|
NEWS
May 26, 2007
Coombs thrives in the fast lane
OXFORD, Maine - Making a successful outside pass has been considered
a risky proposition in recent years, particularly in the fast and
competitive Oxford Networks Late Model division at Oxford Plains
Speedway.
Doug Coombs seems to live for that
challenge.
Coombs staged another one of his
clinics in the high groove Saturday night, passing the top six cars
in succession and surviving a restart with three laps remaining to
capture the 40-lap main event.
It was Coombs' second Late Model win
at OPS and his fifth overall in a career dating back to the late
1970s. Coombs enjoyed several successful years on the regional
Legends Car circuit before returning to his Sportsman roots with
authority.
Travis Adams edged rookie Tommy
Ricker in a photo finish for second before an appreciative
crowd.
After that show-stopper, spectators
also were treated to a holiday weekend fireworks display courtesy of
Central Maine Pyrotechnics.
In other feature action, Matt
Williams fended off Tommy Tompkins early and Skip Tripp late to
claim his first Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy Strictly Stock
feature win since 2003. Jim Childs captured his second straight
Allen's Mini Stock victory, becoming the division's first repeat
winner of the spring in the process.
Rodney Englehaupt enjoyed his first
career feature win in a splendid first Chimney Tech Outlaw
encounter, with Richard Spaulding showing the way in round two.
Francis Bernard Jr. ruled a 15-lap race for the traveling Quirk
Super Cup Series.
Charger challengers reunited in Late
Model thriller
Doug Coombs started 12th in the 24-car Late Model grid, but he
wasted little time surging to sixth by the completion of lap
9.
Corey Morgan was first in Coombs’
clutch, surrendering the fifth spot next time around. Zach Emerson
yielded fourth position to Coombs three laps later, and lap 16 saw
Jon Brill surrender his place on the leader board to the fastest car
in the field. In another three-eighths of a mile, Coombs claimed
second from Scott King.
Tommy Ricker’s two-second lead
evaporated quickly, although the first-year Late Model competitor
gave Coombs his sternest test on the way to the front. Coombs
dropped the hammer and put a fender out front on lap 25. On the next
circuit, Ricker maintained the preferred line along the rail and
regained the upper hand in a rousing battle of two competitors from
the heyday of the Charger division in the 1980s.
Coombs punctuated the battle with a
burst of power on the backstretch on lap 27. Ricker’s car
fishtailed slightly coming out of the fourth turn, and that was the
difference in momentum Coombs needed to seize command.
“The car was fantastic again,”
said Coombs, who has finished in the top 10 in each of his four
appearances this spring. “Kevin McDaniel and my crew do a
tremendous job. It’s all them, really. That car is a privilege to
drive for me. I’m very happy tonight, and I know the crew’s
really happy.“
Getting past Ricker didn’t mean
Coombs’ night was over. Don Wentworth and King tangled while
running in the top 10 with three laps remaining, necessitating a
short sprint to the finish for the second straight week.
Ricker stood to lose the most from
the exchange, because his perch in the outside lane left him
vulnerable to defending track champion Travis Adams’ charge along
the inside.
Coombs claimed victory by a car
length in the Construction Consultants/T&L Auto #57. The bright
green cars diced it out door-to-door in his tire tracks, with Adams
ruled the runner-up by a matter of inches.
“Doug was hooked up pretty well
tonight. We had to come from deep in the field, so I’m more than
happy with this run,” said Adams, who claimed his third straight
top-three finish and assumed the series point lead in the Dacata
Repair/River Valley Grill #03E. “I’m excited. This is
fun.”
Ricker was exuberant in victory lane,
as usual, basking in the best run of his ‘rookie’
campaign.
Together with team owners Rudy and
Natalie Kyllonen and crew chief Freddie DiPompo, Ricker secured a
new Late Model car from King Motorsports after the dissolution of
the Limited Sportsman class last autumn. The Lakeside Auto
Repair/Randy’s Auto Parts/Gendron & Gendron #6 was a
consistent top-10 ride with little to show for it in the standings
until this breakthrough run.
