by | May 8, 2013 | Maine, Oxford Plains Speedway
OXFORD, Maine – Gary Chiasson of Peru, Maine, finished second on an afternoon when he almost elected to start at the rear of the field.
Chiasson led most of the Oxford Championship Series 40-lap Pro Late Model feature Sunday afternoon at Oxford Plains Speedway before being moved out of the lead by another competitor, and he held on to finish second in just his second career start in the division.
Considering he almost opted to start at the rear of the field over concerns about how his car was handling, it turned out to be a pretty good day for Chiasson.
“The shocks aren’t really right right now. They’re not really doing what we want them to do, but it was a different set than what we had on there last week,” Chiasson said. “We were hoping for a Top-10 car, so we’ll take second any day.”
Chiasson began his day by scoring a win from the pole in the first of two 12-lap qualifying races on the day.
“We’ve got to figure it out still, but we love (this division),” he said. “Luckily, everybody else was hung up in the back. We had a mishap last week, and if we hadn’t had that, we probably would have started mid-pack and had a lot tougher time coming up through.”
The No. 71 Chevrolet is out of the Crazy Horse Racing stable, and the veteran driver said that the South Paris-based chassis builder did most of the work to convert the car from an ACT-legal Late Model to a Pro Late Model this offseason.
“It wasn’t bad at all, Crazy Horse did everything for me mostly,” Chiasson said. “I didn’t do much at all – we got the car back from Mitch, painted it, lettered it and two days later drove it over here.”
THERIAULT SEVENTH AT BEECH RIDGE: Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, finished seventh in the PASS North Series Southern Maine Chrysler Dodge Jeep 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Saturday.
It was the third straight Top-10 for the Brad Keselowski Racing development driver in PASS North Series competition, dating back to his victory at Oxford Plains last October.
“We have a couple more races up here in Maine. I think we’ll have a shot at winning one of them,” Theriault said.
“We’re getting closer every time. We kind of ended with a bang last year, winning at Oxford, but it was definitely a wakeup call at the beginning of the year at Oxford (two weeks ago).
“We made some gains. It can only get better. I’m encouraged. We’ll get better next time.”
HINKLEY, DAVIS STRONG AT DEVIL’S BOWL: New Hampshire driver Luke Hinkley finished a season-best seventh in the ACT Late Model Tour Spring Green 113 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, Vt., on Sunday.
Hinkley, who posted the fastest time in the morning practice session for one of the tour’s signature events, qualified an impressive 10th in the 30-car field and ran inside the Top-10 throughout the afternoon.
His teammate, Todd Davis, was equally strong. Davis qualified fifth and finished 11th.
For both drivers, it marked their best starting and finishing positions of the 2013 season.
by | May 6, 2013 | Maine, New, Oxford Plains Speedway
Oxford, Maine – Shawn Martin of Turner made his first start in an Oxford Championship Series Pro Late Model a successful one Sunday afternoon, driving from the rear of the starting field to the front of the pack, claiming victory in the 40-lap headliner at Oxford Plains Speedway.
Skip Tripp of Poland scored his first victory of the year in the 30-lap Allens Coffee Flavored Brandy Street Stock feature race. Lisbon’s Nik Coates wired the Allen’s Cofee Flavored Mini Stock division’s 30-lapper, while the Ripley & Fletcher Ford Outlaw Sportsman division honors went to Corey Morgan of Lewiston for the second consecutive week.
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by Jay | Apr 28, 2013 | Maine, Oxford Plains Speedway
Oxford, Maine – Dale Shaw of Center Conway, New Hampshire outgunned Buckfield’s T.J. Brackett on a mid-race restart, then held off both Brackett and Tommy Ricker of Poland on a couple of subsequent restarts to win the 40-lap Pro Late Model main event in the Championship Series points opener at Oxford Plains Speedway Sunday afternoon. Kurt Hewins of Leeds, Rob Greenleaf of Bath and Corey Morgan of Lewiston were also triumphant in feature events on the program’s undercard.
Brackett led the top-tier main event for more than half the distance, holding off Shaw and Ricker until the eventual winner made a bold, three-wide move pay off entering turn one. Ricker and, especially, Brackett kept the pressure on the former NASCAR Busch North Series champion until the checkered flag waved, but couldn’t get by the wily veteran once he was in command.
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by Jay | Apr 24, 2013 | Maine, Oxford Plains Speedway, PASS
PASS North Series: Austin Theriault
Oxford Plains Speedway Race Report
OXFORD, Maine – Brad Keselowski Racing development driver Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, returned to his family-owned team for the first time this season and rallied to finish ninth in the PASS North Series Ripley & Fletcher Ford 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine, on Sunday, April 21. Theriault fought the track position game all day long on the flat .375-mile oval – starting shotgun on the field in his first-round qualifying heat – and lost a lap in the first half of the main event. But Theriault got back on the lead lap with under 60 laps remaining, and he fought back over multiple late-race restarts in the AT Racing No. 57 Pelletier Ford Ford Fusion to score his sixth straight Top-10 finish in PASS-sanctioned events, dating back to August of 2012.
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by Jay | Apr 23, 2013 | Maine, Oxford Plains Speedway, PASS, Touring Series News
PASS North Series: Reid Lanpher
Oxford Plains Speedway Race Report
OXFORD, Maine – Reid Lanpher of Manchester, Maine, was the unlucky recipient of poor track position throughout the day, and the 14-year-old failed to qualify for the PASS North Series Ripley & Fletcher Ford 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine. Lanpher, who regularly drives a Late Model for JR Motorsports, was making his first career appearance at Oxford Plains and was working with veteran NASCAR K&N Pro Series East crew chief Andy Santerre for the first time. Though he did not make the 34-car starting field after starting last in both his first-round qualifier and his consolation-round race, Lanpher was pleased with the information he gained and encouraged by the fact that he only narrowly missed a qualifying spot.
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OXFORD, Maine – Gary Chiasson of Peru, Maine, finished second on an afternoon when he almost elected to start at the rear of the field.