Watson, McAlpine, Rackliff and Wilson score feature and championship victories at regular season finale
Unity, Maine – Josh St. Clair of Liberty took the bait this time and came from shotgun position on the starting grid to win the 30-lap Late Model feature at Unity Raceway Friday night. A fourth-place finish in the event was more than enough for Frank Moulton of Burnham to claim the 2009 track championship, the 61st at the historic oval. St. Clair was slated to start his main event from pole position, but took promoter George Fernald’s $150 offer to start in the rear of the lineup.
Kris Watson of Hermon, (Super Street), Carl McAlpine of Burnham (Wildcat), Steve Rackliff of Starks (Late Model Pro Four) and Mike Wilson of Chelsea (Monsta Mini) capped off championship seasons in their respective divisions by driving to victory lane in the Friday night points finale. Tasha Dyer of Arrowsic won the Flyin’ 4 division feature, with Mike Mason of Skowhegan finishing off his season the division’s champion and a third-place finisher. Molly Feeney of Hope won the Ladies division main event, with Shelby Kimball of Cornville finishing a close second and earning the Queen’s crown for 2009. Henry Boudreau of Winterport was declared the winner in a wild enduro race. Boudreau had already clinched the championship for his class. Bradley Bosworth of Cornville added to his division-leading total of feature wins in the Teen Thunder class. The championship race in that class ended at the start of the school year a few weeks ago, with Brooke Getchell of Pittsfield outpointing her rivals.
Late Model winner St. Clair, a third-generation racer whose grandfather – Dave ‘Boss Hogg’ St. Clair – was a multi-time champion in the top class at Unity Raceway a quarter-century ago, had been offered the bait on previous occasions when he’d earned a pole starting spot in a season where he has multiple Late Model wins at more than one Maine track. Always choosing to decline the offers earlier in the season, this time he grabbed it. For quite awhile it didn’t look like he was going to make it, with perhaps the season’s best 30-lapper unfolding in front of him on the third-mile oval.
St. Clair needed about ten laps to get into the top five, while for more than half the event Chris Thorne of Sidney raced side-by-side with rookie Kevin Douglass, with Sidney’s Douglass leading most of the laps by a foot or so running in the outside groove. Another side-by-side battle behind the frontrunners saw St.Clair fifth, with no running room.
Following a short series of late-race cautions, one which saw Douglass vault Burnham’s Brian Whitney as Whitney checked up to avoid a spinning competitor, St. Clair found the space he needed, outgunning Thorne on a late-race restart and collecting the bonus in addition to first-place money. Thorne held on to finish in second spot, with Fred ‘Pee Wee’ Brown of Winterport picking up third-place spoils.
New champion Moulton crossed the line in fourth position under the checkered flag, with rookie Dylan Turner of Freedom rounding out the top five. Turner, the first third-generation driver from the well-known Freedom racing family to compete in the top class at Unity Raceway, was runner-up to Moulton in the championship standings as a freshman in the class.
Kris Watson, crowned Speedway 95 Super Street champion a couple of weeks ago, took his time working his way into contention and by early race leader Steve Rackliff of Starks. Rackliff held on to second position after Watson went by, but his apparent second-place finish was negated in post-race inspection because of a tire violation. Steve Moulton of Holden ended up as the official second-place finisher, with Vassalboro’s Ed ‘Fubby’ Drake claiming third-place hardware. Hermon’s Jeff ‘Bo’ Overlock, Jr. and ‘Hurricane’ Hal Stratton of Belgrade rounded out the top five.
Burnham’s Carl McAlpine came from deep on the starting grid to win the Wildcat feature going away. McAlpine only needed to start the race in order to reclaim his former division title from 2008 champion Dustin Hubbard of Unity. But he went out in championship style, slicing through a competitive field that saw multiple side-by-side battles ongoing throughout the event. Hubbard was runner-up in both the main event and the championship contest, with third-place at the checkered flag going to Andy Turbovsky of Winslow. Burnham racers completed the top five, with Chris King finishing fourth, in front of Brent Chase.
While Starks racer Steve Rackliff found pain in the tech line in the Super Street division, he found great joy in the Late Model Pro Four class, dominating the main event and claiming the division championship. Rackliff won the race, but not without a serious challenge from Clinton teenager Ben Clark, who finished in second position. Augusta’s Corey Walker ran with the leaders throughout the 20-lapper and finished third. Justin Trombley of Winter Harbor started near the rear of the field and drove to a fourth-place finish, with Skowhegan’s Bryan Lancaster ending up in fifth spot.
Chelsea’s Mike Wilson successfully defended his Monsta Mini division class crown with a feature race win, fighting off all challenges throughout the event, mostly from eventual runner-up finisher Justin Moore of Madison. Lewis Batchelder of Dixmont rounded out the podium finishers, with the top five filled out by Kyle Gallant of Veazie and Rick Grant of LaGrange.