“And Doug had to show up tonight. I
don’t know why,” Ricker said with a laugh. “It’s a new car.
It’s a new division. We’ve had our ups and downs already, even
though it’s only four weeks into it. Nights like this make it all
worth it. We bought the car, but Freddie (DiPompo) did it all
himself. He fabricated it. That car’s pretty much been built at
our shop. I appreciate everything everybody’s done for
me.”
Eddie MacDonald continued his run of
productive long hauls from the New Hampshire-Massachusetts border,
charging from 18th to fourth, while Jon Brill recovered from a
late-race disappointment last week to finish fifth.
Williams quenches thirst for a
Strictly win
Matt Williams hasn’t been a missing person for the last four
racing seasons. He just never quite made it to the top step of the
podium.
After a lengthy and successful run in
the Allen’s Strictly Stock division, concluding with a victory in
August 2003, Williams advanced his racing operation to Limited
Sportsman. The move produced a handful of top-three finishes but
never the ultimate result the R.W. Plumbing/G&S of Brownfield
#63 team desired.
Back home in more affordable
surroundings, Williams warded off two of the toughest competitors in
the Strictly division during his departure to end that lengthy dry
spell with a 30-lap conquest.
“It’s been forever,” said
Williams, who is a teammate to five-time OPS champion and Late Model
standout Carey Martin. “I’m just out in the garage all the time.
I’ve got to thank Carey and everybody over there that helps.
It’s just a ton of help.”
Williams helped himself with a
brilliant drive under duress and in lapped traffic Saturday night.
After Tommy Tompkins roared from 10th
to second in six laps, he pulled to the outside of the leader and
camped out there for nearly 10 full circuits. With the exception of
lap 10, when Tompkins stuck the nose of the Dave’s
Janitorial/Austin’s Gym #113 out in front, Williams held the
division’s second-ranked driver at bay.
Tompkins eventually tucked his car
into single-file formation behind Williams, making a few approaches
inside and outside but failing to complete the pass. Skip Tripp
reeled in the leaders and took his best shot at winning the
caution-free clash over the final five laps. Tripp took over second
with two laps to go but inched only as close as Williams’ rear
fender.
“We made a few adjustments after
the heat, and I think it went the wrong way," said Tompkins,
who confirmed Saturday that he will not attempt to field a Late
Model team this summer in order to concentrate on winning the
elusive Strictly championship. “Skip was coming on. I slid up with
a couple of laps to go, let him go and see if he had anything for
Matt. And Matt drove a hell of a race.”
Tripp also conceded that his
post-qualifying adjustments to the R.P.M. Racing Engines/Waste
Management #12 didn’t leave him with anything for Williams, who
swept both his heat and feature. It matched the best run of the
season for Tripp, who also snagged second in the Sunoco Race Fuels
100 two weeks ago.
Scott Belskis fell a few notches shy
of his second win of the early season, settling for fourth, while
Sumner Sessions’ two-race winning streak ended with a solid
fifth.
Childs passes different test, nets
same result
At least one rival driver dared to verbalize what most everyone else
thought of Jim Childs’ victory in last week’s Allen’s Mini
Stock main event. Sure, it was impressive, but starting on the pole
didn’t demand much of the defending track champion.
Hey, Childs would rather pass cars
like they’re standing still, too. He did that quite literally
Saturday night.
Childs needed only six laps to
screech from 12th to third. When early leaders Ashley Marshall and
Chris Varney bounced off the front stretch wall in an effort to
avoid the disabled car of rookie Al Roberti, Childs inherited the
top spot and paraded to his second straight victory.
Rival Adam Polvinen, Childs’ cousin
Rich Sirois and point leader Justin Karkos (the guy who wished aloud
that he could have started alongside Childs last time out) stayed
within shouting distance but couldn’t deny Childs his 25th career
win in the Wolf Den #10.
