OXFORD — Calvin Rose Jr. knew it would come some day, he just didn’t know when or exactly how it would unfold.
Rose, of Turner, notched his first career premier division victory in convincing fashion with a dominant performance in the 50-lap Super Late Model Trophy Dash Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.
A newly-purchased car (formerly driven by Josh Childs) just one week ago resulted in a fourth-place finish, the team’s best in a Super Late Model thus far. On Saturday, Rose lined up on the front row and led all but one lap of the feature in the night’s headline event.
Veteran racer Kelly Moore of Scarborough, the 1995 NASCAR Busch North Series champion and 1984 track champion at Oxford, chased Rose to the checkered flag in second position after winning the battle for runner-up honors against red-hot rookie and division point leader Gabe Brown, of Center Conway, New Hampshire.
Scott McDaniel of Livermore, the previous week’s Super Late Model winner, made a late charge into fourth position after starting 21st on the grid. Buckfield veteran TJ Brackett rounded out the top-five.
Turner’s Matt Dufault raced to his second Street Stock division victory of the season in impressive fashion. Dufault started 11th and steadily worked his way into contention before taking command just past halfway.
Zach Bowie of Turner was the best of the rest, chasing Dufault under the checkered flag. Rick Spaulding, of Lisbon, nailed down his second straight third-place finish.
Tyler King of Gray and rookie Nick Stanley of Oxford completed the top-five rundown. Seventh-place finisher Andrew Breton of Greene led a good portion of the race before meeting with misfortune.
Mike McKinney of Berlin, New Hampshire, outran all rivals once in front of the field in the Bandit division’s main event. McKinney swapped the lead with Leeds-based veteran Kurt Hewins for much of the 20-lap distance before pulling away after the final restart.
Hewins earned a runner-up trophy, with Waterford’s Jamie Heath driving from 14th on the grid to a third-place finish. Buckfield’s Chad Wills was fourth under the checkered flag. Current point leader Dustin Salley of Poland rounded out the top five.
Payea scores ACT Showdown victory at Waterford
American-Canadian Tour (ACT) point leader and defending champion Scott Payea came on strong late to score his second win of the season and a $5,000 winner’s prize on Saturday in the New London-Waterford 150.
The veteran from Colchester, Vermont, took the lead for good from Williamstown, Vermont native Jimmy Hebert on the final restart and withstood a late surge from Eddie MacDonald to capture Round 2 of the ACT Summer Showdown Series on Saturday at Connecticut’s New London-Waterford Speedbowl.
MacDonald, who was looking to go 2-for-2 in the Summer Showdown Series, got around Hebert for second and looked to be gaining on Payea as the laps wound down. Payea motored home for his 15th career ACT Late Model Tour victory.
MacDonald settled for second, while Hebert crossed the stripe in third after leading the most laps. Barre, Vermont’s Mike Ziter was strong all night and matched his ACT career-best with a fourth-place finish. Stark, New Hampshire’s Bryan Mason had his best run of the season with a fifth-place effort.
Lebanon, New Hampshire’s Rich Dubeau led the first 24 laps yet faded to sixth in the final rundown. Ryan Morgan, Corey Mason, Tyler Chapman, and top ACT rookie Dylan Payea rounded out the top-10.
The American-Canadian Tour has now reached the halfway point of the 2018 season. It will return from its upcoming mid-summer break with the J.P. Sicard/Kingdom Gravel 151 at Joey Laquerre’s Speedway 51 in Groveton, New Hampshire, on Saturday, July 14.
Hodgkins dominates SS 75 at Wiscasset
Mike Hodgkins knows how to get serious when the going gets tough. The Jefferson-based driver claimed a wire-to-wire victory in the Super Street 75 on Saturday night at Wiscasset Speedway.
The victory was Hodgkin’s second of 2018 and pads his lead in the championship point standings. Wiscasset’s Josh Bailey finished nearly nine seconds back in the runner-up position, while Sean Johnson of Boothbay filled out the podium in third.
Jay veteran Dave Farrington Jr. wheeled his No. 23 entry to victory in the 40-lap tilt for Pro Stock teams. This was Farrington’s second win of 2018 at the mid-coast oval, holding off former Oxford 250 winner Jeremy Whorff for top honors. Kevin Douglass, of Sidney, crossed the line in third.
New Gloucester’s Cam Campbell powered to his first career Wiscasset victory in the 25-lap Thunder 4 Mini feature. Campbell held off Michael Golding (Pownal) and Zach Audet (Skowhegan) to claim the big trophy.
Eleven-year-old Dominic Curit, of Saco, rounded out the list of feature winners on Saturday with his impressive drive in the 4-Cylinder Pro division. Connor Wenners and Craig Dunn filled out the podium in second and third, respectively.
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