Thurlow, Cook take $500 Twin Enduro wins, Berry repeats
in Spectator Drags at final Motor Mayhem of 2007 season
OXFORD, Maine – David Thurlow somewhat covertly crept through the field in a black station wagon during his Enduro event Sunday at Oxford Plains Speedway. David Cook took command from the first sight of green from the flagstand.
Two different tactics worked equally well for the two competitors, who will cash $500 winners checks after 50-lap Twin Enduro victories on the final Motor Mayhem card of the summer.
Cook cruised to victory in the Compact segment, while Thurlow led the Full-Size portion of the program. A total of 60 drivers registered for the two events.
In other traditional Motor Mayhem activities, Bruce Berry successfully defended his title from three weeks ago in Spectator Drags, and Scott Roy stifled the competition in the Smoky Donut Show.
Thurlow's run was so quiet that it took a thorough review of scoring before he was awarded the trophy and checkered flag in victory lane. The scorecards showed Thurlow passing Judd for the lead on lap 22.
He started second from last.
"They were a good bunch of guys to race with," said Thurlow, who finished a distant 16th place in his previous Enduro attempt on August 5. "It was a lot of fun, and hopefully we'll be back for the first one next year."
Judd, a weekly competitor and top-five points finisher in the Chimney Tech Outlaw division of the Wednesday night Oxford Acceleration Series, briefly took over the top spot when June winner Ryan Chadwick went behind the wall with a flat tire.
With only one near-disaster in traffic after the Thurlow pass, Judd was able to stave off Joe Strout for the runner-up role and a $200 consolation prize.
"I was hoping for the win, but this was my first Enduro in a long time, so I'm glad to at least make it up here," Judd said.
Strout was the final car on the lead lap. Gerald Parlin recovered from falling a lap behind the leaders when his car wouldn't come up to speed on the initial start to run fourth. That made it a top-five finish in every Enduro this season for Parlin, a rookie in the Oxford Networks Late Model rookie on Saturday evenings. Dennis Morang rounded out the top five.
Cook saw daylight at the drop of the green and charged from 17th to the lead before the completion of the second lap.
Neither the giant truck tires blocking the track in several strategic locations, nor the water being sprayed in the corners, nor the heavy traffic could stop the occasional Wednesday competitor from an impressive victory.
"I'm pretty sure I lapped the field at least once," Cook said.
Officially, scoring also showed Josh Childs, Tommy Tompkins, Phil Knowlton, Charlie Webster and Jason Black on the lead lap.
It was still a dominating effort for a car with a valid Maine license plate.
"It's still registered and inspected," Cook said. "It's been my street car. I figured, bring it out here, try to win $500 and make a Wednesday night car out of it for next year."
Childs, the runner-up, regularly races with Cook in the Macdonald Motors Runnin' Rebel division, while third-place Tompkins heads into next Saturday's Grover Gundrilling Championship Night as the Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy Strictly Stock point leader.
"I love the old Enduros. They're back," Childs said. "I almost got wrecked a few times. Nobody was going to catch the 15 (Cook) today. I'll give David credit. He said he was going to come out and be fast, and he went ahead and won the race."
Tompkins passed Knowlton for third out of the final corner. Webster finished fifth in his bid to go unbeaten after two previous Compact conquests.
Berry blew through his field of challengers — Sandy Smith, Brandon Cairnes, Mike St. Germain and then Paul Fouquette — in a sweep of the best-of-three Spectator Drags final.
Roy, who won a street-legal drag race at Oxford Dragway on Saturday night, came back and wowed the crowd in the popularity contest that is the Smoky Donut competition with a billowing array of gray and black tire smoke.
Kyle Curtis and St. Germain both suffered blown-out tires in their bid to show up Roy. Fans chose Curtis as the second-place finisher.
Double features in all three divisions and a huge fireworks display will highlight Grover Gundrilling Championship Night next Saturday, Sept. 1. Driver appreciation ceremonies and an on-track autograph session begin at 5:45 p.m., with racing at 6:30 p.m.
FULL-SIZE (50 laps): 1. David Thurlow, Gray; 2. Shannon Judd, Jay; 3. Joe Strout, Hebron; 4. Gerald Parlin, South Paris; 5. Dennis Morang, South Paris; 6. Don Veinott, Sabattus; 7. T.J. Bradstreet, Harpswell; 8. Justin Bubier, Greene; 9. Mike Kyllonen. Mechanic Falls; 10. Ryan Chadwick, Wiscasset; 11. Allen Bradstreet, Topsham; 12. Laura Gleason, South Paris; 13. Robert Lowe, Lewiston; 14. Jim Bradstreet, Topsham; 15. Ernest Bowie, Oxford; 16. Travis Turcotte, Mechanic Falls; 17. Mike St. Germain, Auburn; 18. Rick Bradstreet, Topsham; 19. Chris Robinson, Bethel; 20. Kurt Hewins, Leeds; 21. James Record, Oxford; 22. Adam Nappi, Poland.
COMPACT (50 laps): 1. David Cook, Lewiston; 2. Josh Childs, Oxford; 3. Tommy Tompkins, Dixfield; 4. Phil Knowlton, Poland; 5. Charlie Webster, Auburn; 6. Jason Black, Manchester; 7. Chris Foss, Jay; 8. John Short, Auburn; 9. Skip Douglass Jr., Buckfield; 10. Mike St. Germain, Auburn; 11. Kyle Glover, Oxford; 12. Devon Smith, Norway; 13. Ken Marston, Hartford; 14. John Childs, Leeds; 15. Anthony Gary, South Paris; 16. Craig Bartlett, Denmark; 17. Perley Garland, Auburn; 18. Tim Wood, West Gardiner; 19. Mark Lank, Kennebunk; 20. Gerard Cote, Oxford; 21. Ben Krauter, Raymond; 22. Michael Moore, Norway; 23. Patrick McKinnon, Biddeford; 24. Rick Rose, Buckfield; 25. David Childs, Oxford; 26. Brian Dolloff, Dixfield; 27. Nathan Dubuc, Lewiston; 28. Josh Markham, Vienna; 29. Kyle Edwards, Mechanic Falls; 30. T.J. Devlin, South Paris; 31. Ryan Thomas, South Paris; 32. Ryan Ramsay, Norway; 33. Scott Buffington, South Paris; 34. James Richardson, Auburn; 35. Mike Childs, Auburn; 36. James Newcomb, South Paris; 37. Gene White, Lisbon.
SPECTATOR DRAGS: 1. Bruce Berry, New Gloucester; 2. Paul Fouquette, New Gloucester.
SMOKY DONUT SHOW: 1. Scott Roy, Oxford; 2. Kyle Curtis, Oxford.
