Two of the three division championships at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway of Scarborough are coming home to the tri-county area.
Dave Farrington Jr. of Jay and Justin Karkos of Livermore Falls were crowned champions Saturday night along with Garrett Hall of Scarborough as the track concluded its 66th season of competition.
Farrington won the NASCAR Pro Series championship, taking top honors in the premier division of the Whelen All-American Series.
He won his first championship in a full-bodied stock with consistency, posting nine top-five finishes and 14 top-10s in 15 starts. Although Farrington did not win a race this season, he finished second on four occasions.
Farrington and his family-owned team have mostly chosen not to compete for points until this season.
After moving up from go karts, in which he was one of the top-ranked drivers in the nation as a teenager, Farrington split his time between late model and super late model cars at Wiscasset, Oxford and Beech Ridge, as well as running both the American-Canadian Tour and Pro All Stars Series.
With multi-time feature winners Corey Bubar (crash) and Tyler King (motor problems) falling off the pace in midseason, Farrington’s lead over veteran Kelly Moore and 16-year-old Reid Lanpher grew steadily throughout July and August.
Farrington entered the final race with an almost insurmountable advantage over Lanpher, then gained more ground by finishing ahead of him in the qualifying round. Once he took the green flag for the 40-lap finale, Farrington was assured of the title.
Bubar ran away with the victory in the event, followed by Steve Carrier, Jacob Dore and Bobby Timmons. Farrington etched a fitting conclusion to his campaign by snagging another top-five, outdueling John Peters for the spot by a fender.
Likewise, Karkos needed only to avoid disaster in the Wildcat feature to claim his first Beech Ridge championship, and a fourth-place finish was more than enough.
Season runner-up David Vaughn of Naples held up his end of the bargain by winning the feature. Karkos charged as close as third before settling in.
Karkos captured three checkered flags en route to the second title of his career. He claimed the Mini Stock crown at Oxford Plains Speedway in 2009.
He graduated to the PASS Sportsman division, then took a brief break from the sport before assembling a Beech Ridge Wildcat ride prior to the 2013 season.
Vaughn took the lead from outgoing champion Cole Watson on lap 21 and held on the rest of the way. Jason Webster collected third ahead of Karkos.
Garrett Hall needed a top-five finish to clinch the Sport Series title no matter what second-place Sally Gherardi did Saturday, and fifth is precisely where he ended up.
Hall stayed in from of Gherardi throughout the event, ensuring that his lead was safe in any circumstances. Russ Morse scored the final feature win of the summer, trailed by Dave Langlois, Brandon Barker and Brandon Ingalls.
Knight’s time at OPS
Making only his second weekly appearance of the season, Shawn Knight of South Paris charged from 16th starting position without the benefit of a caution flag Saturday night to win the 60-lap Budweiser Pro Late Model main event at Oxford Plains Speedway.
Knight is the 11th different winner in 13 points races. It was his first win in a “super late model” style car.
Championships will be handed out at the track next Saturday.
It went wire-to-wire without a caution flag, with Scott Moore leading early and staying within sight of Knight before settling for second.
T.J. Brackett — defending series champion and the lone repeat winner of 2014 with three victories — finished third and unofficially claimed a three-point lead over Shawn Martin heading into the final event.
Travis Stearns and Mark Lundblad rounded out the top five, just in front of Martin.
Kyle Hewins of Leeds (Street Stock), Gerry Freve of Buckfield (Outlaw Sportsman) and Cam Childs of Leeds (Bandit) also picked up feature wins.
Josh Childs and B.J. Chapman completed the top three in the Street Stock event, with the son-father tandem of point leader Ryan Hewins and Kurt Hewins (Kyle’s nephew and brother, respectively) closely in tow.
Freve collected his first win of the season ahead of Guy Childs and Michael Haynes. Troy Jordan, who has clinched the Outlaw Sportsman championship, was fourth in front of Bryce Mains.
Childs topped a record 29-car field in the growing, first-year Bandit ranks. Tyler Green and point leader Derek Cairns were next in line.
Brown over Morgan at Wiscasset
Dan Brown of Peru outran Lewiston’s Corey Morgan for the victory in Wiscasset Speedway’s Strictly Street feature Saturday night. Ben Erskine of Farmington and Jonathan Emerson of Sabattus took third and fourth.
Milton’s Jerry McKenna snagged another Mini Truck win, warding off Opie Allard and Matt Curtis.
Chris Thorne was victorious in a 45-lap Late Model Sportsman showcase. Chris Bowie of New Gloucester, who had prevailed in two of his previous three starts, was a strong third.
Ryan Chadwick carried the Thunder 4 checkers.
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