Unity, ME – Rowland Robinson, Jr. of Steuben and Burnham's Carl
McAlpine drove to victory lane, topping the stock car racing card at
Unity Raceway Friday night.
Robinson bounced back from a late-race altercation while battling for
the lead on opening night to win the Late Model feature, while
McAlpine dominated the Wildcat division's special, 50-lap main event
on the racy, 1/3-mile oval.
Other feature winners at 'Maine's Toughest Racing oval included Kris
Watson, Steve Rackliff, Kyle Gallant, Lance Chapman, Mickey Landry,
Shelby Kimball and Gage Landry.
The Late Model winner, also known as 'JR Rockin' Robinson, rebounded
from a late-race crash that cost him a shot at victory in the opening
night 109-lap main event, and some issues that came up in post-race
inspection, to claim his first Unity Raceway Late Model win.
Robinson started from the pole but watched Joe Allard and Brad Bellows
drive by in the opening laps. Defending track champion Bellows made a
daring, three-wide move in lapped traffic to take the lead away from
Allard and set the pace for several laps before Robinson loosened him
up midway through the 30-lapper and drove underneath the reigning
Unity king for good.
Bellows, of China Village, maintained second position on the track
after yielding to Robinson but his apparent runner-up finish was
negated in post-race tech by a carburetor infraction. Opening night
winner Deane Smart crossed the line in third position, but like
Bellows he ran afoul of the technical inspectors after the race and
was disqualified for an excessive engine setback violation, as was
apparent fifth-place finisher Dylan Turner.
Glenburn's Joe Allard was second in the official order of finish for
the Late Models, with Mike Lynch of Winterport picking up the
third-place trophy. Frankie Moulton of Burnham and Matt Eaton of Deer
Isle rounded out the top five.
McAlpine absolutely dominated the 50-lap special for Wildcat division
competitors, lapping all but runner-up finisher, and opening night
winner, Dustin Hubbard of Unity in an extremely-clean main event.
Both Tim Hudson and Chet Hanscom were contenders for podium finishes
before troubles knocked them from the ranks of frontrunners in the
night's longest-distance race.
Bangor's Shawn Hamel II claimed third-place laurels in his first
appearance of the season at Unity, with Luke Rickards of Anson and
Burnham's Chris King filling out the top five.
Watson, of Hermon, took his second straight feature win in the Super
Street 20-lapper, grabbing the top spot from early pacesetter Donnie
York of Knox, who held on to second spot throughout the event, but
lost the runner-up finish in post-race inspection due to a shock
absorber violation. That handed the official second-place finish to
Steve Moulton of Glenburn, with third-place hardware collected by
Steve Rackliff of Starks, who prevailed in a racelng battle against
Orrington's John Kalel II. Hurricane Hal Stratton of Belgrade was the
fifth-place finisher.
Rackliff, doing double duty, cruised to victory in the Late Model Pro
4 feature race, capitalizing on problems suffered by early race leader
Jimmy Dennis of Benton, who was looking like the man to beat in the
race before sparks began to show below his machine, causing him to
drop back several positions in the final half of the event. China's
Gregg Cummings was a contender throughout the 20-lap feature, claiming
runner-up honors. Justin Drake of Burnham crossed the line in third
position, but didn't make it through post-race inspection after an
engine violation was detected. That moved Skowhegan's Brian Lancaster
into the show position after a nice drive, bouncing back from an early
spin to claim a trophy. Augusta's Norm Cummings ended up in fourth
spot, followed by Ben Nile of New Vinyard.
Veazie's Gallant led wire-to-wire in a non-stop, 15-lap Monsta Mini
feature race. Opening night winner and defending division champion
Mike Wilson of Chelsea chased Gallant throughout the race, but never
mounted a serious challenge for the victory. Paul Jason of Augusta
outran Clinton's Alicia Goodwin for the final trophy.
Chapman, of Benton, raced from the back of the pack to take the lead
away from Clinton's Merv Greene before the 20-lap Flyin' Four division
main event was halfway completed, then barely held off a hard-charging
Cody Sleeper to post his second straight victory. Sleeper, of Chelsea
came up about a foot short of victory under the checkered flag and
settled for runner-up honors, with Skowhegan's Mike Mason racing to a
hard-earned third-place finish. Justin Moore of Madison crossed the
finish line in fourth spot, with Vassalboro's John Fortin making a
last-lap move into fifth position.
Anson's Landry negotiated traffic flawlessly, driving from the back to
the front to score his second straight triumph in the enduro class.
Chris Burbelo of Frankfort picked up his second consecutive runner-up
trophy, with Herny Boudreau of Bristol nailing down a third-place
finish after leading much of the 15-lapper before Landry drove on by.
