After a complete washout of Saturday night Opening Day festivities at the track, drivers, teams and fans returned to Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday for a full day of racing. Series on tap for the day included the Pro All Star Series Super Late Model and Modified divisions, the American-Canadian Tour, the North East Mini Stock Tour and the Honey Badger Bar & Grill Street Stocks.
The day’s racing action started with three qualifying heats for the Pro All Star Series Super Late Model division, which was followed by a “last chance race” later on in the day. Shawn Martin, DJ Shaw and Nick Sweet took home victories in their heat races while Tracy Gordon, Bryan Kruczek, Craig Weinstein, Ryan Green and Rusty Poland raced their way into the starting lineup for the 150-lap feature in the last chance qualifier.
Meanwhile, Matty Sanborn beat out Spencer Morse for the victory in the first PASS Modified qualifying heat while Justin Larsen took the checkered in the second. 12 Modified drivers showed up to compete on Sunday afternoon, showing promise and growth in the expanding division.
The 50-lap Honey Badger Bar & Grill Street Stock feature brought some excitement when the two race leaders, Billy Childs, Jr. and Gary Babineau, were involved in an on-track altercation with just 10 laps to go. This was the pivotal moment in the race for Kenny Harrison, who was waiting in the wings for his moment to strike. Harrison took control of the lead and later secured the victory. Billy Childs, Jr., Gary Babineau, Skip Stanley and Jordan Russell rounded out the top five.
Zach Audet took early control of the lead in the 50-lap North East Mini Stock Feature. But, Jimmy Childs was on the move, slowly creeping his way toward the front of the pack. Childs took over the lead before the halfway mark of the feature, but Audet was closing in on him little by little as the laps counted down toward the end of the feature. A late-race caution was Audet’s last chance to secure the victory. On the restart, fighting hard for the checkered, Audet sent it hard into turn 1, causing him to lose control of his #19 machine for a brief moment. This set Audet back a few spots and allowed Childs to sail off with the victory. Jake Rheaume, Mike Viens, Zach Audet and Jarod Soucy rounded out the top five.
After these features were complete, the PASS Modified drivers took to the track for their 40-lap feature.
Matty Sanborn pulled away with the lead early as Spencer Morse quickly made his way into the runner-up spot.
Kate Re took a spin on lap 4 in turn 1, making late contact with the #2 of Randy Sanborn at the tail-end of the field. This led to the first caution of the feature.
Bill Dixon was on the move on the restart, advancing into the runner-up spot over Spencer Morse.
Morse was fighting hard to crawl his way back to the front of the field on lap 18, but was clipped by the #44 of Justin Larsen, sending him for a spin in turn 1. The field remained green as Morse regained control and carried on, but this altercation created an uphill battle for the #34 for the remainder of the race as he found himself fighting to the front once again.
By lap 25, Bill Dixon was all over Matty Sanborn for the top spot, but trouble was brewing behind the leaders. The #13 of Ryan Nelson took a spin on lap 27 in turn 1, leading to a caution and bringing the field back together.
Bill Dixon briefly took the lead on the restart, but Matty Sanborn was quick to steal it back from him. Spencer Vaughn and Kate Re both took spins on the restart, but the field remained green as both drivers were able to drive away.
Matty Sanborn and Mike Carignan were neck-and-neck for the lead on lap 34 with 6 laps to go, but they weren’t in the clear quite yet. The #85 of Jairet Harrison and the #16 of Patrick Sullivan made contact while battling for position on lap 35 in turn 1, leading to a late-race caution. The altercation moved Bill Dixon up to third and Spencer Morse, who successfully rebounded after his troubles early in the race, up to fourth place.
Drivers were 3-wide for the runner-up spot on the restart, with Spencer Morse digging his way into the spot.
Morse was all over Matty Sanborn with just two laps to go, but Sanborn was able to hold him off at the end, capturing his much-deserved (and first!) career Pro All Star Series Modified victory. Justin Larsen, Mike Carignan and Billy Dixon rounded out the top five.
The Pro All Star Series Super Late Model division closed out the show on Sunday night.
