After a washout on Saturday afternoon forced the postponement of Oxford Plains Speedway’s PASS festivities, drivers and teams returned to the track early the following morning for a full program of racing.
42 PASS Super Late Model’s were in the pits on Saturday, and all but 5 returned for Sunday’s events.
The day started out with four 15-lap qualifying heats, where 5 drivers from each heat would advance into the main event.
The first heat started out right where they had left off on Saturday afternoon, restarting the heat on lap 13.
John Peters, who had led the majority of the first heat, took a spin on the restart in turn 2. His spin slowed Corey Bubar and led to the first caution of the day.
Johnny Clark took the lead on the restart and never looked back, capturing the heat victory.
Rusty Poland, Bryce Mains, Scott McDaniel and Scott Moore were able to advance into the big show in addition to Clark.
2018 Beech Ridge Wildcats champion, Josh Childs, debuted his new #3c Super Late Model in the second heat.
Childs had the edge early over Dalton Gagnon and his fellow competitors.
Travis Benjamin was on the move early, advancing into the runner-up position on lap 2.
By lap 3, Benjamin was all over Childs for the top spot. He pulled to Childs’ outside on lap 6, challenging him for the lead.
While the leaders were battling it out, Brandon Barker broke into the top 3 on lap 8, then making it a 3-way battle for the top spot on lap 13.
Travis Benjamin was able to beat Josh Childs out by a nose for the heat victory.
Brandon Barker, TJ Brackett and Dalton Gagnon rounded out the top five.
Calvin Rose, Jr. slowed on the initial lap of the third heat, falling to the back of the pack.
Garrett Hall rocketed himself into the early lead, pulling away from his competitors.
Tracy Gordon was on the move, taking full control of the runner-up spot on lap 5.
Mike Rowe gave Scott Luce a little bump on lap 7, stealing away the third spot.
Curt Gerry and Alan Tardiff made hard contact on the final lap in turn 4, forcing both drivers into the consolation race after the incident left both drivers out of advancement spots.
While Garrett Hall took home the heat win, Tracy Gordon, Mike Rowe, DJ Shaw and Scott Luce rounded out the top five.
Shawn Martin took off with the early lead in the final qualifying heat.
Ryan Robbins was on a mission in the early laps, clearing Glen Luce for the runner-up spot on lap 5 and taking over the lead shortly after.
Reid Lanpher was making his way through the field, challenging Ben Rowe for the third spot on lap 7.
Derek Griffith finally broke the top 5 on lap 12, securing himself in an advancement position.
Ryan Robbins took home the heat win, followed by Shawn Martin.
Reid Lanpher and Ben Rowe battled it out until the very end, with Lanpher barely edging out Rowe at the line.
Derek Griffith completed the top 5.
Between the heats and the consolation race, Kyle Hewins blew away the field to win the Bandit 30-lap feature and Gary Babineau took home the big hardware in the Street Stock 50-lapper.
There were two 15-lap consolation races to determine the starting lineup for the big show.
Alan Tardiff was scheduled to start in the first consolation race, but was unable to make it back onto the track after his incident during the heat.
John Salemi took off with the early lead in his #63 machine.
Corey Bubar was challenging to Salemi’s inside on lap 4, taking over the lead the following lap.
Curt Gerry broke the top 3 on lap 6, making his way through the field after a rough start to the day in his heat.
Calvin Rose, Jr. was fighting hard to advance, making his way to the inside of Salemi for fifth in the closing laps of the race. He successfully cleared Salemi on the final lap, securing himself in an advancement spot.
Corey Bubar took home the win while Tim Brackett, Curt Gerry, John Peters and Calvin Rose, Jr. also advanced.
Dan Winter pulled away with the early lead in the second consolation race, but Glen Luce stole it away on lap 5.
2018 Oxford Plains Speedway track champion, Gabe Brown, broke the top 5 on lap 6.
Mark Lunblad took a spin on lap 12 in turn 2, leading to a late-race caution.
Luce was able to hold off his competitors once the field went back to green.
Adam Polvinen, Joey Doiron, Gabe Brown and Dan Winter rounded out the top five.
