The Market 27 Super Streets returned to Wiscasset Speedway on Saturday with a healthy 21 car field. Among those drivers were Josh St. Clair, who was looking to repeat his week one win. On the other end of the spectrum, a handful of drivers like Brett Osmond and Alex Smith were looking to learn and improve from a frustrating Opening Day in the division.
The Super Streets competition kicked off with three 10-lap heat races. Brett Osmond, the second-generation driver and series rookie, took off with the early lead in the first heat. Chasing the Checkered driver, Charlie Sanborn, was also on the move early, advancing to the runner-up spot over David Greenleaf.
Nicole Benincasa and Mike Wallace tangled on lap 4 in turn 4, resulting in a mid-race caution. Following the incident, Benincasa elected to take the “sportsmanship rule”, sending herself to the back of the pack while Wallace reclaimed his track position.
The trouble continued for Mike Wallace on the restart as he collided with David Greenleaf, who ended up in the turn 1 grass. The field remained green as Brett Osmond maintained his advantage over Charlie Sanborn, picking up the heat victory. Nicole Benincasa rounded out the top 3.
Zach Bowie powered to the early lead over Colby Meserve in the second qualifying heat. Trouble was brewing early as Darick Barker backed into the turn 1 wall on lap 2, resulting in an early caution.
Zach Bowie maintained his edge on the restart as Michael Harrison trailed closely behind. Harrison dove to Bowie’s inside door with two laps to go, hungry for the top spot. The two drivers made contact in turn 4, allowing Bubba Pelton to close in on them for a 3-way battle to the finish. Zach Bowie held his competitors off, scoring the heat victory as Michael Harrison and Bubba Pelton followed closely behind.
Tiger Colby jumped out to the early lead in the third and final qualifying heat. Jason Oakes’ #11 machine was discovered to be dumping fuel on the track, resulting in the driver receiving the black flag on lap 3.
Josh St. Clair was coming through the field, all over Matt Beers’ back bumper on lap 5, challenging for third. It remained a tight battle until St. Clair made his way to Beers’ inside door with two laps to go, swiftly completing the pass.
Tiger Colby maintained his advantage in the closing laps of the race, securing the heat victory as Dominic Curit and Josh St. Clair closed out the top 3.
The Super Streets rounded out the Group 1 program with a final 30-lap feature race. Brett Osmond and Charlie went head-to-head for the early lead in the feature, but chaos ensued behind the leaders as 8 cars piled up in turn 3. This ended the day prematurely for some heavy hitters, including Dominic Curit and PJ Merrill.
Brett Osmond jumped the restart, which was subsequently called off by race control. Due to this, Osmond and Charlie Sanborn were forced to restart on the second row behind Mike Wallace and Zach Bowie.
Zach Bowie powered ahead on the restart while Mike Wallace began to descend through the field. Brett Osmond came knocking on Zach Bowie’s door on lap 4, reclaiming the top spot. Josh St. Clair was also on the move, overtaking Charlie Sanborn for third on lap 5.
While battling for position, Charlie Sanborn and Michael Harrison collided on lap 6, resulting in Harrison taking a spin in turn 1. Harrison then came to a total stop in the middle of the turn. Following the move, he was penalized 1 lap by race control for intentionally drawing out the caution.
Zach Bowie held the initial advantage on the restart, but Brett Osmond was quick to steal it away. Josh St. Clair was still digging, challenging Osmond for the lead on lap 8. Trouble was brewing behind the leaders once again as Brandon Bailey and Charlie Sanborn made contact on lap 10. The field stoved up behind the two drivers, resulting in both Mike St. Pierre and Alex Smith taking spins through the turn 1 grass.
Josh St. Clair gave Brett Osmond a run for his money on the restart and swiftly took over the top spot. Meanwhile, Zach Bowie and Jason Oakes made contact on the restart, resulting in Oakes going for a loop. The incident resulted in yet another caution.
At this point, due to the messy and chaotic start of the race, race control called for single file restarts for the remainder of the race. Josh St. Clair maintained his advantage over Brett Osmond and began distancing himself from the competition.
Bubba Pelton jumped out of line on lap 18, overtaking Brandon Bailey for fifth before quickly advancing to fourth over Charlie Sanborn.
Although a lap down, Michael Harrison managed to climb back through the field at the tail-end of the race, putting on a show and mixing it up with the leaders as he took Zach Bowie and Bubba Pelton 3-wide on lap 21.
Josh St. Clair maintained his advantage through the conclusion of the race, picking up his second consecutive feature victory in two weeks in the division. Brett Osmond (first podium finish in the division), Bubba Pelton, Matt Beers and Zach Bowie rounded out the top five.
The Super Streets win marked a redeeming end to the day for Josh St. Clair, who had a DNF earlier in the evening in the Pro Stocks feature. He celebrated with friends and family in Victory Lane following the win, a crowd which included his legendary grandfather, Dave “Boss Hogg” St. Clair.
Josh will be looking to continue his success next Saturday in the Strictly Streets feature. Grandstand admission opens at 4:00 pm and green flag flies at 5:00 pm. As always, adult admission is just $5 and kids 6 & under are free.
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