Unity, Maine – Chris Thorne of Sidney drove to victory in the Late Model feature at Unity Raceway Friday night, scoring his first victory of the season at Maine’s Toughest Racing Oval. Mike Mason of Skowhegan and Bradley Bosworth of Cornville each won a pair of feature events on a busy, 12-feature racing program.
Other victors in feature race competition included Kris Watson of Hermon, Brent Chase of Burnham, Ben Clark of Clinton, Kyle Gallant of Veazie, Shelby Kimball of Cornville, Daymon Dodge of Troy and Max Zachem of Preston, Connecticut.
Chris Thorne, making just his second start in Unity’s top class this season, quickly worked his way past Louie Picard and point leader Frank Moulton to challenge early race leader Ajay Picard. Thorne took over the top position on the 16th circuit in the 30-lap race and built a healthy lead before surviving three late-race restarts to earn his trip to victory lane.
Ajay Picard of Palmyra crossed the line in second position, followed by Scott Modery of Hermon, making his first start this season at the Unity oval. Fred ‘Pee Wee’ Brown of Winterport finished fourth, with Kevin Douglass of Sidney rounding out the top five. Brown and Moulton, of Burnham, won the Late Model heat races.
Kris Watson added to his Super Street point lead with an impressive win in the Super Street division’s main event. Behind Watson an ultra-competitive, four-car battle took place throughout the 25-lap race, with Glenburn’s Steve Moulton bouncing back from a heat race crash to claim runner-up honors. Vassalboro’s Ed ‘Fubby’ Drake was third under the checkered flag in the caution-free race, followed by John Kalel II of Orrington and Donnie York of Thorndike. Drake and Kalel won the Super Street heat races.
Brent ‘Poochie’ Chase was declared the winner of the Wildcat feature race after apparent victor Andy Turbovsky of Winslow was penalized for rough driving on the final lap by the track’s racing director. Chase, who had run as high as second position during the closing laps, watched as Turbovsky dove low in turn four on the final lap as the drivers in first and second positions, Dustin Hubbard of Unity and Mo Young of Windsor, got together while trying to get to the checkered flag first.
‘Turbo’ got to the line in front of the pack, but the checkered flag was presented to Chase, who skillfully avoided the mayhem in front of him to earn his trip to victory lane. Luke Rickards of Anson and Benton’s Chet Hanscom claimed second and third-place hardware, with the top five rundown completed by Carl McAlpine of Burnham and Ed Sleeper of Vassalboro. The wild race also featured a flip off turn one that saw Nick Huff of Orrington gain several feet of altitude before landing in the sand atop the track’s first turn, following an incident also involving the race’s early leader, Chris King of Burnham. McAlpine won the Wildcat heat race.
Ben Clark of Clinton drove to victory in Late Model Pro Four main event action. Clark drove around former division champion Jimmy Dennis to claim his first victory in the class. Benton’s Dennis outran the balance of the field to take runner-up honors, ahead of Skowhegan’s Bryan Lancaster. Steve Rackliff of Starks and Corey Walker of Augusta rounded out the top five. Rackliff won the Late Model Pro Four heat race.
Kyle Gallant outgunned reigning track champion Mike Wilson Chelsea at the start of the Monsta Mini division main event and held off the Chelsea driver for the rest of the race. Dylan Lancaster of Skowhegan made up a lot of ground on the lead tandem late in the event, but had to settle for third-place honors after the checkered flag. Derrick Terrill of Plymouth and Scott Theriault of South China. Wilson won the Monsta Mini heat.
Mike Mason swept to victory twice, driving from the rear of the pack on both occasions, winning both a 30-lap, held-over feature and the regularly-scheduled main event for the Flyin’ 4 class.
In the first main event Jason Trundy of Old Town finished in second position, with Ryan Ripley of Waldoboro third. Tasha Dyer of Arowsic and Cody Sleeper of Augusta rounded out the top five.
Sleeper led several laps in the second main event before Mason went by for his second victory of the evening. Sleeper and Trundy finished in second and third positions, followed by Dylan Lancaster and Ripley. Trundy won the Flyin’ 4 heat race.
Shelby Kimball of Cornville helped her championship chances with a wire-to-wire victory over her chief rival in the Ladies point contest, Mika Wilson of Chelsea. Clinton’s Alica Goodwin picked up the third-place trophy, with top-five finishes also posted by Chelsea’s Carol Wilson and Danielle DeLuck of Hampden. Kimball also won the Ladies heat race.
Teen Thunder racer Bradley Bosworth won the battle three times Friday night, but a pair of top-five finishes wrapped up the 2009 division championship for Brooke Getchell of Pittsfield. The Teen Thunder class does not compete during the school year at Unity Raceway.
Bosworth’s first of two Teen Thunder feature race victories was in a held-over from a rain-shortened card from earlier in the season. Gage Landry finished in second position, followed by Matt Kimball. Getchell and Lucas Porter rounded out the top five.
Bosworth quickly got to the front of the regularly-scheduled Teen Thunder race and again outran Landry to the checkered flag. Daymon Dodge of Troy crossed the finish line in third position, followed by Kimball and Getchell. Bosworth won the Teen Thunder heat race.
The Enduro division was in the spotlight on this night, with a 50-lap race that saw Troy’s Daymon Dodge prevailing. Patrick Cook of Swanville and Ken Pelotte of Winslow grabbed second and third-place trophies, with the top five filled out by Chad Michaud of Fairfield and Jason Trundy of Old Town.
