Oxford Plains Speedway finally has a repeat winner in its Budweiser Pro Late Model division.
Reigning champion T.J. Brackett of Buckfield scored the 50-lap victory Saturday night. Brackett won the season opener in May, beginning a streak of nine consecutive different drivers to carry the checkered flag.
Don Wentworth of Otisfield finished second, while 14-year-old Gunnar Rowe of Turner was a career-best third. Rowe is the grandson of seven-time OPS champion Mike Rowe.
Brackett raced from the 11th starting position and took the lead from Tommy Ricker in the second half of the event.
Point leader Shawn Martin was fourth ahead of Ricker.
Evan Armington of Lovell, a graduate of Oxford’s go-kart series, won the 40-lap PASS Modified special. Armington passed Ron Henry for the top spot and held off a late charge from Scott Alexander to claim the victory.
Andy Shaw, Mark Lucas and Scott McDaniel rounded out the top five.
Josh Childs of Oxford scored the Street Stock triumph and gained ground on championship leader Spencer Morse, who was uninjured after his car rolled over early in the race.
Rick Spaulding and Zach Emerson gave chase before settling for second and third, with Ryan Hewins and Kyle Hewins in tow.
Turner’s Troy Jordan maintained his hammerlock on the Outlaw Sportsman division with another feature triumph. Mike Haynes, Steve Moon, Gerry Freve and Dale Lawrence followed.
Troy Smith held off Derek Cairns on a late restart for the Bandito victory. It was only Smith’s third career start in the growing bone-stock division.
Sweet outlasts Ashline in ACT
Vermont’s Nick Sweet edged Ben Ashline of Pittston in a tense battle to win the American-Canadian Tour 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
Sweet and Ashline exchanged the lead eight times between laps 78 and 112 before Sweet moved ahead to stay, becoming the seven different winner in seven 2014 ACT races.
Ashline, who won a $4,000 payday at his home track, Oxford, in a PASS-affiliated Late Model race three weeks ago, settled for second. Joey Polewarczyk Jr., Eddie MacDonald and Jimmy Hebert were next in line.
Glen Luce of Turner finished 11th, with Travis Stearns of Auburn 15th and Jeff White of Winthrop 28th after mechanical problems on the third lap.
Beech Ridge also presented a full card of feature racing in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
Bill Rodgers denied Mike Fowler’s bid for back-to-back Pro Series victories in a photo finish. Tyler King of Livermore Falls, racing with a motor transplanted from fellow driver Matt Sanborn’s car only a day earlier, charged to third.
Justin Karkos of Livermore Falls built upon his Wildcat point lead with a runner-up finish to Jason Webster. Ed Connolly was third.
Brandon Barker bagged his second Sport Series victory of the summer, chased across the stripe by Dave Charest and Clyde Hennessey.
Ripley returns with spin-and-win
The driver with more wins than anyone in Wiscasset Speedway is 1-for-1 in 2014 after winning the Boss Hogg 100 Saturday night.
Daren Ripley returned to the driver’s seat with a flourish, spinning and then winning to take home a $3,000 check.
Ripley took the lead around lap 70 when Scott Chubbuck, who dominated most of the Pro Stock showcase, was collected in Justin Drake’s spin, forcing a pit stop to clear away damaged body panels from one of his front tires.
Oddly, Ripley spun on his own and accelerated back into line without losing a position just before that caution appeared. He inherited the lead and held off Kevin Douglass for the victory.
Adam Polvinen of Hebron held off Chubbuck’s charge from the rear of the field to claim third by a car length.
The Boss Hogg 100 is named after Dave St. Clair, who earned the nickname when he owned the facility from 1991 to 2007. It was revived this summer after a lengthy hiatus.
Other feature winners Saturday night were Shawn Kimball (Outlaw Mini), Adam Chadbourne (Super Street) and Kamren Knowles (New England 4-Cylinder Pro Stock). Calvin Rose of Turner and Matt Moore of Mechanic Falls took third and fourth in the Outlaw Mini event.
This week’s schedule
Oxford Plains Speedway
Wednesday: Acceleration Series, 7 p.m.
Thursday: JARRacing Go Kart Series, 6:30 p.m.
Friday: Championship Series, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: Monster Truck Throwdown, 7 p.m.
Sunday: Monster Truck Throwdown, 3 p.m.
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway
Thursday: Thursday Thunder, 7 p.m.
Friday: Car Wars, 7 p.m.
Saturday: NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, 7 p.m.
Wiscasset Raceway
Saturday: Weekly Racing, Group 2, 6 p.m.
Unity Raceway
Sunday: Twin Super Stock Enduro 100s, 2 p.m.
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