“It was a good race. It was kind of
fun starting out behind Justin there. I know he’s been wanting to
race me pretty hard, so I hope he liked that one,” Childs jabbed,
quickly adding, “He’s a good guy. There’s a lot of good
drivers. I’m glad to see more cars. It’s a lot more
fun.”
Twenty-four cars shuffled through the
pit gate for Saturday’s race, with all but one making the starting
grid for the finale. Roberti, Jim Robbins, Joe Treadwell, Dwayne
White and Rick Giguere all made their first starts of the campaign.
Giguere, who raced in the Acceleration Series as recently as
Wednesday night, debuted the 2005 championship car he purchased from
Dan Morris.
That group and anybody wanting to
catch a red-hot Childs had better arrive early. That wasn’t the
case this time out for Polvinen, who missed two of the three
practice sessions in order to attend a wedding.
Acceleration Series driver and
teammate Tyson Jordan shook down the Farrell Enterprise/Al’s Auto
and Truck #73 in the midday heat.
“We’ve been a little trouble
lately. We’ve had running issues, and now that we’ve got that
straightened out, we’re got handling issues. It’s just typical
racing,” said Polvinen. “I’ve got to thank Tyson for helping
me out, because I really didn’t have the time today.”
Karkos maintained the point lead with
a fourth-place performance. It’s the first time he has been denied
a trophy this season. Former champion Butch Keene continued his
steady start in fifth.
Marshall won his heat race and set
the pace for four laps before yielding to Varney. They continued to
shadow each other until hitting the fateful fourth corner at the
wrong time. Varney walked to a waiting ambulance under his own power
after the front-end impact with the concrete.
Bob Guptill’s car stalled to bring
out the second and final caution on lap 13, but Childs escaped the
ensuing restart relatively unchallenged.
Thrilling breakthrough for Englehaupt
Leave it to the ‘low-point’ Chimney Tech Outlaw feature to steal
the show on a Saturday night.
No fewer than eight drivers had a chance to win the first of twin
20-lap features on the final lap. Rodney Englehaupt led on two
separate occasions for a total of 14 laps, never by more than a car
length. And although there were moments when Steve Brill, Tom
Averill, John Spencer and Addison Bowie all appeared a blink of an
eye faster, Englehaupt wasn’t about to let anybody steal away his
first career victory in the Maschino Lumber #43.
Englehaupt carried the checkers after at least five full seasons of
close calls. The top seven cars crossed the start-finish line within
one second of one another.
“Oh, this is awesome,” said an admittedly speechless Englehaupt.
“I can’t believe it. I’ve been working so hard.”
Brill had the best look at the lead
out of everyone else. His ever-increasing loss of grip in turns one
and four booted him out the top three entirely, however.
John Spencer saw a hint of daylight
to the inside in the final two corners, but last year’s Wal-Mart
Rookie of the Year used his front fender judiciously and settled for
a hard-fought second. As it turned out, turning left was the easiest
part of Spencer’s day.
“We just put a junkyard motor in
it, finished up at 5:30 and came on up here. The car went great. We
had a good run,” Spencer said. “I’d like to thank Bill Kiley
for giving the motor out of his plow truck to put in so I could race
tonight.”
Averill nudged out Jacob Hethcoat and
Brill in a three-wide drag race for third. “It must have been a
photo finish,“ Averill said. “That makes it fun, and that’s
what we’re doing here.“
Hethcoat’s car failed the post-race
inspection, vaulting Brill to fourth, Bowie to fifth and Gordon Bell
to sixth.
Richard Spaulding’s
win was a smidge less dramatic but similarly caution-free. After
ditching early leader Tyler Belanger on lap 10, Spaulding saw the
objects grow increasingly smaller in the rear view mirror of his
Field Signs/Lewiston Redemption #36.
“I love being here,” Spaulding
said. “It’s my first time on the podium.”
Kevin Lawrence backed up his
Wednesday night win with a second-place finish ahead of Steve Moon
and David Childs.
"It’s
hooked up right now,” said Lawrence. “I don’t know why, but it
is.”
