Max Cookson races around Oxford Plains Speedway in season-opening Super Late Model action on Saturday. Oriana Lovell photo
Make it 2-for-2 in season-opening wins for Max Cookson in Oxford Plains Speedway’s Super Late Model division.
The Pittsfield driver, who captured the series championship as a rookie, won the SLM feature on the track’s opening day for the second straight year Saturday.
Max Cookson poses with his checkered flag in victory lane after winning the season-opening Super Late Model feature on Saturday. Oriana Lovell photo
Cookson was joined in victory lane by runner-up Brandon Barker and third-place finisher Jeremie Whorff — who, along with Travis Benjamin and Dave Farrington Jr., captured a heat win that set the lineup for the 32-car field. Benjamin finished fourth in the 50-lap feature, and Farrington, the 2020 and 2021 champion, placed eighth.
Jordan Russell won the Street Stocks feature, beating out Cam Childs and Billy Childs Jr.
Other feature winners on opening day were: Nathan Barth (Mad Bombers), Tucker Haskell (Thunder Stocks), Karson Hewins (Rookies) and Dale Durgin (Figure 8s).
RAIN PUSHES PASS DATE BACK
While the weather cooperated Saturday to allow the track’s Oxford Championship Series divisions a chance to make their season debuts, the first visit to the home track for the Pro All Stars Series will have to wait a week.
The PASS SLMs and Mods were set to take over the track Sunday, but the opener was nixed due to weather. The racing slate has been rescheduled for this coming Sunday, with a 150-lap SLM feature the highlight of a day that is also set to include the Mods, the season debut of Oxford Plains’ Limiteds division, as well as features for Oxford Plains’ Street Stocks, Mad Bombers and Thunder Stocks.
WISCASSET WINNERS
Saturday was also opening day at Wiscasset Speedway, with the track’s Group 1 divisions in action.
Kevin Douglass captured the Pro Stocks feature to follow up last year’s division championship. Josh St. Clair and Nick Hinkley rounded out the podium.
Earlier in the day, St. Clair took top honors in the Super Streets division, outdueling Ryan Ripley and David Greenleaf.
Josh Hall (4-Cylinder Pros) and Zach Audet (Thunder 4 Mini) also won Group 1 features Saturday. Jacob Burnes was the winner in the 25-lap feature for the visiting NELCAR series.
HOPKINS SHOWS OUT DOWN SOUTH
Herman native Mike Hopkins, a regular in Pro All Stars Series and other Northeast racing action in recent years, won Saturday for the second time this season in the Pro Late Model division of the North Carolina-based CARS Tour.
Hopkins bested 27 other drivers to win the 100-lap PLM feature at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina.
He also won at North Carolina’s Southern National Motorsports Park in March in only his third race on the CARS Tour, which was purchased by NASCAR past and present drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Justin Marks in January.
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