Preston, Connecticut teen Max Zachem drove from the rear of the starting lineup and got through traffic and into the lead just past the halfway point en route to victory in the 20-lap NELCAR Legends feature race. Topsham’s Bobby Weymouth chased Zachem from the back to the front and was the best of the rest in second position at the checkered flag. Tyler Jordan of Scarborough led the first ten laps before Zachem and Weymouth went by, then held on to post a third-place finish. Evan Beaulieu of Durham and Jim Manchester of Gorham rounded out the top five. Alan Smith of Lincoln and Zachem won the NELCAR Legends heat race.
Racing continues Friday night (September 4) with a ride with your favorite driver session kicking off the evening’s activities at 6:00 p.m. Coming up on Friday night, September 18 is another NWA On Fire Wrestling & Racing program, with post time set for 6:30 p.m. Unity Raceway is located on Route 139 In Unity, Maine. For more information visit unityraceway.info or call (207) 453-2021.
Late Model: 1. Chris Thorne, Sidney; 2. Ajay Picard, Palmyra; 3. Scott Modery, Hermon; 4. Fred Brown, Winterport; 5. Kevin Douglass, Sidney; 6. Dylan Turner, Freedom; 7. Frank Moulton, Burnham; 8. Louie Picard, Palmyra; 9. Willy Pelotte, Oakland; 10. Darren Doucette, Sidney; 11. Eddie Gilblair, Skowhegan.
Super Street: 1. Kris Watson, Hermon; 2. Steve Moulton, Glenburn; 3. Ed Drake, Vassalboro; 4. John Kalel II, Orrington; 5. Donnie York, Thorndike; 6. Brian Fortin, South China; 7. Derek Mingo, Ellsworth; 8. Hal Stratton, Belgrade; 9. Steve Rackliff, Starks; 10. Doug Sinclair, Hermon; 11. Michael Fortier, Winslow; 12. Al Libby, Brooks.
Wildcat: 1. Brent Chas, Burnham; 2. Luke rickards, Anson; 3. Chet Hanscom, Benton; 4. Carl McAlpine, Burnham; 5. Ed Sleeper, Vassalboro; 6. Maurice Young, Windsor; 7. Bo Ivey, Winslow; 8. Chris King, Burnham; 9. Nick Huff, Orrington; 10. Dustin Hubbard, Unity; DQ: Andy Turbovsky, Winslow.
Late Model Pro Four: 1. Ben Clark, Clinton; 2. Jimmy Dennis, Benton; 3. Bryan Lancaster, Skowhegan; 4. Steve Rackliff, Starks; 5. Corey Walker, Augusta; 6. Norm Cummings, Jr., Augusta; 7. Ben Nile, Anson; 8. Greg Cummings, China.
Monsta Mini: 1. Kyle Gallant, Veazie; 2. Mike Wilson, Chelsea; 3. Dylan Lancaster, Skowhegan; 4. Derrick Terrill, Plymouth; 5. Scott Theriault, South China; 6. Alica Goodwin, Clinton; 7. Dominic Bailey, Benton; 8. Chris Williams, Oakland.
Flyin 4 (make-up, 30-laps): 1. Mike Mason, Skowhegan; 2. Jason Trundy, Old Town; 3. Ryan Ripley, Waldoboro; 4. Tasha Dyer, Arrowsic; 5. Cody Sleeper, Augusta; 6. Nick Lizotte, Sidney; 7. Chris Williams, Oakland; 8.. Blair Doucette, Sidney; Merv Greene, Clinton.
Flyin 4: 1. Mike Mason, Skowhegan; 2. Cody Sleeper, Augusta; 3. Jason Trundy, Old Town; 4. Dylan Lancaster, Skowhegan; 5. Ryan Ripley, Waldoboro; 6. Tasha Dyer, Arrowsic; 7. Nick Lizotte, Sidney; 8. Ken Pelotte, Winslow; 9. Chris Williams, Oakland; 10. Tony DeJulio, Ellsworth; 11. Merv Greene, Clinton.
Ladies: 1. Shelby Kimball, Cornville; 2. Mika Wilson, Chelsea; 3. Alica Goodwin, Clinton; 4. Carol Wilson, Chelsea; 5. Danielle DeLuck, Hampden; 6. Kayla Allen, Bucksport.
Teen Thunder (make-up): 1. Bradley Bosworth, Cornville; 2. Gage Landry, Sidney; 3. Matt Kimball, Cornville; 4. Brooke Getchell, Pittsfield; 5. Lucas Porter, Norridgewock; 6. Kayla Chesley, Skowhegan; 7. Eddie Gliblair, Skowhegan; 8.. Westley Turner, Montville; 9. Kyle Robinson, Clinton, 10. Daymon Doddge, Troy.
Teen Thunder: 1. Bradley Bosworth, Cornville; 2. Gage Landry, Sidney; 3. Daymon Dodge, Troy; 4. Matt Kimball, Cornville; 5. Brooke Getchell, Pittsfield; 6. Kayla Chesley, Skowhegan; 7. Lucas Porter, Norridgewock; 8. Westley Turner, Montville; 9. Eddie Gilblair, Skowhegan; 10. Jayson Bosworth, Cornville; 11. Kyle robinson, Clinton.
NELCAR Legends: 1. Max Zachem, Preston CT; 2. Bob Weymouth, Topsham; 3. Tyler Jordan, Scarborough; 4. Evan Beaulieu, Durham; 5. Jim Manchester, Gorham; 6. Bobby Timmons, Windham; 7. Terry Kirk, Durham; 8. Alan Smith, Lincoln; 9. Kevin Hutchens, East Waterboro; 10. Ed Getty, Gray; 11. Forest Boucher, Buxton; 12. Brandon Ingalls, Windham; 13. Kendall Curit, Windham.