Childs, Robertson take Jack & Jill Race
Pineo claims Smokey Donut Show again
Bell wins Spectator Drags
by Caleb Lamb
OXFORD, Maine – It was a wild night at Oxford Plains Speedway under a full moon as Motor Mayhem #2 sponsored by Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy came to the track.
The Spectator Drags were the first competition of the night. All cars must have an inspection sticker and be street legal, but they certainly performed like high-powered racing machines. The cars ranged from a VW Bus to a 1998 Pontiac Firebird, but at the end of the preliminaries, only Scott Merrill in a light blue 1994 Honda Accord and Thom Bell in a purple and black 1986 Ford Mustang remained. Bell won the coin toss and chose to start in the inside lane in the best two out of three championship round. He took the first race and then swept past Merrill on the backstretch to win round two and claim the first place trophy.
The Smokey Donut Show competition was up next. Competitors had forty-five seconds to create the biggest, loudest burnout they could muster, while turning in a circle. After the first round, four cars were brought back and given thirty seconds to impress the crowd. Doug Dixon in a blue 1988 Mustang and Jim Pineo in a red 1972 Monte Carlo clearly had the best runs and in a tightly contested decision, using the scientifically proven Applause-O-Meter, Pineo was declared the winner for the second Motor Mayhem event in a row.
That was followed by the Jack & Jill Race, where teams were made featuring a man and woman driver. The women ran 10 laps before pulling down pit road, jumping out as their male counterparts jumped in and ran the final ten laps to the finish. In the first segment, Missy Morgan had some bad luck piloting the #12 car. Morgan was black flagged and pulled her car down to the infield not realizing that there was a fire burning under the hood. The safety crew quickly extinguished the flames. Back on the track, Deana Robertson was setting the early pace. After ten laps, Robertson made a quick stop as Jimmy Childs took over and raced to the win. In Victory Lane, Childs explained that he was not sure he would run the event until he texted Robertson that morning and the two teamed up. Kyle Hewins was second with his partner Darcy Tucker who admitted this was her first time driving a race car. Calvin Rose, Jr. and Kimberley Sessions rounded out the top 3.
Next up came the Tag Team Race, where teams of two drivers, each with their own car, battled it out for the win. The first team member started the race and drove five laps before pulling down pit road, finding his teammate’s parked car, and bumping the back bumper to signal him to go. That driver went five laps before coming down pit road, and bumping his teammate. One more five lap segment and then a bump again to the drivers who then raced to the finish. Kyle Hewins was very quick in his black and green #54, and he and his teammate, Skip Douglas, had won the event in the previous Motor Mayhem. However, on the final bump-and-go segment, Douglas was too slow in reaching Hewins’ car, and Perley Garland raced to the front and the win for he and his teammate, Guy Childs. In Victory Lane Douglas was unaware that he had lost the race until his teammate Hewins told him he had gotten passed. Garland and Childs simply expressed how much fun they had driving in events like this.
Then it was time for the Obstacle Course Enduro races. Big, skidder tires were brought out and placed four wide at the start finish line, and through the turns. A fire truck went back and forth between the turns squirting water all over the track during the races. First up, the Four Cylinder Enduros took to the track. Hewins and his speedy car started on the pole and he drove away from everybody to open up a huge lead. The red flag came out on three occasions. The first two were for stalled cars, stuck in the middle of the track after making contact with the huge tires blocking the racing groove. However, the wildest ride of the night went to Rocky Cotton in the #75. Cotton skidded over the turn two banking and into the dirt before his car flipped and rolled over, landing on its roof. Cotton was unhurt and when the race returned to green it was more of the same, with Hewins cruising to an easy victory. Mike St. Germain took second, and Jimmy Childs third.
The Full Size Enduros were the next to battle the water and the tires. Right from the get-go it was clear the two fastest cars were Mike Kyllonen in the #27 and Skip Douglas in the #68. The rest of the field battled for position and did their best to dodge the roadblocks. Josh Salley had his line of sight blocked momentarily when his hood flew up over the windshield as he drove down the backstretch, but Mike St. Germain added some impromptu humor to the event. After a red flag for his stalled car, St. Germain stepped out and waved the push car away, choosing to simply shove his car down the turn three banking and out of the way. As the race wound to a close, Douglas pulled within a few car lengths of Kyllonen. On the final lap, coming out of turn four, Kyllonen got stuck behind the lap car of Gerald Parlin. Douglas quickly dove to the inside and beat Kyllonen to the stripe for the win. Charlie Hall held off Calvin Rose, Jr. to finish third.
It’s a loaded weekend at Oxford Plains as the Championship Series returns Saturday night with a special dedication to retired track announcer, Bobby Walker. The green flag flies at 6:30.
Spectator Drags
1 – Thom Bell
2 – Scott Merrill
Smokey Donut Show
1 – Jim Pineo
2 – Doug Dixon
Jack & Jill Race
1 – 10 Jimmy Childs / Deanna Robertson
2 – 54 Kyle Hewins / Darcy Bolduc
3 – 8 Calvin Rose Jr / Kim Sessions
4 – 91 Jamie Heath / Vanna Brackett
5 – 8x Dustin Salley / Nicole Bedard
6 – 2 Butch Keene / Tori Burgess
7 – 0 Brian Brown / Carol Brown
8 – 12 Skip Tripp / Missy Morgan
Tag Team Race
1 – 11 Guy Childs / 88 Perley Garland
2 – 54 Kyle Hewins / 68 Skip Douglass Jr
Also Ran
27 Mike Kyllonen / 18 Tory Hutchinson
10 Jimmy Childs / 10x Bill Childs Sr
14 TJ Wing / 0 Matt Leighton
2 Butch Keene / 8 Calvin Rose Jr
08 Gerald Parlin / 83 Mike St Germain
00 Pat Flaherty / 01 Troy Flaherty
1 Ryan Glover / 43 Dave Bouchard
7 Jason Berry / 6 Troy Jordan
8x Dustin Salley / 48 Jeff Jordan
4 Cylinder Enduro
1 – 54 Kyle Hewins
2 – 83 Mike St Germain
3 – 10 Jimmy Childs
4 – 88 Perley Garland
5 – 01x Doug Dixon
6 – 01 Troy Flaherty
7 – 0x Mike Flaherty
8 – 1 Ryan Glover
9 – 0 Chris Brown
10 – 17 Dan Wade
11 – 11 Guy Childs
12 – 00 Pat Flaherty
13 – 7 Jason Berry
14 – 75 Rocky Cotton
15 – 18 Tory Hutchinson
16 – 68 Skip Douglass Jr
17 – 14 TJ Wing
18 – 6 Troy Jordan
Full Size Enduro
1 – 68 Skip Douglass Jr
2 – 27 Mike Kyllonen
3 – 91 Charlie Hall
4 – 8 Calvin Rose Jr
5 – 08 Gerald Parlin
6 – 2 Butch Keene
7 – 10 Jimmy Childs
8 – 48 Jeff Jordan
9 – 8x Dustin Salley
10 – 13 James Record
11 – 83 Mike St Germain
12 – 9 Josh Salley
13 – 68x Wil Shurtleff