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NEWS
June 10, 2007
Donahue drives away from Brown,
captures Round 2 of L/A Harley Challenge
OXFORD, Maine - Even though he lives a seven-hour round trip away in
Graniteville, Vt., John Donahue once competed at Oxford Plains
Speedway every week in his Strictly Stock ride.
The car and circumstances have
changed, but Donahue still made himself feel right at home Sunday.
Donahue held off fellow American-Canadian Tour competitor Roger
Brown to capture the second round of the five-race L/A
Harley-Davidson Late Model Challenge.
Donahue, who took the lead from home
track driver Brad Hammond on lap 24, earned $2,500 and took a giant
step forward in the open competition series that will pay $5,000 to
the eventual champion.
"It's the best car I've ever had
here. We never touched it between the heat and the feature,"
Donahue said. "I'm in shock."
New Hampshire's Brown matched his
best OPS finish in second, followed by OPS weekly competitors Doug
Coombs, Ricky Rolfe and Glen Luce.
David Avery led a star-studded second
five, trailed by Brian Hoar, Mike Rowe, Jean-Paul Cyr and D.J. Shaw.
Hoar and Cyr have combined for 11 ACT championships. Rowe is a
seven-time OPS champ and three-time TD Banknorth 250 winner, while
the 17-year-old Shaw has already won two lucrative late model opens
in northern New England this spring.
Thirty-six cars qualified for the
main event, which was slowed only four times for caution. Twenty-one
starters finished on the lead lap. The race was postponed one day
due to rain.
In supporting feature action, Larry
Emerson and Tommy Tompkins captured 30-lap Allen's Coffee Flavored
Brandy Strictly Stock scrambles. Bill Thibeault ended Jimmy Childs'
winning streak in the Allen's Mini division at two in a thrilling
finish.
Donahue captured his heat race,
started the National Guard #25 third in the main event and kept
Hammond within a car length throughout the early going.
Two early caution flags slowed
Donahue’s progress, but he made what turned out to be the winning
move by diving to the low side of Hammond during the first extended
green-flag run.
“This is great. It’s a new team,
a new car owner, new sponsor, everything, and I’m so happy for
everyone,” Donahue said.
Cyr’s spin on lap 33 and Dave
MacDonald’s off-course excursion on lap 51 stalled the event two
more times. The second half ran without interruption, however, and
nobody was able to make a run around Donahue.
Brown had the best opportunity. He
lost the runner-up spot to Rolfe on the lap 51 restart, only to earn
it back by finding just enough inside room to return the favor on
the 74th circuit.
With the leaders running roughly
equal times and hitting waves of lapped traffic, Brown’s deficit
varied from one to five car lengths down the stretch. Although Brown
caught Donahue at one point with roughly 10 laps remaining, he
resisted the temptation to rough up the leader.
“I didn’t want to do that,”
said Brown. “I couldn’t get him on the outside. I could run with
John on the bottom, but the only way around him would have been to
move him out of the way. And I was content to run second, because I
know in the same situation that John would rather run second than
spin me.”
The second-place finish matched
Brown’s career-best at Oxford.
Coombs, who has been one of the
fastest Oxford Networks Late Models at OPS throughout the spring,
fought off a handling problem to make one final bid for the win. He
drove around Luce with relative ease on lap 90 and pulled even with
Rolfe in the same maneuver.
Rolfe put up a valiant fight for the
final podium position, and the seven circuits it took Coombs to get
around the 2002 OPS Late Model champ left him without time or tires
to deal with the touring stars.
“I had to save a little something
for the end, but it’s gone a lot better than that,” Coombs said.
“We developed a vibration in it today, which hasn’t happened all
year. It was hot out there. We’re used to running the outside on
Saturday night when it’s a lot cooler.”
Hammond, Donahue and Joey Becker were
heat winners. After failing to make the starting grid for his
original qualifier, reigning Oxford Networks Late Model champion
Travis Adams raced from last to first in the consolation
round.
Coombs took over the L/A
Harley-Davidson Challenge point lead. He finished fourth in the
season-opener on April 28.
Great guns: Tompkins tough twice
Last week’s thunderstorms necessitated double Strictly Stock
features, and Tompkins’ second and first-place finishes combined
with Sumner Sessions’ runs of fourth and seventh in a backup car
vaulted Tompkins into the Allen’s series lead.
“I don’t know. It seems like we
run good, and Sumner has bad luck, yet I look up at the scoreboard
and he’s fourth,” Tompkins said. “You can’t gain any ground
when he’s pulling cars out of the mud and they’re going that
good.”
Sessions suffered motor problems in
his new #0 ride during the afternoon practice, forcing him to make
the short trip home to drag last season’s rusty but trusty green
out of storage.
