Shawn Martin triumphant in 100-lap Super Late Model race at Oxford Plains Speedway
First win of the season nets guaranteed Oxford 250 starting spot for former track champ
Oxford, ME -- Shawn Martin of Turner won his first Super Late Model main event of the season and also earned a guaranteed starting spot in the 46th Annual Oxford 250 in the 100-lap Budweiser Championship Series Super Late Model headline event at Oxford Plains Speedway Saturday night.
Martin, twice a champion in the Late Model class at OPS, started the race from seventh position and, in the biggest and most-talented field of the season, methodically worked his way into contention, setting up a tremendous battle for the lead with Kelly Moore, the NASCAR Busch North Series all-time great from Scarborough.
Martin prevailed and Moore stayed fast but later spun while battling for second spot when he may have jumped the curbing on the inside of the racetrack. DJ Shaw, the reigning Pro All Stars Series North champion, got to second spot but could not mount a serious challenge to Martin in the closing laps.
Manchester’s Reid Lanpher made a late charge to third spot after starting 11th. Curtis Gerry got a fourth-place finish and actually extended his championship points lead in the process. Current PASS Super Late Model National Champion Derek Grifith of Hudson, New Hampshire rounded out the top five.
Lisbon’s Rick Spaulding nailed down his first victory of the year in the 30-lap Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Street Stock main event. Spaulding led all the way in the race but three-time winner Kurt Hewins of Leeds made him earn the win on each and every lap before finishing a close second.
Shawn Knight of South Paris, who entered the night on a two-race winning streak, rebounded from a mid-race altercation to claim a third-place finish. Mark Turner of Norway crossed the finish line in fourth position, followed by defending Street Stock champion Matt Dufault of Turner, who remains on top of the division rankings.
Dale Lawrence of Minot and hometown Oxford racer Kyle Glover both won 15-lap races for the Figure 8 class. Lawrence outran Glover and Greg Durgin of South Paris in the first main event. Lawrence chased Glover under the checkered flag in the nightcap, with Harrison’s Gary Davis earning third-place hardware.
Owen Stuart won for the fifth time this year in one of the season’s wildest Rookie division events. Brady Childs of Leeds remained atop the points chase with a runner-up finish. Jeremy Turner of Norway had his best run of the year with a third-place finish in front of Norway’s Maddy Herrick and Sophie Green of South Paris.
Jesse Michaud of Caribou outran the Wicked Good Hobby racers ina 15-lap race aboard a Russ Nutting 1937 Plymouth-bodied car. Bub Dow of West Paris and Casco’s Rebecca Symonds also earned trophies in the vintage racing class.
A very busy July schedule finds Oxford Plains Speedway back in action on Sunday, July 7 at 5:00 p.m., with a 100-lap Pro All Stars Series Super Late Model race topping the card. PASS Mods, Street Stocks and Bandits will also see action. The Budweiser Championship Series resumes on Saturday, July 13 at 7:00 p.m. , the first half of yet another weekend doubleheader, with the Pro All Stars Series Super Late Models going 150 laps to headline a special 6:00 p.m. Sunday racing program. For more information visit oxfordplains.com or call (207) 539-8865.
Super Late Model (100 laps) 1 94 Shawn Martin, Turner; 2 60 DJ Shaw, Center Conway, NH; 3 59 Reid Lanpher, Manchester; 4 7 Curtis Gerry, Waterboro; 5 12 Derek Griffith, Hudson, NH; 6 7 Travis Benjamin, Belfast; 7 8 Calvin Rose, Jr., Turner; 8 4 Ben Rowe, Turner; 9 72 Scott Robbins, Dixfield; 10 3 Josh Childs, Otisfield; 11 72 Ryan Kuhn, East Bridgewater, MA; 12 47 Gabe Brown, Center Conway, NH; 13 47 Kelly Moore, Scarborough; 14 14 Scott McDaniel, Livermore; 15 81 Dan Winter, Windham, NH; 16 53 Alan Wilson, Hebron; 17 29 Austin Teras, Gray; 18 54 Ryan Deane, Winterport; 19 36 Ryan Robbins, Dixfield; 20 93 Ray Christian III< Uncasville, CT; 21 60 Tim Brackett, Buckfield; 22 28 Mark Lundblad, Jr., Conway, NH; 23 61 TJ Brackett, Buckfield; 24 44 Rusty Polandd, Windham; DNS 90 Craig Weinstein, East Walpole, MA.
Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Street Stock (30 laps) 1 36 Rick Spaulding, Lisbon; 2 55 Kurt Hewins, Leeds; 3 25 Shawn Knight, South Paris; 4 09 Mark Turner, Norway; 5 61 Matt Dufault, Turner; 6 64 Skip Stanley, Oxford; 7 12 John White III, Auburn; 8 67 Michael Haynes, Livermore Falls; 9 5 Guy Childs, Lewiston; 10 99 George Haskell, Casco; 11 21 Skip Tripp, Norway.
Bandits (20 laps) 1 54 Chad Wills, Oxford; 2 18 Dustin Salley, Mechanic Falls; 3 24 Travis ‘Tornado’ Verrill, South Paris; 4 26 Tyler Green, Turner; 5 34 Bobby Doherty, Norfolk, MA; 6 55 Dean Jordan, Jay; 7 1 Grady Doherty, Casco; 8 91 Greg Sessions, Oxford; 9 20 Brian Hiscock, Turner; 10 9 Nick Ogden, Mechanic Falls; 11 04 Caleb Proctor, Casco.
Figure 8 (1st race, 15 laps) 1 2 Dale Lawrence, Minot; 2 07 Kyle Glover, Oxford; 3 41 Greg Durgin, South Paris; 4 12 Gary Davis, Harrison; 5 00 Larry Lizotte, Poland.
Figure 8 (2nd race, 15 laps) 1 07 Kyle Glover, Oxford; 2 2 Dale Lawrence, Minot; 3 12 Gary Davis, Harrison; 4 41 Greg Durgin, South Paris; 5 97 Eric Hodgkins, Minot; 6 00 Larry L:izotte, Poland.
Rookie (10 laps) 1 8 Owen Stuart, Naples; 2 1 Brady Childs, Leeds; 3 09 Jeremy Turner, Norway; 4 29 Sophie Green, South Paris; 5 95 Maddy Herrick, Norway.
Wicked Good Vintage Racing Association Hobby (15 laps) 1 111 Jesse Michaud, Caribou; 2 2 Bub Dow, West Paris; 3 182 Rebecca Symonds, Casco; 4 7 Frank Finnegan, New Gloucester; 5 P38 Addison Bowie, Poland; 6 08 Alan Gassett, Saco; 7 48 George Harding, Benton.
