OXFORD — Veteran short track driver Alan Tardiff added another win to an already impressive racing resume with a dominant performance, pulling away to earn his first career Super Late Model victory Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.
Former Oxford 250 winner Glen Luce worked his way under two-time track champion Shawn Martin for second place in the closing laps, while Ellsworth veteran Andy Saunders crossed the stripe in fourth. Canadian veteran Lonnie Sommerville, of Burnsville, New Brunswick, completed the top five.
Tardiff, of Lyman, led all 50 laps of the feature after getting the jump on pole-sitter Saunders. The lone yellow waved at lap 24 when JT Thurlow suffered a mechanical failure. On the ensuing restart, Tardiff got an early jump (and was fined $150 for doing it) and pulled away for top honors.
A handful of Pro All Stars Series (PASS) teams were on hand to prepare for Sunday’s PASS 150, a make-up race from the rained-out event scheduled for last weekend at Speedway 660 in New Brunswick.
Finishing sixth through 10th in the Super Late Model trophy dash were reigning Oxford 250 winner Wayne Helliwell Jr., making his first start at Oxford since winning the 250 last August, TJ Brackett, Darren Ripley, Derek Griffith and Auburn’s Travis Stearns.
In the Street Stock division, Bryce Mains roared to victory and resumed the torrid pace he set back in April. The veteran from Bridgton claimed the first two rounds of the new Quad Crown series at Oxford and Beech Ridge in April, and shows no signs of slowing down as summer approaches.
Point leader Billy Childs Jr., of Leeds, powered his way up from 11th on the grid to finish second, while Livermore’s Tyler King put in another solid effort to claim third. Rick Spaulding of Lisbon got shuffled out early, yet dug and clawed his way back to fourth, while Oxford’s Tyson Jordan finished fifth.
Auburn’s Brandon Varney bounced back from slapping the wall the previous week to claim the Bandit feature. Varney outgunned Adam Sanborn (second) and Bill Grover (third) for top honors, while Tyler Green of Turner and Oxford’s Chachy Hall completed the top five.
Eric Hodgkins rolled to victory in a wild feature for the Figure 8 warriors. The drover from Minot held off three-time winner Tommy Tompkins of Carthage to get his trophy, while veteran David Smith of South Paris earned yet another podium finish in third. Kyle Kilgore (Paris) and Dale Lawrence (Lisbon) rounded out the top five.
Trevor Sanborn, of East Parsonsfield, roared to victory in a 25-lap tilt for Legends cars. Sanborn held off Buckfield’s Chris Burgess at the stripe, while Casey Call, of Pembroke, New Hampshire, was third. Fellow Granite State racer Thomas Everson (Gilmanton) and Poland’s Peter Craig finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Doiron back on top at The Ridge
Berwick native Joey Doiron has won major short track races around the Northeast for years. The veteran of PASS North competition won the inaugural PASS race at Thunder Road, and is always strong at Beech Ridge, no matter the race distance.
Doiron edged Manchester’s Reid Lanpher by a mere .013 seconds on Saturday night to claim the Pro Series feature in weekly NASCAR All-American Series action.
Lanpher has been on fire thus far in 2017, winning the two of the first three PASS North races (Oxford and Beech Ridge) in April, followed by weekly wins at Oxford and Beech Ridge in May. The package he and crew chief Jason Ricker have right now is nearly unstoppable, just don’t tell that to Doiron.
Longtime Beech Ridge fixture Richard Pelton earned another victory in his impressive career on Saturday. Pelton held off Terry Merrill and Ryan Villacci to claim the Sport Series feature in front of a packed house.
Alfred-based brothers Travis and Adam Lovejoy led the Wildcat feature on the Scarborough oval, holding off point leader Dave Cameron for first and second, respectively.
Williams earns first Modified win at Wiscasset
Joe Williams, of Woolwich, held off defending champion Mark Lucas on a late-restart and pulled away to claim his first Modified victory of 2017 Saturday night at Wiscasset Speedway. Nick Reno of West Bath powered his way to second at the finish, while Freeport’s Tom Young filled out the podium in third. Alan Moeller, of Dresden, came home fourth, while Lucas faded to fifth in the closing laps.
Augusta veteran Shawn Kimball drove to victory in Saturday’s Outlaw Mini feature, holding off West Bath native Rob Greenleaf at the checkered flag. Tim Collins, of Farmingdale, finished third, while Brent Roy and Jay native Larry Melcher completed the top five.
Wiscasset’s own Nick Hinkley won the 35-lap Late Model Sportsman feature in a highly competitive 21-car field. Brandon Bailey (Woolwich) finished over two seconds behind in the runner-up position, while 2017 Coastal 200 winner Andrew McLaughlin (Harrington) crossed the stripe in third.
Alex Waltz (Walpole) and Josh St. Clair (Liberty) rounded out the top five for Late Model warriors.
Phillip’s native Joe Hutter also earned a victory on Saturday at Wiscasset, holding off Michael Haynes, of Livermore Falls, to claim the 25-lap Strictly Street feature. Sabattus veteran Zach Emerson filled out the podium in third, and also claimed the night’s 100-lap Enduro after starting in the 45th position.
Alan Tardiff
Alan Tardiff, of Lyman, powers off Turn 4 at Oxford Plains Speedway earlier this season. Tardiff earned his first career Super Late Model victory at Oxford last Saturday night in a dominant performance, leading every lap.
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