Seven straight kart triumphs for Davis;
First win in first try for Nile in Unrestricted
OXFORD, Maine – Troy Davis is simply unstoppable.
Last year's Purple Plate champion in the JARRacing Photography Go Kart Series made it a perfect 7-for-7 since jumping to the Blue Plate division this season, lapping the field in his 20-lap Friday night feature.
Davis has rolled up 18 wins in only two-and-a-half seasons of kart competition. He still has a way to go to catch Dave Farrington Jr., who pulled off his fifth Unrestricted victory of the season and extended his own record of all-time OPS wins to 28.
Farrington unveiled a new teammate Friday evening, and Craig Nile wasted no time driving one of Farrington's former karts to a victory in the first Unrestricted feature. With 13 of the elite karts in the garage area, race officials chose to split them into high and low point events.
Cody Chiasson chalked up his fifth Box Stock of the season. Evan Armington achieved his third in Purple Plate. Spencer Morse became the third different repeat conqueror of the season in Gold Plate. And veteran Walt Dearborn broke Farrington's recent spell over the Star Champ class, collecting his second checkered flag of the campaign.
Each division was scheduled to run double features after a recent rash of rainouts. Once again, however, the JARRacing karts were bitten by a typical summer late afternoon and early evening in Maine.
With the Box Stocks on the track to open up the second round of feature activity, the second rain shower of the night hit the speedway on lap 6. Blue skies and sunshine returned in about 15 minutes, but the track was too soaked to dry in the fading daylight and cooler temperatures.
The karts will now contest double features on Friday, July 27, with the Box Stock division picking up from where it left off before the rain. All drivers will need to pay only once in order to race twice.
Davis dropped the hammer and drove around runner-up Chiasson a second time with about two laps to go in the Blue Plate encounter. Tyler Boothby ran third in his initial start of the season.
Farrington reeled in early leaders Tim Foster and Jeff Lillibridge to take the top spot on lap 6 of the Unrestricted fast feature. Foster surrendered the second position to Tyler Braunschweig on lap 5 before regaining it on the 12th circuit and settling in for a career-best finish. Robbie Wentworth out-dueled Braunschweig for third.
Nile took second from Charlie Tyler on lap 5 and landed the lead from Jeff Roubo on lap 7 of his first career Unrestricted start. Tyler zeroed in and shadowed the leader for the remainder of the event, but he couldn't make the pass at the drop of the checkers. Roubo, a feature winner earlier this summer, settled for third.
Chiasson wasted no time getting to the front of the Box Stock opener, wheeling around Brodie Morse on lap 5. Dylan Haskell and Brandon Varney also took turns in the runner-up spot, but well behind the point leader. Varney got the better of the terrific duel for second.
Armington inherited the Purple Plate lead when Zachary Rich spun at the front of a competitive pack to bring out the caution on lap 2. Spencer Thompson and Varney whittled Armington's early lead to a kart length to set up a three-car shootout on the final lap. Thompson spun in his bid for the win down the backstretch, opening the door for Varney to snag second and for Chiasson to pick up his third trophy of the night.
Morse weathered challenges from both Josh Brown and Kyle Metivier, then survived a green-white-checkered restart for his second win in his last three tries. Brown used the late restart to sneak underneath point leader Metivier for second.
Dearborn gained the Star Champ lead on lap 10 and lost it when he and Farrington collided while battling for the lead. He took it back from Stephen Beattie four laps after the ensuing restart, however, and sped away. Beattie padded his championship lead in second, just ahead of Farrington.
The JARRacing Photography series will take next Friday night off, in deference to the Oxford Acceleration Series and the start of TD Banknorth 250 Weekend Presented by New England Dodge Dealers..
UNRESTRICTED #1 (20 laps): 1. Craig Nile, Jay; 2. Charlie Tyler, Buxton; 3. Jeff Roubo, Hollis; 4. Aaron Collomy, Saco; 5. Evan Varney, Oxford; 6. Dale Pratt, Cumberland. Lap leaders: Collomy 1, Tyler 2, Roubo 3-6, Nile 7-20.
UNRESTRICTED #2 (20 laps): 1. Dave Farrington Jr., Jay; 2. Tim Foster, Lisbon; 3. Robbie Wentworth, Conway, N.H.; 4. Tyler Braunschweig, West Newfield; 5. Dan Pelletier Jr., East Poland; 6. Jeremy Wentworth, Conway, N.H.; 7. Jeff Lillibridge, Fryeburg. Lap leaders: Foster 1-2, Lillibridge 3-5, Farrington 6-20.
STAR CHAMP (20 laps): 1. Walt Dearborn, Sebago; 2. Stephen Beattie, Conway, N.H.; 3. Dave Farrington Jr., Jay; 4. Keith Grant, Sebago; 5. Craig Nile, Jay. Lap leaders: Beattie 1-2, Farrington 3-9, Dearborn 10, Beattie 11-13, Dearborn 14-20..
GOLD PLATE (20 laps): 1. Spencer Morse, Waterford; 2. Josh Brown, South Paris; 3. Kyle Metivier, Lisbon; 4. Neil Bernier, Minot; 5. Craig Robinson, Conway, N.H. Lap leaders: Brown 1-4, Morse 5-20.
BLUE PLATE (20 laps): 1. Troy Davis, Windham; 2. Cody Chiasson, Peru; 3. Tyler Boothby, Turner. Lap leaders: Davis 1-20.
PURPLE PLATE (20 laps): 1. Evan Armington, Lovell; 2. Brandon Varney, Lewiston; 3. Cody Chiasson, Peru; 4. Zachary Rich, Casco; 5. Spencer Thompson, Oxford. Lap leaders: Rich 1-2, Armington 3-20.
BOX STOCK (20 laps): 1. Cody Chiasson, Peru; 2. Brandon Varney, Lewiston; 3. Dylan Haskell, West Baldwin; 4. Brodie Morse, Waterford; 5. Hunter Sirois, Leeds; 6. Avery Spear, Oxford; 7. Wade Blanchette, Buxton; 8. Ethan Matot, Casco. Lap leaders: Sirois 1, Morse 2-4, Chiasson 5-20.