Shelby Kimball of Cornville raced to an impressive victory in Ladies
division competition. Kimball led early, gave the lead up for a few
laps to Mika Wilson of Chelsea, then made a slick move in lapped
traffic to take the lead back for good. Wilson claimed runner-up
honors, with opening night winner Molly Feeney of Hope charging from
the back of the starting field to end up in third position. Alicia
Goodwin of Clinton and Meaghan Allen of Winterport rounded out the top
five.
In a wild Teen Thunder event under a near-full moon, Gage Landry of
Sidney claimed a popular victory. Landry inherited the lead when
Clinton's Cole Robinson and the extremely-quick Brandon Greenleaf of
Searsport crashed in turn four, ending Greenleaf's impressive run.
Landry had things his way for the rest of the race, taking the
checkered flag ahead of Canaan's Robert Dyer and Matt Kimball of
Cornville, who overcame his fair share of adversity to pick up the
third-place trophy. Brooke Getchell of Pittsfield was fourth, followed
by Robinson.
Unity Raceway hosts a pair of events this weekend, with NELCAR Legends
and a burnout contest joining the weekly racing divisions on Friday
night. Sunday afternoon the Wildcat and Flyin' 4 divisions see action
on a Fernald Frenzy program with several novelty races and a
demolition derby also featured. For more information please visit
unityraceway.info
Late Model: 1. Rowland Robinson, Jr, Steuben; 2. Joe Allard, Glenburn;
3. Mike Lynch, Winterport; 4. Frank Moulton, Burnham; 5. Matt Eaton,
Deer Isle; 6. Jon Vashon, Benton; DQ Brad Bellows, China Village; DQ
Deane Smart, Bradley; DQ Dylan Turner, Freedom.
Wildcat (50 laps): 1. Carl McAlpine, Burnham; 2. Dustin Hubbard,
Unity; 3. Shawn Hamel II, Bangor; 4. Luke Rickards, Anson; 5. Chris
King, Burnham; 5. 6. Bo Ivey, Winslow; 7. Richard Jackson, Hudson; 8.
Tim Hudson, Windsor; 9. Chet Hanscom, Benton; Ed Sleeper, Vassalboro;
11. Andy Turbovsky, Winslow; 12. Brent Chase, Burnham.
Super Street: 1. Kris Watson, Hermon; 2. Steve Moulton, Glenburn; 3.
Steve Rackliff, Starks; 4. John Kalel II, Orrington; 5. Hal Stratton,
Belgrade; DQ Donnie York, Knox.
Late Model Pro 4: 1. Steve Rackliff, Starks; 2. Gregg Cummings, China;
3. Brian Lancaster, Skowhegan; 4. Norm Cummings, Augusta; 5. Ben Nile,
New Vineyard; 6. Jimmy Dennis, Benton; 7. Shane Smith, Augusta; 8.
Corey Walker, New Vineyard; 9. Dixon Smith, Sidney; DQ Justin Drake,
Burnham.
Monsta Mini: 1. Kyle Gallant, Veazie; 2. Mike Wilson, Chelsea; 3. Paul
Jackson, Augusta; 4. Alicia Goodwin, Clinton.
Flyin' 4: 1. Lance Chapman, Benton; 2. Cody Sleeper, Chelsea; 3. Mike
Mason, Skowhegan; 4. Justin Moore, Madison; 5. John Fortin,
Vassalboro; 6. Merv Greene, Clinton; 7. Chris Williams, Oakland; 8.
Nicholas Lizotte, Sidney; 9. Jordan Hawes, Skowhegan; 10. #1 (name,
town unavailable); 11. Tony DeJulio, Ellsworth; 12. Patrcik Cook,
Swansville.
Ladies: 1. Shelby Kimball, Cornville; 2. Mika Wilson, Chelsea; 3.
Molly Feeney, Hope; 4. Alicia Goodwin, Clinton; 5. Meaghan Allen,
Winterport; 6. Kayla Allen, Bucksport; 7. Sandy Greene, Clinton; 8.
Kayla Robinson, Clinton; 9. Mary Reed, Unity.
Teen Thunder: 1. Gage Landry, Sidney; 2. Robert Dyer, Canaan; 3. Matt
Kimball, Cornville; 4. Brooke Getchell, Pittsfield; 5. Cole Robinson,
Clinton; 6. Lucas Porter, Norridewock; 7. Westley Turner, Montville;
8. Brandon Greenleaf, Searsport.
Enduro: 1. Mickey Landry, Anson; 2. Chris Burbelo, Frankfort; 3. Herny
Boudreau, Bristol; 4. Robert Dyer, Canaan; 5. Darrin Dyer, Canaan; 6.
#2, (name, town unavailable); 7. James Corson, Clinton.
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