This past weekend, Wiscasset Speedway hosted a 75-lap Super Street race, which was presented by Ward & Son’s Construction. The event is a $1,500 to win Super Street race that welcomed competitors from other tracks, such as Beech Ridge, to participate. Joe Pastore, Chasing the Checkered’s Charlie Sanborn, Devin Curit, Ryan Phillips, Nick Calvert, Mike St. Pierre and Jason Curtis were among the Beech Ridge weekly drivers that showed up on Saturday to compete in the event.
In addition to their delegated race payout, Ward & Son’s Construction presented a “$500 Secret Finish” contingency prize that would go to the competitor that finished in a pre-selected position that was kept a secret from the competitors until the conclusion of the feature race. James Osmond, who is sponsored by Ward & Son’s Construction, was not eligible to win the prize. Dick Fowler also presented a $100 contingency prize to the top finishing Beech Ridge driver.
26 drivers showed up to compete in the event on Saturday and 25 wound up starting the race. The racing action kicked off with three 10-lap qualifying heats.
Matt Beers and Jason Oakes went head-to-head for the early lead in the first qualifying heat. Chasing the Checkered’s Charlie Sanborn was on the move early, diving under Jason Oakes for the runner-up spot on lap 2 and advancing position the following lap. Joe Pastore was also climbing up the leaderboard early, at Mickey Landry’s door challenging for third on lap 4. Landry got into Pastore the following lap in turn 4, but Pastore was able to hold onto it, advancing position. Joe Pastore was all over Charlie Sanborn for the runner-up spot with two laps remaining in the heat, but Charlie was able to hold him off as Matt Beers took home the heat victory.
James Osmond and Devin Curit squared up for the early lead in the second qualifying heat. The two drivers went door-to-door before Curit pulled away with the advantage on lap 2. Bob Crocker fell out of the groove on lap 5, falling to the rear of the field. Nick Calvert and Glenn Reynolds tangled on lap 8 in turn 3, resulting in the first caution of the day.
Devin Curit pulled away with the lead once again on the restart as Jason Curtis powered up to third. David Greenleaf and Dominic Curit both spun coming to the checkered as Devin Curit picked up the heat victory. James Osmond and Jason Curtis rounded out the top 3.
Adam Lovejoy took off with the early lead in the final heat as Josh Bailey quickly made his way into the runner-up spot. Bailey was at Lovejoy’s door for the lead on lap 2 with Bill Pinkham right on his heels. Pinkham picked off Bailey for the runner-up spot on lap 4 and was at Adam Lovejoy’s door challenging for the lead just two laps later. Mike Wallace made hard contact with the turn 3 wall, an impact that left his tire rolling across the track. The incident led to another caution.
Bill Pinkham took over the lead on the restart as Kenny Harrison powered into the runner-up spot. Pinkham captured the heat victory with Kenny Harrison and Josh Bailey rounding out the top 3.
After the field was set for the main event, the Thunder 4 Mini division took to the track for their 25-lap feature. The event was exciting and driver David Cook even rolled over (the driver was unhurt) on the backstretch during the feature, but it was Zach Audet that took home the victory. Cam Childs and Spencer Sweatt rounded out the top 3.
After the Thunder 4 Mini event was completed, the Super Street drivers took to the track for their 75-lap main event.
Devin Curit powered to the early lead over Matt Beers in the feature. James Osmond was also on the move early, powering to fourth over Charlie Sanborn as Joe Pastore followed in succession. The outside groove wasn’t working for Sanborn in the early laps as he quickly fell back to 9th position before settling into the lower groove.
Mark Turner took a spin on the backstretch and Jeff Davis’ #1 machine blew up on lap 8, followed by Jason Oakes going around on the backstretch on lap 13. None of the incidents resulted in a caution. Mickey Landrey and Mark Turner then got wadded up on lap 22 in turn 4, resulting in the first caution of the feature. Nick Calvert avoided the incident but broke a brake line under yellow, resulting in him retiring the #33 machine prematurely.
