With clear blue skies and warm temperatures, it was a beautiful day for racing on Saturday night at Wiscasset Speedway. Fans flocked to the speedway to enjoy the speedway’s 75-lap Super Street race and all of the weekly racing action.
The 75-lap race allowed drivers from Beech Ridge Motor Speedway to come up to Wiscasset to race on their scheduled off-week. Weekly Beech Ridge drivers were allowed to stick to their weekly racing setup rules and weekly Wiscasset drivers stuck to their setup rules. Any driver from an outside track would have to choose between Beech Ridge and Wiscasset setup rules. The minimum payout for a driver that started the race was $250, and the winner would receive a $1,500 payout.
Mike St. Pierre was one of the two drivers from Beech Ridge that decided to head up to Wiscasset and give it a go. He started on the pole for the first 10-lap qualifying heat, with the #06 of Zac Poland to his outside. St. Pierre pulled away with the early lead as Steve Minott quickly made his way into the runner-up spot behind him. A quick caution came out on lap 4 for debris in turn 4, which brought the field back together.
Mike Hodgkins was right there on the restart, challenging St. Pierre for the lead on lap 6. He cleared him two laps later for the lead, eventually taking home the first heat victory of the night.
The second Beech Ridge driver that took the trip to Wiscasset was Chasing the Checkered driver Charlie Sanborn, who started sixth in the second heat in his makeshift #1x car.
Josh Bailey and Mark Lucas started on the front row for the second heat. Josh Bailey charged into the lead as the rest of the field battled it out for position behind him. After battling hard for position in the early laps of the heat, Charlie Sanborn wound up sending Michael Harrison for a spin on the front stretch on lap 6. After the incident, both drivers were sent to the rear of the field for the restart.
After this initial caution, another caution came out soon after for debris in turn 1. Josh Bailey pulled away with the lead once more after the restart, setting his focus on the finish line. On the final lap of the heat, Michael Harrison and Tyler Bailey got tangled and both drivers took a trip through the dirt in turn 4. Josh Bailey was able to hold off the competition, sailing into the second heat victory of the night.
The Cahill Tire 4-Cylinder Pro division was the next division to take to the stage, with Mike Kibbin and Dominic Curit starting on the front row. Dominic Curit found his way into the lead early as the leaders tucked in behind him. The top 2 cars of Curit and Max Rowe had checked out by lap 8, leaving a full straightaway lead over the rest of the pack. Curit was able to hold off Max Rowe and take home the first heat victory in the division.
Connor Wenners captured the early lead in the second 4-Cylinder Pro heat, but Hayden Norris was on the move behind him. By lap 4, Norris was all over Larry Melcher for the runner-up spot. He cleared him the following lap, then set his eyes on the #4 of Wenners. By lap 7, Norris was all over Wenners for the top spot. But, Connor Wenners was able to hold him off, taking home the heat victory.
The #00 of Nick Morton was off with the early lead in the first Thunder 4 Mini heat. The #20 of Devan Robinson fell off pace on lap 3, dropping to the rear of the pack. Howard Roberts went off-track on lap 4 in turn 4, managing to save his car as the field remained green.
By lap 8, the #4x of Cameron Campbell was all over Nick Morton for the lead. He made his way to the outside of Morton on the final lap, getting the edge in turn 4 as he sailed off into the heat victory.
Caleb Emerson-Mains and Zach Audet faced troubles on the first lap of the second heat, with both cars going into the dirt in turn 4. This led to the first caution of the heat.
The #16 of Travis Poulliot made his way down the pits during the caution, presumably due to a tire going down. The #58 of David Greenleaf captured the lead on the restart, but Zach Audet was on the charge behind him. After falling to the rear of the pack early, Audet advanced to the runner-up spot on lap 4, later making his way around Greenleaf on lap 7 for the top spot. After a tough start in the heat, Audet wound up picking up the heat victory.
Cody Tribbett took off with the early lead in the first Prostock heat as Charlie Colby powered into the runner-up spot behind him. The #71 of Joey Peaslee took a spin in turn 1 on lap 3, but the field remained green.
Shane Lane and James Barker both went around on the backstretch on the final lap, but the field remained green as Tribbett held off Charlie Colby for the heat victory.
