Unity, ME – Rowland Robinson, Jr. of Steuben and Burnham’s Carl McAlpine drove to victory lane, topping the stock car racing card at Unity Raceway Friday night.
Robinson bounced back from a late-race altercation while battling for the lead on opening night to win the Late Model feature, while McAlpine dominated the Wildcat division’s special, 50-lap main event on the racy, 1/3-mile oval.
Other feature winners at ‘Maine’s Toughest Racing oval included Kris Watson, Steve Rackliff, Kyle Gallant, Lance Chapman, Mickey Landry, Shelby Kimball and Gage Landry.
The Late Model winner, also known as ‘JR Rockin’ Robinson, rebounded from a late-race crash that cost him a shot at victory in the opening night 109-lap main event, and some issues that came up in post-race inspection, to claim his first Unity Raceway Late Model win.
Robinson started from the pole but watched Joe Allard and Brad Bellows drive by in the opening laps. Defending track champion Bellows made a daring, three-wide move in lapped traffic to take the lead away from Allard and set the pace for several laps before Robinson loosened him up midway through the 30-lapper and drove underneath the reigning Unity king for good.
Bellows, of China Village, maintained second position on the track after yielding to Robinson but his apparent runner-up finish was negated in post-race tech by a carburetor infraction. Opening night winner Deane Smart crossed the line in third position, but like Bellows he ran afoul of the technical inspectors after the race and was disqualified for an excessive engine setback violation, as was apparent fifth-place finisher Dylan Turner.
Glenburn’s Joe Allard was second in the official order of finish for the Late Models, with Mike Lynch of Winterport picking up the third-place trophy. Frankie Moulton of Burnham and Matt Eaton of Deer Isle rounded out the top five.
McAlpine absolutely dominated the 50-lap special for Wildcat division competitors, lapping all but runner-up finisher, and opening night winner, Dustin Hubbard of Unity in an extremely-clean main event.
Both Tim Hudson and Chet Hanscom were contenders for podium finishes before troubles knocked them from the ranks of frontrunners in the night’s longest-distance race.
Bangor’s Shawn Hamel II claimed third-place laurels in his first appearance of the season at Unity, with Luke Rickards of Anson and Burnham’s Chris King filling out the top five.
Watson, of Hermon, took his second straight feature win in the Super Street 20-lapper, grabbing the top spot from early pacesetter Donnie York of Knox, who held on to second spot throughout the event, but lost the runner-up finish in post-race inspection due to a shock absorber violation. That handed the official second-place finish to Steve Moulton of Glenburn, with third-place hardware collected by Steve Rackliff of Starks, who prevailed in a racelng battle against Orrington’s John Kalel II. Hurricane Hal Stratton of Belgrade was the fifth-place finisher.
Rackliff, doing double duty, cruised to victory in the Late Model Pro 4 feature race, capitalizing on problems suffered by early race leader Jimmy Dennis of Benton, who was looking like the man to beat in the race before sparks began to show below his machine, causing him to drop back several positions in the final half of the event. China’s Gregg Cummings was a contender throughout the 20-lap feature, claiming runner-up honors. Justin Drake of Burnham crossed the line in third position, but didn’t make it through post-race inspection after an engine violation was detected. That moved Skowhegan’s Brian Lancaster into the show position after a nice drive, bouncing back from an early spin to claim a trophy. Augusta’s Norm Cummings ended up in fourth spot, followed by Ben Nile of New Vinyard.
Veazie’s Gallant led wire-to-wire in a non-stop, 15-lap Monsta Mini feature race. Opening night winner and defending division champion Mike Wilson of Chelsea chased Gallant throughout the race, but never mounted a serious challenge for the victory. Paul Jason of Augusta outran Clinton’s Alicia Goodwin for the final trophy.
Chapman, of Benton, raced from the back of the pack to take the lead away from Clinton’s Merv Greene before the 20-lap Flyin’ Four division main event was halfway completed, then barely held off a hard-charging Cody Sleeper to post his second straight victory. Sleeper, of Chelsea came up about a foot short of victory under the checkered flag and settled for runner-up honors, with Skowhegan’s Mike Mason racing to a hard-earned third-place finish. Justin Moore of Madison crossed the finish line in fourth spot, with Vassalboro’s John Fortin making a last-lap move into fifth position.
Anson’s Landry negotiated traffic flawlessly, driving from the back to the front to score his second straight triumph in the enduro class. Chris Burbelo of Frankfort picked up his second consecutive runner-up trophy, with Herny Boudreau of Bristol nailing down a third-place finish after leading much of the 15-lapper before Landry drove on by.
