OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY
Route 26, Oxford, ME 
Phone: (207) 539-8865 

ACCELERATION SERIES 

Guess it was worth the trouble. Clavet, a rookie in the Acceleration Series, dominated the opening round of three 20-lap Outlaw features Wednesday night for his first career victory at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Jerry Goss has experienced the thrill of victory before, but Wednesday's triumph in the Macdonald Motors Runnin' Rebel opener was his first in that four-cylinder class after a successful run in the Call of the Wild RV Center Sport Truck division.

In other action, John and Guy Childs family continued their extended family's phenomenal 2007 run at OPS. John ended Jamie Heath's 10-race winning streak in the Crazy Horse Racing Engines Renegade ranks, while Guy became the first four-time Outlaw winner of the season in the high-point nightcap.

Gordon Bell also was a winner in Outlaw competition, with Gregg Norton and Kyle Hewins returning to victory lane in the Runnin' Rebel group. Hewins' second straight victory pulled him into a tie with Tyson Jordan for the division point lead with only one race remaining next Wednesday night.

Rick Hebert (Truck) and Patty Brannon (Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy Ladies) also prevailed on a busy card.

Clavet claimed the lead from Phil Knowlton after a lap 1 restart, and he outlasted two more cautions on lap 16 to take top honors in a crash-filled Outlaw opener.

"We've had a long season," Clavet said. "We got the lead last week but had a little smoke and got black-flagged, so we should have won that one. Pinch me. Am I here?"

Knowlton continued his scorching late-season run with a strong runner-up effort, while Dillon Coburn hopped a ride in dad Craig Coolidge's #116 and raced from 17th to third. Michael Haynes paid a return visit to OPS after sitting out most of the summer and finished a solid fourth, with Gerry Richard repeating last week's top-five effort.

Bell's car needed a similar overhaul after a hard crash tore apart the front end of his #75 last week, but it looked new and improved in a convincing second-round triumph.

The only wrinkle in Bell's run was a caution flag for fluid with two laps to go. Tyler Belanger had the advantage with 3/8 of a mile remaining in the green-white-checkered finish, but Bell dove hard into the first and second turns to reclaim the advantage.

"I'm sorry that I got into (Belanger) a little bit," said Bell, "but hey, I guess that's racing  This one has been a long time coming, but I'm glad I'm here."

Bell won for only the second time in his Acceleration career and first since September 1, 2006. 

Belanger faded to fourth but failed the post-race inspection along with apparent third-place runner Jamie Heath. Kevin Plummer scooted ahead to second after the leaders made contact on the final lap. Rick Vining took third in the shuffled final rundown, in front of Mark MacDonald and Tina Titus.

Guy Childs finished fifth a week ago despite a pretty significant handling issue. Unfortunately for the competition, he found it.

"I had a broken shock," Childs said. "I fixed it this week, and the car's right back where it was."

As in dominant. Childs charged from 17th to first in only nine laps, and only nephew David Childs got within half a straightaway down the stretch. Childs' fourth win of the season puts him in the division lead in that category.

David Childs logged his second trophy of the night after a third-place finish in Goss' four-cylinder win. 

Point leaders Steve Moon and Mike Ballard diced it out in a furious battle for third, with Moon prevailing and upping his point lead to eight with one week to go. Shannon Judd stayed in mathematical contention for the crown by finishing fifth.

Goss took advantage of his pole position start and held teenage rookie Josh Brown a car length in arrears throughout the Rebel intro.

"It's easy from up there, but we haven't had a very good year," said Goss, who has also dabbled with an Outlaw. "I've got to thank Doug Degroat for supplying the car. Next year we'll be back and hopefully ready to clean up."

Brown settled for a career-best second in front of a fast-closing Childs, with Gerry Record fourth and Calvin Rose Jr. nipping Nick Seames at the stripe for fifth.

Norton won for the sixth time this summer in the middle Rebel chapter. That number is somewhat stunning, considering Norton's variety of mechanical woes in the #119.

"I just bought a new car. I'm going to junk this one. It's got too many dings and dents and a lot of other problems," Norton said. "I realize I should be in the third feature, but this is where I am because of the year we've had. It's still fun to get out here and find out if I've got this car running up to speed, because a lot of times this year I haven't."

