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OXFORD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
RESULTS
AND PHOTO GALLERY
June 14, 2008 (full story)
Moore wins career first, Rolfe
takes second straight on wild night at OPS
OXFORD, Maine - Darrell Moore turned his first lap around Oxford
Plains Speedway less than a year ago. It didn't take him long to
look as comfortable behind the wheel as a kid playing a video
game.
The Oxford Championship Series rookie made his first win a special
one Saturday night, capturing the Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy 100
for the Mini Stock division.
Moore’s win punctuated a wild race on a wild night. Friday the
13th seemed to arrive a day late, with multi-car incidents slowing
all five features and unforeseen, unprecedented circumstances
providing an unusual backdrop off the track, as well.
A power surge between the Acceleration Series and Championship
Series features knocked out the speedway’s public address system,
scoreboard and electronic scoring for the final three events.
Nobody needed a transponder or a lap counter to see how fast Ricky
Rolfe was traveling. Rolfe took the lead in the Oxford Networks Late
Model feature even before seeing the crossed flags from chief
starter Kenny Tripp at the halfway mark, cruising to his second
straight 40-lap victory.
Larry Emerson joined Skip Tripp as a repeat winner in the Allen’s
Coffee Flavored Strictly Stock ranks, holding Tripp and Matt
Williams at bay over the second half of the 30-lap encounter.
Jake Burns (Call of the Wild RV Sport Truck) and Troy Jordan
(Macdonald Motors Runnin' Rebel) prevailed in Acceleration Series
competition.
Timing was everything for
impressive rookie
Moore took the lead for good on lap 83 from Bill Childs Sr. -- one
of Oxford's most enduring veterans and the man who sold him the car
he drove to victory.
That outside pass came after at least a dozen laps of side-by-side
racing, with the two leaders running virtually door-to-door but
never making contact. Moore forged ahead briefly twice during
that stretch. Remarkably, his final surge was the 11th lead change
of the race.
"I didn't think I had enough to get by him," said Moore,
who made his debut with a handful of four-cylinder races in Oxford's
Acceleration Series on Wednesday nights last summer.
"I just had to keep working and try to find the best groove for
the car."
Rookies aren't always known for their patience, but it was Moore who
kept his cool while others charged to the front but fell by the
wayside due to spins or mechanical maladies.
Brad Dwinal, Shane Kaherl and Justin Karkos all led the race before
Childs. It was Karkos' charge from the rear of the field in only his
second OPS start of the season that prompted Moore to finally break
out of the pack.
“It was kind of hard because you couldn’t see how many laps were
left, and I was trying to pace myself the best I could,” Moore
said. “I saw Karkos was going pretty good, and I didn’t want him
to get too far ahead of me.”
Karkos fell from the lead pack due to a distributor problem. In
another twist of fate, Karkos won a 100-lap race last season in
Moore's #12 before dealing it to Childs.
Childs was content with his runner-up finish after a hard crash into
the front stretch retaining wall last week.
"That was the best that I had,“ Childs said. “That was a
good, clean race, though. He had way more power than me. I know
what’s in it.”
Rick Giguere (third) and Greg Watkins (fourth) failed the post-race
technical inspection, vaulting Don Frechette to third in his first
start of the season. Bill Thibeault moved up to fourth, while Chuck
“Spanky” Higgins finishing a career-best in only his third Mini
Stock start.
Moore moved into the division point lead for the second time this
season, taking advantage of both his own victory and problems that
befell brothers Don and Dave Mooney throughout the night. Don, a
three-time feature winner this season, dropped out with problems
underneath the hood after charging into the top three shortly after
the drop of the green flag. Dave crashed out of both his heat and
the main event.
Moore joined his father, Andy, as an OPS feature winner. Andy Moore
scored his three victories in a 14-day span of 1982 in the old
Street Stock division.
'Better' was best by a bunch in
Late Model
Someday, poor Ricky Rolfe will discover the perfect race car, and
he’ll hope he’s the one behind the wheel.
“We weren’t good last week, even though we won, and we were way
better this week,” Rolfe said.
