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NEWS
July 5, 2009
Shawn Martin passes Adams at white
flag,
wins first Late Model feature since 2006
OXFORD, Maine - One good turnaround deserved another.
Eight days after former Oxford Plains Speedway champion Tim Brackett
put a nagging winless streak to rest, another past king of the
Oxford Networks Late Model division returned to victory lane in
unforgettable style Sunday night.
In fact, you might say unprecedented and unthinkable. Shawn Martin
passed four-time division champ Travis Adams on the white-flag lap
and made the outside move stick for his first checkered flag since
2006.
"We've really struggled the last couple of years. We haven't
had the same set-up in the car week to week," said Martin, who
celebrated his 13th career victory. "We usually peak just
before the 250. That was such a fun race."
Patience paid dividends for Martin. He had the best seat in the
house for a brilliant, side-by-side battle between Adams outside and
Ricky Rolfe inside that went on for nearly 20 laps of the 50-lap
Maine State Lottery Fireworks Night main event.
Adams enjoyed a slight edge during that exchange, and it entitled
him to the inside lane in front of Martin on a lap 37 caution. Like
a heavyweight title fight that takes a toll on both combatants for
the remainder of their career, the lengthy tussle had a predictable
impact on both Adams and Rolfe's machines.
Rolfe went backwards first, fading to fourth at the finish. Then
Adams' car slowed noticeably as the leaders received the two-to-go
signal, and Martin timed his move to the outside perfectly. He
forged ahead on the backstretch in the middle of lap 49. Adams
rallied to pull even with a half-lap to go, but Martin made another
gain in turns three and four and won the sprint to the stripe.
"That was such a fun race watching those guys battle it out. I
ran around half-throttle and said I'd let those guys beat it up and
try to give them a run at the end," Martin said. "I knew
we were good. The car just kept getting better than longer it went.
It's been such a long time since we've been up here in victory lane.
Aw, man, it's unbelievable!"
Adams protected his point lead with a second-place finish, even as
he fell a hair shy of his third win.
Rolfe ruled the first half of the Agren Appliance Summer Slam triple
crown series opener before Adams snuck past Martin for second on lap
21 and first inched into the lead three circuits later.
"It certainly was fun racing with those guys, just absolutely a
blast being out there," Adams said. "I burned up my stuff
running so many laps outside of Ricky. That was a heck of a battle.
Shawn was just able to drive around me there at the end."
Making his first OPS start of 2009,
Carey Martin charged from 19th starting position and overtook Rolfe
for third with six laps to go.
Martin captured the Time Warner Cable Roadrunner Turbo Challenge
Award for passing the most cars from his starting slot.
"Oxford's my home track. It always will be. You've got to come
back," said Martin, a five-time Super Street and Limited
Sportsman champion at the track. "We weren't so good last year,
but we seem to have hit something and we'll just keep trying."
Don Wentworth rounded out the top
five in a 25-car field, one that featured former champions Al
Hammond and Bruce Haley, True Value Modified Series racer Tony Ricci
and NASCAR Camping World East star Eddie MacDonald. The growing
numbers are a sign of the impending TD Banknorth 250 Presented by
New England Dodge Dealers, now 13 days away.
All three Championship Series feature were 50 laps for the first
round of the Slam, postponed from Thursday due to rain. Upcoming
rounds will increase to 60 and 75 laps.
Each driver also drew for starting position as part of the special
series.
That wrinkle paid immediate dividends for Allen's Coffee Flavored
Brandy Mini Stock dominator Justin Karkos, who pulled the chip
reading 'POLE' from the bag when he signed in Sunday. Karkos not
surprisingly dominated his heat and led wire-to-wire for his fourth
feature win in eight tries.
Karkos' cruise wasn't as simple as expected. Two-time champion Jimmy
Childs slipped past Jake Burns for second spot on lap 3 and lurked
within about four car lengths throughout the race. The lone caution
flag on lap 18 was of no help to Childs, however, as Karkos
re-established his modest cushion and set sail once more.
"I was a little bit nervous when
I couldn't pull away from Jimmy, but he's a good driver. I'm having
motor problems. We'll get that fixed and be able to take right care
of that," Karkos said.