Shelby Kimball of Cornville raced to an impressive victory in Ladies division competition. Kimball led early, gave the lead up for a few laps to Mika Wilson of Chelsea, then made a slick move in lapped traffic to take the lead back for good. Wilson claimed runner-up honors, with opening night winner Molly Feeney of Hope charging from the back of the starting field to end up in third position. Alicia Goodwin of Clinton and Meaghan Allen of Winterport rounded out the top five.
In a wild Teen Thunder event under a near-full moon, Gage Landry of Sidney claimed a popular victory. Landry inherited the lead when Clinton’s Cole Robinson and the extremely-quick Brandon Greenleaf of Searsport crashed in turn four, ending Greenleaf’s impressive run. Landry had things his way for the rest of the race, taking the checkered flag ahead of Canaan’s Robert Dyer and Matt Kimball of Cornville, who overcame his fair share of adversity to pick up the third-place trophy. Brooke Getchell of Pittsfield was fourth, followed by Robinson.
Unity Raceway hosts a pair of events this weekend, with NELCAR Legends and a burnout contest joining the weekly racing divisions on Friday night. Sunday afternoon the Wildcat and Flyin’ 4 divisions see action on a Fernald Frenzy program with several novelty races and a demolition derby also featured. For more information please visit unityraceway.info
Late Model: 1. Rowland Robinson, Jr, Steuben; 2. Joe Allard, Glenburn; 3. Mike Lynch, Winterport; 4. Frank Moulton, Burnham; 5. Matt Eaton, Deer Isle; 6. Jon Vashon, Benton; DQ Brad Bellows, China Village; DQ Deane Smart, Bradley; DQ Dylan Turner, Freedom.
Wildcat (50 laps): 1. Carl McAlpine, Burnham; 2. Dustin Hubbard, Unity; 3. Shawn Hamel II, Bangor; 4. Luke Rickards, Anson; 5. Chris King, Burnham; 5. 6. Bo Ivey, Winslow; 7. Richard Jackson, Hudson; 8. Tim Hudson, Windsor; 9. Chet Hanscom, Benton; Ed Sleeper, Vassalboro; 11. Andy Turbovsky, Winslow; 12. Brent Chase, Burnham.
Super Street: 1. Kris Watson, Hermon; 2. Steve Moulton, Glenburn; 3. Steve Rackliff, Starks; 4. John Kalel II, Orrington; 5. Hal Stratton, Belgrade; DQ Donnie York, Knox.
Late Model Pro 4: 1. Steve Rackliff, Starks; 2. Gregg Cummings, China; 3. Brian Lancaster, Skowhegan; 4. Norm Cummings, Augusta; 5. Ben Nile, New Vineyard; 6. Jimmy Dennis, Benton; 7. Shane Smith, Augusta; 8. Corey Walker, New Vineyard; 9. Dixon Smith, Sidney; DQ Justin Drake, Burnham.
Monsta Mini: 1. Kyle Gallant, Veazie; 2. Mike Wilson, Chelsea; 3. Paul Jackson, Augusta; 4. Alicia Goodwin, Clinton.
Flyin’ 4: 1. Lance Chapman, Benton; 2. Cody Sleeper, Chelsea; 3. Mike Mason, Skowhegan; 4. Justin Moore, Madison; 5. John Fortin, Vassalboro; 6. Merv Greene, Clinton; 7. Chris Williams, Oakland; 8. Nicholas Lizotte, Sidney; 9. Jordan Hawes, Skowhegan; 10. #1 (name, town unavailable); 11. Tony DeJulio, Ellsworth; 12. Patrcik Cook, Swansville.
Ladies: 1. Shelby Kimball, Cornville; 2. Mika Wilson, Chelsea; 3. Molly Feeney, Hope; 4. Alicia Goodwin, Clinton; 5. Meaghan Allen, Winterport; 6. Kayla Allen, Bucksport; 7. Sandy Greene, Clinton; 8. Kayla Robinson, Clinton; 9. Mary Reed, Unity.
Teen Thunder: 1. Gage Landry, Sidney; 2. Robert Dyer, Canaan; 3. Matt Kimball, Cornville; 4. Brooke Getchell, Pittsfield; 5. Cole Robinson, Clinton; 6. Lucas Porter, Norridewock; 7. Westley Turner, Montville; 8. Brandon Greenleaf, Searsport.
Enduro: 1. Mickey Landry, Anson; 2. Chris Burbelo, Frankfort; 3. Herny Boudreau, Bristol; 4. Robert Dyer, Canaan; 5. Darrin Dyer, Canaan; 6. #2, (name, town unavailable); 7. James Corson, Clinton.