Ron Abbott Jr. recovered from an
early off-course excursion to post fifth.
In the first appearance of the season
by the Quirk Super Cup touring series, Bernard led all but the first
four circuits of the 15-lap battle ahead of Wes Perry and Scott
Genthner.
Three big events are scheduled at OPS
for the week ahead. The Acceleration Series resumes Wednesday at
6:30 p.m. Championship Series competition, featuring a 100-lap Mini
Stock main event, gets the green flag Saturday at 6:30 p.m. And
Motor Mayhem hits the speedway Sunday, June 3 at 1 p.m., headlined
by Twin Enduro 100s.
OXFORD NETWORKS LATE MODEL (40 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (12) #57 Doug Coombs, Livermore, 40
2. (15) #03 Travis Adams, Canton, 40
3. (2) #6 Tommy Ricker, Poland, 40
4. (18) #17 Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass., 40
5. (5) #77 Jon Brill, Bridgton, 40
6. (4) #2 Zach
Emerson, Sabattus, 40
7. (8) #18 Carey Martin, Denmark, 40
8. (14) #7 Glen Luce, Turner, 40
9. (16) #51 Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township, 40
10. (19) #94 Shawn Martin, Turner, 40
11. (17) #8 Dennis Spencer Jr., Oxford, 40
12. (13) #36 Brad Hammond, Sabattus, 40
13. (20) #04 T.J.
Watson, Harpswell, 40
14. (23) #70 Gary Chiasson, Peru, 40
15. (7) #26 Corey Morgan, Lewiston, 40
16. (9) #69 Dave MacDonald, New Gloucester, 40
17. (22) #1x Mark Anzalone,
Malden, Mass., 40
18. (6) #63 Don Wentworth, Otisfield, 40
19. (3) #85 Travis Stearns, Gray, 39
20. (24) #57x Thore Foss, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., 38
21. (1) #11 Scott King, Livermore Falls, 37
22. (21) #93 Mike Ferguson, Rangeley, 36
23. (11) #40 Rick Valentine, Greene, 31
24. (10) #15 Ben Ashline, Pittston, 8
DNS #56 Dale Verrill, Paris
Lap leaders: Ricker 1-24, Coombs 25, Ricker 26, Coombs 27-40.
Cautions: 1 (lap 37)
Time of race: 15 minutes, 41.613 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.415 seconds
Fast lap: Doug Coombs, 16.270 seconds
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY
STRICTLY STOCK (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (1) #63 Matt Williams, Brownfield, 30
2. (12) #12 Skip
Tripp, Sabattus, 30
3. (10) #113 Tommy Tompkins, Mexico, 30
4. (4) #71 Scott Belskis,
Dixfield, 30
5. (14) #0 Sumner Sessions, Norway, 30
6. (8) #42 Kim Tripp, Oxford, 30
7. (11) #07 Rick
Thompson, Naples, 30
8. (9) #24 Larry Emerson, Durham, 30
9. (13) #81 B.J. Chapman, Bridgton, 30
10. (18) #49 Greg Sessions, Oxford, 30
11. (20) #56 Mike Short, Auburn, 30
12. (17) #57 Glen Henderson, Sabattus, 30
13. (2) #23 Zach Emerson, Sabattus, 29
14. (6) #43 Bob
DiPompo, Jay, 29
15. (7) #4 Todd Hall, Auburn, 29
16. (3) #21 Nick Coates, Turner, 29
17. (19) #29 Chris Mosher, Litchfield, 29
18. (5) #82 Ben Krauter, Raymond, 29
19. (15) #91 Danny Smart, Buxton, 28
20. (22) #P38 Mark Bowie, Poland, 24
21. (16) #13 Chris Burgess, Lewiston, 11
DNS #01 George Haskell, Casco
DNS #64 Randy Heath, Casco
Lap leaders: Williams 1-9, Tompkins 10, Williams 11-30.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 9 minutes, 10.109 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.171 seconds
Fast lap: Tommy Tompkins, 18.464 seconds
