With clear skies above and a cool coastal breeze, Saturday was the picture-perfect day for racing at Maine’s biggest and fastest track, Wiscasset Speedway. The scheduled race program made for excitement as it included all weekly Group 1 divisions plus the visiting New England Pro 4 Modifieds.
The racing action kicked off with a 30-lap spotlight feature for the 4-Cylinder Pros. Ben Burgess won the qualifying heat and started on the pole for the main event, taking off with a sizable early lead. Defending race winner John Ricci was also climbing through the field, breaking the top 3 on lap 5. A caution on lap 11 brought the field back together and Ricci made his way into the runner-up spot. The two drivers battled it out following another restart on lap 13, but Burgess maintained command of the field. After a solid showing all day, John Ricci lost it on his own with just 5 laps to go, falling outside of the top 5. Ben Burgess took home the victory, followed by Jack McKee and Max Parlin (first career podium finish).
Matt Beers won his qualifying heat for the Norm’s Used Cars Pro Stocks and pulled away with the early lead in the 50-lap feature. Charlie Colby made his way to Beers’ inside on lap 17, challenging for the top spot. Colby was unable to close the deal and succumbed to Josh St. Clair on lap 28 for the runner-up spot. St. Clair came to life in the second half of the feature, wrangling the lead away from Matt Beers on lap 31. As the laps began to wind down, Nick Hinkley entered the fray, clearing Charlie Colby for third with just 4 laps to go. He continued his pursuit the following lap, overtaking Matt Beers for second. Hinkley was unable to catch up to St. Clair, who took home his first Pro Stock win of the 2024 season. Matt Beers rounded out the podium.
Kurt Lester took early command in the 30-lap New England Pro 4 Modified feature. This lasted until lap 4, where he fell back to third behind Brett Meservey and Bob Richardi, Jr. The leaders went 3-wide with a lap car on lap 8 and Richardi used it as leverage, taking over the top spot. A caution on lap 21 brought the field back together and Richardi led the field to green. He pulled away from there, scoring the victory as Brett Meservey and Kurt Lester completed the top 3.
Donnie Fletcher held the early lead in the 25-lap feature for the Kennebec Equipment Rental Thunder 4 Minis, but multi-time champion Zach Audet was hard-charging through the field. Audet broke the top 3 on lap 9 and made quick work of Mike Landry for second the following lap. He eventually cleared Fletcher for the top spot on lap 12. A late-race caution brought the field back together on lap 14, but Audet maintained his lead and sailed into the eventual victory. Mike Landry (1st career podium) and Gunner Josselyn rounded out the top 3. Race results for this event only are unofficial, pending the completion of tech.
The night concluded with a 30-lap feature for the Gosline Insurance Group Super Streets. Bubba Pelton took off with the early lead over David Greenleaf. While the top 2 drivers pulled away, Maurice Young and James Osmond put on a spirited battle for third for the near entirety of the race. Just as Pelton was about to sail off into the sunset, Landon Tapley took a spin on lap 27, resulting in a caution with only 3 laps to go. David Greenleaf and Bubba Pelton went head-to-head on the restart, but Pelton was able to hold him off, securing his first victory since 2022 in the division. James Osmond finally got the edge on Maurice Young coming to the checkered, completing the top 3.
Saturday’s racing action went off without a hitch and the Wiscasset Speedway team were very pleased that they were able to complete the full race program in just over 3 hours. They are looking forward to continuing to host clean, yet exciting, racing action as the season rolls on. This starts with the next Group 2 program plus Enduro on Saturday, June 22nd.
The green flag flies at 5:00 pm and as always, admission is just $5 for adults and FREE for kids ages 6 & under!
Bring the family out to see what Maine’s biggest and fastest family-friendly track has to offer!
Thank you to Jasen Dickey Photography for providing all featured photos this week. Check out his awesome portfolio here!
