|
NEWS
August 11, 2007
MacDonald survives late rallies
by Rolfe, Adams for caution-free ACT victory
OXFORD, Maine - Many drivers have crossed the invisible border
between the NASCAR Busch East Series and American-Canadian Tour
during the two-decade history of the distinctly different touring
divisions.
For one driver to win a race in both
series in the same season, however, is rare indeed, if not
unprecedented.
In the spirit of the old
"outlaws" such as Jeff Stevens and Dave Dion before him,
Eddie MacDonald -- a different personality from a different
generation but showcasing similar talent -- pulled off that bit of
history Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.
MacDonald patiently waited until the
final dozen laps of the ACT Time Warner Cable 100 to make his
winning move around TD Banknorth 250 champion Roger Brown, then held
off a frantic charge by Ricky Rolfe and a late-arriving Travis Adams
to score a thrilling, caution-free win.
The 27-year-old from Rowley, Mass.,
became the eighth different driver in as many races to win an ACT
event on the stateside leg of the tour this season. MacDonald
previously ruled a NASCAR Busch East race at Connecticut's Stafford
Motor Speedway in early June.
He also competed against the likes of
Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards in the NASCAR Busch
Series race at New Hampshire International Speedway on June
30.
In supporting feature action, Skip
Tripp achieved his own rare feat by winning his third consecutive
Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy Strictly Stock feature. Darick Barker
captured an Allen’s Mini Stock main event for the second time this
summer.
Eddie Mac adds Late Model triumph to
unique season
Prior to leading in the early stages
of the TD Banknorth 250, MacDonald logged a pair of top-three
finishes in Saturday night weekly competition at OPS.
“We’ve has some fast runs with
this car, and now we’ve finally got a win with it, so that’s
awesome,” MacDonald said of the New England Mechanical Overlay/Bus
and Transit Sales #17.
ACT tour standouts Scott Payea and
Brown picked up where they left off in last month’s 250, setting a
blistering pace that made MacDonald an afterthought, for a
while.
Payea started on the pole by virtue
of his “plus-minus” handicap of eight after the heat race, and
the Vermont challenger led the first 71 laps. That advantage grew to
about eight car lengths in the early stages. Once Payea caught a
pack of fast, would-be lapped traffic near the halfway point,
however, Brown had no problem reeling in the leader.
Brown moved to the front on lap 72,
and MacDonald followed suit by blazing a trail around Payea shortly
thereafter.
“We were trying to take it easy at
the beginning there, just hanging on and letting the car come into
it and saving the tires a little bit,” MacDonald said. “Rollie
LaChance and the entire crew, they did an awesome job setting the
car up.”
Without a caution flag to slow and
redirect the field, Brown encountered the same difficulty as the
front-runner.
MacDonald took the top spot from
Brown to the inside as the leaders raced through slightly slower
traffic on lap 89.
“It kind of slowed the leaders down
so I could catch ’em,” MacDonald said of the traffic. “We
worked a little pick and got by him.”
Nobody on the track was faster in
that definitive stretch than Rolfe. The 2002 OPS Late Model and 2003
Pro Stock champion slid from his sixth starting position to ninth
and stayed there through the first half of the race.
On the long run, though, Rolfe’s
home track knowledge and a resurgent J. Jones Construction/D.A.
Wilson #51 ushered him back into contention.
“We weren’t too good today in
practice, and in the heat even though we finished second we
weren’t too good,” Rolfe said. “We made a spring change after
the heat race, and even at the start of the feature the car wasn’t
too good, but she came around.”
Rolfe zeroed in on MacDonald and made
his first overture to the outside on lap 92. His bumper got as close
as MacDonald’s rear quarter panel before the versatile touring
standout smartly and paradoxically held his ground by slowing
down.
“I think the 17 car knew who the
fastest car was,” Rolfe said of MacDonald. “He didn’t want to
pass that lapped car, and he knew why. The 51 was going to go by
him. He’s good. He raced him clean, he raced me clean, we all
raced clean. No cautions, hell of a show.”
Adams made one of his patented
outside passes to take third away from Brown at the finish
line.
The 2003 and 2006 speedway champion,
currently the Oxford Networks point leader by a narrow margin over
Rolfe, hasn’t enjoyed good fortune in touring events at his home
track.
Last year, Adams held the Dacata
Repair/River Valley Grill #03E out of the ACT races to concentrate
on winning another weekly title.
“We usually get wrecked or some
sort of mechanical failure,” Adams acknowledged. “We started
fourth, so that makes all the difference as far as track position is
concerned. I had a fast race car. I was saving my stuff, so we had
to pour it on at the end and happened to beat Roger Brown there at
the line.”