Childs' cousin, Rich Sirois, built and previously drove the Karkos
ride that is dominating the division.
"It doesn't surprise me. It's a Warrior race car and they do go
good work. If you want to win races, go to them," Childs said.
"He's got a good car and a good engine and he's a good driver,
I'll give him that."
Larry Melcher finished third after
winning his qualifier and starting on the outside of the front row.
With the exception of two vacation weeks, Melcher has returned
full-time as the driver of Don Frechette's No. 16.
"I hope he's got money, because he needs four new tires. I
burned those up," Melcher said. "That was all we had. We
were good, but those two cars were way out of sight."
Calvin Rose Jr. chased down Darrell Moore over the second half of
the event and strengthened his grip on the Rookie of the Year lead,
snagging fourth.
In a battle of champions and the only two repeat Allen's Strictly
Stock winners to date, Skip Tripp fended off Mike Short for 36
furious laps to pocket his third triumph of the summer.
Short appeared to have the fastest
car in the field at the drop of the green. Tripp squeezed to the low
side and took away second from Short on lap 12, however, and three
laps later he dislodged Jeff Merrill from the lead.
Caution on lap 16 coincided with Short sneaking into second spot,
but neither that restart nor another with five laps left was the
break he needed to take away Tripp's advantage.
"I will get him back for that," Tripp half-joked about the
presence of Short's black paint on his car. "I had the hole and
he didn't."
Short jabbed back ever so slightly, noting that his occasional
bumper tags were payback for contact on the lap 16 restart.
"He had plenty of room and he saved it," Short said.
"I wasn't going to turn him around. We had a good race."
Merrill matched his best effort of a strong season in third. Jim
Duguay's disqualification for unapproved shocks vaulted Larry
Emerson to fourth and B.J. Chapman to fifth.
Three 20-lap Acceleration Series Agren Appliance Saturday Showdown
races unfolded without a caution flag but with no shortage of
action.
Chris Burgess breezed to the Chimney Tech Outlaw 'A' victory after
overtaking Michael Haynes on lap 7 for his first career victory.
Burgess, a former Strictly Stock Rookie of the Year, returned to his
roots in the Outlaw ranks this season.
"I didn't know if I'd ever get
here. It's been so many years of trying," Burgess said.
Burgess' lead grew to insurmountable proportions after David Childs
was black-flagged. Childs received the stop-and-go penalty for
contact with Haynes that allowed him to briefly move into second
shortly before the halfway point.
Addison Bowie advanced to second in that exchange.
"I was supposed to be camping with my wife tonight," Bowie
said, "so I had to make it up here."
Shannon Judd gave himself a late birthday present (July 4) with a
third-place run, trailed by Jerry Goss and Guy Childs.
Nearly a month on the sidelines couldn't cool off 18-year-old Josh
Childs, who returned from a three-race suspension with a one-sided
victory in the Outlaw 'B' main. Childs is 3-for-5 since making the
jump from the Runnin' Rebel ranks.
"Summer's going pretty good
except for my thing a few weeks ago," Childs said. "This
one's for all the fans that do like me out there."
Rookies ran one-two, with Ryan Robbins a career-best second in front
of Todd Hall. Gerry Richard and Jonathan Baldwin completed the top
five.
Defending Allen's Ladies champion
Dottie Patria has posted all three of her 2009 wins in weekend
races.
Patria took the lead from eventual runner-up Christina Spaulding on
lap 10. Prior to that, apparent leader Cathy Manchester was issued
the consultation flag when her car developed a fluid leak.
"The car is awesome. I hope it
stays this way. They always change, and I hope it doesn't,"
Patria said. "The crew does a great job fixing anything I do
mess up in the race."
Vanna Brackett, Missy Morgan and Deanna Robertson rounded out the
lead group.
OPS has another busy week ahead. Acceleration Series drivers are
itching to return after two straight rainouts Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Friday is the opening round of this season's Motor Mayhem series.