Speaking of familiar sights,
Emerson’s return to victory lane after a 10-month absence
shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone. The only three-time
champion in Strictly Stock history roared from 17th to the lead in
four laps in the Bo-Mar Transportation/Durham Get & Go #24 and
kept Tompkins in his mirror for the duration.
“It was a little warm out there,”
Emerson said. “It didn’t help my car at all, but I don’t think
it helped anybody’s car.”
Tompkins held off Scott Belskis for
second, with Sessions chugging along to fourth and early leader Mark
Bowie rebounding from an early pit stop to claim fifth. Rookie Greg
Sessions ran in the top three throughout, only to see a flat right
rear tire douse his hopes with three laps to go.
In victory lane, Tompkins said he
knew what changes he’d need to make to the Hanson’s
Automotive/Dave’s Janitorial #113 to get faster in the encore.
Surely enough, he needed only six laps to reel in Greg Sessions and
Bowie to land the lead and set sail in a caution-free sprint.
Mike Short zeroed in over the final
five laps before settling for a season-best second.
“I had to make it a little
interesting for Mike,” Tompkins said. “I had to let him get up
there close enough to get excited a little bit.”
The run was redemption for Short, who
was fast in the opener before a mechanical problem sent him behind
the wall for seven laps. “We worked really hard,” Short said.
“I wanted to get by Tommy bad.”
Despite driving what he pronounced
“the biggest piece of junk in my life,” Matt Williams continued
his recent hot streak in third, followed by Emerson and Kim
Tripp.
Thibeault turns it around
Six Allen’s Mini Stock drivers
finished within 1.1 seconds of the lead in the wildest finish of the
day.
After making wholesale changes with
the appearance of his car over the winter -- red to black, No. 57 to
8 -- Thibeault’s rotten luck was such that he hadn’t even
started a feature race until Sunday.
Then, after leading the first few
laps, it seemed inevitable that the Poland Spring Waters/Maine-Ly
Action Sports #8 would surrender the advantage to the red-hot #10 of
Childs. But while Childs pulled virtually even on lap 6, the slick
track surface and Thibeault’s determination wouldn’t let the
defending champion progress any further.
Thibeault and Childs exchanged the
lead an astonishing six times over the final 14 laps. Their
side-by-side encounter was a break for pursuers Justin Karkos,
Ashley Marshall, Adam Polvinen and Bill Irving, all of whom were
close enough to see checkers or a wrecker if something broke ahead
of them.
Childs stuck a fender ahead at the
white flag, but Thibeault took advantage of the preferred line and
won the drag race to the finish by an eyelash.
“We’ve had a lot of motor
problems, and we finally put it together and got it here,”
Thibeault said. “I’ve always had fun racing Jimmy, and that was
a blast.”
With the exception of a
did-not-finish in the third week, Childs has finished no worse than
third all season.
“I gave it all I had,” Childs
said, “but the track was hot and the car got really
loose.”
Karkos also has only one non-trophy
run to date, and his third-place effort padded the point lead.
“It’s too bad we couldn’t have
gotten single file, because I was a lot faster than both (Thibeault
and Childs),” Karkos said. “Jimmy did what he had to do.”
Marshall’s fourth-place showing was
his best of the season. Polvinen protected second in the
championship standings by finishing fifth in front of Irving, the
Wal-Mart Rookie of the Year point leader.
The next race in the L/A
Harley-Davidson Challenge is the 34th annual TD Banknorth 250
Presented By New England Dodge Dealers on Sunday, July 22. OPS
action continues this Wednesday with the Acceleration Series and
Saturday with Dunkin' Donuts Night and the Championship Series,
featuring a 100-lap Strictly Stock showdown. Racing begins both
nights at 6:30 p.m.
