WISCASSET SPEEDWAY PRESS RELEASE FOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
THE CREAM RISES TO THE TOP DURING WISCASSET’S TOP GUN STRICTLY STREET SHOOTOUT
By Lisa Maguire

The good weather held out, and although the evening was cool, it felt still like summer at Wiscasset Speedway last Saturday. Fans thronged the grandstands, and when the bright lights of Wiscasset lit the track, the fans were on the edge of their seats in anticipation of watching the group one division of racing, including: New England Four Cylinder Prostock, Prostock, and Thunder Four Mini’s. In a special presentation, the Strictly Streets appeared on Saturday’s schedule as Wiscasset Speedway presented the third annual Top Gun Strictly Street Shootout. Additionally, there was a highly anticipated race for the championship which would be decided during the Prostock feature, which pitted point leader Jeff Burgess against Andy Saunders, who was only ten points below him.

The Top Gun Strictly Street Shootout was the spotlighted event. A battle raged for the win during the course of the forty lap close-quarter race. However, 2015 point champ, Kyle Hewins, dominated the race and demonstrated the necessary skills needed to achieve Strictly Street racing success. Also in the top three were the season’s cream of the crop. Dan Brown, of the #83, placed second. Brown placed second in the point race this season, coming in just sixteen points behind Kyle Hewins. Kurt Hewins was third in points this racing season, sixty-two points behind season champion, and brother, Kyle Hewins.

The race itself had only two cautions, a change from previous years Shootout’s, when cautions caused delays in racing. This was great for fans, who loved the quick action on the track. Starting on the pole was the #64 of Dean Rice. To his right was Richard Spaulding of the #36. Starting in third was the #14 of Dave Brannon. When green flag racing began, Brannon quickly shot to second. The #51 of Kyle Hewins was moving rapidly through the pack from his sixth place start. Kyle Hewins passed Spaulding on the inside to take third during lap two. Kyle Hewins continued his march up the track, moving to the outside and passing Brannon, then Rice, for the lead by lap four.

Kyle Hewins then looked in his rear view mirror for the remainder of the race, watching his competitors chase after him, and skillfully avoiding them. There was competition for the lead, with Brown and Kurt Hewins close on his heels. Nevertheless, Kyle Hewins remained focused, and despite two restarts, stayed ahead after taking the lead.

Rice dropped back during lap four. Brannon was in second. Spaulding was in third. The #55H of Kurt Hewins was moving up from his twelfth place start to the front, however. By lap seven, Kurt Hewins was passing Spaulding for third, then Brannon for second.

Moving from ninth place to take his place in the top three was Dan Brown of the #83. There was a restart during lap eleven, and Brown passed Spaulding for third. Brown used the second caution, during lap thirty-six of the race, to his advantage as well. On the restart, Brown had the inside line, and door to door racing for second began. Neck and neck the pair raced around the track, battling for position. Brown edged slightly ahead on the final lap, and took second, only 1.1 seconds behind race leader, Kyle Hewins. Kurt Hewins placed third, only a tenth of second behind Brown.

Post-race Kyle Hewins said, “This win means a lot. Last year we finished second in this race, and it feels good to get the win. All season long I battled with my brother (Kurt Hewins) for point champion. We were two points apart, and he ended up getting disqualified for a race. If he hadn’t of gotten DQ’D it would have come down to the final race with only those two points between us. Since he won the last race, he would have gotten it. But, still, we are really excited to get the point championship. I want to thank the car owner, Scott Brewer. I want to thank Kenny Wills, and Todd Macomber. They have helped me through it all. They never gave up and have been here every week, week in and week out, for the past two years that I’ve ran this car. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to get it done, so I’ve got to thank them. I have several sponsors, some are: Dashiell Transportation, Bubier Excavation, and Residential Fire Protection.”

Concluding the race for the point championship, was a forty lap Prostock feature race. The race was action packed and filled with drama. The evening races began with only a ten point spread between point champion contenders, Andy Saunders of the #01 and Jeff Burgess of the #1. When the heats concluded, Burgess placed lower in the heats and Saunders had whittled that spread to only six points. With each position being worth two points, Saunders needed to finish the race at least three car positions ahead of Burgess.

The race started with Mike Orr of the #32 on the pole. In second was the team mate of Burgess, the #19 of John Rideout. Starting third was Mike Moody of the #1M. There was an initial race caution, but when action began, Rideout quickly took the lead. Moving up from his sixth place start was Saunders. Saunders passed Moody on the inside of turn one of lap three for third.

