OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY
Route 26, Oxford, ME 
Phone: (207) 539-8865 
E-mail: ops@oxfordplains.com

ACCELERATION SERIES 

That sort of double dip wouldn't be legal under normal circumstances. With the first MacDonald Motors Runnin' Rebel feature scheduled as a make-up from a rainout on May 30, however, Gregg Norton hopped a ride in Jamie Leavitt's #93 and led wire-to-wire for the 30-lap victory. 

Leavitt later landed the checkered flag in his regularly scheduled race when the first two cars that crossed the line, driven by Derek Cook and Errol Smith, failed to pass inspection. 

Norton's victory also made him the all-time leader in the history of the Rebel division. Win No. 16 of his career broke a tie with Gary Chiasson. 

Mark Childs Jr. won his division-leading fourth Rebel feature of the season, while Jay Dufour also scored a win in the four-cylinder class. 

Cathy Manchester claimed her first-ever victory in the Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy Ladies division. Jake Burns breezed to his fifth Call of the Wild RV Center Sport Truck win in seven tries this season, and Jamie Heath made it seven wins against only one runner-up finish in the Crazy Horse Racing Engines Renegade ranks. 

Norton’s third victory of the season wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of Leavitt. 

With his own #119 sidelined due to a faulty alternator, Norton was prepared to give up the pole position and spend the extra time trying to fix the primary ride when Leavitt unselfishly loaned his wheels. 

“What a great friend to let me use his car and set the record,” Norton said of Leavitt. “I owe him a 12-pack, at least. Hopefully now I can get my car back together and try it again later.” 

As it turned out, Norton’s car had only enough juice to take the initial green and pocket the minimum points in the final event of the evening. 

By then, however, it was already a triumphant evening for the reigning Agren Appliance Grand Slam champion. Norton led all 30 laps, surviving a three-lap shootout at the finish after Nathan Guptill’s encounter with the front stretch wall brought out the lone caution. 

Mike Ward couldn’t get around Norton and settled for second, the first in a pair of top-three finishes on the card. Jeff Hebert helped his championship hopes with a third-place run, trailed by Doug Degroat and Craig Farrington. 

Leavitt didn’t get a proper chance to celebrate his half of the daily double, because he was only the third driver to cross the stripe in the second of three regularly scheduled Rebel races. 

Derek Cook drove away from the field by half s lap. For the second time this season, though, his apparent win was thrown out after the post-race inspection. Errol Smith was next in line but couldn’t pass muster, either. That left Leavitt with his second win of the season after a side-by-side duel with Jeff Beaule that raged on through the entire 30-lap event. 

Ward, Bill Grover and Zach Audet completed the restructured top five. 

Dufour isn’t accustomed to running in the low-point feature, but a combination of rotten luck and a part-time schedule put him in position to take full advantage of a low handicap. 

After a steady run in the make-up feature, Dufour dropped the hammer and dominated the ’C’ main.

“We made the right adjustments after practice and the first race,” said Dufour, who drove around rookie Darrell Moore for the lead on lap 7. 

Without any cautions to slow his progress, Dufour’s ever-growing lead approached 10 seconds at the finish. With Farrington hot in his tire tracks for the final five circuits, Todd Foss was able to hold onto second for his best OPS finish. 

Moore’s post-race disqualification vaulted Gerard Cote to fourth and Ken Daigle Jr. to a career-best fifth. 

Childs claimed his second straight win and fourth in just over a month. 

He’s passed dozens of cars in each of those victories, and Wednesday night was no exception. Childs started last in the 17-car field, but on lap 17 he was scooting to the low side of cousin Josh Childs for the lead. 

Mechanical woes took out early leaders Jim Hart and Scott Farrington and fast-closing Kurt Hewins, thinning out the field for the eventual winner. 

“My car was loose some of the time and tight some of the time. It was just one of those weird nights,” said Childs.

The one-two family finish was disrupted when Josh Childs’ ride failed inspection. Tyson Jordan moved up to second, chased across the line by point leader Matt Dufault. Nic Stanley and Hebert rounded out the paying positions. 

Manchester was the 2005 Wal-Mart Rookie of the Year among the ladies and has developed into a threat to win every time she’s in competition. Until Wednesday night, that was good enough for a bundle of second and third-place finishes, but never a win. 

Being in position to win paid huge dividends for a welcome change, as Manchester took over on lap 23 to become the sixth and final leader of a bizarre Ladies feature. 

Deanna Bisbee and Vanna Brackett were locked in a lengthy battle for the lead before Bisbee tried to squeeze between two slower cars at the finish line on lap 15. Bisbee collided with Lisa Brooks, and both cars veered into Brackett, whose car wound up too heavily damaged to continue. 

Christina Spaulding inherited the lead under caution, but she was black-flagged for spinning the slower car of Annie Chartier on lap 21. The next time around, before Spaulding could heed the forthcoming stop-and-go penalty, she tangled with new leader Dottie Patria. 

