OXFORD — Veteran short track driver Curtis Gerry hadn’t really planned on competing at Oxford Plains Speedway last weekend. Yet if you ask him about it today, he’ll tell you he’s elated the decision was made to go.
Gerry, of Waterboro, a weekly racer at Andy Cusack’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, dominated the 50-lap Super Late Model Trophy Dash on Friday night after easily winning his 12-lap qualifying race.
Oxford native Josh Childs, a rookie in the premier SLM class, was Gerry’s closest challenger and crossed the line in second, while 2002 Oxford 250 winner Scott Robbins drove from ninth on the 16-car grid to claim third. Turner’s Glen Luce made a strong late-race charge to finish fourth, while Jay native and 2014 Beech Ridge Pro Series champion Dave Farrington Jr. completed the top five.
“The car has been fast at Beech Ridge in recent weeks, and was on rails again tonight,” Gerry said. “We didn’t make the decision to come up here until 10:30 this morning; but I sure am glad we came. It’s a thrill to win at Oxford against the guys who run here every week. I have a strong team behind me and appreciate all they do to make nights like this possible.”
Finishing sixth through tenth Friday evening was Shawn Knight, recent winner and two-time Late Model champion Dennis Spencer Jr., Scott Moore, TJ Brackett and Shawn Martin. Farrington and Knight battled side-by-side for several laps, preventing Spencer and the rest from making any headway.
Only one caution slowed the pace, on lap six when Chris Coolidge spun off the top of Turn 3. We’re seeing more long green-flag runs this season, a good sign of clean racing at the western Maine oval.
Gerry kept an amazing streak of 11 different winners in 11 races alive for 2016. Thanks to an excellent handicapping system that forces feature winners to start out back, more drivers have a legitimate shot to secure a win. With the high cost of racing at this level, that provides a little incentive to continue.
Matt Dufault powered his way to a third straight points win in an entertaining 30-lap tilt for the Street Stock warriors. The talented veteran from Turner went three-wide off Turn 4 to take the lead from Jonathan Emerson at lap 15. Calvin Rose Jr. staged a thrilling duel with Dufault, leading for two laps (26-27) before Dufault drove inside of him and took command for good with two laps remaining.
Rose settled for second, while Zach Emerson drove from ninth on the grid to claim third. Kim Tripp of Oxford led the first 13 laps yet faded to fourth at the finish, while Jonathan Emerson was fifth. Three cautions slowed the pace, with Guy Childs, Richard Spaulding and Jordan Russell involved in spins.
“We’ve been working on the car’s setup to run well up high since the season began,” Dufault said. “I don’t usually do well trying to get underneath people, so we concentrate on the outside groove. It’s been working pretty well for us lately, and Friday night sure was satisfying. We couldn’t be any happier.”
Oxford’s Jake Hall notched his first victory of 2016 in a 20-lap battle for the entry-level Bandit class. Point leader Tyler Green of Turner was fast once again and claimed second, while Waterford veteran Jamie Heath drove up from fourteenth on the 20-car grid to fill out the podium in third.
Josh Knoll of Mechanic Falls came home fourth, while New Gloucester’s Caleb Emerson-Mains completed the top five. A big melee off Turn 4 capped the feature, with Mike Mckiney’s car coming to rest against the outside retaining wall. None of the drivers involved were injured, yet tempers did flare after the race.
Veteran Figure 8 racer David Smith notched his second win of the season on Friday evening. The South Paris native outgunned current points leader and reigning champion Jon Lizotte for top honors, while Minot’s Eric Hodgkins stayed in the championship hunt with a solid third-place finish. Robert Morey of Lisbon came home in fourth, while South Paris resident Greg Durgin rounded out the top five.
Hewins claims Strictly Street feature at Wiscasset
Kurt Hewins drove his Brown’s Construction No. 55 entry to victory Saturday night in a rain-shortened program at Wiscasset Speedway. The veteran from Leeds held off Chelsea’s Maurice Young for top honors, while Bryan Robbins of Montville filled out the podium in third. Kimberly Knight put in a solid effort to secure fourth, while Dan Somes completed the top five.
Harpswell native Mark Lucas prevailed in a 40-lap battle for the NAPA Modifieds. Lucas is a master of the ground-pounding open-wheel machines, and this time he outgunned some stiff competition to snag the trophy. Joe Williams of Woolwich chased Lucas all night yet settled for second at the line, while Dresden’s Allan Moeller came home in third.
New Gloucester resident and former Beech Ridge standout Ben Tinker brought his No. 19 entry across the line in fourth, while Adam Chadbourne finished fifth.
Zack Audet of Skowhegan won an abbreviated 14-lap feature for the Outlaw Minis, as rain finally moved into the midcoast region. Audet held off Augusta-based strongman Shawn Kimball for top honors, while Richmond’s Cody Tribbet filled out the podium in third. Brent Roy and John Fortin, both of Vassalboro, finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Late Model Sportsman teams did not get to run their scheduled feature race due to rain. While other track promoters would have simply canceled their programs Saturday, Richard and Vanessa Jordan must be commended for making every effort to get at least some racing in the books before the dreaded “liquid sunshine” sent fans home early.
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