Kevin Douglass and Nick Hinkley started on the front row with Beech Ridge track regular Dave Farrington, Jr. starting behind them in third. By lap 4, Farrington had powered into the runner-up spot and was challenging Douglass for the top spot. He was finally able to clear Douglass in turn 3 of the final lap, taking home the final heat victory of the night.
After the heat races were completed, the Super Streets division took to the track for the highlight event of the night. Mike Hodgkins fired into the early lead on the initial start as Mike St. Pierre powered into the runner-up spot. The #11 of Jason Oakes stole away the second spot on lap 6, trying to track down Hodgkins.
The leaders were on fire early, catching the tail-end of the field on lap 10. Tyler Bailey fell off-pace on lap 12, retiring to the pits early. By lap 15, Hodgkins was in control by a full straightaway over the rest of the leaders. Josh Bailey and Mike St. Pierre made some contact on lap 20 in turn 2 after battling it out for the third spot. Both drivers managed to correct their cars as the field remained green. Steve Minott came to a slow on lap 24 in turn 4 after cutting down a tire, leading to the first caution of the feature.
The #85 of Michael Harrison took a spin on the restart, leading to another caution. After smoking for a handful of laps, the #15 car of Mike St. Pierre came to a slow on lap 26 in turn 4, leading to yet another caution. After a strong night, St. Pierre retired to the pits and parked the #15 machine for the night.
On lap 35, Charlie Sanborn, Mark Lucas and the #06 of Zac Poland were locked in a tight 3-way battle for the fifth spot. After going back and forth for a handful of laps, Mark Lucas took the spot on lap 40 as Poland and Sanborn fell into line behind him. The #48 of Dan Nessmith took a spin on lap 41 in turn 3, but the field stayed green.
Josh Bailey was all over Jason Oakes for the runner-up spot on lap 50, with the two drivers battling it out for position. Michael Harrison and Dan Nessmith made slight contact on lap 50. After the altercation, Harrison rode around with sparks flying under the #85 machine. Zac Poland was on a late-race charge, breaking into the top 5 on lap 55. After battling it out for a handful of laps, Josh Bailey used lap traffic to his advantage on lap 60 to get around Jason Oakes for the runner-up spot. The #9 of Sean Johnson followed suit, making his way around Oakes for the third spot.
After a strong showing in the #06 car, Zac Poland’s car blew up on lap 66 as he retired to the pits. With 5 laps to go, there were only 5 cars remaining on the lead lap.
After dominating every lap of the race, Mike Hodgkins captured the feature victory. Josh Bailey, Sean Johnson, Jason Oakes and Mark Lucas followed, rounding out the top 5. After making the trip from Beech Ridge to Wiscasset, Charlie Sanborn finished the race with a solid sixth place finish.
Dominic Curit and Max Rowe started on the front row for the 25-lap 4-Cylinder Pro feature. Curit broke away with the early lead, but Hayden Norris was on the move behind him. He broke the top 5 on lap 3 and later made his way around the #70 of Taylor Lane for third place on lap 3. Max Rowe was also making his way to the top of the leader board, clearing Curit for the top spot on lap 9.
The #24 of Jeff Prindall slowed on lap 14, bringing his car down to the pits and retiring his car early. That lap, Norris had made his way into the runner-up spot and was all over Max Rowe for the lead. The two drivers made contact on the backstretch on lap 20, leading to a caution caused by Norris taking a spin. Both drivers were sent to the back of the pack for the restart.
Dominic Curit pulled away with the lead once more on the restart, but Hayden Norris was quickly making his way to the front of the pack once again. He broke the top 5 again on lap 22, with just 3 laps remaining in the future. 11-year-old Dominic Curit held off his competitors for the victory, capturing his first career feature victory. Connor Wenners, Craig Dunn, Hayden Norris and Larry Melcher followed, rounding out the top five.
After the race was over, both Hayden Norris and Max Rowe were disqualified due to an off-track incident involving their crews that happened post-race. As a result of this, Nicole Benincasa was awarded with a fifth place finish.
