Davis Jr. Takes Upset in Strictlys
Keene and Spencer Jr. Earn Win
by: Caleb Lamb
OXFORD, Maine – A huge crowd was on hand on Maine State Lottery Fireworks Night and they were rewarded with fireworks both on the track and in the air. A spectacular fireworks display was put on by Central Maine Pyrotechnics, but the Oxford Championship Series put on a show of their own beforehand.
The Call of the Wild RV Center Sport Trucks got the night started with a ten lap feature. Only a small contingent of drivers took to the track, but every one of them had a chance to win the race. Jeff Schmidt started on the pole, but he was quickly overtaken by Ryan Farrar. Farrar finished second on Wednesday night after being passed on the last lap, and he looked determined not to let that happen again as he opened up a big lead. Corey Williams sat back in third, but was unable to make up enough ground on Schmidt to challenge for second place. At the line, it was Ryan Farrar celebrating, with Schmidt and Williams behind him and Joe Farrar taking fourth.
The MacDonald Motor Runnin’ Rebels were also on hand to provide some excitement. The dominating three man team of Troy Jordan, Matt Dufault, and Jason Berry once again had to come from the back, but for the first time all season, had some bad luck during the race. Ryan Hewins started up front and pulled away to an early lead with teammate Kyle Hewins occupying second quite a ways behind him. Jordan, Dufault, and Berry slowly but surely made their way forward, and by the halfway point, they were right in the battle for second with Scott Farrington and Cory Beaulieu. However, Kyle Hewins battled hard and refused to give up his spot, and after several laps of close racing, something had to give. It finally did on lap twelve as going into turn four, Jason Berry made hard contact with Hewins and both spun to the high side. Jordan had to make a kamikaze move to the outside to avoid contact, but he lost a lot of ground, ending his chances of a victory on the night. Farrington took over second with Dufault losing ground but holding onto third ahead of Beaulieu. Kyle Hewins jumped back on the track to keep the race green, and ducked behind Ryan Hewins to ensure that nobody got anywhere near his rear bumper as the laps wore down. At the checkered flag, it was Ryan picking up his first win of the season after suffering bad luck to begin the year. Dufault just squeaked past Farrington at the line for second while Beaulieu and Jeff Hebert rounded out the top five.
Next it was time for the Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Mini Stocks to go thirty laps for their feature event. Butch Keene, who has enjoyed a solid season thus far in 2010, dove to the inside of a three wide battle going into turn three, making his way up to fourth. A few laps later, Keene made his way underneath race leader Matt Moore, bringing Jimmy Childs with him. Steve Barker finally managed to get his primary car back in working order after blowing an engine several weeks ago, but his car was very loose causing him to struggle to keep it in the racing groove. Things took a much more serious turn on lap nineteen. The rear end came around on the #51 car causing it to slide towards the bottom of turn four. Barker hit the sand pile at an angle causing his car to fly high in the air as it barrel rolled onto its roof, flipped back on to its tires before ultimately coming to rest upside down as the red flag immediately. Barker emerged from his battered car, signaling he was okay to the roar of the crowd. Barker’s car was righted and hauled away and after an extensive clean up the green flag flew once again. Butch Keene once again took the lead with Childs right behind him and teammate Calvin Rose Jr. holding off Ashley Marshall and Kevin Bishop for third. Every time Childs appeared to reach the back bumper of the #2 car, Keene would pull away, and it stayed that way all the way to the end. Keene took home the first place trophy with Childs second, and Rose rounding out the podium positions.
The Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Strictly Stocks have been a competitive division with incredible performances week in and week out by two drivers. On any given night a reasonable bet would say Kurt Hewins will win and Gene Hatch will take second, but that all dramatically changed on Saturday night. Mike St. Germain led early from the pole with Gerry Freeve behind him in second, but by lap four, Gene Hatch had taken over the lead and brought Freeve with him. Things continued like this until about halfway through the race when suddenly, Jim Davis Jr. made a dramatic move, slicing up the middle of a three wide battle, moving up to third ahead of Kurt Hewins. Davis Jr., in an unpainted Strictly Stock car that had duct tape for numbers and after first practice was shooting water out of its hood like a sprinkler system in the garage area, showed it does not have to look pretty to run fast as he moved up to second. The yellow flag came out of lap twenty after Chris Mosher and Craig Coolidge got together. Mosher took Coolidge high in turn three and put him in the dirt after knocking off his left, front fender and leaving debris on the track. Mosher received a stop and go penalty for rough driving. On the restart, Jim Davis Jr. took over the lead by passing Hatch on the outside. Kurt Hewins’ night got worse as Skip Tripp got underneath him, forcing Hewins up high as more cars drew alongside. Davis pulled away from Hatch who held a solid lock on second with Gerry Freeve impersonating a brick wall to keep a herd of cars behind him. The laps wound down with no change and as the checkers dropped it was Jim Davis Jr. taking the win in one of the greatest upsets of the season. Gene Hatch, always the bridesmaid was once again second, and Gerry Freeve held on to finish third. Skip Tripp and Larry Emerson rounded out the top five.