L/A HARLEY-DAVIDSON LATE MODEL CHALLENGE (100 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (3) #25 John
Donahue, Graniteville, Vt., 100
2. (6) #99 Roger Brown, Lancaster, N.H., 100
3. (10) #57 Doug
Coombs, Livermore, 100
4. (14) #51 Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township, 100
5. (9) #7 Glen Luce, Turner, 100
6. (19) #10 David Avery, North Woodstock, N.H., 100
7. (4) #45 Brian Hoar,
Williston, Vt., 100
8. (11) #24 Mike Rowe, Turner, 100
9. (17) #32 Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton, Vt., 100
10. (20) #60 D.J. Shaw, Center Conway, N.H., 100
11. (8) #8 Dennis Spencer Jr., Turner, 100
12. (7) #72 Scott Robbins, Dixfield, 100
13. (29) #05 Ron Henry, New Gloucester, 100
14. (28) #11RI Ryan
Vanasse, Warwick, R.I., 100
15. (22) #04 T.J. Watson, Harpswell, 100
16. (25) #03 Travis
Adams, Canton, 100
17. (26) #56 Dale Verrill, Paris, 100
18. (18) #23 Travis Khiel, Denmark, 100
19. (13) #1 Billy Childs Jr., Leeds, 100
20. (24) #63 Don Wentworth, Otisfield, 100
21. (27) #93 Mike
Ferguson, Rangeley, 100
22. (2) #16 Joey Becker, Jeffersonville, Vt., 99
23. (16) #26 Corey
Morgan, Lewiston, 99
24. (31) #11 Scott King, Livermore Falls, 98
25. (30) #6 Tommy Ricker, Poland, 97
26. (33) #70 Gary Chiasson, Peru, 96
27. (36) #69 Dave MacDonald, New Gloucester, 96
28. (1) #36 Brad Hammond, Sabattus, 96
29. (32) #01 Bill Childs Sr., Leeds, 89
30. (15) #17 Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass., 44
31. (5) #1x Mark Anzalone, Malden, Mass., 41
32. (12) #94 Shawn Martin, Turner, 32
33. (21) #18 Jamie Fisher, Shelburne, Vt., 27
34. (23) #2 Zach Emerson, Sabattus, 18
35. (35) #31 Tim Pendergast, Swanville, 1
36. (34) #77MA James
Linardy, Malden, Mass., 0
DNS #77 Jon Brill, Bridgton
Lap leaders: Hammond 1-23, Donahue 24-100.
Cautions: 4 (laps 1,3, 33,.51)
Time of race: 47 minutes, 32.077 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.492 seconds
Fast lap: Dale Verrill, 16.304 seconds
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY STRICTLY STOCK #1
(30 laps, makeup
from June 2)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (17) #24 Larry Emerson, Durham, 30
2. (16) #113 Tommy Tompkins, Mexico, 30
3. (10) #71 Scott Belskis, Dixfield, 30
4. (13) #0 Sumner Sessions, Norway, 30
5. (1) #P38 Mark Bowie, Poland, 30
6. (24) #91 Danny Smart, Buxton, 30
7. (20) #23 Zach Emerson,
Sabattus, 30
8. (7) #11 Todd Hall, Auburn, 30
9. (15) #63 Matt Williams, Brownfield, 30
10. (3) #21 Nick Coates, Turner, 30
11. (22) #13 Chris Burgess, Lewiston, 30
12. (21) #36 Ron
Charpentier Jr., Wales, 30
13. (4) #82 Ben Krauter, Raymond, 30
14. (2) #49 Greg Sessions, Oxford, 29
15. (6) #01 George Haskell, Casco, 24
16. (18) #56 Mike Short, Auburn, 23
17. (5) #64 Randy
Heath, Casco, 12
18. (9) #43 Bob DiPompo, Jay, 5
19. (23) #8 Shawn Thompson, Wilton, 4
20. (11) #42 Kim Tripp, Oxford, 3
21. (14) #12 Skip Tripp, Sabattus, 3
22. (12) #07 Rick Thompson, Naples, 3
23. (19) #81 B.J. Chapman, Bridgton, 2
24. (8) #57 Glen Henderson, Sabattus, 1
DNS #29 Chris Mosher, Litchfield
Lap leaders: Bowie 1-2, G. Sessions 3, L. Emerson 4-30.
Cautions: 2 (laps 3, 4)
Red flags: 1 (lap 2)
Time of race: 24 minutes, 52.191 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.316 seconds
Fast lap: Mike Short, 18.800 seconds
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY STRICTLY STOCK #2 (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (11) #113 Tommy Tompkins, Mexico, 30
2. (13) #56 Mike Short, Auburn, 30
3. (15) #63 Matt Williams, Brownfield, 30
4. (10) #24 Larry Emerson, Durham, 30
5. (8) #42 Kim Tripp, Oxford, 30
6. (3) #P38 Mark
Bowie, Poland, 30
7. (12) #0 Sumner Sessions, Norway, 30
8. (17) #11 Skip Tripp, Sabattus, 30
9. (1) #13 Chris Burgess, Lewiston, 30
10. (14) #23 Zach Emerson, Sabattus, 30
11. (9) #71 Scott
Belskis, Dixfield, 30
12. (4) #36 Ron Charpentier Jr., Wales, 30
13. (5) #43 Bob DiPompo, Jay, 30
14. (21) #82 Ben Krauter, Raymond, 29
15. (2) #49 Greg Sessions, Oxford, 29
16. (22) #21 Nick
Coates, Turner, 29
17. (19) #8 Shawn Thompson, Wilton, 28
18. (18) #03 Maurice Young, Chelsea, 27
19. (20) #64 Rick Thompson, Naples, 24
20. (7) #91 Danny Smart, Buxton, 23
21. (16) #14 Dave Brannon, Topsham, 3
22. (6) #01 George Haskell, Casco, 3
DNS #81 B.J. Chapman, Bridgton
DNS #11 Todd Hall, Auburn
DNS #64 Randy Heath, Casco
DNS #57 Glen Henderson, Sabattus
Lap leaders: G. Sessions 1-3, Bowie 4-5, Tompkins 6-30.