After three sluggish, combustible attempts to get the Late Model
finale underway, the final 37 laps ran without a stoppage. That was
bad news for the competition, because as anyone who has watched
Rolfe’s performance in American-Canadian Tour events at his home
track over the years would know, few drivers are better at setting
up their ride for the long run.
Rolfe was seventh when the 25-car field finally put two consecutive
green flag laps into the books at lap 5. He stayed in that spot for
seven more circuits before a jaw-dropping drive to the head of the
class. Shawn Martin and Travis Stearns fell into Rolfe’s clutch on
lap 13.
Tommy Ricker was next, and brief contact between Dennis Spencer Jr.
and Corey Morgan moved Rolfe into third on lap 14. Morgan
surrendered the runner-up role two laps later, and next time around
Rolfe waved goodbye to early leader Kurt Hewins and everyone
else.
“I was just waiting for the tires to get hot enough to pull
out,” Rolfe said of his strategy. “I didn’t think I was that
far ahead. (The crew wasn’t) telling me how far ahead I
was.”
Hewins, who settled for a distant second after running a strong
third last Saturday, could have filled in the details.
“He’s got something,” Hewins said, shaking his head. “I
don’t think that car’s going to get much better.”
Other than Rolfe, the happiest team in the pit was the dual
operation of car owners Conrad and Kerrie Childs. Following
Hewins’ #96 across the stripe was teammate Spencer in the #95.
Spencer, who owns two OPS Late Model championships and four division
titles in all, returned to the podium in only his third Oxford start
since a top-five run in last summer’s TD Banknorth 250.
His run marked a full recovery from a hard impact with the front
stretch wall two weeks ago, a trip that essentially destroyed the
rear clip of his machine.
“I thought we were headed back there tonight. I got a little boot
there. That was a little scary,” Spencer said. “At the beginning
of the race I couldn’t run the outside. At the end of the race, I
couldn’t run the bottom.
“We just have a little fine-tuning to do,” he added. “The
car’s pretty good. We’ve been playing with it, trying to get it
ready for the 250.”
The partnership with the Childs family and Spencer is a win-win for
Hewins, a former Limited Sportsman champion who has mostly
campaigned a Strictly Stock since his lone Late Model feature win in
2005.
“Dennis pretty much turns all the wrenches. They’re both good
cars,” Hewins said.
Shawn Martin applied late pressure to Spencer before settling for
fourth. Billy Childs Jr. snuck underneath point leader Travis Adams
late in the race to claim fifth.
It's junkyard now for Emerson,
later for others
Emerson was a huge exception to the Strictly Stock rule Saturday
night. He got his difficulty out of the way before the sun went
down.
“I cut some tires down in practice and one in the heat,” said
the only three-time champion in the history of the division, adding
with a laugh, “Junkyard tires are the way to go.”
Many of his rivals will be raiding the junkyard or the parts trailer
after a 30-lap rumble that saw half the field sidelined at the
finish.
Williams led early before multiple cautions and clever moves in
traffic gave Emerson an opportunity to snag the top spot. Emerson
was the only driver in the lead pack to escape the mayhem when
Williams, Tommy Tompkins and Mike Short collided with one another
and brushed the concrete on a lap 14 restart.
“I saw what coming on and I just steered clear of it and went to
the inside,” Emerson said. “That was a tough race.”
Point leader Skip Tripp and a resurgent Williams were able to latch
onto Emerson during a four-lap shootout at the finish, but neither
had the power or precision to deny Emerson his second win of the
season and 38th at OPS in six different divisions. Seven, counting
Enduro competition.
|“We found our problem,” said
Tripp, who has faced his share of adversity since winning
back-to-back features to start the month of May. “The sway bar
went to (crap). I had nothing for him tonight. Next week I will.”
Glen Henderson and Rick Thompson rode out the carnage and soldiered
on to fourth and fifth, respectively, the final cars on the lead
lap.
Henderson was close enough to give Williams some anxious moments at
the end.
“I was just trying to stay with (Tripp) so Henderson couldn’t
get under me,” said the opening-night feature winner.
Burns, Jordan miss the
messes
First-lap cautions jumbled the order of both Acceleration Series
features.