There was another caution during lap six, with the #15X of Scott Chubbuck receiving some body damage. Chubbuck quickly headed to the pits, but was back on the track before caution end. When action resumed on the track, Orr fell back. The #51 of John Peters advanced to third. Saunders got under Rideout, and after a battle, took the lead the following lap. Rideout struggled to keep second place, but Peters was looking for his opportunity to pass. His chance came during lap eight, and Peters passed on the inside for second.

Point leader, Burgess, had begun the race in eighth place, and was caught at the back of the pack, not able to advance. However, starting in twelfth, and proving himself to be a hard charger, was the #05R of Phil Richardson. Richardson was driving hard down the outside lane to the front. On a restart during lap thirteen, Richardson passed Rideout and took third. Then, on the front stretch during lap fourteen, the #72 of Charlie Colby got into the back of Rideout. Colby bumped Rideout around the track, and eventually sent Rideout into a spin on the backstretch. Prostock Rookie of the Year, Wyatt Alexander, was caught up, and was put into the backstretch wall. There was a red flag caution. The #19 headed to the pits. Alexander was towed off the track, unable to return. Colby was sent to the back.

When green flag action once again resumed, Saunders took the lead once again. Peters fell in behind him. Richardson was in third. Burgess was in sixth place, patiently working his way up the field. Chubbuck was working his way back up through the ranks once again from the very back of the pack. Skillfully weaving through traffic, Chubbuck was able to put himself in position to take third place by lap twenty-nine. Richardson fell to fourth.

The #81 of Dan Winters got caught in a chain reaction during lap thirty-one. Winters spun to the infield when action up at the front caused a slow-down. Winters went into a spin to avoid being caught up, bringing out a caution. On the resulting restart, Burgess was able to advance to fourth place, behind Chubbuck. Then, coming out of turn four, Burgess dove under Chubbuck as Chubbuck slowed. This caused additional damage to the car body of Chubbuck. The yellow flag flew. Chubbuck headed to the pits, but made it back on the track before caution end. Richardson advanced once again to third. Burgess was sent to the back.

Saunders was able to once again take the lead on the restart during lap thirty-two. Peters fell in behind after a brief race for the lead. Burgess worked his way up, once again from the back. During lap thirty-seven, Burgess tapped Moody from behind going into turn one in a bid to get ahead. Moody spun sideways into the turn one wall. Burgess struck him and also went into the wall. James Osmond of the #05, third in points heading into the race, was gathered up in the scuffle, as was the #29 of Kevin Morse. This took Burgess out of the race, and ended his chance to claim point championship for the Prostock division. There was a red flag caution as the debris was cleared.

With only three laps remaining, Saunders was still in the lead. Peters was in second. In third was Richardson. Colby had worked his way back to forth. When action resumed on the Speedway, Saunders took the lead. Colby dove down the track and shot like a rocket to second, pushing Peters out of way. The #51 of Peters was hung out to dry. Peters regained his balance and began to fight with Richardson for third place. During the final lap, Richardson and Peters tangled, coming out of turn three and into turn four. Rideout was caught up in the melee. The race concluded with a checkered caution, with Saunders taking the win. With this win, he secured the point championship. Colby placed second. Rounding out the top three was Chubbuck, a previous five-time Prostock point champion.

After the race concluded, Saunders said, “The race was rough. As far as my car was concerned, all the cautions came at the right time. The more that I ran, the tighter the car got. At one point, I was contemplating letting Peters go by me, because he was clearly faster. But, the cautions kept coming out, which allowed my tires to cool down. My car was really strong for the first six to eight laps, then it would start slowing down a little bit as the tires warmed up. All the cautions really worked in my favor, because if we had a twenty lap green flag run, I would have been in trouble. I’m glad and fortunate that I got to the front quickly, because anything behind me was not safe. I feel bad for Jeff (Burgess), because I’ve been in that spot a couple of times, I know how he feels. Luckily things worked out this time for me. This has been a good solid car, but as far as winning races, we were disappointed. When Jeff started off the season with three wins in a row, we thought we were not ever going to be in sight of Jeff. But, we pulled the championship off. I want to thank my fiancé, Gayle, for being very supportive and putting up with the madness all through the years. I want to thank my biggest fan, my daughter Whitney. I want to thank my crew: Alan Perkins, Donnie Coffin, Dickie Sprague, Ryan Sprague, Asa Jones, Bo Jordan, Gavin Perkins. Absolutely want to thank all my sponsors: Ace Tire and Auto, Downeast Auto body, K&B Automotive, and Andy’s Painting. I need to thank my mother, Rose and Dickie, and the Robbins Family. Want to thank all the fans. If there is nobody there, it is not very fun. Wiscasset was packed tonight and it was perfect.”

