Karkos outlasts Mini field for first-ever win

May 7, 2007 | Oxford Plains Speedway

Karkos outlasts Mini field for first-ever win;
Rolfe captures Late Model opener at OPS

OXFORD, Maine – Justin Karkos played the waiting game to perfection Saturday night, taking advantage of a tangle between leaders Jimmy Childs and Adam Polvinen with eight laps remaining to win the Sunoco Race Fuels 100 main event at Oxford Plains Speedway. 

Karkos then held off former track champion Butch Keene to claim the checkered flag in the Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy Mini Stock main event. It is the first win of his OPS career. Karkos was last year's Wal-Mart Rookie of the Year in the Mini Stock division and is a graduate of the Oxford Acceleration Series.
Childs rebounded for third, just ahead of Polvinen and Jeff Prindall. Only the top four cars finished on the lead lap.
Two-time track champion Ricky Rolfe won a hotly contested Oxford Networks Late Model feature. That 40-lapper was the first Oxford Championship Series in the "new" era of the division, and it featured many past champions of the discontinued Pro Stock and Limited Sportsman divisions.
Rolfe edged Doug Coombs in a three-lap sprint to the finish after the final caution flag of the event. A winner in six different divisions at the speedway, Rolfe was the 2002 Late Model and 2003 Pro Stock champion.
Glen Luce, Carey Martin, NASCAR Busch East veteran Eddie MacDonald, Shawn Martin, T.J. Watson, Tim Brackett, Travis Adams and Scott King rounded out the top 10 in a classy 26-car field.
Scott Belskis withstood a last-lap charge by Sumner Sessions to win the 30-lap Allen's Coffee Brandy Strictly Stock feature. B.J. Chapman, Tommy Tompkins and Skip Tripp followed.
Thom Bell went 2-for-2 on the young season with a wire-to-wire victory in the first of two 20-lap Chimney Tech Outlaw features. Jerry Freve and Mike Ballard trailed Bell across the stripe. It was the first race for an Acceleration Series division in the history of Oxford's Championship Series.
Mark MacDonald scored the second Outlaw triumph ahead of Bubba Collins and Gerry Richard.
Racing at OPS resumes Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. with the Acceleration Series, Friday at 6:30 p.m. with the JARRacing Photography Go Kart Series, and Saturday at 6:30 p.m. for the Oxford Championship Series.

ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY MINI STOCK (100 laps): 1. Justin Karkos, Jay; 2. Butch Keene, Turner; 3. Jim Childs, Leeds; 4. Adam Polvinen, Oxford; 5. Jeff Prindall, Lisbon Falls; 6. Bill Irving, New Gloucester; 7. Shane Kaherl, Jay; 8. John Cary, Cumberland; 9. Don Frechette, Turner; 10. Dale Durgin, Norway; 11. Ashley Marshall, Jay; 12. Bob Guptill, Mechanic Falls; 13. Dale Brackett, Norway; 14. Greg Watkins, Bridgton; 15. Kevin Bishop, South Paris; 16. Wayne Warren, Waterford; 17. Darick Barker, Jay.

OXFORD NETWORKS LATE MODEL (40 laps): 1. Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township; 2. Doug Coombs, Livermore; 3. Glen Luce, Turner; 4. Carey Martin, Denmark; 5. Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass.; 6. Shawn Martin, Turner; 7. T.J. Watson, Cundy's Harbor; 8. Tim Brackett, Oxford; 9. Travis Adams, Canton; 10. Scott King, Livermore Falls; 11. Jon Brill, Bridgton; 12. Travis Stearns, Gray; 13. Rick Valentine, Greene; 14. Zach Emerson, Durham; 15. Gary Chiasson, Peru; 16. Billy Childs Jr., Leeds; 17. Dale Verrill, Paris; 18. Don Wentworth, Otisfield; 19. Brad Hammond, Sabattus; 20. Scott Hodgdon, Mechanic Falls; 21. Ben Ashline, Pittston; 22. Neil Martin, Freeport; 23. Tim Pendergast, Swanville; 24. Bill Childs Sr., Leeds; 25. Tommy Ricker, Poland; 26. Dennis Spencer Jr., Oxford.

ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY STRICTLY STOCK (30 laps): 1. Scott Belskis, Dixfield; 2. Sumner Sessions, Norway; 3. B.J. Chapman, Naples; 4. Tommy Tompkins, Mexico; 5. Skip Tripp, Sabattus; 6. Mike Short, Auburn; 7. Danny Smart, Buxton; 8. Rick Thompson, Naples; 9. Zach Emerson, Sabattus; 10. Jeff Moon, Gray; 11. David Vaughn, Naples; 12. Larry Emerson, Durham; 13. Kurt Hewins, Leeds; 14. Billy Childs Jr., Leeds; 15. Nick Coates, Turner; 16. Ron Charpentier Jr.,. Wales; 17. Randy Heath, Casco; 18. Ben Krauter, Raymond; 19. George Haskell, Casco; 20. Bob DiPompo, Jay; 21. Chris Mosher, Litchfield; 22. Dick Damon, Livermore; 23. Greg Sessions, Oxford; 24. Matt Williams, Brownfield; 25. Kim Tripp, Oxford.

CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW #1 (20 laps): 1. Thom Bell, Minot; 2. Jerry Freve, Buckfield; 3. Mike Ballard, Mechanic Falls; 4. David Childs, Oxford; 5. Steve Moon, Gray; 6. Josh Paradis, Sumner; 7. Kevin Lawrence, South Paris; 8. Richard Spaulding, Lewiston; 9. Dennis Morang, Norway; 10. Bob Ferguson, New Gloucester; 11. Mike Rainville, Littleton, N.H.; 12. Ron Abbott Jr., Auburn; 13. Gordon Bell, Auburn; 14. Bruce Robertson, Leeds; 15. Carey Robertson, Leeds; 16. Ralph Felker, Poland; 17. Scott Veinott, Sabattus; 18. Randy Allen, Casco; 19. Justin Dennison, North Yarmouth; 20. Rick Vining, Buckfield.
CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW #2 (20 laps): 1. Mark MacDonald, Center Conway, N.H.; 2. Bubba Collins, Lewiston; 3. Gerry Richard, Leeds; 4. Jim Archer, Chesterville; 5. Randy Robitaille, Norway; 6. Keith Landry, Oxford; 7. Shannon Judd, Jay; 8. Gerald Parlin, Norway; 9. Fred Clavet, Buckfield; 10. David Brown, Gray; 11. Zach Bowie, Lisbon; 12. Tyler Belanger, Sumner; 13. Addison Bowie, Auburn; 14. John Patria, Turner; 15. Jacob Hethcoat, Norway; 16. Maurice Martel Jr., Greene; 17. Jonathan Baldwin, Falmouth; 18. John Spencer Jr., Auburn; 19. Steve Brill, Bridgton.