Cameron Campbell and Nick Morton started on the front row for the 25-lap Thunder 4 Mini feature. As Campbell pulled away with the early lead, there was trouble brewing behind him. Calab Emerson-Mains, Howard Roberts, Joe Katula and Spencer Sweatt got caught up in turn 2 on the initial start, leading to a lengthy red flag as track crews cleaned up the track. Howard Roberts took the hardest hit and was a bit shaken up, but he was able to exit his car under his own power.
After the field went back to green, Zach Audet lost control on the restart and took a spin in turn 1. He was able to get going again as the field stayed green. The #4 of Joe Katula faced more troubles on lap 11, taking another spin in turn 3 due to a flat tire. This brought out the second caution of the feature.
Zach Audet was caught back up with the leaders due to the caution. He barged his way back into the top 5 on lap 14, taking off with vengeance as he tried to track down the leaders. Audet and the #54 of Noah Haggett made contact at the Start/Finish line on lap 18, leading to a late-race caution.
By the time of the restart, there were only 8 cars remaining on the track. Zach Audet wasn’t giving up without a fight, breaking into the top 5 once again on the restart. The #16 of Travis Poulliot was pushed to the outside line on lap 23, falling back to fifth place.
Cameron Campbell was able to continue his dominance, taking home the feature win. Michael Golding, Zach Audet, Travis Poulliot and Spencer Sweatt followed, rounding out the top 5.
Cody Tribbett and Charlie Colby started on the front row for the 40-lap Prostock feature, the final event of the night. Charlie Colby powered into the initial lead, but Dave Farrington, Jr. was on the move behind him. Farrington broke the top five on lap 2, later moving into the fourth spot just one lap later. Farrington continued his pursuit to the front on lap 8, making his way around Ajay Picard for third. By lap 12, Farrington had found his way into the runner-up spot and was hungry for more.
By lap 15, there was a 4-car breakaway at the front of the pack. Farrington was all over the #72 of Colby for the top spot on lap 16, later capturing the lead on lap 18 in turn 3. By the halfway mark, the leaders had caught the tail end of the field and began putting cars a lap down. The #21 of James Barker took a spin on the front straightaway on lap 23, leading to a mid-race caution.
Farrington pulled away once more on the restart, but the #13 of Cody Tribbett took a spin on lap 31 in turn 3 after having a solid night. He collected the #09 of Daren Ripley in the spin, leading to yet another caution.
As Farrington took off once more on the restart, the #8 of Jeremy Whorff climbed into the third spot. He continued his fight to the front on lap 36, making his way around Charlie Colby for the runner-up spot. Things on the track got hairy that lap, with Travis Dunbar, Joey Peaslee and James Barker getting into a hard wreck in turn 3. Dunbar got the brunt of the damage and the cleanup took a while, which led to a late-race red flag.
Dunbar’s #6 machine had heavy front end damage and he took an ambulance ride back to the pits. Thankfully, Dunbar didn’t suffer from any major injuries after the vicious wreck. Under the red flag, James Barker got out of his car and shared a few choice words with the #09 of Daren Ripley on the backstretch.
There were only 8 cars left on the track as the field went back to green on lap 36. The initial restart was called off, but the second restart got the go from race control. Dave Farrington, Jr. pulled away once more as Jeremy Whorff settled in behind him in second. Charlie Colby, Jamie Wright and Joey Peaslee made contact in turns 3 and 4 after the restart. Colby was left with heavy body damage on his car, but he was able to drive it into the pits.
There were only 5 cars remaining on the track after the caution, but Charlie Colby managed to rejoin the field as they went back to green. Dave Farrington was able to hold off the competition, reigning victorious after the 4-lap shootout. Jeremy Whorff, Kevin Douglass, Ajay Picard and Nick Hinkley followed, rounding out the top five.
The win was bittersweet, as he had just finished second in the Coastal 200 just a few weekends ago.
After the race, it was announced that both Charlie Colby and James Barker were disqualified from the race due to misconduct.
It was an exciting night full of intense racing action at Wiscasset on Saturday night with all 4 racing divisions putting on a great show for the fans.
Wiscasset will be hosting Group 2 next weekend as I return to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway for the big Sport Series 100-lapper. Racing action begins at 7:00 pm. As always, children 12 and under have free admission.
We hope to see you there!