A four-truck pileup on the backstretch provided the lone restart of
the Truck tangle.
Not that extra ones would have made any difference. Ryan Farrar made
several approaches in Burns’ rearview mirror. He couldn’t get
closer than the tailgate, though, as Burns extended his
season-opening hit streak to 3-for-3 in Agren Appliance Saturday
Showdown competition.
“I have some work to do on it now,” said Burns, a reference to
an apparent overheating issue and a warning that shouldn’t be
welcome news for the rest of the field.
Farrar showed promise with his best run of the season in second.
Earlier in the week, Farrar announced that he is considering a Mini
Stock rookie challenge in 2009.
Burns dedicated his win to another Mini racer, teammate and former
Truck champion “Wild” Bill Irving, who continues his fight with
cancer.
Rookie Ross Spurling nailed down third in front of John Lizotte and
first-time competitor Dennis Brine, another member of the extended
Farrar family.
Kyle Hewins led the first six laps of the Rebel ruckus before a
run-in with a slower car gave Jordan all the room and momentum he
needed to speed past. Jordan extended his advantage over the
remaining laps to secure his seventh career win.
Hewins held off Scott Farrington for second. Doug Degroat took over
the Agren series lead with a solid fourth, followed by James
Wood.
OPS racing resumes with third round of the 2008 Acceleration Series
on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The American-Canadian Tour Dunkin’
Donuts 150 headlines the next Championship Series card Saturday at
6:30 p.m..
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY
MINI STOCK (100 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (12) #12 Darrell Moore, Mechanic Falls, 100
2. (8) #10 Bill Childs Sr., Leeds, 100
3. (16) #16 Don Frechette, Turner, 99
4. (22) #8 Bill Thibeault, Oxford, 99
5. (15) #22 Chuck Higgins, Wales, 98
6. (3) #40 Curtis Fanjoy, Oxford, 98
7. (10) #77 Ashley Marshall, Jay, 97
8. (9) #08 Kevin Bishop, South Paris, 95
9. (18) #88 Dale Durgin, Norway, 90
10. (14) #1 Justin Karkos, Jay, 89
11. (2) #25 Ken Daigle Jr., Lisbon, 85
12. (5) #19 Shane Kaherl, Jay, 67
13. (7) #9 Bob Guptill, Mechanic Falls, 55
14. (17) #2 Butch Keene, Turner, 45
15. (13) #80 Don Mooney, New Gloucester, 34
16. (11) #65 Dave Mooney, Wales, 26
17. (1) #91 Brad Dwinal, Freeport, 20
18. (6) #28 Craig Moore, Woodstock, 12
19. (21) #14 Matt Moore, South Paris, 4
20. (19) #48 Wayne Titus, Minot, 4
DQ (4) #21 Rick Giguere, Auburn
DQ (20) #29 Greg Watkins, Bridgton
Lap leaders: Dwinal 1-11, Kaherl 12-40, Childs 41-50, Karkos
51-57, Childs 58, Karkos 59, Childs 60-73, D. Moore 74-75, Childs
76-78, D. Moore 79, Childs 80-82, D. Moore 83-100.
Cautions: 5 (laps 24, 29, 39, 51, 65)
OXFORD NETWORKS LATE MODEL (40 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (18) #51 Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township, 40
2. (9) #96 Kurt Hewins, Leeds, 40
3. (6) #95 Dennis Spencer Jr., Norway, 40
4. (17) #94 Shawn Martin, Turner, 40
5. (18) #1 Billy Childs Jr., Leeds, 40
6. (19) #03 Travis Adams, Canton, 40
7. (15) #18 Carey Martin, Denmark, 40
8. (21) #73 Joey Doiron, Berwick, 40
9. (22) #24 Roger Brown, Lancaster, N.H., 40
10. (8) #25 Shawn Knight, South Paris, 40
11. (16) #56 Dale Verrill, Paris, 40
12. (11) #6 Tommy Ricker, Poland, 40
13. (8) #85 Travis Stearns, Auburn, 40
14. (11) #6 Matt Sanborn, West Baldwin, 40
15. (14) #63 Don Wentworth, Otisfield, 40
16. (7) #26 Corey Morgan, Lewiston, 40
17. (1) #12 Nick Brown, Bath, 39
18. (23) #08 Gerald Parlin, South Paris, 39
19. (15) #10 Jimmy Childs, Leeds, 39
20. (24) #44 Neil Martin, Freeport, 39
21. (25) #55 Mark Childs Jr., Mechanic Falls, 31
22. (2) #59 Tyson Jordan, Poland, 29
23. (5) #07 Scott Luce, Strong, 14
24. (12) #15 Ben Ashline, Pittston, 2
25. (4) #52 Paul Bosse, Gray, 2
Lap leaders: Brown 1, Morgan 2-10, Hewins 11-16, Rolfe
17-40.
