Bill Irving, who continues his fight with
cancer.
Rookie Ross Spurling nailed down third in front of John Lizotte and
first-time competitor Dennis Brine, another member of the extended
Farrar family.
Kyle Hewins led the first six laps of the Rebel ruckus before a run-in
with a slower car gave Jordan all the room and momentum he needed to
speed past.
Jordan extended his advantage over the remaining laps to secure his
seventh career win. Hewins held off Scott Farrington for second. Doug
Degroat took over the Agren series lead with a solid fourth, followed
by James Wood.
OPS racing resumes with third round of the 2008 Acceleration Series on
Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The American-Canadian Tour Dunkin' Donuts 150
headlines the next Championship Series card Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
ALLEN'S COFFEE BRANDY MINI STOCK (100 laps):
1. Darrell Moore, Mechanic Falls; 2. Bill Childs Sr., Leeds; 3. Don
Frechette, Turner; 4. Bill Thibeault, Oxford; 5. Chuck Higgins, Wales;
6. Curtis Fanjoy, Oxford; 7. Ashley Marshall, Jay; 8. Kevin Bishop,
South Paris; 9. Dale Durgin, Norway; 10. Justin Karkos, Jay; 11. Ken
Daigle Jr., Lisbon; 12. Shane Kaherl, Jay; 13. Bob Guptill, Mechanic
Falls; 14. Butch Keene, Turner; 15. Don Mooney, New Gloucester; 16.
Dave Mooney, Wales; 17. Brad Dwinal, Freeport; 18. Craig Moore,
Woodstock; 19. Matt Moore, South Paris; 20. Wayne Titus, Minot. DQ:
Rick Giguere, Auburn; Greg Watkins, Bridgton. DNS: Dale Brackett,
Oxford; Adam Polvinen, Oxford.
OXFORD NETWORKS LATE MODEL (40 laps): 1. Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township;
2. Kurt Hewins, Leeds; 3. Dennis Spencer Jr., Norway; 4. Shawn Martin,
Turner; 5. Billy Childs Jr., Leeds; 6. Travis Adams, Canton; 7. Carey
Martin, Denmark; 8. Joey Doiron, Berwick; 9. Roger Brown, Lancaster,
N.H.; 10. Shawn Knight, South Paris; 11. Dale Verrill, Paris; 12.
Tommy Ricker, Poland; 13. Travis Stearns, Auburn; 14. Matt Sanborn,
West Baldwin; 15. Don Wentworth, Otisfield; 16. Corey Morgan,
Lewiston; 17. Nick Brown, Bath; 18. Gerald Parlin, South Paris; 19.
Jimmy Childs, Leeds; 20. Neil Martin, Freeport; 21. Mark Childs Jr.,
Mechanic Falls; 22. Tyson Jordan, Poland; 23. Scott Luce, Strong; 24.
Ben Ashline, Pittston; 25. Paul Bosse, Gray.
ALLEN'S COFFEE BRANDY STRICTLY STOCK (30 laps): 1. Larry Emerson,
Durham; 2. Skip Tripp, Poland; 3. Matt Williams, Brownfield; 4. Glen
Henderson, Sabattus; 5. Rick Thompson, Naples; 6. Michael Roe, West
Paris; 7. Dean Coolidge, Oxford; 8. Sumner Sessions, Norway; 9. Mike
Blue, Leeds; 10. Tommy Tompkins, Dixfield; 11. Mike Short, Auburn; 12.
Zach Emerson, Sabattus; 13. B.J. Chapman, Bridgton; 14. George
Haskell, Casco. DNS: Perry Tucker, Sumner.
MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN' REBEL (20 laps):
1. Troy Jordan, Turner; 2. Kyle Hewins, Leeds; 3. Scott Farrington,
Oxford; 4. Doug Degroat, Oxford; 5. James Wood, New Gloucester; 6.
Matt Dufault, Turner; 7. Josh Childs, Oxford; 8. Craig Farrington,
Hebron; 9. Charlie Webster, Auburn; 10. Ben Krauter, Raymond; 11.
Archie Watt Jr., Auburn; 12. Nathan Guptill, North Turner; 13. Bill
Dunphy, New Gloucester; 14. Gerard Cote, Oxford; 15. Dustin Couture,
Auburn; 16. Calvin Rose Jr., Turner; 17. Aaron Small, Poland; 18.
David Giasson, Wales; 19. Brady Romano, Livermore Falls; 20. Derek
Cook, Livermore Falls; 21. Jason Berry, Turner; 22. John Childs,
Leeds.
CALL OF THE WILD RV SPORT TRUCK (20 laps):
1. Jake Burns, Gray; 2. Ryan Farrar, Oxford; 3. Ross Spurling, New
Gloucester; 4. John Lizotte, Mechanic Falls; 5. Dennis Brine, Oxford;
6. Devon Smith, Oxford; 7. Ryan Varney, Oxford; 8. Corey Williams,
Sumner.
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