Manchester emerged with the lead and the long-awaited triumph. Patria recovered from her near-miss to finish second and take a huge bite out of Brackett’ s point lead. 

Two disqualifications at the tech shack further shuffled the finish, with rookie Missy Roussel moving up to a best-ever third and Brooks taking over fourth. Debbie Marston was credited with fifth despite crashing into the backstretch concrete on the final lap and never crossing the finish line. 

That frenzied pace carried over into the first two laps of the Truck encounter. Tim Huggins brought out an early red flag when he barrel-rolled his #75 three times before the pickup came to rest on its wheels. Higgins climbed out of the wreckage on his own and walked to a waiting ambulance. 

Burns swapped the lead twice with early leader Yogi Hiscock before taking command on lap 18. The actual pass for the lead came much earlier than that, in the final analysis, since runner-up Hiscock and third-place Rick Hebert failed to escape tech unscathed. 

“It wasn’t a great night for racing with the heat,” said Burns, “but I had fun.” 

Corey Williams wound up second, his career best, followed by Lee Spurling, Degroat and Ryan Farrar. 

Heath emerged from a three-wide battle with Bob Morey and Gerard Cote to grab the Renegade lead on lap 3. 

“I wish it was warm like this all the time,” Heath said, “because this car likes it hot.” 

The still-developing field of Renegades out on an entertaining show on the slippery track, with John Childs fighting off Morey for second. Cote led Ken Marston in the battle for fourth. 

The Acceleration Series hits the track for a holiday special next Wednesday, July 4 at 6:30 p.m. Two Championship Series events take center stage before then, with races scheduled for Saturday, June 30 and Monday, July 2 at 6:30 p.m. The Monday special is Maine State Lottery Fireworks Night.

MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN' REBEL #1
(30 laps, makeup from May 30)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (1) #93 Gregg Norton, Lewiston, 30
2. (7) #16 Mike Ward, Harrison, 30
3. (10) #85 Jeff Hebert, Auburn, 30
4. (4) #84 Doug Degroat, Oxford, 30
5. (12) #333 Craig Farrington, Hebron, 30
6. (11) #39 Jay Dufour, Lewiston, 30
7. (3) #32x Brian Hawthorne, New Gloucester, 30
8. (9) #83 Brady Romano, Livermore Falls, 30
9. (2) #66 Justin Hynes, Windham, 29
10. (8) #76 Randy Nutter, Auburn, 29
11. (5) #106 Nathan Guptill, North Turner, 26
12. (13) #92 Martin Krauter, Raymond, 9
DQ (6) #05 Errol Smith, Stow
DNS #94 Jason Hannigan, Greene
DNS #00 Monica Martin, South Paris
DNS #8 Kevin Noyes, Raymond
DNS #79 Jason Cummings, Waterford
DNS #58 Ralph Felker, Poland
DNS #5 David Childs, Oxford
Lap leaders: Norton 1-30.
Cautions: 1 (lap 27)
Time of race: 14 minutes, 30 seconds.

MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN' REBEL #2 (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (10) #39 Jay Dufour, Lewiston, 30
2. (9) #50 Todd Foss, Raymond, 30
3. (7) #333 Craig Farrington, Hebron, 30
4. (11) #555 Gerard Cote, Oxford, 30
5. (2) #0 Ken Daigle Jr., Lisbon, 30
6. (4) #12 Calvin Rose Jr., Turner, 29
7. (15) #14 Gene White, Lisbon, 28
8. (12) #1 Paul Cook, Mechanic Falls, 28
9. (14) #5 Dustin LaPlante, Oxford, 28
10. (5) #10 Chuck Higgins, Monmouth, 28
11. (8) #13 Tim Hatstat, Norway, 25
12. (3) #81 Mike Winslow, Poland, 19
13. (16) #04 Guy Childs Jr., Auburn, 8
14. (13) #80 Travis Pearl, Auburn, 5
DQ (1) #34 Darrell Moore, Mechanic Falls
DNS #44 George Tripp, Oxford
Lap leaders: Winslow 1-4, Dufour 5-30.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 10 minutes, 15 seconds

MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN' REBEL #3 (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (9) #93 Jamie Leavitt, Minot, 30
2. (7) #31 Jeff Beaule, Lewiston, 30
3. (10) #16 Mike Ward, Harrison, 30
4. (6) #91 Bill Grover, Topsham, 30
5. (4) #19 Zach Audet, Chesterville, 30
6. (13) #15 David Cook, Lewiston, 30
7. (8) #66 Justin Hynes, Windham, 30
8. (3) #45 Ken Whittemore, Greene, 29
9. (2) #65 Raymond Files, South Paris, 28
10. (12) #82 Martin Krauter, Raymond, 15
11. (11) #6 Troy Jordan, Turner, 11
DQ (5) #88 Derek Cook, Livermore Falls
DQ (2) #05 Errol Smith, Stow
DNS #106 Nathan Guptill, North Turner
DNS #7x Charlie Webster, Auburn
DNS #63 Cole Flagg, Livermore Falls
Lap leaders: Audet 1-5, Leavitt 6, Beaule 7, Leavitt 8-30.
Cautions: 1 (lap 15)
Time of race: 13 minutes, 25 seconds

MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN' REBEL #4 (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (17) #95 Mark Childs Jr., Mechanic Falls, 30
2. (11) #59 Tyson Jordan, Poland, 30
3. (14) #96 Matt Dufault, Turner, 30
4. (8) #86 Nic Stanley, Buckfield, 30
5. (10) #85 Jeff Hebert, Auburn, 30
6. (2) #83 Brady Romano, Livermore Falls, 30
7. (16) #32 Brandon Munroe, New Gloucester, 30
8. (5) #84 Doug Degroat, Oxford, 30
9. (15) #41 James Wood, New Gloucester, 30
10. (3) #76 Randy Nutter, Auburn, 30
11. (7) #32x Brian Hawthorne, New Gloucester, 30
12. (9) #521 Scott Farrington, Oxford, 28
13. (11) #54 Kyle Hewins, Leeds, 20
14. (4) #97 Jim Hart, Buckfield, 13
15. (1) #4 Bill Dunphy, New Gloucester, 12
16. (6) #119 Gregg Norton, Lewiston, 0
DQ (12) #3 Josh Childs, Oxford
Lap leaders: Dunphy 1-2, Hart 3-13, S. Farrington 14, M. Childs Jr. 15-30.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 9 minutes, 49 seconds 

CALL OF THE WILD RV CENTER SPORT TRUCK (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (16) #74 Jake Burns, Gray, 30
2. (15) #39 Corey Williams, Sumner, 30
3. (17) #17 Lee Spurling, New Gloucester, 30
4. (13) #84 Doug Degroat, Oxford, 30
5. (7) #69 Ryan Farrar, Oxford, 30
6. (11) #1 John Lizotte, Mechanic Falls, 29
7. (6) #32 Brian Farrar, Sumner, 29
8. (4) #6 Herb Farrar, Sumner, 29
9. (22) #31 Mark Welch, Hartford, 29
10. (23) #14 Kevin Caponi, Hartford, 29
11. (5) #54 Devon Smith, Norway, 27
12. (21) #40 Tom Libby, Gorham, 27
13. (8) #3 Scott Marston, Mechanic Falls, 21
14. (9) #34 Joe Farrar, Oxford, 18
15. (1) #44 Mike Blash, Oxford, 18
16. (20) #139 Butch Durgin, Sumner, 12
17. (2) #75 Tim Huggins, Oxford, 1
18. (3) #71 Rene Foster, Minot, 1
19. (10) #28 Kevin Oliver, Gray, 1
20. (14) #7 Marvin Hamilton, New Gloucester, 1
21. (18) #68 Opie Allard, Harpswell, 1
DQ (12) #26 Yogi Hiscock, Jay
DQ (19) #19 Rick Hebert, Peru
Lap leaders: Blash 1-2, R. Farrar 3-4, Burns 5-30.
Cautions: 1 (lap 22)
Red flags: 1 (lap 1)
Time of race: 24 minutes, 24 seconds

ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY LADIES (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (10) #69 Cathy Manchester, Gray, 30
2. (9) #34 Dottie Patria, Turner, 30
3. (1) #13 Missy Roussel, Oxford, 30
4. (12) #21 Lisa Brooks, Auburn, 30
5. (7) #92 Debbie Marston, Hartford, 29
6. (2) #29 Shannon Wheeler, Auburn, 28
7. (13) #35 Jo Jo Norris, Peru, 27
8. (3) #44 Annie Chartier, Mexico, 27
9. (8) #51 Deanna Bisbee, South Paris, 24
10. (5) #00 Christina Spaulding, Lewiston, 23
11. (11) #23 Vanna Brackett, Buckfield, 13
DQ (4) #2 Kimberly Sessions, Auburn
DQ (6) #28 Lisa Vining, Poland
DNS Sue Veinott, Sabattus
Lap leaders: Roussel 1-3, Bisbee 4-14, Spaulding 15-20, Patria 21-22, Manchester 23-30.
Cautions: 1 (lap 15)
Time of race: 15 minutes, 1 second.

CRAZY HORSE RACING ENGINES RENEGADE (10 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (6) #91 Jamie Heath, Waterford, 10
2. (5) #3 John Childs, Leeds, 10
3. (1) #1 Bob Morey, Lisbon, 10
4. (3) #05 Gerard Cote, Oxford, 10
5. (4) #92 Ken Marston, Hartford, 10
6. (2) #27 Skip Turner, Carthage, 8
Lap leaders: Morey 1-2, Heath 3-10.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 4 minutes, 3 seconds

(207) 645-4571
Photos by Trudy Marshall from 
all OPS divisions!