Championship Series action resumes Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
OXFORD NETWORKS LATE MODEL (50 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (5) #94 Shawn Martin, Turner, 50
2. (3) #03E Travis Adams, Canton, 50
3. (19) #18 Carey Martin, Denmark, 50
4. (1) #51 Ricky Rolfe,
Albany Township, 50
5. (9) #63 Don Wentworth, Otisfield, 50
6. (12) #60 Tim Brackett, Buckfield, 50
7. (2) #72 Scott Robbins, Dixfield, 50
8. (10) #26 Corey Morgan, Lewiston, 50
9. (23) #01 Wayne Helliwell Jr., Dracut, Mass., 50
10. (20) #1 Al Hammond, Paris, 50
11. (6) #25 Shawn
Knight, South Paris, 50
12. (18) #12 Nick Brown, Bath, 50
13. (25) #17 Eddie MacDonald,
Rowley, Mass., 50
14. (16) #6 Tommy Ricker, Poland, 50
15. (4) #36 Ron Charpentier Jr., Wales, 50
16. (14) #85 Travis Stearns, Auburn, 50
17. (8) #07 Scott Luce, Strong, 50
18. (15) #8 Gerald Parlin, South Paris, 50
19. (21) #52 Bruce Haley, Minot, 50
20. (13) #27 Jason Larrabee, Raymond, 45
21. (7) #71 Gary Chiasson, Peru, 45
22. (22) #84 Matt Sanborn, West Baldwin, 39
23. (11) #1x Billy Childs Jr., Leeds, 37
24. (17) #15 Ben Ashline, Pittston, 37
25. (24) #4 Tony Ricci, Westbrook, 34
DNS #50 Jeff White, Winthrop
Lap leaders: Rolfe 1-21, Adams 22-48, S. Martin 49-50.
Cautions: 2 (laps 5, 37)
Time of race: 30 minutes, 2.101 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.156 seconds
Fast lap: Ricky Rolfe, 16.224 seconds
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY STRICTLY STOCK (50 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (4) #12 Skip Tripp, Poland, 50
2. (5) #56 Mike Short, Auburn, 50
3. (1) #00 Jeff Merrill, Turner, 50
4. (2) #24 Larry Emerson, Durham, 50
5. (3) #81 B.J. Chapman, Bridgton, 50
6. (6) #63 Matt
Williams, Brownfield, 50
7. (9) #777 Mike St. Germain, Auburn, 50
8. (8) #23 Zach Emerson,
Sabattus, 50
9. (14) #0 Sumner Sessions, Norway, 50
10. (18) #14 Dave Brannon, Lisbon, 50
11. (7) #113 Tommy Tompkins, Dixfield, 49
12. (15) #13 Gerry Burgess, Sabattus, 49
13. (17) #8 Nick
Hoyt, Mechanic Falls, 44
14. (13) #7 Keith Stuart, Naples, 44
15. (11) #88 Derek
Farrington, Freeport, 40
16. (12) #82 Ben Krauter, Raymond, 37
17. (10) #36 Rick Spaulding, Lisbon, 31
18. (16) #17 Luke Rickards, Anson, 5
DQ #44 Jim Duguay, Greene
DNS #42 Kim Tripp, Oxford
Lap leaders: Merrill 1-14, S. Tripp 15-40.
Cautions: 2 (laps 16, 45)
Time of race: 25 minutes, 29.139 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.134 seconds
Fast lap: Mike Short, 18.319 seconds
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY MINI STOCK (50 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (1) #51 Justin
Karkos, Jay, 50
2. (5) #10 Jimmy Childs, Leeds, 50
3. (2) #16 Larry Melcher, Livermore Falls, 50
4. (10) #8 Calvin Rose Jr., Turner, 50
5. (4) #12 Darrell Moore, Mechanic Falls, 50
6. (3) #47 Jake Burns, Gray, 50
7. (6) #29 Greg Watkins, Bridgton, 50
8. (7) #08 Kevin Bishop,
South Paris, 50
9. (11) #19 Shane Kaherl, Jay, 50
10. (12) #14 Matt Moore, South Paris, 49
11. (8) #33 Dan Morris, Auburn, 45
12. (15) #55 Steve Barker, Jay, 45
13. (19) #25 Ken Daigle Jr., Lisbon, 45
14. (14) #31 Jeff Beaule, Lewiston, 40
15. (13) #2 Butch Keene, Turner, 35
16. (17) #18 Nik
Coates, Lisbon, 23
17. (9) #97 Jeff Moon, Gray, 17
18. (16) #45 Bill Mooney, New Gloucester, 9
19. (18) #48 Wayne Titus, Minot, 5
Lap leaders: Karkos 1-50.