Craig Farrington stayed in second for the duration, but just in front of a quick Zach Audet. Two disqualifications behind the top three moved teammates Brandon Munroe and Brian Hawthorne up to fourth and fifth, respectively.

Hewins made a beeline all the way from the back to pick up his fourth win in his last six starts. Nic Stanley set the pace for 15 laps before Hewins made the winning move.

"I can't believe I'm here two weeks in a row," Hewins said. "I really want to get this championship bad, because I've worked so hard for two years to win it. But I also try to race everybody clean, because you don't want to get to the end of the year and have people wanting to take you out."

Jordan turned next Wednesday's finale into a virtual match race by finishing second and forcing the tie for the top spot in the standings. Two other title contenders fell by the wayside: Matt Dufault due to an oil leak on the pace lap that kept him from starting thge race; and Mark Childs Jr. for a DQ after an on-track encounter with Scott Farrington.

Stanley, Derek Cook and Jim Hart completed the top five.

John Childs entered the night as the only driver to defeat 12-time Renegade winner Heath, and he led all but one lap of the 10-lap sprint with Heath lurking in his tire tracks and making overtures to his outside.

"It doesn't usually turn out good for me, because he usually gets out front before I do," Childs said. "Tonight we got there and were able to hold him off."

Childs' previous win came on May 23. Gerard Cote won the tussle for third over Skip Turner and Bob Morey. Heath clinched the first-ever division championship for the stock six-cylinder cars.

Hebert, the Agren Appliance Grand Slam champion in Sport Truck. hasn't enjoyed the same good fortune on Wednesdays. But he overtook Devon Smith on lap 6 and kept Yogi Hiscock at bay after the third and final restart on that same circuit.

"That was a lot of fun." Hebert said. "Yogi definitely raced me clean."

Jake Burns couldn't get past Marvin Hamilton for third, but fourth was enough to wrap up the division title for the youngster with a week to spare. Degroat claimed fifth.

Brannon cruised to her third Ladies win of the season in wire-to-wire fashion.

"I have to thank Thom Bell for always having the car ready for me," Brannon said.

Four cars dueled for second throughout the second half of the event, with Deanna Bisbee holding off Kimberly Sessions for second. Dottie Patria snuck past Vanna Brackett for fourth place on the final lap, but Brackett protected her sizable point lead headed into championship night.

That final race kicks off at 6:30 p.m. next Wednesday. OPS cranks up the speed many notches this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. with the New England Dodge Dealers Maine Classic. It's the first visit to Oxford by the powerful, open-wheeled International Supermodified Association since 2004.

CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW #1 (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (5) #71 Fred Clavet, Buckfield, 20
2. (3) #K21 Phil Knowlton, Poland, 20
3. (17) #116 Dillon Coburn, Auburn, 20
4. (19) #67 Michael Haynes, Livermore Falls, 20
5. (11) #57 Gerry Richard, Leeds, 20
6. (4) #35x Jamie Phillips, Falmouth, 20
7. (8) #01 Leo Hatch, Norway, 20
8. (15) #95 Justin Dennison, North Yarmouth, 19
9. (6) #54 Jonathan Baldwin, Auburn, 19
10. (14) #27 Michael Auger, West Paris, 19
11. (9) #28 Don Veinott, Sabattus, 16
12. (18) #13 Mike Blash, Oxford, 16
13. (10) #17 Maurice Martel Jr., Greene, 16
14. (16) #100 Curt Chapman, Lewiston, 15
15. (7) #43 Rodney Engelhaupt, Oxford, 13
16. (12) #08 Carey Robertson, Leeds, 11
17. (13) #58 Tim Hatch, Gorham, 10
18. (1) #21x Arthur Chartier, Mexico, 1
19. (2) #9x Mark Turner, Norway, 1
DNS #112 Dennis Morang, South Paris
Lap leaders: Knowlton 1, Clavet 2-20.
Cautions: 3 (laps 1, 16, 16)
Time of race: 24 minutes, 40 seconds

CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW #2 (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (3) #75 Gordon Bell, Auburn, 20
2. (6) #60 Kevin Plummer, Oxford, 20
3. (1) #06 Rick Vining, Bridgton, 20
4. (14) #61 Mark MacDonald, Center Conway, N.H., 20
5. (7) #48 Tina Titus, Lisbon Falls, 20
6. (15) #89 Stan Morgan, Auburn, 20
7. (17) #69 Chip Wilson, Gray, 20
8. (4) #6 Jim Archer, Chesterville, 20
9. (11) #122 Mike Rainville, Littleton, N.H., 20
10. (9) #10 Scott Ellis, Lewiston, 20
11. (12) #39 Ron Abbott Jr., Lewiston, 20
12. (5) #30 Scott Veinott, Turner, 20
13. (19) #8 Gerald Parlin, South Paris, 15
14. (2) #2 Kimberly Sessions, Auburn, 12
15. (10) #04 Zach Bowie, Lisbon Falls, 8
DQ (7) #33 Tyler Belanger, Sumner
DQ (8) #52 Kevin Leighton, Minot
DQ (16) #9 Ralph Felker, Poland
DQ (17) #49 Greg Sessions, Oxford
Lap leaders: G. Bell 1-20.
Cautions: 1 (lap 18)
Time of race: 10 minutes, 34 seconds

CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW #3 (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (17) #00 Guy Childs, Turner, 20
2. (11) #5 David Childs, Oxford, 20
3. (15) #19 Steve Moon, Gray, 20
4. (19) #666 Mike Ballard, Mechanic Falls, 20
5. (13) #97 Shannon Judd, Jay, 20
6. (12) #38 Addison Bowie, Auburn, 20
7. (2) #51 Randy Robitaille, Norway, 20
8. (18) #83 Dan Brown, Peru, 20
9. (1) #34 John Patria, Turner, 20
10. (6) #68 Bubba Collins, Lewiston, 20
11. (4) #63 Bob Ferguson, New Gloucester, 20
12. (5) #169 Jim Drake, Hebron, 20
13. (9) #18 Thom Bell, Minot, 20
14. (8) #82 Josh Paradis, Sumner, 20
15. (3) #35 John Spencer Jr., Auburn, 20
16. (10) #139 Jerry Freve, Buckfield, 20
17. (14) #3 Tom Averill, Peru, 20
18. (7) #09 Bruce Robertson, Leeds, 13
19. (16) #36 Richard Spaulding, Lewiston, 6
Lap leaders: Robitaille 1-8, G. Childs 9-20.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 6 minutes, 40 seconds

MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN' REBEL #1 (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (1) #84x Jerry Goss, Mechanic Falls, 20
2. (2) #05 Josh Brown, Conway, N.H., 20
3. (13) #5 David Childs, Oxford, 20
4. (4) #57 Gerry Record, Poland, 20
5. (12) #12 Calvin Rose Jr., Turner, 20
6. (6) #70 Nick Seames, Greenwood, 20
7. (15) #75 Jason Short, Mechanic Falls, 20
8. (7) #01 Brian Nason, Lewiston, 20
9. (9) #81 Mike Winslow, Poland, 20
10. (10) #52 Jeff Trafford, Leeds, 20
11. (3) #23 Mike Anderson, Lewiston, 20
12. (5) #03 Ryan Varney, Oxford, 20
13. (16) #7 Carl Conant, Lewiston, 20
14. (14) #148 Don Smith, Oxford, 19
15. (8) #79 Jason Cummings, Waterford, 17
16. (11) #0 Ken Daigle Jr., Lisbon, 16
17. (17) #29 Brandon Palmer, Bridgton, 9
Lap leaders: Goss 1-20.
Cautions: 1 (lap 2)
Time of race: 9 minutes, 15 seconds

MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN' REBEL #2 (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (13) #119 Gregg Norton, Lewiston, 20
2. (3) #333 Craig Farrington, Hebron, 20
3. (7) #19 Zach Audet, Chesterville, 20
4. (17) #32 Brandon Munroe, New Gloucester, 20
5. (14) #32x Brian Hawthorne, New Glouceste, 20
6. (6) #39 Jay Dufour, Lewiston, 20
7. (10) #7x Charlie Webster, Auburn, 20
8. (11) #82 Martin Krauter, Raymond, 20
9. (9) #76 Randy Nutter, Auburn, 20
10. (2) #34 Darrell Moore, Mechanic Falls, 20
11. (16) #91 Bill Grover, Topsham, 19
12. (5) #45 Ken Whittemore, Greene, 15
13. (4) #65 Raymond Files, South Paris, 15
14. (8) #77 Brad Dwinal, Freeport, 13
15. (1) #10 Chuck Higgins, Monmouth, 9
DQ (12) #106 Nathan Guptill, North Turner
DQ (15) #6 Troy Jordan, Turner
Lap leaders: Higgins 1-2, Audet 3-8, Norton 9-20.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 6 minutes, 40 seconds

MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN' REBEL #3 (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (15) #54 Kyle Hewins, Leeds, 20
2. (11) #59 Tyson Jordan, Poland, 20
3. (1) #86 Nic Stanley, Buckfiel, 20
4. (14) #88 Derek Cook, Livermore Falls, 20
5. (2) #97 Jim Hart, Buckfield, 20
6. (9) #84 Doug Degroat, Oxford, 20
7. (8) #16 Mike Ward, Harrison, 20
8. (4) #31 Jeff Beaule, Lewiston, 20
9. (3) #4 Bill Dunphy, New Gloucester, 20
10. (6) #83 Brady Romano, Livermore Falls, 20
11. (5) #41 James Wood, New Gloucester, 17
12. (16) #41M Logan Melcher, Livermore Falls, 15
13. (13) #3 Josh Childs, Oxford, 15
14. (7) #93 Jamie Leavitt, Minot, 7
DQ (10) #521 Scott Farrington, Oxford
DQ (12) #95 Mark Childs Sr., Mechanic Falls
DNS #96 Matt Dufault, Turner
Lap leaders: Stanley 1-15, Hewins 16-20.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 6 minutes, 34 seconds

CALL OF THE WILD RV SPORT TRUCK (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (9) #19 Rick Hebert, Peru, 20
2. (12) #26 Yogi Hiscock, Jay, 20
3. (15) #7 Marvin Hamilton, New Gloucester, 20
4. (16) #74 Jake Burns, Gray, 20
5. (14) #84 Doug Degroat, Oxford, 20
6. (6) #68 Opie Allard, Harpswell, 20
7. (10) #28 Kevin Oliver, New Gloucester, 20
8. (5) #54x Devon Smith, Norway, 20
9. (4) #41 Doug Stevens, West Sumner, 20
10. (8) #1 John Lizotte, Mechanic Falls, 20
11. (11) #39 Corey Williams, Sumner, 20
12. (13) #17 Lee Spurling, New Gloucester, 20
13. (19) #139 Earl Lowe, Sumner, 20
14. (3) #32 Brian Farrar, Sumner, 19
15. (1) #75 Tim Huggins, Oxford, 19
16. (20) #88 Herb Farrar, Sumner, 19
17. (17) #69 Ryan Farrar, Oxford, 13
18. (7) #34 Joe Farrar, Oxford, 5
19. (2) #40 Tom Libby, Gorham, 0
20. (18) #31 Mark Welch, Hartford, 0
DQ (21) #71 Phil Mitchell III, Buckfield (ineligible)
DNS #13 Mike Blash, Oxford
DNS #63 Brent Westberry, Buckfield
Lap leaders: Smith 1-5, Hebert 6-20.
Cautions: 3 (laps 1, 3, 6)
Time of race: 18 minutes, 19 seconds

ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY LADIES (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (2) #18 Patty Brannon, Topsham, 20
2. (8) #51 Deanna Bisbee, South Paris, 20
3. (10) #2 Kimberly Sessions, Auburn, 20
4. (11) #34 Dottie Patria, Turner, 20
5. (13) #23 Vanna Brackett, Buckfield, 20
6. (4) #13 Missy Roussel, Oxford, 20
7. (14) #00 Christina Spaulding, Lewiston, 20
8. (9) #92 Debbie Marston, Hartford, 20
9. (12) #69 Cathy Manchester, Gray, 20
10. (7) #281 Lisa Vining, Poland, 20
11. (1) #30 Lisa Brooks, Auburn, 19
12. (5) #28 Sue Veinott, Sabattus, 19
13. (6) #29 Shannon Wheeler, Auburn, 19
14. (3) #44 Annie Chartier, Mexico, 18
15. (15) #112 Danielle Morang, Norway, 16
Lap leaders: Brannon 1-20.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 6 minutes, 44 seconds.

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

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