Six-time ACT champion Jean-Paul Cyr
finished fifth. Payea slid to sixth in front of Brian Hoar, Glen
Luce, Dennis Spencer Jr. and Jamie Fisher. Luce made the most
progress of any driver in the field from his 21st starting position
to eighth.
The race was complete in an
astonishing 28 minutes, 46 seconds, and all 33 cars were running at
the finish. Eighteen cars finished on the lead lap, with another
dozen only one lap behind MacDonald's pace.
Forty-five cars attempted to qualify
for the fourth event in the five-race L/A Harley-Davidson Late Model
Challenge Series, which will pay $5,000 to the champion. Brown
retains the lead headed into the season-ending New England Dodge
Dealers 150 on October 6.
MacDonald, Alan Tardiff, Ron Henry
and Fisher were heat winners.
Rare Tripp-le play in Strictly
Stock
The Allen’s Strictly Stock division
has existed in its current form since 1992, and no driver has won
more than 18 career feature races.
That speaks to the immense challenge
of winning back-to-back races. Three straight? Unthinkable.
Think again. Skip Tripp has solved
the riddle late in the season, putting himself within dreaming
distance of the division championship after capturing his third
straight feature Saturday night.
“I’ve got to thank Richard and
Kelly of R.P.M. Racing Engines. They own this weapon, and it is a
weapon,” Tripp said.
Tripp entered his post-250 surge with
five previous career wins in the Strictly Stock division. He has
earned six, seven and eight with a blazing charge from the rear of
the field in his heat and mid-pack in the feature.
This time, Tripp took the lead from
Rick Thompson just before the third and final caution flag on lap
15. Actually, one more caution flag might have spelled the end of
the winning streak.
“You wouldn’t believe it, but on
the last lap she just quit going down the backstretch and she still
won’t go,” Tripp said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with
her. It hasn’t been easy, I’ll tell you. We’ve got a new guy,
Ricky Drew, working on the tires, and you wouldn’t believe how
good he is.”
The second through fifth-place cars
engaged in a terrific battle while Tripp escaped the fray.
Point leader Tommy Tompkins and the
Dave’s Janitorial/Tommy Gun’s Pit Stop #113 lurked in three-time
champion Larry Emerson’s tire tracks throughout the second half
before stealing the runner-up spot with a bold, outside move in the
final corner.
“We weren’t going to have
anything for Skip,” admitted Tompkins. “We put in a bunch of new
front end parts and we’re still breaking ’em in. I hoped if we
could keep Larry to the inside that we might have something for him
there on the last lap, and we got lucky and got enough bite there
coming off turn four.”
Emerson did a masterful job
protecting the inside lane and survived for third in the Bo-Mar
Transportation/Durham Get & Go #24, followed by Sumner Sessions
and a fast-closing Matt Williams.
“I didn’t have anything for
either one of those guys, and Sumner was there, too,” said
Emerson. “We were lucky to hang on. It’s finally going pretty
good again after the trouble we had a few weeks ago.”
Tompkins’ run increased his
razor-close point lead over Sessions from three points to nine
entering the final three events of the championship season.
Thibeault’s troubles in traffic
boost Barker
Barker’s caution-free conquest in
the Allen’s Mini Stock clash was a classic example of one driver
being in precisely on the right patch of racetrack at the right
time. And vice versa, in Bill Thibeault’s case.
Thibeault out-powered Barker on the
initial start and led the first 19 laps until a fateful encounter
with the slower car of Dale Durgin on lap 20. Thibeault’s ride
shot up the track in turn four and spun over the top, taking him out
of contention for his third win of the season.
Traveling one car length behind the
incident, Barker somehow escaped with the lead and increased it to
almost four seconds at the checkers in the SIB Enterprises/North Jay
Redemption #55.
“We’ve finally got it hitched up.
She was pretty much junk in the heat race, ” said Barker, who
actually won his 10-lap qualifier.
Barker continued his resurgence after
a frustrating first half of the season in another car, when merely
starting feature races became a chore.
His father, Steve, ultimately
purchased a ride that was a proven winner in the past for Ted Audet
and Bill Childs Sr. for a relative bargain, and Barker has cashed in
by becoming the fifth different driver to win multiple Mini Stock
features this season.
Kevin Bishop’s fourth top-five
finish in his last six starts was his best to date. Bishop wheeled
his Kalvin’s Auto Repair #08 to second, his best finish in a
Championship Series division since 1992.
