OXFORD, Maine – Apparently Travis Adams' rivals in the Oxford Networks Late Model division at Oxford Plains Speedway won't be able to count on lack of sleep as an impediment to his dominance.
Five days after becoming a father for the second time, Adams drove the rest of the field to school in Saturday night's 40-lap main event. He took the lead three laps shy of the halfway point and cruised to a win of more than five seconds over Carey Martin.
"It's just an honor and a privilege to drive this car," said Adams, who is 2-for-2 as he opens defense of his third speedway championship.
Martin finally pulled away from a furious mid-race battle with rookie Jimmy Childs and was a convincing second on Sun Journal Night. That left a five-car battle for third, with two-time Allen's Coffee Mini Stock champion Childs earning the trophy in only his fifth career Late Model start ahead of Dale Verrill, Tommy Ricker, Shawn Martin and Ben Ashline.
Skip Tripp also won his second straight feature. Tripp's crew was forced to overhaul his Allen's Strictly Stock ride after a hard crash in his heat race, but the sweat of the team's brow was enough to give Tripp a narrow victory over Mike Short and B.J. Chapman. Matt Williams and Sumner Sessions rounded out the top five.
The brother tandem of Don and Dave Mooney diced it out for the Allen's Mini Stock victory, with 2000 and 2004 class champion Don getting the edge.
Randy Kimball was third for the best run of his brief career. The rookie also won the Time Warner Cable High-Speed Turbo Move of the Race after saving his car from a near-wreck in the fourth turn in the closing laps. Last week's winner Bill Thibeault and point leader Darrell Moore followed.
Two features were needed for the sizable Macdonald Motors Runnin' Rebel field for its first Agren Appliance Saturday Showdown event of the season.
Gregg Norton, who entered the season as the all-time feature winner in the four-cylinder division of the Acceleration Series, padded that total with a triumph in the first half of the 20-lap twins.
Kyle Hewins and Josh Childs dueled for second throughout the event, with Hewins protecting the spot. Doug Degroat was fourth, with Troy Jordan charging from 15th to fifth.
Round two had a bizarre finish, with Charlie Webster the beneficiary. Scott Farrington took the lead with an aggressive inside pass on lap 16. Flagman Vern Brown pointed the black flag at Farrington next time around the speedway, which is considered a warning for rough driving. Farrington interpreted it as a waving black flag, which would have been a stop-and-go penalty.
Farrington's mistaken trip down pit lane restored Webster to the lead. Derek Cook made a bold charge to the outside but fell shy by half a car length at the checkers. Nathan Guptill, Matt Dufault and Mike Anderson followed.
Reigning Call of the Wild RV Sport Truck champion Jake Burns continued his rule with a season-opening win over Marvin Hamilton and Lee Spurling. Burns wheeled around Hamilton on lap 11 of the 20-lap dash.
OPS cranks it up again next Saturday, May 24 with Oxford Federal Credit Union Night, feature a full five-division card of racing and a huge fireworks display. Qualifying begins at 6:30 p.m.
OXFORD NETWORKS LATE MODEL (40 laps): 1. Travis Adams, Canton; 2. Carey Martin, Denmark; 3. Jimmy Childs, Leeds; 4. Dale Verrill, Paris; 5. Tommy Ricker, Poland; 6. Shawn Martin, Turner; 7. Ben Ashline, Pittston; 8. Billy Childs Jr., Leeds; 9. Shawn Knight, South Paris; 10. Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township; 11. Don Wentworth, Otisfield; 12. Zach Emerson, Durham; 13. Kurt Hewins, Leeds; 14. Jeff White, Winthrop; 15. Paul Bosse, Gray; 16. Mark Childs Jr., Mechanic Falls; 17. Corey Morgan, Lewiston; 18. Conrad Childs, Auburn; 19. Matt Sanborn, West Baldwin; 20. Gerald Parlin, South Paris; 21. Scott Luce, Strong; 22. Travis Stearns, Auburn.
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY STRICTLY STOCK (30 laps): 1. Skip Tripp, South Paris; 2. Mike Short, Auburn; 3. B.J. Chapman, Bridgton; 4. Matt Williams, Brownfield; 5. Sumner Sessions, Norway; 6. Larry Emerson, Durham; 7. Kim Tripp, Oxford; 8. Rick Thompson, Naples; 9. Perry Tucker, Sumner; 10. Mike St. Germain, Auburn; 11. Jeff Prindall, Lisbon; 12. Glen Henderson, Sabattus; 13. Michael Roe, West Paris; 14. Joe Hutter, Oxford; 15. Dean Coolidge, Oxford.
ALLEN'S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY MINI STOCK (30 laps): 1. Don Mooney, New Gloucester; 2. Dave Mooney, Wales; 3. Randy Kimball, Mechanic Falls; 4. Bill Thibeault, Oxford; 5. Darrell Moore, Mechanic Falls; 6. Bill Childs Sr., Leeds; 7. Ashley Marshall, Jay; 8. Dale Brackett, Oxford; 9. Bob Guptill, Mechanic Falls; 10. Kevin Bishop, Oxford; 11. Shane Kaherl, Jay; 12. Craig Moore, Woodstock; 13. Matt Moore, South Paris; 14. Rick Giguere, Auburn; 15. Brad Dwinal, Freeport; 16. Bill Irving, New Gloucester; 17. Ken Daigle Jr., Lisbon; 18. Wayne Titus, Minot.
MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN' REBEL #1 (20 laps): 1. Gregg Norton, Lewiston; 2. Kyle Hewins, Leeds; 3. Josh Childs, Oxford; 4. Doug Degroat, Oxford; 5. Troy Jordan, Turner; 6. Zach Audet, Wilton; 7. David Cook, Wilton; 8. Jeff Beaule, Lewiston; 9. Logan Melcher, Jay; 10. John Short, Auburn; 11. Calvin Rose Jr., Turner; 12. Brady Romano, Livermore Falls; 13. Jim Richards, Auburn; 14. Bill Dunphy, New Gloucester; 15. John Childs, Leeds; 16. James Wood, New Gloucester.
MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN' REBEL #2 (20 laps): 1. Charlie Webster, Auburn; 2. Derek Cook, Livermore Falls; 3. Nathan Guptill, North Turner; 4. Matt Dufault, Turner; 5. Mike Anderson, Lewiston; 6. Scott Farrington, Oxford; 7. Gene White, Lisbon; 8. David Childs, Oxford; 9. Archie Watt Jr., Auburn; 10. Ben Krauter, Raymond; 11. Ken Whittemore, Greene; 12. Gerard Cote, Oxford; 13. Perley Garland, Lewiston. DQ: Sean Parritt, Windham.
CALL OF THE WILD RV SPORT TRUCK (20 laps): 1. Jake Burns, Gray; 2. Marvin Hamilton, New Gloucester; 3. Lee Spurling, New Gloucester; 4. Ryan Farrar, Oxford; 5. John Lizotte, Mechanic Falls; 6. Devon Smith, Norway; 7. Jeff Schmidt, Mechanic Falls; 8. Ryan Varney, Oxford; 9. Joe Farrar, Oxford.