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY
MINI STOCK (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (12) #10 Jim Childs, Leeds, 30
2. (11) #73 Adam Polvinen, Oxford, 30
3. (23) #1 Rich Sirois, Leeds, 30
4. (10) #12 Justin Karkos, Jay, 30
5. (9) #2 Butch
Keene, Turner, 30
6. (13) #14 Jeff Prindall, Lisbon Falls, 30
7. (8) #74 Bill Irving, New Gloucester, 30
8. (3) #65 Dave Mooney, Wales, 30
9. (4) #29 Greg Watkins, Bridgton, 30
10. (16) #44 Jim Robbins,
Dixfield, 29
11. (6) #35 Dale Brackett, Oxford, 29
12. (5) #08 Kevin Bishop, South Paris, 29
13. (14) #19 Shane Kaherl, Jay, 28
14. (15) #21 Rick Giguere, Auburn, 28
15. (7) #90 Dale Durgin, Norway, 28
16. (17) #54 Ben Audet, Chesterville, 20
17. (1) #77 Ashley Marshall, Jay, 11
18. (21) #9 Bob Guptill, Mechanic Falls, 10
19. (2) #92 Chris Varney, Scarborough, 5
20. (22) #11 Dwayne White, Livermore, 5
21. (19) #07 Al Roberti, South Paris, 4
22. (18) #5 Darick
Barker, Jay, 3
23. (20) #7 Joe Treadwell, Auburn, 1
DNS #8 Bill Thibeault
Lap leaders: Marshall 1-4, Varney 5-6, Childs 7-30.
Cautions: 2 (laps 6, 13)
Time of race: 18 minutes, 20.208 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.596 seconds
Fast lap: Jim Childs, 18.174 seconds
CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW #1 (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (3) #43 Rodney Englehaupt, Oxford, 20
2. (6) #35 John Spencer Jr., Auburn, 20
3. (5) #3 Tom
Averill, Peru, 20
4. (7) #53 Steve Brill, Bridgton, 20
5. (13) #38 Addison Bowie, Auburn, 20
6. (12) #75 Gordon Bell, Auburn, 20
7. (10) #9 Ralph Felker, Poland, 20
8. (19) #60 Kevin Plummer, Oxford, 20
9. (2) #83 Dan Brown, Carthage, 20
10. (18) #51 Zach Robitaille, Norway, 20
11. (4) #10 Scott Ellis, Lewiston, 20
12. (16) #62 Leo Hatch-Auger, Norway, 20
13. (17) #40x Joe
Hennessey, Oxford, 19
14. (15) #40 Josh Morang, Norway, 19
15. (21) #27 Michael Auger, West Paris, 19
16. (22) #110 Dillon Coburn, Auburn, 19
17. (20) #2 Kimberly Sessions, Auburn, 13
18. (8) #54 Jonathan Baldwin, Auburn, 12
19. (14) #87 Dan Bryan, Center Conway, N.H., 5
20. (9) #30 Scott Veinott, Greene, 4
21. (1) #42 Donnie Wright, Kittery, 3
DQ #37 Jacob Hethcoat, Norway
DNS #77 Jeremy Leavitt
Lap leaders: Ellis 1-3, Englehaupt 4-12, Brill 13-15,
Englehaupt 16-20.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 7 minutes, 25 seconds.
CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW #2 (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (9) #36 Richard Spaulding, Lewiston, 20
2. (11) #24 Kevin Lawrence, South Paris, 20
3. (13) #19 Steve Moon, Gray, 20
4. (15) #5 David Childs, Oxford, 20
5. (2) #39 Ron Abbott Jr., Lewiston, 20
6. (10) #97 Shannon Judd, Jay, 20
7. (6) #63 Bob Ferguson, New Gloucester, 20
8. (4) #122 Mike Rainville, Littleton, N.H., 20
9. (16) #57 Gerry Richard, Leeds, 20
10. (20) #61 Mark
MacDonald, Center Conway, N.H., 20
11. (18) #139 Jerry Freve, Buckfield, 20
12. (19) #18 Thom
Bell, Minot, 20
13. (17) #68 Bubba Collins, Lewiston, 20
14. (14) #6 Jim Archer,
Chesterville, 20
15. (7) #112 Dennis Morang, South Paris, 20
16. (5) #137 David Brown, Gray, 20
17. (1) #33 Tyler Belanger, Sumner, 20
18. (12) #90 Keith Landry, Oxford, 20
19. (21) #777 Mike St.