“This is what happens when you put
your mind to it and keep working on the car and get it done,”
Bishop said, raising his trophy in the air. “I’d just like to
thank the crew. We put a year into this car getting it ready, and
Crazy Horse Racing Engines gave me a good motor.”
Jimmy Childs remains stymied by his
Wolf Den/G&C Trucking #10. A series of mechanical problems and
wrecks have kept Childs out of the brick winner’s square with only
one exception since June 23.
Other drivers would give anything to
have Childs’ “problems,” though. Thibeault’s difficulties
and a late-race charge past Shane Kaherl left Childs in third.
His podium finish coupled with Adam
Polvinen’s disqualification for refusing a post-race inspection,
Childs now owns a nearly insurmountable lead of 90 points with three
races left in his chase for a second straight championship. No
driver has won back-to-back Mini titles at OPS since Harold Beisaw
in 1975-76.
“It was a lot of driving, a lot of
wheeling the car around. I don’t know what’s wrong with it, but
hopefully I can get it fixed,” Childs said. “I’ve got to thank
my dad. It’s his car. He’s helped us out a lot with all our
years in racing.”
Rookies completed the top five, with
Kaherl fourth and Greg Watkins a best-ever fifth.
OPS action continues Wednesday with
all five Acceleration Series divisions on the docket at 6:30 p.m.
Next Saturday, August 18 features the return of the thunderous
International Supermodified Association for the New England Dodge
Dealers 100. Qualifying is set for 6:30 p.m.
AMERICAN-CANADIAN TOUR TIME WARNER CABLE 10
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (3) #17 Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass., 100
2. (6) #51 Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township, 100
3. (4) #03 Travis Adams, Canton, 100
4. (5) #99 Roger Brown, Lancaster, N.H., 100
5. (10) #32 Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton, Vt., 100
6. (1) #89 Scott Payea, Milton, Vt., 100
7. (8) #45 Brian Hoar, Williston, Vt., 100
8. (21) #7 Glen Luce, Turner, 100
9. (2) #8 Dennis Spencer Jr., Oxford, 100
10. (9) #18VT Jamie Fisher, Shelburne, Vt., 100
11. (7) #97 Joey Polewarczyk Jr., Hudson, N.H., 100
12. (15) #72 Scott Robbins, Dixfield, 100
13. (11) #88 Alan Tardiff, Lyman, 100
14. (16) #70 Scott Dragon, Milton, Vt., 100
15. (22) #94 Shawn Martin, Turner, 100
16. (14) #55 Brent Dragon, Milton, Vt., 100
17. (13) #05 Ron Henry, New Gloucester, 100
18. (23) #18ME Carey Martin, Denmark, 100
19. (19) #77 Jon Brill, Bridgton, 99
20. (28) #11 Ryan Vanasse, Warwick, R.I., 99
21. (25) #02 Randy Potter, Groveton, N.H., 99
22. (24) #36 Kip Stockwell, Braintree, Vt., 99
23. (30) #56 Dale Verrill, Paris, 99
24. (29) #26 John Donahue, Graniteville, Vt., 99
25. (26) #13 Jamie Aube, Bow, N.H., 99
26. (20) #04 T.J. Watson, Harpswell, 99
27. (12) #40 Eric Chase, Milton, Vt., 99
28. (33) #27 Marc Curtis Jr., Worcester, Mass., 99
29. (18) #15 Ben Ashline, Pittston, 99
30. (17) #1 Shane Green, South Pari, 99
31. (27) #41 Pete Potvin III, Graniteville, Vt., 98
32. (31) #80 Donald Theetge, Boischatel, Quebec, 98
33. (32) #6 Tommy Ricker, Poland, 93
Lap leaders: Payea 1-71, Brown 72-88, MacDonald 89-100.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 28 minutes, 46 seconds
Margin of victory: 1 car length
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY STRICTLY STOCK (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (11) #12 Skip Tripp, Sabattus, 30
2. (12) #113 Tommy Tompkins, Dixfield, 30
3. (10) #24 Larry Emerson, Durham, 30
4. (14) #0 Sumner Sessions, Norway, 30
5. (13) #63 Matt Williams, Brownfield, 30
6. (6) #42 Kim Tripp, Oxford, 30
7. (16) #27 Kenny Harrison, Pownal, 30
8. (9) #57 Glen Henderson, Sabattus, 30
9. (1) #07 Rick Thompson, Naples, 30
10. (15) #56 Mike Short, Auburn, 30
11. (5) #54 Bob
Crocker, Freeport, 30
12. (4) #23 Zach Emerson, Durham, 30
13. (3) #13 Chris Burgess, Lewiston, 30
14. (8) #82 Ben Krauter, Raymond, 30
15. (7) #18 Reggie Houghton, Carthage, 20
16. (17) #91 Danny Smart, Buxton, 3
17. (2) #11 Todd Hall, Auburn, 1
DNS #3 David Tripp, Oxford
Lap leaders: Thompson 1-14, S. Tripp 15-30.