James Osmond powered into the runner-up spot on the restart as Michael Harrison lost ground, falling to the back of the pack. There was also chaos on the restart toward the middle of the pack, resulting in Adam Lovejoy collecting damage on the right side of his race car. Due to the damage, Lovejoy was forced to head to the pits under green, losing valuable time on the track. Jason Curtis fell off pace on lap 32, heading to the pits. After a strong showing all day, Josh Bailey followed suit two laps later. Robbie Harrison and David Greenleaf tangled on lap 39 in turn 1, resulting in another caution.
James Osmond powered to the lead over Devin Curit on the restart. Prior to the restart, Mickey Landry was dragging rear suspension parts under the #38 machine. Landry was black flagged and later parked for the remainder of the race after failing to come down to the pits to fix his vehicle. Mike St. Pierre took a spin on lap 53 in turn 1, resulting in another caution.
James Osmond took off with the lead once again on the restart as Devin Curit fell back to third. Joe Pastore dived under Devin Curit on lap 56, challenging him for third. Kenny Harrison was right there, going 3-wide with Pastore and Curit before overtaking the position from both drivers. While battling for position, Joe Pastore took a spin on lap 61 in turn 4. Bob Crocker and Glenn Reynolds did the same in turn 1 the following lap, resulting in yet another caution.
Shawn Austin and Joe Pastore tangled on the restart in turn 3, resulting in Pastore taking another spin. The incident resulted in another caution and Pastore was penalized 1 lap by race control for intentionally bringing out the yellow. There was chaos at the tail-end of the field on the restart, resulting in another caution.
James Osmond powered away with the lead once more on the restart as Devin Curit and Kenny Harrison battled it out for third behind him. Harrison took over the spot on lap 68, then set his sights on the leaders at the front of the pack. Josh Bailey took a slide through the turn 2 grass on lap 69, but the field remained green. Lap 70 brought more chaos as Adam Lovejoy and Matt Beers tangled in turn 2 and both Ryan Phillips and Devin Curit went around in turns 3 and 4. Curit’s spin was a result of cutting a tire down. The incident led to yet another late-race caution.
James Osmond and Bill Pinkham went head-to-head for the lead on the restart, but Osmond still held the advantage. Shawn Austin took a hard hit into the turn 3 pit exit wall on lap 74, collecting Kenny Harrison. The race was called at that point under a red-checkered and James Osmond was deemed the unofficial race winner.
After a thorough post-race inspection, James Osmond was announced as the official race winner. Bill Pinkham and Mike Harrison rounded out the podium. There was originally some confusion about who finished 4th place-back due to the late-race red flag. Per Wiscasset rules, the finishing order was determined by the running order of the field at the last completed green flag lap. But, the two drivers (Kenny Harrison and Shawn Austin) that were involved in the final caution were scored at the end of the lead lap due to both drivers being involved in the caution. Charlie Sanborn and Robbie Harrison founded out the official top 5.
Charlie Sanborn was awarded the $100 contingency prize for being the top finishing Beech Ridge car and Josh Bailey, who finished in 12th, received the $500 “Random Finisher” prize from Ward & Son’s Construction.
James Osmond was elated in Victory Lane following the race, thanking his crew, family and sponsors and citing the win as the “Biggest victory of his race career”.
After the conclusion of the Super Street race, Jet Decker scored his first career 4-Cylinder Pro victory and Dave Farrington, Jr. edged out Nick Hinkley for the victory in the 40-lap Pro Stock feature.
The regular season may be over at Wiscasset Speedway, but the fun rolls on this coming Saturday, October 10th. The track will be hosting their annual “Fall Fury” event, featuring Senior and Vintage racing divisions as well as a 150-lap Enduro race. The racing action kicks off at noon and pit admission is just $20 for all ages!
Continue chasing the checkered, support your local short track and I hope to see you soon!