Germain, Auburn, 19
20. (3) #04 Zach Bowie, Lisbon Falls, 19
21. (8) #8 Gerald Parlin,
South Paris, 17
Lap leaders: Belanger 1-9, Spaulding 10-20.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 6 minutes, 41 seconds
QUIRK NEW ENGLAND SUPER CUP (15
laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (5) #24 Francis Bernard Jr., Howland, 15
2. (3) #8 Wes Perry, East Millinocket, 15
3. (7) #16 Scott Genthner, Milo, 15
4. (6) #5 Rich Hall, Mechanic Falls, 15
5. (9) #3 Ed Trask, Augusta, 15
6. (1) #48 R.J. Pinkham, North Anson, 15
7. (4) #99 Fred Ireland, Howland, 15
8. (8) #15 Vickie Hollobaugh, Hermon, 15
9. (2) #31 Jeff Littlefield, Winslow, 15
Lap leaders: Pinkham 1, Perry 2-4, Bernard 5-15.
Cautions: None.
HEAT RESULTS
LATE MODEL #1
1. Scott King
2. Tommy Ricker
3. Travis Stearns
4. Zach Emerson
5. Jon Brill
6. Don Wentworth
7. Corey Morgan
8. Carey Martin
9. Dave MacDonald
10. Ben Ashline
11. Rick Valentine
12. Dale Verrill
LATE MODEL #2
1. Brad Hammond
2. Doug Coombs
3. Travis Adams
4. Glen Luce
5. Dennis Spencer Jr.
6. Ricky Rolfe
7. Gary Chiasson
8. Eddie MacDonald
9. Shawn Martin
10. T.J. Watson
11. Mike Ferguson
12. Mark Anzalone
13. Thore Foss
STRICTLY STOCK #1
1. Matt Williams
2. Zach Emerson
3. Nick Coates
4. Scott Belskis
5. Ben Krauter
6. Bob DiPompo
7. Chris Burgess
8. Todd Hall
9. Kim Tripp
10. Randy Heath
11. George Haskell
DQ Mark Bowie
STRICTLY STOCK #2
1. Larry Emerson
2. Tommy Tompkins
3. Rick Thompson
4. Skip Tripp
5. B.J. Chapman
6. Sumner Sessions
7. Glen Henderson
8. Danny Smart
9. Greg Sessions
10. Chris Mosher
MINI STOCK #1
1. Ashley Marshall
2. Chris Varney
3. Dave Mooney
4. Greg Watkins
5. Kevin Bishop
6. Dale Brackett
7. Rick Giguere
8. Dale Durgin
9. Al Roberti
10. Darick Barker
11. Dwayne White
12. Bob Guptill
MINI STOCK #2
1. Bill Irving
2. Butch Keene
3. Justin Karkos
4. Adam Polvinen
5. Rich Sirois
6. Jim Childs
7. Jeff Prindall
8. Ben Audet
9. Jim Robbins
10. Shane Kaherl
11. Joe Treadwell
SUPER CUP
1. Wes Perry
2. Francis Bernard Jr.
3. Rich Hall
4. Ed Trask
5. Scott Genthner
6. R.J. Pinkham
7. Fred Ireland
8. Vickie Hollobaugh
9. Jeff Littlefield
|
|
Oxford Networks
Late Model
Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy
Strictly and Mini Stock
Outlaw
Photos by
(207) 645-4571
Photos by Trudy Marshall from
all OPS divisions!
|