Cautions: 1 (lap 3)
Time of race: 14 minutes, 38.847 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.218 seconds
Fast lap: Maurice Young, 18.485 seconds
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY MINI STOCK (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (1) #8 Bill
Thibeault, Oxford, 30
2. (7) #10 Jimmy Childs, Leeds, 30
3. (9) #12 Justin Karkos, Jay, 30
4. (2) #77 Ashley Marshall, Jay, 30
5. (12) #73 Adam Polvinen, Oxford, 30
6. (10) #74 Bill Irving, New Gloucester, 30
7. (13) #16 Don Frechette, Turner, 30
8. (3) #5 Darick Barker, Jay, 30
9. (8) #19 Shane Kaherl, Jay, 30
10. (11) #14 Jeff Prindall, Lisbon Falls, 30
11. (16) #29 Greg
Watkins, Bridgton, 30
12. (5) #08 Kevin Bishop, South Paris, 30
13. (15) #07 Al Roberti,
South Paris, 29
14. (4) #35 Dale Brackett, Oxford, 20
15. (6) #90 Dale Durgin, Norway, 15
16. (14) #9 Bob Guptill, Mechanic Falls, 1
Lap leaders: Thibeault 1-16, Childs 17, Thibeault 18-25,
Childs 26, Thibeault 27-28, Childs 29, Thibeault 30.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 9 minutes, 8.209 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.102 seconds
Fast lap: Justin Karkos, 18.590 seconds
HEAT RESULTS
LATE MODEL #1
1. Brad Hammond
2. Brian Hoar
3. Scott Robbins
4. Doug Coombs
5. Billy Childs Jr.
6. Corey Morgan
7. David Avery
8. T.J. Watson
9. Mike Ferguson
10. Dave MacDonald
11. Ron Henry
DNS Travis Adams
LATE MODEL #2
1. Joey Becker
2. Mark Anzalone
3. Dennis Spencer Jr.
4. Mike Rowe
5. Ricky Rolfe
6. Jean-Paul Cyr
7. D.J. Shaw
8. Zach Emerson
9. Tommy Ricker
10. Ryan Vanasse
11. Scott King
12. Gary Chiasson
LATE MODEL #3
1. John Donahue
2. Roger Brown
3. Glen Luce
4. Shawn Martin
5. Eddie MacDonald.
6. Travis Khiel
7. Jamie Fisher
8. Don Wentworth
9. Dale Verrill
10. James Linardy
11. Bill Childs Sr.
12. Tim Pendergast
LATE MODEL CONSI
1. Travis Adams
2. Dale Verrill
3. Mike Ferguson
4. Ryan Vanasse
5. Ron Henry
6. Tommy Ricker
7. Scott King
8. Bill Childs Sr.
9. Gary Chiasson
10. James Linardy
11. Tim Pendergast
12. Dave MacDonald
STRICTLY #1
1. Chris Burgess
2. Greg Sessions
3. Todd Hall
4. Mark Bowie
5. Ron Charpentier Jr.
6. Randy Heath
7. Bob DiPompo
8. George Haskell
9. Shawn Thompson
10. Nick Coates
11. Danny Smart
DQ Ben Krauter
STRICTLY #2
1. Scott Belskis
2. Kim Tripp
3. Tommy Tompkins
4. Larry Emerson
5. Mike Short
6. Sumner Sessions
7. Matt Williams
8. Dave Brannon
9. Zach Emerson
DQ Maurice Young
MINI #1
1. Bill Thibeault
2. Ashley Marshall
3. Darick Barker
4. Bob Guptill
5. Dale Brackett
6. Kevin Bishop
7. Dale Durgin
8. Al Roberti
MINI #2
1. Jimmy Childs
2. Shane Kaherl
3. Justin Karkos
4. Bill Irving
5. Jeff Prindall
6. Adam Polvinen
7. Don Frechette
8. Greg Watkins
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Oxford Networks
Late Model
Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy
Strictly and Mini Stock
Photos by
(207) 645-4571
Photos by Trudy Marshall from
all OPS divisions!
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