The original plan was to give out 2 provisional’s to set the field, but PASS allowed all 36 competitors to start the big show.
Johnny Clark distanced himself from Garrett Hall in the early laps of the feature, pulling away with the lead.
Ryan Robbins was on the move, powering his way into the runner-up spot early into the race.
By lap 20, there was a 2-car breakaway at the front of the field.
The leaders began approaching lap traffic on lap 23, setting a blistering pace in the early laps of the feature.
After a hard battle with Derek Griffith mid-pack for position, Dalton Gagnon retired to the pits on lap 28.
Mike Penfold took a spin on lap 29, making contact with the front stretch wall. The incident led to the first caution of the feature.
There were 3-wide battles for position all over the track on the restart, with drivers fighting hard to advance through the field.
Brandon Barker broke the top 4 on the restart while Reid Lanpher broke into the top 10.
There was a 3-car breakaway at the front of the field by lap 45, with Johnny Clark, Ryan Robbins and Travis Benjamin leading the way.
DJ Shaw cleared Josh Childs on lap 46, breaking into the top 5.
By lap 50, the leaders were approaching lap traffic once again.
Scott Moore took a hard spin on lap 55 in turn 4, leading to another caution.
Reid Lanpher was slowly creeping through the field, breaking into the top 5 on the restart.
Corey Bubar came to a slow on lap 64, retiring to the pits.
Gabe Brown and Scott Luce made contact on lap 69 in turns 3 and 4, leading to yet another caution.
Joey Doiron took a spin on the front stretch on lap 75, miraculously avoiding contact as the field remained green.
There was a 3-way battle for the runner-up spot on lap 76 as DJ Shaw, Travis Benjamin and Ryan Robbins battled it out for position.
Travis Benjamin upped his competitors, pulling away with the spot.
Reid Lanpher was still on the charge, clearing Ryan Robbins for fourth on lap 83.
Brandon Barker took a spin on lap 90 in turn 3, resulting in another caution.
TJ Brackett then took a spin on the front stretch in front of the leaders on lap 108, forcing the yellow flag once more.
This section of the race was plagued with cautions, as Mark Lunblad and Gabe Brown brought out another caution, followed by Josh Childs breaking a rear trailing arm and being pulled away on the hook on lap 115.
The field briefly settled down after this string of cautions, but TJ Brackett took a spin on lap 127, collecting the #12g of Derek Griffith.
After yet another spin led to another caution on lap 129, Reid Lanpher found himself in the runner-up spot on the restart.
He was all over Johnny Clark for the top spot by lap 135, searching for the right moment to make his move. He pulled to his outside on lap 140, battling nose-to-nose for the lead.
Gabe Brown took another spin on lap 145, making hard contact with the backstretch wall. The incident led to a late-race caution.
Lanpher had edged out Johnny Clark for the lead prior to the caution, allowing him to restart in first.
Mark Lunblad and Ashton Tucker made contact on lap 148 in turn 2, leading to another caution.
The caution made it a 2-lap battle for the win.
Reid Lanpher was able to hold off Johnny Clark, taking home the victory.
DJ Shaw, Travis Benjamin and Ryan Robbins rounded out the top 5.
It may have been a great day and last-minute win for Reid Lanpher, but we also saw some “underdog” competitors take home great finishes, like Rusty Poland, who brought home a top 10. Dan Winter also showed strength throughout the day and brought home a solid twelfth place finish.
The biggest mover award goes to Bill Rodgers, who started way back in 33rd and came home in eighth!
There were a lot of surprising moments throughout the day, making for a wildly exciting 150-lap feature after all was said and done.
Congrats to Reid Lanpher and all of the competitors on a solid season finale at Oxford Plains Speedway!
You can catch the Pro All Star Series North season finale on Saturday, October 27th at Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, Massachusetts.
Will you be there?
Thank you again to Drown Excavation and Four Season Synthetic for their endless support for Chasing the Checkered. Contact Drown Excavation for all of your demolition and excavation needs and Four Season Synthetic for all of your oil, lube and filter needs!
