After a week off watching the bugs getting zapped in the bug zapper, The New Spirit of Unity Raceway was ready to hit the 1/3 mile oval again. This week saw the return of the Thursday Thrilla racing program. The Ladies division hit the track with a great mixture of seasoned veterans and young guns. The heat race saw the #00 of Alicia Goodwin fighting #92 of Carol Wilson. The door to door racing didn't stop the pretty pink machine of Chelsea Young from taking the lead and never looking back. The feature saw the #18 machine of Young take the lead and show her fellow competitors that she hadn't forgotten how to get around Unity Raceway. Young took the win for her first trophy of the season. Former Monsta Mini driver, Billie Allen, followed in second with Molly Feeney third.
The Men's Peanuts division saw a fine field return for the 2008 racing season. The first heat race saw the #62 machine of Tim Robinson take the checkered flag. The second heat race saw former Teen Thunder competitor, Cody Sleeper, hit the stripe first. The feature saw heat race winner, Tim Robinson, take the rear of the field instead of his pole position on a bet. The crowd wanted to see if he could come from the rear to the front. Cody Sleeper took the lead from his pole position with Bob Grady in tow. Robinson was trying to make good on the bet by moving into the sixth position by lap 7. Cody Sleeper's machine showed that sometimes you only need three wheels on the track to make a car go. Sleeper crossed the line in first with Bob Grady a close second. Ryan Ripley returned to Unity with a third place finish. Robinson settled his bet with a fourth place finish, and #53 of Richard Jackson topped out the top five.
The Teen Thunder class again show cased the talent of these young drivers. Ben Nile jumped to an early lead in the heat race. Ricky Palmer tried to chase down the Nile machine. Nile takes home the checkered with Palmer a very close second. The feature would find the 08 of Shelby Kimball bidding for the lead. Kimball's machine would come in contact with the 16x. This would send both machines off the track in turn 4. Both cars would retire to the pits with Kimball's on the hook. Ricky Palmer would use this caution to take the lead. Palmer would take home his second checkered flag of the young season. Ben Nile would follow in second with the #1 in third. Jake McIntire would have a career best finish in fourth.
The Thursday version of the Endro division would find the #2 of Alex Fernald taking the heat race win. The feature would show the largest field of cars in this division yet. Chris Rudge showed that he knows his way around the track. Rudge would take the checkered in his first appearance. Alex Fernald would have to settle for second with #1 in third. Youngsters Robert Dyer and Wesley Witham would prove you don't need a drivers license to drive a race car completed out the top five.
Friday night racing returned to Unity Raceway with Mother Nature trying to ruin the show. With thunder showers in the area, the Limited division hit the track. Joe Allard cruised to his first heat win of the year. The feature saw Allard jump to and early race lead. This lead would be short lived as the 8 machine would loose a right front tire coming out of turn two. This allowed Unity's own, Frank Moulton, to take the lead. Once the Moulton machine took the lead, he kicked in the auto pilot. Moulton took his first feature win of the season. Scott Modery would follow in second. Dustin Hubbard would prove that he can drive anything taking home the third place trophy.
The Sportsman division heat race was another repeat performance by Brad Bellows. The feature would have the #54 machine of Donnie York take the quick lead. Mark Dodge would make the race interesting, challenging York for the top spot. These two would go side by side for laps until Dodge's machine started getting loose. Bellows was making a run to the front but was tied up in lapped traffic. By lap 15, Bellows had the York car in his sight. The two would go side by side for a few laps with Bellows passing on the inside as the York machine got loose. Bellows would remain undefeated in the 2008 race season with a win. York's machine would appear to finish second, but did not pass post race inspection moving Mark Dodge to second. The #2R of Ryan Robinson would finish third with Kris Watson a very close fourth. Heath Holtham would have a strong run to finish fifth.
The Late Model Pro-4 division would hit the track with a fine field of cars. The battle between Steve Rackliff and Cary Davis would continue. Rackliff would take an early lead only to see Davis make a last lap pass to take the heat race win. The feature would again have Rackliff taking the early race lead. Jimmy Dennis follows Rackliff in second. Rackliff has increased his lead and is in cruise mode. A caution for the sliding #21 machine of Ben Clark closes up the field. Rackliff again takes the lead with Davis on his bumper. These two would go head to head for many laps. Rackliff would not be denied. The #94 would beat Davis to the line taking home the first place trophy. Jimmy Dennis would follow the pair with a close third. Sean Johnson would return to the track with a fine run in third. Brownie Cummings would finish out the top five.
The Monsta Mini division showed just how competitive the division is with a full field of cars. Gary Richards took his #24 machine to the front and took home the checkered flag in the heat race. The feature saw new grandfather, Mike Wilson, take the lead. Duane Dunifer tried catching Wilson. Dunifer stayed on Wilson's bumper the whole race. Dunifer could not get around the Wilson machine. Wilson went on the take home his first feature win of the year. Dunifer finished a close second. High School Sophomore, Markus Lowe, took home his first Monsta Mini trophy in third. Gary Richards settled in for fourth with Derick Terrill following in fifth.
The Wildcat division had veteran, Carl McAlpine, take home the heat race win. The feature would see Troy Patterson jump to the lead. Dustin Hubbard would try catching Patterson, but a tire problem on lap six would retire him for the night. Heat winner, McAlpine, would be gaining on the leader. This push would be short lived as mechanical problems would slow the McAlpine machine down. Patterson would cruise to the win. New comer to Unity Raceway, Shawn Hamel II, would like the trip finishing in second. The third place trophy would go to rookie, Mike Shaw, as he would make his first trip to victory lane. Kathy McIntire would follow up last weeks victory lane appearance with a strong fourth place finish. Carl McAlpine would limp his machine across the line to finish fifth.
The Friday Night Enduro division would again see an increasing number of cars. The red flag would fly for the first time. A roll over on the front stretch would stop the competitors for clean up. A mechanical problem would stop the car forcing others into it. John Clark would be the class of the field crossing the stripe with an apparent first place finish. This win would be given to the #91 of George Fernald III, as the Clark machine didn't pass post race inspection. The second place finish was given to Rob Paddack. Enduro veteran, Alex Fernald, finished third after a hair raising crash on the last lap with the #70 of Robert Dyer. Henry Boudreau made his 2008 debut at Unity with a fine fourth place finish.
The Chain Races debuted this week with drivers, George Fernald III and Carl McAlpine, being chosen by the crowd. Pam Flewelling and Jon Loiselle were chosen out of the grandstand to compete against these drivers. The task proved not to be an easy one. This weeks race was won by the race car drivers. Both sets of competitors said it was not as easy as it looked.
Unity Raceway returns June 26 with Ride with Your Favorite Driver and June 27 with Race#1 of Race Your Neighbor.