Ninety-five trophies presented in annual Acceleration Series gathering Wednesday night at Oxford Plains Speedway
OXFORD, Maine – Five first-time champions were among 95 trophy recipients Wednesday evening in the ninth-annual Oxford Plains Speedway Acceleration Series awards ceremony.
Mike Ballard (Chimney Tech Outlaw), Tyson Jordan (Macdonald Motors Runnin' Rebel), Jake Burns (Call of the Wild RV Center Sport Truck), Vanna Brackett (Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy Ladies) and Jamie Heath (Crazy Horse Racing Engines Renegade) walked away with the top hardware in the ceremony held for family, friends and fans at the start-finish line of the 3/8-mile oval.
Ballard claimed the Outlaw title in a tie-breaker over fellow mid-week racing veteran Steve Moon. Two feature wins were the deciding factor for Ballard, who has elected to end a racing career that began when OPS owner Bill Ryan introduced the entry-level Acceleration Series in 1999.
"I'm done racing," Ballard said. "This (championship trophy) is what I've been working for nine years, and I finally got it."
Moon, David Childs, Shannon Judd and Addison Bowie completed the top five in Outlaw points, followed by Richard Spaulding, Thom Ball, Bubba Collins,. Bob Ferguson, Ron Abbott Jr., Mark MacDonald, Scott Ellis, Josh Paradis, Mike Rainville and Randy Robitaille.
The top 15 drivers in each division received a trophy.
Jordan's championship in the Runnin' Rebel ranks also came down to the final race of the season. Jordan and Kyle Hewins entered the final event in a flat-footed tie prior to Hewins' wreck with seven laps remaining in the 20-lap finale a week ago.
"It was a crazy season," Jordan said. "I sold my first car (to Calvin Rose Jr.) halfway through the year, and I never imagined then that I would win the championship."
Hewins held on to second in front of five-time feature winner Mark Childs Jr., Doug Degroat and Mike Ward. Brandon Munroe was sixth, followed by Josh Childs, Brady Romano, Nic Stanley, Jeff Beaule, Jim Hart, Bill Grover, Gregg Norton, Jamie Leavitt and James Wood.
Six feature wins in the first nine races gave second-year driver Burns the overwhelming edge in Sport Truck.
"I'll probably be back next year to try and win it again," Burns said. "The money thing will keep me from moving up."
Marvin Hamilton, the 2002 division champion, was runner-up to Burns, followed by double-division driver Degroat, Lee Spurling and Corey Williams. Yogi Hiscock led the second five with Ryan Farrar, Kevin Oliver, John Lizotte and Joe Farrar in tow, followed in 11th through 15th by Rick Hebert, Opie Allard, Devon Smith, Brian Farrar and Doug Stevens.
Brackett is the third generation in her racing family to star at OPS, and she joined father Tim and brother T.J. as a track champion.
"I couldn't do it without them," Brackett said, "and now all three of us have a championship."
Dottie Patria, Deanna Bisbee, Cathy Manchester and Debbie Marston rounded out the top five. Kimberly Sessions, Missy Roussel, Christina Spaulding, Sue Veinott, Shannon Wheeler, Patty Brannon, Annie Chartier, Lisa Brooks, Lisa Vining and Laura McKeage also picked up trophies.
Dolly Bois of Allen's presented the top three ladies with gift certificates to 99 Neighborhood Bar and Grill restaurants..
Heath dominated the first season of Renegade competition, winning 13 of the 15 feature events.
"They build a great motor," Heath said of divisions sponsors Mitch and Judy Green of Crazy Horse.
John Childs, Gerard Cote, Ken Marston, Bob Morey and Skip Turner ran second through sixth in the stock six cylinder class.
Five drivers in each of the four established classes won Agren Appliance Grand Slam recognition for their performance in the Saturday night cross-over events.
David Childs won the Outlaw slam over Addison Bowie, Steve Moon, Bob Ferguson and Keith Landry. Hewins flip-flopped the first and second spots with Jordan in the Rebel division, with Josh Childs, Matt Dufault and Scott Farrington also in the hunt. Rick Hebert captured the Truck slam in a close battle with Lee Spurling, Yogi Hiscock, Ryan Farrar and Kevin Oliver. And Dottie Patria took the Ladies crown in a tie-breaker over Cathy Manchester, followed by Debbie Marston, Kimberly Sessions and Patty Brannon.
Wal-Mart Rookies of Year were Rainville, Josh Childs, Allard and Roussel. Most Popular Drivers, as voted by fans on the speedway web site, were Abbott, Hiscock and champions Jordan, Brackett and Heath.