OXFORD, Maine - The same, old Mini Stock domination by Justin Karkos
and a fresh, new Late Model winner highlighted Saturday night at
Oxford Plains Speedway.
Karkos cruised to victory by a margin of more than nine seconds in the
Subway 100 main event.
He was forced to share the spotlight, however, with 18-year-old Nick
Brown, who became one of the youngest headline division feature
winners in OPS history with his 40-lap triumph.
Mike Short (Strictly Stock), Jim Davis Jr. (Outlaw) and Cathy
Manchester (Ladies) also scored victories.
Karkos drove around former division champion Dan Morris on lap 36 and
set sail from the second-place battle between Morris, Jimmy Childs and
Ashley Marshall.
With no caution flags to slow his progress over the second half of the
event, Karkos' only threat was slower traffic. He calmly slowed his
pace just enough over the final 20 laps to steer clear and still
finish a half-lap ahead of runner-up Childs.
It was the third win in the last four weeks for Karkos, who has led at
least one lap in five of the first six races after winning seven times
in 2008.
"That was fun. I think we put on a show," said Karkos, who bowed to
the crowd Kyle Busch-style with his pit crew at the start-finish line.
Ashley Marshall made a late-race move around Morris to claim third,
with Jake Burns edging Shane Kaherl for fifth. Kaherl was the last
driver on the lead lap.
Brown missed a race late last month to attend his senior prom at Morse
High School. Mercifully, graduation ceremonies were last Sunday,
preventing the second-year Late Model racer from having to skip a
second Saturday night.
He wouldn't have wanted to miss this one for the world. Brown snagged
the lead from Ron Charpentier Jr. on a restart shortly before the
halfway point and survived another resumption with 10 laps to go for
the breakthrough victory.
"You can't imagine the smile on my face right now. I can't believe I'm
even out here after all those years of watching up there (in the
grandstands)," said Brown, who was a multi-time champion in Oxford's
JARRacing Photography Go Kart Series in his early teens.
Shawn Knight matched his Late Model career-best second place in
controversial fashion, as contact from his front bumper sent mentor
and runner-up Tim Brackett for a spin with under two laps remaining.
The two drivers typically park side-by-side in the OPS garage.
"I feel terrible, and I hope he'll understand," Knight said. "I was
having to hold the car in gear on that last green-flag run and steer
it with one hand, and unfortunately that's what happened. I think I
had enough car to get to the outside and fight for the win without
that problem."
Kenny Harrison held off four-time champion Travis Adams by a fender
for third, with Shawn Martin fifth.
Short earned a measure of vindication for last week, when he was
disqualified from a Strictly Stock win after the post-race inspection.
This time, he dominated the final 21 laps to snag his second official
victory in three weeks by a wide margin over Tommy Tompkins.
Larry Emerson hopped the curb to miss a wild scramble in the final
turn to claim third, less than a foot in front of reigning champion
Skip Tripp. Tripp's team scrambled to get the car ready in time for
the feature after a crash at the end of his qualifying race.
Davis won his third straight Outlaw start, backing up consecutive
triumphs in the Wednesday night Acceleration Series.
David Childs (second) and Chris Burgess (third) whittled Davis'
dominant early lead to nothing but fell a car length shy.
"My set-up wasn't real hot tonight," said Davis. "I got out to a
pretty big lead, and all of a sudden I saw those guys coming and said
I'd better step it up."
Twenty-three cars started the caution-free Outlaw scramble, with Guy
Childs and Jerry Goss rounding out the top five.
Manchester led all 20 laps of the Ladies tangle, matching second-place
Dottie Patria and third-place Vanna Brackett in the wins category with
her second of the season.
"Starting up front was a stroke of good luck," said Manchester. "I
love it when Dottie and I finish one-two."
Patria, the defending Ladies champion, secured that status by passing
Brackett to the outside in the final corner.
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY MINI STOCK (100 laps): 1. Justin
Karkos, Jay; 2. Jimmy Childs, Leeds; 3. Ashley Marshall, Jay; 4. Dan
Morris, Turner; 5. Jake Burns, Gray; 6. Shane Kaherl, Jay; 7. Steve
Barker, Jay; 8. Kevin Bishop, South Paris; 9. Don Frechette, Turner;
10. Jeff Beaule, Lewiston; 11. Greg Aptt, Oxford; 12. Butch Keene,
Turner; 13. Nik Coates, Lisbon; 14. Matt Moore, South Paris; 15.
Nathan Guptill, North Turner; 16. Calvin Rose Jr., Turner; 17. Darrell
Moore, Mechanic Falls; 18. Greg Watkins, Bridgton.
OXFORD NETWORKS LATE MODEL (40 laps): 1. Nick Brown, Bath; 2. Shawn
Knight, South Paris; 3. Kenny Harrison, Pownal; 4. Travis Adams,
Canton; 5. Shawn Martin, Turner; 6. Corey Morgan, Lewiston; 7. Jeff
White, Winthrop; 8. Doug Coombs, Livermore; 9. Gary Chiasson, Peru;
10. Don Wentworth, Otisfield; 11. Ben Ashline, Pittston; 12. Billy
Childs Jr., Leeds; 13. Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township; 14. Scott
Robbins, Dixfield; 15. Jason Larrabee, Raymond; 16. Ron Charpentier
Jr., Wales; 17. Travis Stearns, Auburn; 18. Tim Brackett, Buckfield;
19. Tommy Ricker, Poland; 20. Matt Sanborn, West Baldwin; 21. Gerald
Parlin, South Paris; 22. Randy Sanborn, West Baldwin.
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY STRICTLY STOCK (30 laps): 1. Mike
Short, Auburn; 2. Tommy Tompkins, Dixfield; 3. Larry Emerson, Durham;
4. Skip Tripp, Poland; 5. B.J. Chapman, Bridgton; 6. Zach Emerson,
Sabattus; 7. Kim Tripp, Oxford; 8. Mac Hannan Jr., Union; 9. Ben
Krauter, Raymond; 10. Keith Stuart, Naples; 11. Matt Williams,
Brownfield; 12. Ed Burlock, Minot; 13. Derek Farrington, Freeport; 14.
Jeff Merrill, Turner; 15. Rick Spaulding, Lewiston.
CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW (20 laps): 1. Jim Davis Jr., Sabattus; 2. David
Childs, Oxford; 3. Chris Burgess, Sabattus; 4. Guy Childs, Turner; 5.
Jerry Goss, Mechanic Falls; 6. Addison Bowie, Auburn; 7. Ron Abbott
Jr., Sabattus; 8. Steve Brill, Bridgton; 9. Steve Moon, Gray; 10. Jay
Wilkins, Gray; 11. Michael Haynes, Livermore Falls; 12. Shannon Judd,
Jay; 13. Zach Bowie, Lisbon; 14. Dennis Morang, South Paris; 15. Scott
Hethcoat, Danville Junction; 16. Todd Bisbee, South Paris; 17. Charlie
Webster, Auburn; 18. Kevin Lawrence, South Paris; 19. Randy Desmarais,
Auburn; 20. Todd Hall, Auburn; 21. Jason Small, Poland; 22. John
Patria, Turner; 23. Doug Degroat, Oxford.
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY LADIES (20 laps): 1. Cathy Manchester,
Gray; 2. Dottie Patria, Turner; 3. Vanna Brackett, Buckfield; 4.
Christina Spaulding, Lewiston; 5. Missy Morgan, Lewiston; 6. Tori
Burgess, Sabattus; 7. Deanna Robertson, South Paris; 8. Annie
Chartier, Mexico.
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