Cautions: 3 (laps 1, 2, 2)
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY STRICTLY STOCK (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (4) #24 Larry Emerson, Durham, 30
2. (10) #12 Skip Tripp, Poland, 30
3. (2) #63 Matt Williams, Brownfield, 30
4. (11) #57 Glen Henderson, Sabattus, 30
5. (5) #07 Rick Thompson, Naples, 30
6. (1) #4 Michael Roe, West Paris, 30
7. (13) #1 Dean Coolidge, Oxford, 27
8. (3) #0 Sumner Sessions, Norway, 24
9. (6) #2 Mike Blue, Leeds, 18
10. (8) #113 Tommy Tompkins, Dixfield, 16
11. (12) #56 Mike Short, Auburn, 14
12. (7) #23 Zach Emerson, Sabattus, 14
13. (9) #81 B.J. Chapman, Bridgton, 10
14. (14) #99 George Haskell, Casco, 1
DNS #77 Perry Tucker, Sumner
Lap leaders: Williams 1-14, L. Emerson 15-30.
Cautions: 5 (laps 10, 13, 14, 14, 26)
MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN' REBEL (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (11) #6 Troy Jordan, Turner, 20
2. (7) #54 Kyle Hewins, Leeds, 20
3. (8) #521 Scott Farrington, Oxford, 20
4. (15) #84 Doug Degroat, Oxford, 20
5. (2) #41 James Wood, New Gloucester, 20
6. (14) #96 Matt Dufault, Turner, 20
7. (6) #3 Josh Childs, Oxford, 20
8. (18) #333 Craig Farrington, Hebron, 20
9. (16) #7x Charlie Webster, Auburn, 20
10. (17) #82 Ben Krauter, Raymond, 20
11. (10) #27 Archie Watt Jr., Auburn, 20
12. (12) #106 Nathan Guptill, North Turner, 20
13. (4) #4 Bill Dunphy, New Gloucester, 20
14. (20) #555 Gerard Cote, Oxford, 19
15. (1) #49 Dustin Couture, Auburn, 19
16. (5) #12 Calvin Rose Jr., Turner, 18
17. (21) #00 Aaron Small, Poland, 17
18. (22) #89 David Giasson, Wales, 5
19. (9) #83 Brady Romano, Livermore Falls, 4
20. (13) #88 Derek Cook, Livermore Falls, 4
21. (3) #46 Jason Berry, Turner, 2
22. (19) #69 John Childs, Leeds, 0
Lap leaders: Hewins 1-6, Jordan 7-20.
Cautions: 2 (laps 0, 2)
Time of race: 18 minutes, 14 seconds
CALL OF THE WILD RV CENTER SPORT TRUCK (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (6) #74 Jake Burns, Gray, 20
2. (5) #69 Ryan Farrar, Oxford, 20
3. (1) #17 Ross Spurling, New Gloucester, 20
4. (4) #1 John Lizotte, Mechanic Falls, 19
5. (7) #43 Dennis Brine, Oxford, 10
6. (3) #54 Devon Smith, Oxford, 7
7. (2) #30 Ryan Varney, Oxford, 0
8. (8) #39 Corey Williams, Sumner, 0
Lap leaders: Burns 1-20.
Cautions: 1 (lap 0)
Time of race: 11 minutes, 49 seconds.
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