Saturday night also was the season ending for the Thunder Four Mini’s. They were first on the track in a twenty lap feature presentation. Leandra Martin of the #31 had wrapped up point championship for the division when last on the track. Martin had a solid season, with one win, but consistently placed in the top five during the season. Starting on the pole was the #33 of Stephen Howard. Beside him was the #10 of Mike Dulany. Behind was the #58 of David Greenleaf.

When the green flag flew over the track, Dulany advanced to second. The #4J of Joe Katula moved to third, and Greenleaf fell back. Katula gained advantage and quickly passed Dulany for second, then passed Howard for the lead by the end of lap two.

Coming up from his seventh place start was the #04 of Curtis Anderson. Anderson passed Dulany and Howard for second. Following Curtis up the track was the #113 of Cody Tribbet. Tribbet had started in ninth place and passed Howard for third during lap six. Tribbet was not satisfied with third, and passed Anderson for second on the inside of turn two during lap eight. Tribbet then headed outside and raced door to door with Katula for the lead. For nearly two laps the pair battled it out, then Tribbet edged ahead for first during lap fifteen.

Anderson brake checked the #68 of Jeff Minchin on the backstretch during lap fifteen, while the duo were fighting for third. The pair eventually tangled on turn four, and they were both black flagged and sent to the pits. Martin advanced to third. When racing action resumed, Katula had a slow start, allowing Martin to advance to second. The #26 of Michael Golding advanced to third.

The second and final caution of the race came during lap eighteen. During the caution, Golding got a flat and headed to the pits. This enabled Katula to once again join the race leaders in third. There were no additional leader changes, and Cody Tribbet took the win. Tribbet’s win is unofficial pending race car inspection. Martin placed second. Katula took third.

Martin said of her point championship, “It doesn’t feel any different to be a point champion than it did before. I’ve won one race, but I’ve stayed consistent.”

Martin also said to the girls who are out there watching her race to “get out there and try it!”

A New England Four Cylinder Prostock race was action packed. Thirteen racecars hit the track in the season ending twenty-five lap feature. Kamren Knowles of the #98 was point leader heading into the race, with a comfortable thirty-two point lead. Closest competitor was the #27 of Jacob Hendsbee. Third in points heading into Saturday’s race was Jeff Prindall of the #24.

Starting at the pole was the #9X of Brooke Knowles. Beside her was Ryan Hayes of the #38. In third was Mike Kibbin of the #42. During the opening lap, Brooke Knowles fell to third. Hayes took the lead, and Kibbin moved to second. Hendsbee passed Brooke Knowles on the inside during lap three and advanced to third.

The first of two cautions happened during lap three. The melee involved the #14 of Bob Patten, Brooke Knowles, and Kamren Knowles. Both Brooke and Kamren Knowles made pit stops, but both were back on the track before caution end. Kamren made an additional trip to the pits, but was able to speed back onto the track at the back of the pack as the race resumed.

When action began on the track once again, Hendsbee passed Kibbin on the inside of turn two for second. Kibbin fell back another spot when Prindall, who had started in tenth, passed him on the inside during lap four for third. Prindall continued his advance up the track, and battled with Hendsbee for second, until Prindall was able to fully complete a pass during lap eight, and secure second place. During lap thirteen, Prindall once again headed outside, and passed Hayes for the lead. Hayes fell to third when Hendsbee passed him for second during lap fourteen. Hayes struggled to regain second, and then went sideways into a spin on lap sixteen, bringing out a caution. Brooke Knowles advanced to third.

On the ensuring restart, Hendsbee shot to the lead. However, Prindall passed him on the inside of turn one during lap seventeen and regained first. Starting in eleventh place was the #0 of Alex Waltz. Waltz passed Brooke Knowles during lap twenty-two for third. As the race drew to a close, Hendsbee suddenly went into a spin during lap twenty-three. No caution was called as Hendsbee quickly regained control of his car, but he lost positions that he was not able to regain. Waltz advanced to second, and Brooke Knowles moved to third. Race leaders remained constant until the conclusion. Prindall took his second win of the season. Waltz placed second. Brooke Knowles had her second podium finish of the season, in third.

