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2008 LATE
MODEL PREVIEW
April 16, 2008
Oxford Networks Late Model rivals
play wait-and-see with champ Adams
OXFORD, Maine - Can
anybody in the Oxford Networks Late Model division compete with
Travis Adams?
Or perhaps the bigger question as we enter the 2008 season at Oxford
Plains
Speedway: Will they have to, at least on a weekly basis?
Adams, if you've been hiding in a cave or spending too many Saturday
nights watching re-runs, has been the dominant driver of the decade
at his home track. By holding off Ricky Rolfe over a wild final
month of the '07 campaign, Adams captured his second straight
track championship and third since 2003.
The 30-year-old from Canton enjoyed one of those dream seasons at
the 3/8-mile oval, the kind we've come to expect over the years from
Mike Rowe, Jeff Taylor, Dennis Spencer or Carey Martin. Adams won
six weekly 40-lap main events, good for a .400 winning percentage.
That mark included a three-race winning streak from June 30 to July
14, during which Adams completed passes in unforgiving places on the
asphalt where most drivers fear to tread. When he wasn't winning,
second or third place on the podium became a general rule.
To top it off, Adams closed the curtain with his first career
American-Canadian Tour victory in the New England Dodge Dealers 150
on Oct. 6.
Don't blame Adams if he hasn't focused all his winter and early
spring attention on an encore. Adams' present priority is that he
and wife Becky are expecting their second child shortly after the
season begins.
At last report, Adams is planning to make a bid in the New England
Dodge Dealers ACT 150 opener on April 26. Then, in a declaration
that would make New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick proud, he
intends to take it the proverbial one week at a time.
Not that you'll find any shortage of contenders to fill the void if
Adams has a
rough week or even an absentee week. If the king does indeed choose
to abdicate the throne, the allure of the L/A Harley-Davidson
Challenge and TD Banknorth 250 ensure that many familiar faces will
make OPS their weekly habit and undertake a run at the 2008
Championship Series crown.
With three victories and a late-season point lead to his credit last
season,
two-time Oxford champ Ricky Rolfe is a threat to take the title
regardless of Adams' status. Having carried the checkered flag in
five different weekly divisions and a touring division over the last
20 years at Oxford, Rolfe is a contender to win every Saturday
night. Also, don't forget that Rolfe ran second in the TD Banknorth
250 only three summers ago.
Never underestimate the Martins when you're weighing Oxford
championship contenders.
Shawn Martin, the 2004 Late Model champion, rebounded from a rough
'06 season to run third to Adams and Rolfe in last year's
standings.
After a half-season fighting to find the handle to his ever-present
#18, Carey
Martin seemed to solve the riddle with a brilliant run in the TD
Banknorth 250 and carried it through a sensational final month of
the season. The five-time Limited Sportsman champion would embellish
his status as one of the hard chargers in speedway history with a
breakthrough title at the top level.
Two veteran drivers returned to prominence in 2007 with brilliant
seasons and have reason to be confident of greater success in the
new year. Glen Luce picked up his first feature win in nearly a
decade and motored ahead to a fourth-place finish for the season.
All Dale Verrill did was fall a half-car length shy of victory in
the TD Banknorth 250, putting a final-lap scare into Roger Brown
before "settling" for a career-best $12,000 payday.
The tandem of driver Zach Emerson and car owner John Thurlow clicked
in 2007, with the second-generation standout staking claim to a
top-10 place in the points. Emerson is best known at OPS for his
exploits with dad Larry in the Allen's Coffee Brandy Strictly Stock
division, but he has made great strides in his off-and-on, often
under funded forays in the top division. This could be a
breakthrough year for Emerson.
Don Wentworth, Jon Brill, Leon Heckbert, Kurt Hewins, Dave MacDonald
and Corey Morgan are past feature winners capable of putting
together a championship season. Wentworth and Heckbert each picked
up a win last summer. Morgan, Hewins and Heckbert have finished as
high as second in the Late Model standings in past seasons. It would
be foolish not to put past champion Scott Luce in that group, as
well. We also welcome back Billy Childs Jr. for what hopefully is a
full season after he ran an abbreviated schedule and spent a brief
time out-of-state last summer.
Two rookies are poised to pick up their first Late Model wins after
solid freshman campaigns. Travis Stearns made a successful leap from
the Outlaw division to capture 2007 Rookie of the Year honors. Tommy
Ricker, veteran of many Limited Sportsman and Charger triumphs,
showed flashes of brilliance and top-three form in his first Late
Model journey. Goldenrod Garage guru Neil Martin and high school
student Ben Ashline, two likable drivers from opposite ends of the
life experience spectrum, hope to step it up several notches in
their second go-rounds with the Late Model.
At the very least, Tim Brackett, Eddie MacDonald and D.J. Shaw are
threats to win every time they turn left at OPS. Brackett, the
former Pro Stock champion, looked superb in his Late Model
appearances last year. MacDonald, the modern-day touring outlaw, won
his first ACT main event here in August.
We haven't scratched the surface of the rookie class yet, but any
group headlined by two-time Allen's Mini Stock champion Jimmy Childs
and go-kart wunderkind "Slick" Nick Brown will be worth
the price of admission.
And how about Jeff White, Frank Snow, Ricky Morse, Ron Charpentier
Jr., Brad Hammond and T.J. Watson? What about the anticipated return
of "The" Matt Sanborn?
Looks like a fabulous time to stop asking questions and start
watching the answers play themselves out on the track.
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