The Oxford Networks Late Models finished off the night with a forty lap feature. This one featured plenty of yellow flags early on. Coming to the stripe, Tyler Knightly and Gerald Parlin could not keep the front row even, forcing the starter to withhold the green flag and as everyone checked up, several cars got turned around including eight time track champion Jeff Taylor who was on hand to try and get his machine tuned up prior to the TD Bank 250. Scott Farrington Sr. got the worst of it as he had to head to the pits for some major repairs to the front end of his car. On lap one, things did not improve much when T.J. Brackett went around on the backstretch in the middle of the pack. As the field tried to avoid him, Carey Martin was forced out of the racing groove and into the dirt. Martin, who was also on hand to get his car ready for the big race, showed he was very fast on the outside in the heat race but tonight would not be his night. The green flag would eventually come out and Dennis Spencer Jr. jumped to the lead on lap five with Corey Morgan behind him and Gary Chiasson in third. Tommy Ricker slowly and methodically worked his way up through the pack along with point leader Tim Brackett, but only Ricker was able to crack the top three as he worked his way around Morgan, bring Donnie Wentworth with him. Another caution, for a Tyler Knightly spin with seven laps to go, tightened the field up and made it a dash to the finish. On the restart, Spencer Jr. held onto the lead with Ricker just unable to draw alongside while running in the second groove. Wentworth maintained third, but he was also unable to challenge Ricker for the spot. As they came across the line, the top three remained unchanged allowing Dennis Spencer, Jr. to pick up his second win of the season with Ricker and Wentworth behind him. Shawn Martin moved up to fourth in the scramble behind the race leaders and Corey Morgan held on to round out the top five.
After the race, the lights went out and it was time for Central Maine Pyrotechnics to do their thing and send the crowd home happy. And they delivered as always, putting on an amazing display that dazzled the fans and kicked off the fourth of July a few hours early.
Next up, the Acceleration Series continues on Wednesday night. Do not forget to get your tickets for the TD Bank 250 coming up in just two weeks. For more information, visit us at www.oxfordplains.com or find us on Facebook.
Sport Truck
1 – 69 Ryan Farrar
2 – 22 Jeff Schmidt
3 – 39 Corey Williams
4 – 18 Joe Farrar
DNS – 55 Sean Jordan
Runnin’ Rebel
1 – 55 Ryan Hewins
2 – 96 Matt Dufault
3 – 22 Scott Farrington
4 – 59 Corey Beaulieu
5 – 86 Jeff Hebert
6 – 46 Jason Berry
7 – 6 Troy Jordan
8 – 88 Derek Cook
9 – 8 Dustin Salley
10 – 2 Craig Bartlett
11 – 69 John Childs
12 – 33 Jonah Farrington
13 – 52 Gerard Cote
14 – 25 Roger Bourgoin
15 – 83 Brady Romano
16 – 54 Kyle Hewins
Mini Stock
1 – 2 Butch Keene
2 – 10 Jimmy Childs
3 – 8 Calvin Rose Jr
4 – 77 Ashley Marshall
5 – 3 Kevin Bishop
6 – 12 Darrell Moore
7 – 31 Jeff Beaule
8 – 33 Danny Morris
9 – 29 Greg Watkins
10 – 18 Nik Coates
11 – 6 Nathan Guptil
12 – 97 Jeff Moon
13 – 14 Matt Moore
14 – 51 Steve Barker
15 – 19 Shane Kaherl
16 – 01 Bill Childs Sr
Strictly Stock
1 – 11 Jim Davis Jr
2 – 7 Gene Hatch
3 – 39 Jerry Freve
4 – 12 Skip Tripp
5 – 24 Larry Emerson
6 – 55 Kurt Hewins
7 – 23 Zack Emerson
8 – 5 Joe Hutter
9 – 83 Mike St Germain
10 – 88 Matt Carter
11 – 53 Richard Damon
12 – 15 Ed Burlock
13 – 06 Craig Coolidge ( R )
14 – 29 Chris Mosher
15 – 43 Bobby DiPompo
16 – 17 Mike Short
17 – 63 Matt Williams
18 – 36 Rick Spaulding
Late Model
1 – 3 Dennis Spencer Jr
2 – 6 Tommy Ricker
3 – 63 Don Wentworth
4 – 94 Shawn Martin
5 – 26 Corey Morgan
6 – 60 Tim Brackett
7 – 97 Joey Polewarczyk Jr
8 – 07 Scott Luce
9 – 18 Carey Martin
10 – 88 Jeff Taylor
11 – 7 Glen Luce
12 – 61 TJ Brackett
13 – 51 Ricky Rolfe
14 – 15 Ben Ashline
15 – 10 Steve Knowlton
16 – 1 Al Hammond
17 – 52 Bruce Haley
18 – 71 Gary Chiasson
19 – 14 Joey Lovejoy
20 – 23 Dave Farrington Jr
21 – 9 JT Thurlow
22 – 84 Matt Sanborn
23 – 5 Tyler nightly ( R )
24 – 25 Shawn Knight
25 – 11 Billy Childs Jr
26 – 12 Nick Brown
27 – 8 Gerald Parlin
DNS – 28 Dave Farrington Sr