Post-race Prindall said, “I was surprised at the race. I though Jacob (Hendsbee) and Kamren (Knowles) would be right up there. I guess we had just a little bit better car than they did. It was a good race, and it was fun. It was a lot of fun to do that. We did spin into the sand pile during the heat, but there was no harm to the car. It was quickly put back into shape by my crew: John, Justin, Nate, and Allison. I want to thank my sponsors: Dubois Snowmobile and Repair, Tire Warehouse of Lewiston, and Bimbo bakeries. I want to also want to thank all the fans who come out to support what we do, because without them, we wouldn’t be doing it!”

Wiscasset Speedway resumes racing action, Saturday September 26, 2015 with its group two lineup of divisions: Late Model Sportsman, Outlaw Mini, and Modfieds. The Napa Super Streets will also be concluding its racing season. The flex race of the week is a one hundred lap Enduro race. Visit the website for more details.

If you missed the racing action, or simply want to see it again, track videographer, Brandon Simmons, posts race footage on YouTube. It can be found by searching “Wiscasset Speedway”. Pit gates open at 2:00 PM. Grandstand gates open at 4:00 PM. Racing begins at 6:00 PM. Admission is $5.00 for adults and children aged seven and older. Kids six and under are free. Pit admission is $20.00. Wiscasset Speedway is located on West Alna Road in Wiscasset. For more information, head to the Wiscasset Speedway website at www.wiscassetspeedway.com. The Wiscasset Speedway website is packed with information, including schedule of events, division rosters and rules, race results, and driver profiles. Head on over to take a look

WISCASSET SPEEDWAY OFFICIAL RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2015

THUNDER 4 MINI’S (20 LAPS) *Results Unofficial Pending Engine Inspection*

1. #113 Cody Tribbet, Richmond

2. #31 Leandra Martin, Richmond

3. #4J Joe Katula, Lisbon

4. #58 David Greenleaf, Brunswick

5. #13X Michael Harrison, Freeport

6. #26 Michael Golding, Pownal

7. #33 Stephen Howard, Thomaston

8. #10 Mike Dulany, Richmond

9. #04 Curtis Anderson, Richmond

10. #68 Jeff Minchin Jr, Pittston

DNS Bill Grover, Waterford

NEW ENGLAND FOUR CYLINDER PROSTOCKS (25 LAPS)

1. #24 Jeff Prindall, Lisbon Falls

2. #0 Alex Waltz, Walpole

3. #9X Brooke Knowles, West Gardiner

4. #98 Kamren Knowles, West Gardiner

5. #55 John Shorey, Alna

6. #14 Bob Patten, Westbrook

7. #38 Ryan Hayes, Jefferson

8. #5 Cody Billings, Hartford

9. #42 Mike Kibbin, South China

10. #54 Cam Corbine, Farmingdale

11. #27 Jacob Hendsbee, Whitefield

12. #99 Cameron Folsom, Augusta

13. #4 Connor Wenners, Edgecomb

PROSTOCK (40 LAPS)

1. #01 Andy Saunders, Ellsworth

2. #72 Charlie Colby, Edgecomb

3. #15X Scott Chubbuck, Bowdoin

4. #28 Ken Beasley, Richmond

5. #05R Phillip Richardson, Hermon

6. #51 John Peters, Westbrook

7. #81 Dan Winter, Windham, NH

8. #29 Kevin Morse, Woolwich

9. #1M Mike Moody, Topsham

10. #1 Jeff Burgess, East Madison

11. #05 James Osmond, Woolwich

12. #32 Mike Orr, Wiscasset

13. #19 John Rideout, Washington

14. #96 Wyatt Alexander, Ellsworth

15. #6 Travis Dunbar, Auburn

TOP GUN STRICTLY STREET SHOOTOUT (40 LAPS)

1. #51 Kyle Hewins, Leeds

2. #83 Dan Brown, Peru

3. #55H Kurt Hewins, Leeds

4. #14 Dave Brannon, Lisbon

5. #45 Cole Watson, Naples

6. #40 Mac Hannon, Union

7. #33 Travis Burrows, Brownfield

8. #81 Louis Anderson, Hollis

9. #24 Jonathon Emerson, Sabattus

10. #8X Ethan Dinsmore, Hope

11. #3 Brandon Bailey, Woolwich

12. #3X Joe Morey, Lisbon Falls

13. #36 Richard Spaulding, Lisbon

14. #99X Jeff Davis, Woolwich

15. #00 Kimberly Knight, Chesterville

16. #64 Dean Rice, Nobleboro

17. #37 Justin Higgins, Litchfield

18. #56 Mike Short, Auburn

DNS #51 Bryan Robbins, Montville