After a solid qualifying heat, Gabe Brown was forced to start the 150-lap feature at the tail-end of the field due to having to be pushed onto the track. Bryan Kruczek, who had just won the 125-lap ACT feature, also started at the tail of the field.
Nick Sweet showed strength in the early stage of the race, taking over the top spot and distancing himself from the field on lap 4.
Reid Lanpher’s early-season troubles continued on lap 20 as he blew a right rear tire, causing extensive damage to his #59 machine. The incident caused a domino effect, with Rusty Poland taking a spin and Scott McDaniel piling into the turn 2 wall. After dominating the early portion of the race, Nick Sweet also had a right front tire go flat under caution, putting him a handful of laps down.
The incident sent Cole Butcher to the lead on the restart with DJ Shaw in tow.
Curt Gerry, another heavy-hitter, was also plagued by tire issues on lap 29, forcing the #7g team to pit under green and taking them out of contention for the win.
By lap 30, there was a 2-car breakaway with DJ Shaw and Cole Butcher at the front of the field. After a dominant performance in the ACT race, Bryan Kruczek faced troubles on lap 34 and parked his SLM for the day. After cutting Butcher’s lead down little by little with every passing lap, DJ Shaw finally took control of the top spot on lap 36.
Westbrook’s John Peters also showed strength during the first half of the race, breaking the top 5 on lap 38 in his #51 machine.
Mike Rowe took a spin on the front stretch on lap 40, leading to another caution.
Cassius Clark was on the move after the caution, breaking the top 3 on lap 50 as John Peters paved his way into the fourth spot. Derek Griffith followed suit, breaking the top 5 on lap 55.
After facing mechanical problems, Ryan Robbins headed into the pits on lap 66. Problems continued on the track on lap 72 as Brandon Barker took a spin on the front stretch, leading to a mid-race caution.
Garrett Hall was on the move after the green, breaking the top five on the restart. He continued his pursuit to the front of the field on lap 84, advancing to the fourth spot over Derek Griffith.
Tracy Gordon and Evan Hallstrom made contact on lap 89 in turn 4, causing Gordon to back into the turn 4 wall. The incident led to another caution.
Garrett Hall was still on pursuit, breaking the top 3 on the restart. Gabe Brown, who started the race all the way back in the rear of the field, finally broke the top 5 on lap 100.
By lap 110, the leaders were approaching lap traffic again, mixing things up at the front of the field as Garrett Hall used lap cars to advance into the runner-up spot.
Ryan Green took a spin on lap 135 in turn 4, leading to a late-race caution.
The restart was a prime opportunity for Garrett Hall to advance position and he succeeded, stealing away the top spot from DJ Shaw on lap 137. DJ wasn’t about to give up without a fight and made his way to Garrett’s back bumper on lap 143, getting the #94 car a little bit loose on the back stretch. Hall was able to hold him off and prevail, taking home his first victory of the 2019 season. Cassius Clark, Cole Butcher and Gabe Brown rounded out the top 5, with Butcher barely edging out Gabe Brown by .002 seconds at the line.
Sunday’s racing was not only eventful, but full of many first-time experiences for some of these drivers, like Matty Sanborn and Bryan Kruczek. The racing action certainly did not disappoint and set the tone for an exciting and fresh season ahead.
You can catch the PASS Modified division next Sunday, May 5th, at Hudson Speedway. The Super Late Model division will roll off Saturday, May 11th, at Star Speedway. Until then, you can catch Chasing the Checkered at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway‘s NASCAR Nite season opener this Saturday at 7. I hope to see you there!
Thank you to Matty Sanborn, Randy Sanborn, Kate Re, Joey Pole, Mike Rowe and Danny Wear for jumping on board with Chasing the Checkered in 2019 and thank you to John Peters and Curt Gerry for continuing their support with us this season. Catch them all at a race track near you.
Another thank you goes out to my website sponsors, Texas Roadhouse Scarborough, Four Season Synthetic and Drown Excavation. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this if it wasn’t for any of you.
P.S: Greg Emerson (spotter for Dan McKeage) and I made a lighthearted bet on the Mini Stock feature, with Greg selecting Childs to win and me taking Audet as my pick. Instead of trading money, all I have to tell you, Greg, is yes…you were right. Happy now?
