photo by Norm Marx
New Hampshire racer remains hottest PASS Super Late Model racer at Oxford Plains Speedway
Oxford, Maine – Wayne Helliwell, Jr. had suffered through more than his share of disappointment over the years in competition at Oxford Plains Speedway, but a turnaround in fortune for the Bernhardt Motorspots team came full circle Sunday night with victory in the 43rd Annual H.P. Hood Oxford 150, worth about $30,000.
“I can’t believe it, the way we’ve run at Oxford in the past, I can’t believe how this team has turned this around,” the winner exclaimed in victory lane. Longtime Oxford Plains Speedway and Ford fans were ecstatic to see the orange 27 with the Dion Brother Racing throwback paint scheme in victory lane, especially with Roger Dion on hand helping Bernhardt Motorsports effort.
Helliwell led the race three times for 45 laps and he had to overcome a five-second penalty in the infield pit area for passing the pace car under caution. Both driver and crew bounced back nicely, setting up a thrilling duel between Hellell and Benjamin in front of the stellar Super Late Model field.
Helliwell and the Bernhardt gang made a couple of well-executed, well-timed pit stops to set up a battle with two-time Oxford 250 champion Travis Benjamin of Morrill. Benjamin, who led 159 of the 250 laps aboard the Petit Motorsports 7, waged a long, torrid battle with the eventual winner.
“It’s hard to be unhappy with second in a race like this, but we are,” said runner-up Benjamin, seeking his third Oxford 250 victory, a win that would have been a first in the classic race for Petit Motorsports. Nevertheless, with lap money their take was well into the five figure range.
DJ Shaw of Center Conway, New Hampshire moved a step closer to a possible second Pro All Stars Series Super Late Model championship with a third-place finish aboard the Precision JLM 60. Ben Rowe, another two-time Oxford 250 champion and a four-time series titlist, was fourth under the checkered flag. Hudson, New Hampshire’s Joey Polewarczyk, fast all year at Oxford and a PASS winner earlier this season, rounded out the top five.
Cassius Clark of Farmington looked strong throughout the race, finishing sixth driving the Nova Scotia-based King Racing entry. 21-year-old Garrett Hall of Scarborough looked like a contender for most of the race distance before crossing the finish line in seventh spot. Six-time PASS Super Late Model kingpin Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine was eighth, followed by New Hampshire native Ben Lynch, who now calls Charlotte, North Carolina home.
Glen Luce of Turner, the 2015 H.P. Hood Oxford 250 champion, rounded out the top ten. Luce led 38 laps. The only other driver to lead the race was Berwick’s Joey Doiron, who set the pace for the first 11 laps after missing a couple of months racing with a broken foot that clearly wasn’t fully healed.
Six 20-lap heat races and three 20-lap consolation rounds set the first 33 starting positions for the H.P. Hood Oxford 250. Doiron, Shaw, Luce, Helliwell, Mike Rowe of Turner and Austin Theriault of Fort Kent won the heat races. Consolation races went to Derek Griffith of Hudson, New Hampshire; Reid Lanpher of Manchester and Dalton Sargeant of Boca Raton, Florida. Windham’s Bobby Timmons was best in the 50-lap last chance race to earn the 34th starting spot.
PASS Modifieds topped the support division card at the H.P. Hood Oxford 250, and Ryan Robbins of Dixfield followed up a runner-up finish the previous night with an impressive 40-lap victory, earned mostly by racing in the tricky outside groove.
Robbins, the 2015 OPS Modified champion, had Geoff Rollins of Groton, Massachusetts in his rear-view mirror as the checkered flag waved. Jariet Harrison of Freeport claimed third-place hardware, with the top-five filled out by Bruce Helmuth of Wales and Shapleigh’s Dana Reed.
Jamie Heath of Waterford drove to an impressive victory in the AJ Roberti Memorial Race for the North East Mini Stock Tour. Heath, the points leader in Oxford’s weekly Bandits class and a local four-cylinder racing legend, hopped a ride and showed the touring series regulars the quick way around the historic oval track.
Jake Rheaume of Rochester, New Hampshire earned runner-up honors in the 50-lapper, in front of Contoocook, New Hampshire’s Emerson Cayer. Zach Audet of Skowhegan was the fourth-place finisher, followed by series points leader Haywood Herriott of Gorham, New Hampshire.
David Whittier of West Poland claimed victory in the 30-lap race for Allen’s Coffee Flavored Street Stocks. Whittier built a healthy advantage in the middle stages of the race, then managed to hold off a fast-closing Calvin Rose, Jr., of Turner. Rose ran out of time and was second under the checkered flag, with Rick ‘Flash’ Spaulding of Lisbon ending up third after leading about half the race. Zach Emerson of Sabattus was fourth, followed by Bryce Mains of Naples.
Ryan Kuhn of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts backed up his Saturday night win in Legends Cars competition with another 25-lap triumph before the huge Sunday crowd, prevailing in a relatively-wild race. Nick Lascuola of Brockton, Massachusetts made a late charge into second position, followed by Nolan Pope of Harrisonville, Missouri, chasing National INEX Legends Cars points a long way from home. Parker Varney of Windham and Hirma’s Roger Edgecomb rounded out the top five.