Natasha Dyer had the for sale sign on her race car, and the Arrowsic teen may have added value to the Flyin’ 4 division racecar. ‘Tasha’ outdueled 2009 championship runner-up Cody Sleeper of Augusta in the 20-lap main event. Dyer and Sleeper swapped the top spot following a couple of restarts, with Dyer winning the final showdown to earn her trip atop the podium. Sleeper finished in second position, with Skowhegan’s Mike Mason finishing third. Mason had already wrapped up the division championship. Derek Cook of Wilton and Justin Moore of Skowhegan rounded out the top five.
Molly Feeney of Hope prevailed in a thrilling, paint-swapping finish with Shelby Kimball in the Ladies feature. Kimball’s runner-up finish insured her track championship in the class. Alica Goodwin of Clinton was third across the stripe, followed by Mika Wilson of Chelsea and Bucksport’s Kayla Allen. Feeney, the top winner in the class this season, missed several races and was not in contention for the title.
Cornville’s Bradley Bosworth won the Teen Thunder race in dominant fashion. Younder brother Jayson Bosworth backed up a heat race victory with a runner-up finish in the main event. Eddie Gilblair of Skowhegan finished third, followed by Daymon Dodge of Troy and Matt Kimball of Cornville.
Two more events remain on the Unity Raceway calendar this season. On Sunday, October 4 at 1:00 p.m. the track hosts Fernald Frenzy, with special fun races joining all regular divisions except for the Late Models. The Annual Longjohn Weekend has been set for Saturday and Sunday, with a 75-lap Super Late Model race, a 75-lap Late Model race and a 69-lpa $1000-to-win Wildcat/Strictly Stock race highlighting the weekend program. For more information visit unityraceway.info or call (207) 453-2021.
Late Model: 1. Josh St. Clair, Liberty; 2. Chris Thorne, Sidney; 3. Fred Brown, Winterport; 4. Frank Moulton, Burnham; 5. Dylan Turner, Freedom; 6. Nick Hinckley, Wiscasset; 7. Tyler Robbins, Montville; 8. Mark Dodge, Anson; 9. Rowland ‘Rockin JR’ Robinson, Jr., Steuben; 10. Brian Whitney, Burnham; 11. Kevin Douglass, Sidney; 12. Joey Doyon, Winterport.
Super Street: 1. Kris Watson, Hermon; 2. Steve Moulton, Holden; 3. Ed Drake, Vassalboro; 4. Jeff Overlock, Jr., Hermon; 5. Hal Stratton, Belgrade; 6. Donnie York, Thorndike; 7. John Kalel II, Orrington; 8. Sonny Robinson, Clinton; DQ Steve Rackliff, Starks.
Wildcat: 1. Carl McAlpine, Burnham; 2. Dustin Hubbard, Unity; 3. Andy Turbovsky, Winslow; 4. Chris King, Burnham; 5. Brent Chase, Burnham; 6. Ed Sleeper, Vassalboro; 7. Roger Smith, Jr., Clifton.
Late Model Pro Four: 1. Steve Rackliff, Starks; 2. Ben Clark, Clinton; 3. Corey Walker, Augusta; 4. Justin Trombley, Winter Harbor; 5. Bryan Lancaster, Skowhegan; 6. Greg Cummings, South China; 7. Shane Smith, Augusta; 8.. Seth Webber, New Vineyard; 9. Jamie Foster, Benton’ 10. Reggie Bickford, Oakland; 11. Norm Cummings, Jr., Augusta.
Monsta Mini: 1. Mike Wilson, Chelsea; 2. Justin Moore, Madison; 3. Lewis Batchelder, Dixmont; 4. Kyle Gallant, Veazie; 5. Rick Grant, LaGrange; 6. Derek Cook, Wilton; 7. Alica Goodwin, Clinton; 8. Nick Lizotte, Sidney; 9. Scott Theriault, China; 10. Dylan Lancaster, Skowhegan; 11. Richard Jackson, Augusta.
Flyin’ 4: 1. Natasha Dyer, Arrowsic; 2.. Cody Sleeper, Augusta; 3. Mike Mason, Skowhegan; 4. Derek Cook, Wilton; 5. Justin Moore, Skowhegan; 6. Chris Williams, Oakland; 7. Jordan Hawes, Skowhegan; 8. Matt Shaw, Burnham; 9. Nick Lizotte, Sidney; 10. John Fortin, Vassalboro; 11. Rodney Blaisdell, Jr., Pittsfield; 12. Rick Pullen, Winslow; 13. Richard Jackson, Augusta; 14. Ricky Palmer, Winterport.
Ladies: 1. Molly Feeney, Hope; 2. Shelby Kimball, Cornville; 3. Alica Goodwin, Clinton; 4. Mika Wilson, Chelsea; 5. Kayla Allen, Bucksport.
Teen Thunder: 1. Brad Bosworth, Cornville; 2. Jayson Bosworth, Cornville; 3. Eddie Gilblair, Skowhegan; 4. Daymon Dodge, Troy; 5. Matt Kimball, Cornville; 6. Brooke Getchell, Pittsfield; 7. Kayla Chesley, Skowhegan; 8. Natasha Palmer, Winterport.