Cautions: 1 (lap 18)
Time of race: 17 minutes, 25.490 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.583 seconds
Fast lap: Jimmy Childs, 18.226 seconds
CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW 'A' (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (12) #7 Chris Burgess, Sabattus, 20
2. (9) #38 Addison Bowie, Auburn, 20
3. (5) #97 Shannon Judd, Jay, 20
4. (14) #99 Jerry Goss, Mechanic Falls, 20
5. (11) #00 Guy Childs, Turner, 20
6. (13) #04 Zach Bowie, Lisbon, 20
7. (16) #53 Steve Brill, Bridgton, 20
8. (19) #84 Doug Degroat, Oxford, 20
9. (10) #24 Kevin Lawrence, South Paris, 20
10. (15) #19 Steve Moon, Gray, 20
11. (3) #69 Jay Wilkins, Gray, 20
12. (8) #67 Michael Haynes,
Livermore Falls, 20
13. (18) #17 Jim Davis Jr., Sabattus, 19
14. (6) #29 Charlie Webster, Auburn, 19
15. (17) #5 David Childs, Oxford, 19
16. (2) #21 Todd Bisbee, South Paris, 19
17. (7) #34 John Patria, Turner, 18
18. (1) #124 Randy Desmarais, Auburn, 18
19. (4) #112 Dennis Morang,
South Paris, 10
Lap leaders: Morang 1-2, Haynes 3-6, Burgess 7-20.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 6 minutes, 32 seconds
CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW 'B' (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (10) #03 Josh Childs, Oxford, 20
2. (2) #36R Ryan
Robbins, Dixfield, 20
3. (1) #36 Todd Hall, Auburn, 20
4. (7) #57 Gerry Richard, Leeds, 20
5. (4) #54 Jonathan Baldwin, Auburn, 20
6. (11) #137 David Brown, Gray, 20
7. (6) #51 Randy Robitaille, Norway, 20
8. (13) #30 Scott Veinott, Greene, 20
9. (8) #49 Rob Lowe, Auburn, 20
10. (16) #71 Fred
Clavet, Buckfield, 20
11. (12) #89 Kyle Curtis, Oxford, 20
12. (14) #555 Chad Truman, South Paris, 19
13. (17) #14 Scott Hethcoat, Danville Junction, 19
14. (9) #35 John Spencer Jr., Farmington, 19
15. (5) #K21 Phil Knowlton, Poland, 4
16. (16) #37 Jacob Hethcoat, Norway, 1
17. (2) #59 Jay Small, Poland, 1
Lap leaders: Hall 1-3, J. Childs 4-20.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 6 minutes, 39 seconds
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY LADIES (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (6) #34 Dottie Patria, Turner, 20
2. (1) #36 Christina Spaulding, Lewiston, 20
3. (5) #23 Vanna Brackett,
Buckfield, 20
4. (2) #26 Missy Morgan, Lewiston, 20
5. (4) #51 Deanna Robertson, South Paris, 20
6. (9) #92 Debbie Marston, Hartford, 20
7. (7) #69 Cathy Manchester, Gray, 20
8. (3) #7 Tori Burgess, Sabattus, 20
9. (11) #35 Tricia Thomas, Farmington, 20
10. (8) #30 Lisa
Brooks, Turner, 20
11. (10) #137 Kristen Brown, Gray, 19
12. (12) #29 Shannon Wheeler, Auburn, 19
13. (13) #44 Annie Chartier, Mexico, 8
Lap leaders: Spaulding 1-9, Patria 10-20.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 6 minutes, 51 seconds
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