Kyle Hewins of Leeds cruised to a dominant victory aboard the Varney Racing 51 in a special, 50-lap race for the NAPA OAS Runnin’ Rebels class. Hewins was clearly the best on this afternoon, with Poland’s Dustin Salley a distant second-place finisher. Shaun Hinkley of Oxford was third across the finish line, followed by Auburn’s Cody Childs and David Cook of Livermore Falls. The winner’s teammate, Brandon Varney of Auburn, was the last car on the lead lap in sixth position.
; 6 1 Brandon Varney, Auburn; 7 6 Cody White, Buckfield; 8 02 Josh Straiton, South Paris; 9 15 Nathan Dubuc, Lewiston; 10 05 Gerard Cote, Oxford; 11 52 Mike Nichols, Livermore Falls; 12 10 Jason Trundy, Winterport; 13 44 Rick Montminy, Auburn; 14 0 Matt Mahar, Buckfield; 15 68 n/a, n/a; 16 3 Charlie Hall, Oxford; 17 28 David Stone, Sanford; 18 2 Wade Worster, West Newfield; 19 56 Adrianna McDaniel, Bridgton; 20 48 David Luce, Turner; 21 11 Jeff Walker, Waterboro; 22 9 Zac White, Buckfield; 23 5 Mike Childs, Leeds; 24 12 Chris LaVanway, Poland; 25 11 Cam Childs, Leeds.
Oxford Plains Speedway is located at 877 Main Street (State Route 26) in Oxford, Maine. For more information visit oxfordplains.com or call (207) 539-8865.
Unofficial results from the 43rd Annual HP Hood Oxford 250 racing card at Oxford Plains Speedway; Sunday, August 28; showing finishing position, car number, driver’s name, driver’s hometown.
H.P. Hood Oxford 250 PASS Super Late Model (250 laps) 1 27 Wayne Helliwell, Jr., Dover, NH; 2 7 Travis Benjamin, Morrill; 3 60 DJ Shaw, Center Conway, NH; 4 4 Ben Rowe, Turner; 5 97 Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., Hudson, NH; 6 13 Cassius Clark, Farmington; 7 94 Garrett Hall, Scarborough; 8 54 Johnny Clark, Farmingdale; 9 7 Ben Lynch, Charlotte, NC; 10 7 Glen Luce, Turner; 11 73 Joey Doiron, Berwick; 12 48 Bobby Timmons, Windham; 13 15 Mike Hopkins, Hermon; 14 41 Tracy Gordon, Strong; 15 55 Dalton Sargeant, Boca Raton, FL; 16 59 Reid Lanpher, Manchester; 17 50 Jeff White, Winthrop; 18 09 Jeremy Davis, Tamworth, NH; 19 46 Dennis Spencer, Jr., Oxford; 20 94 Shawn Martin, Turner; 21 21 David Oliver, Standish; 22 24 Mike Rowe, Turner; 23 64 Garrett Evans, Wenatchee, WA; 24 23 Dave Farrington, Jr., Jay; 25 25 Shawn Knight, South Paris; 26 12 Derek Griffith, Hudson, NH; 27 8 Tate Fogelman, Durham, NC; 28 45 Kodie Conner, Kannapolis, NC; 29 35 Derek Ramstrom, West Botlston, MA; 30 88 Jeff Taylor, Farmington; 31 22 Scott Farrington, Minot; 32 00 Bryan Kruczek, Newmarket, NH; 33 09 Justin Drake, Vassalboro; 34 4 Jeremie Whorff, Brunswick; 35 57 Austin Theriault, Fort Kent; 36 47 Kelly Moore, Scarborough; 37 36 Scott Robbins, Dixfield; 38 16 Travis Stearns, Auburn; 39 44 Kyle Treadwell, Buckfield; 40 60 Tim Brackett, Buckfield; 41 01 Jake Crum, Taylorsville, NC; 42 61 TJ Brackett, Buckfield.
PASS Modified (40 laps) 1 36 Ryan Robbins, Dixfield; 2 00 Geoff Rollins, Groton, MA; 3 85 Jariet Harrison, Freeport; 4 25 Bruce Helmuth, Wales; 5 60 Dana Reed, Shapleigh; 6 05 Ron Henry, New Gloucester; 7 19 Ben Tinker, New Gloucester; 8 6 Scott Door, Portland; 9 64 Matty Sanborn, Westbrook; 10 0 Andy Shaw, Center Conway, NH; 11 9 Evan Armington, Lovell; 12 4 Nik Coates, Turner; 13 34 David Vaughn, Naples; 14 28 Mark Lundblad, Jr., Albany, NH; 15 29 Mark Lundblad, Sr., Albany, NH.
Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Street Stock (30 laps) 1 58 David Whittier, West Poland; 2 8 Calvin Rose, Jr., Turner; 3 36 Richard Spaulding, Lisbon; 4 23 Zach Emerson, Sabattus; 5 77 Bryce Mains, Naples; 6 61 Matt Dufault, Turner; 7 83 Dan Brown, Peru; 8 04 Zachary Bowie, Greene; 9 5 Guy Childs, Sr., Sabattus; 10 24 Jonathan Emerson, Sabattus; 11 79 Travis Lovejoy, Waterboro; 12 2 Kurt Hewins, Leeds; 13 0 Dave Cameronm, Alfred; 14 56 Mike Short, Auburn; 15 21 Skip Tripp, South Paris; 16 4 Jordan Russell, Norway; 17 42 Dylan Varney, Windham; 18 06 Craig Coolidge, Auburn; 19 27 Patrick Thorne, Standish; 20 63 Matt Williams, Brownfield.
North East Mini Stock Tour AJ Roberti Memorial Race (50 laps) 1 20 Jamie Heath, Waterford; 2 15 Jake Rheaume, Rochester, NH; 3 88 Emerson Cayer, Contoocook, NH; 4 19 Zach Audet, Skowhegan; 5 17 Haywood Herriott, Gorham, NH; 6 7 Cody LeBlanc, Gorham, NH; 7 85 Michael Viens, Seekonk, MA; 8 90 Desmond Skillings, Antrim, NH; 9 43 Dana Shepard, Putney, VT; 10 22 Shaun Waites, Sr., Raymond, NH; 11 21 Darren Jacobs, Springfield, MA; 12 54 Mitchell Bombard, Willimantic, CT; 13 66 Devin Miranda, Taunton, MA; 14 10 Jason Trundy, Winterport; 15 2 Butch Keene, Turner; 16 55 Nick Anderson, Oxford, MA; 17 71 Donny Silva, Hudson; 18 33 Matt Sonnhalter, East Thetford, VT; 19 00 Brandon Gray, East Thetford, VT; DNS 0 Joel Butterfield, Winthrop.
Legends Cars (25 laps) 1 72 Ryan Kuhn, East Bridgewater, MA; 2 39 Nick Lascuola, Brockton, MA; 3 34 Nolan Pope, Harrisonville, MO; 4 18 Parker Varney, Windham; 5 27 Roger Edgecomb, Hiram; 6 28 Kevin Oliver, Gray; 7 70 Tyler Braunschweig, Newfields; 8 4 Thomas Everson, Gilmanton, NH; 9 4 Peter Craig, Poland; 10 67 Zac Godbout, Mount Vernon; 11 92 Colby Meserve, Buxton; 12 52 Colby Benjamin, Belmont; 13 21 Brenna Humphrey, Cornish; 14 29 Austin Teras, Windham; 15 7 Kayla King, Buxton; 16 0 Annette Humphrey, Parsonsfield; 17 29 Jon Peters, Westbrook; 18 129 Trevor Sanborn, East Parsonsfield; 19 3 Justin Stacey, Hiram.
Runnin’ Rebel (50 laps) 1 51 Kyle Hewins, Leeds; 2 18 Dustin Salley, Poland; 3 2 Shaun Hinkley, Oxford; 4 94 Cody Childs, Auburn; 5 4 David Cook, Livermore Falls; 6 1 Brandon Varney, Auburn; 7 6 Cody White, Buckfield; 8 02 Josh Straiton, South Paris; 9 15 Nathan Dubuc, Lewiston; 10 05 Gerard Cote, Oxford; 11 52 Mike Nichols, Livermore Falls; 12 10 Jason Trundy, Winterport; 13 44 Rick Montminy, Auburn; 14 0 Matt Mahar, Buckfield; 15 68 n/a, n/a; 16 3 Charlie Hall, Oxford; 17 28 David Stone, Sanford; 18 2 Wade Worster, West Newfield; 19 56 Adrianna McDaniel, Bridgton; 20 48 David Luce, Turner; 21 11 Jeff Walker, Waterboro; 22 9 Zac White, Buckfield; 23 5 Mike Childs, Leeds; 24 12 Chris LaVanway, Poland; 25 11 Cam Childs, Leeds.
Super Late Model Last Chance Race (50 laps) 1 48 Bobby Timmons, Windham; 2 35 Derek Ramstrom, West Boylston, MA; 3 15 Mike Hopkins, Hermon; 4 53 Alan Wilson, Hebron; 5 09 Bryan Kruczek, Newmarket, NH; 6 01 Andy Saunders, Ellsworth; 7 75 Gary Smith, Bangor; 8 05 Jacob Dore, Sanford; 9 60 Tim Brackett, Buckfield; 10 9 JT Thurlow, Windham; 11 0 Spencer Morse, Waterford; 12 45 Kodie Conner, Kannapolis, NC; 13 4 Jeremie Whorff, Brunswick; 14 49 Brent Dragon, Milton, VT; 15 36 Scott Robbins, Dixfield; 16 2 Butch Keene, Turner; 17 03 Scott Moore, Anson; 18 73 Adam Polvinen, Auburn; 19 40 Dan McKeage, Gorham; 20 5 Billy Childs, Jr., Leeds; 21 24 Gunnar Rowe, Turner.