Cautions: 3 (lap 4, 6, 15)
Time of race: 20 minutes, 48.224 seconds
Margin of victory: 3.445 seconds
Fast lap: Skip Tripp, 18.473 seconds
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY MINI STOCK (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (1) #55 Darick Barker, Jay, 30
2. (3) #08 Kevin Bishop, South Paris, 30
3. (9) #10 Jimmy Childs, Leeds, 30
4. (8) #19 Shane Kaherl, Jay, 30
5. (5) #29 Greg Watkins, Bridgton, 30
6. (4) #90K Bob
Mooney, Lewiston, 30
7. (13) #12 Bill Childs Sr., Leeds, 30
8. (10) #77 Ashley Marshall, Jay, 30
9. (16) #9 Bob Guptill, Mechanic Falls, 29
10. (2) #8 Bill Thibeault, Oxford, 29
11. (6) #35 Dale Brackett, Oxford, 29
12. (11) #74 Bill Irving, New Gloucester, 24
13. (7) #90 Dale
Durgin, Norway, 21
14. (14) #65 David Mooney, Wales, 11
15. (15) #22 Wayne Warren, North Waterford, 6
DQ (12) #73 Adam Polvinen, Oxford
DNS #80 Don Mooney, New Gloucester
Lap leaders: Thibeault 1-19, Barker 20-30.
Cautions: None
Time of race: 9 minutes, 17.713 seconds
Margin of victory: 3.866 seconds
Fast lap: Darick Barker, 18.586 seconds
HEAT RESULTS
ACT #1
1. Eddie MacDonald
2. Ricky Rolfe
3. Scott Payea
4. Eric Chase
5. Dennis Spencer Jr.
6. Leon Heckbert
7. Glen Luce
8. Randy Potter
9. Pete Potvin III
10. Scott Hodgdon
11. Donald Theetge
12. Corey Morgan
ACT #2
1. Alan Tardiff
2. Jean-Paul Cyr
3. T.J. Watson
4. Ben Ashline
5. Brian Hoar
6. Kip Stockwell
7. Shawn Martin
8. Mike Ferguson
9. Joey Laquerre
10. Ryan Vanasse
11. James Linardy
ACT #3
1. Jamie Fisher
2. Shane Green
3. Joey Polewarczyk
4. Roger Brown
5. Scott Dragon
6. Jamie Aube
7. Doug Coombs
8. Tommy Ricker
9. John Donahue
10. Perley Childs III
11. Greg Peters
ACT #4
1. Ron Henry
2. Brent Dragon
3. Travis Adams
4. Jon Brill
5. Scott Robbins
6. David Avery
7. Carey Martin
8. Marc Curtis Jr.
9. Dale Verrill
10. Gary Chiasson
11. Scott Luce
CONSI #1 QUALIFIERS
1. Glen Luce
2. Carey Martin
3. Randy Potter
4. Pete Potvin III
CONSI #2 QUALIFIERS
1. Shawn Martin
2. Kip Stockwell
3. Jamie Aube
4. Ryan Vanasse
'B' FEATURE QUALIFIERS
1. John Donahue
2. Dale Verrill
PROVISIONALS
Donald Theetge
Tommy Ricker
Marc Curtis Jr.
MINI #1
1. Darick Barker
2. Bill Thibeault
3. Kevin Bishop
4. Bob Mooney
5. Greg Watkins
6. Dale Brackett
7. Dale Durgin
8. Bob Guptill
MINI #2
1. Shane Kaherl
2. Jimmy Childs
3. Ashley Marshall
4. David Mooney
5. Bill Irving
6. Don Mooney
7. Wayne Warren
DQ Adam Polvinen
STRICTLY #1
1. Rick Thompson
2. Todd Hall
3. Chris Burgess
4. Zach Emerson
5. Bob Crocker
6. Kim Tripp
7. Reggie Houghton
8. Ben Krauter
STRICTLY #2
1. Glen Henderson
2. Larry Emerson
3. Skip Tripp
4. Kenny Harrison
5. Tommy Tompkins
6. Matt Williams
7. Sumner Sessions
8. Danny Smart
9. Mike Short
|
|
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!
|
