Unity, Maine – Josh St. Clair of Liberty and Steve Moulton of Holden were winners in the top two classes at Unity Raceway Friday night, while two feature wins were scored by both Carl McAlpine of Burnham and Molly Feeney of Hope on a busy racing program including three make-up features previously postponed by summer rain.
Other feature winners on Benton Family Fun Park Night included Clinton’s Ben Clark, Steve Rackliff of Starks, Kyle Gallant of Veazie, Mike Mason of Skowhegan and Chris Burbelo of Frankfort.
Josh St. Clair continued his impressive string of top-notch finishes in his Unity Raceway appearances with a hotly-contested victory in the 30-lap Late Model feature. St. Clair and eventual runner-up Brian Whitney of Burnham both worked their way from the back of the starting grid to get by early race leader Kevin Douglass of Sidney, then squared off on a pair of late-race restarts where the lead tandem made contact on a couple of occasions before the third-generation teen from Liberty prevailed under the checkered flag.
Scott Modery of Hermon chased St. Clair and Whitney under the checkered flag, but his third-place finish was negated in post-race inspection due to a carburetor violation. Modery’s troubles made Douglass the official third-place finisher, with the top five filled out by Ajay Picard of Palmyra and Skip Conner of Oakland. Modery crossed the line first in the heat race.
Steve Moulton’s Super Street division feature victory was of the come-from-behind variety, as he chased down race-long leader Donnie York of Thorndike and got to the lead only about 100 feet before the checkered flag waved over the side-by-side combatants. Moulton edged out York by about two feet, with Shaun Austin of Norridewock picking up the third-place trophy. John Kalel II of Orrington ran in second position for most of the race before settling for fourth position at the finish line, with the top-five rundown completed by Ryan St.Clair of Liberty. Moulton also won the heat race.
Carl McAlpine won twice in Wildcat division feature race competition, which found the top five finishing positions in both races to be identical when all was said and done. Maurice Young of Windsor was runner-up in both races, nearly claiming victory in the second go-around. Luke Rickards of Anson nailed down a pair of third-place finishes for his best night of the season, with reigning Wildcat division champion Dustin Hubbard of Unity claiming fourth position in both main events. Brent Chase of Burnham, a winner for the first time in Wildcat competition a week earlier, posted a pair of fifth-place finishes. McAlpine also carried the checkered flag following the heat race.
Ben Clark and Steve Rackliff split top honors in the two Late Model Pro Four feature events.
Clark prevailed in the first main event to pick up his second win of the season in dominant fashion. The Clinton teenager was chased under the checkered flag by Augusta’s Corey Walker and Benton’s Jimmy Dennis, the latter bouncing back from a first-lap spin while challenging Clark for the race lead. Bryan Lancaster of Skowhegan and Ben Nile of Anson rounded out the top five.
Rackliff outran Clark to earn his trip to victory lane in the regularly-scheduled Late Model Pro Four feature race. Walker, Lancaster and Dennis finished in third through fifth positions. Clark drove to victory in the heat race.
Kyle Gallant cruised to victory lane in the Monsta Mini main event. Defending division champion Mike Wilson of Chelsea made Gallant work for the win, holding the eventual victor off for more than half of the race before yielding the top position. Wilson went on to finish in the runner-up slot, with Dyaln Lancaster of Skowhegan grabbing the final trophy. Rick Grant of LaGrange finished fourth, followed by Ben Clark of Clinton. Gallant also won the heat race.
Mike Mason won the Flyin’ 4 feature event, adding to his impressive victory total just hours after being named Unity Raceway’s ‘Driver of the Month’ for August. Mason’s latest victory wasn’t as easy as many of his earlier conquests, as Pete McCollett of Readfield dogged the Skowhegan racer throughout the 20-lap distance en route to a second-place finish in his first appearance of the season at Unity Raceway. Natasha Dyer of Arrowsic led the first hale of the event as both Mason and McCollett worked their way from the rear of the starting lineup. Dyer ended up with the third-place trophy, with top-five finishes also posted by Cody Sleeper of Augusta and 15-year-old Brad Bosworth of Cornville, making his first start in the class after posting several wins in the Teen Thunder division, which had the night off. Dyer and McCollett won the Flyin’ 4 heat races.
Molly Feeney of Hope added to her division-leading win total in Ladies competition with a pair of feature race victories. Feeney, who has missed several events due to other commitments, isn’t a contender for the 2009 track championship, but she certainly has established herself as the lady to beat at Unity Raceway.
In the first Ladies main event Alica Goodwin of Clinton was closest to the flying number 14 driven by Feeney. Mika Wilson of Chelsea crossed the line in third position, followed by Shelby Kimball of Cornville – rebounding after a trip into the frontstretch sand pile – and Kayla Allen of Bucksport.
Feeney’s closest rival in the nightcap was division point leader Kimball, with Carmel’s Becky Elston earning third-place honors. Kayla Allen and Mika Wilson rounded out the top five. Kimball won the Ladies heat race.
Enduro division racers were turned around to race in the opposite direction on the thiord-mile oval, and they provided their most entertaining race of the season with Chris Burbelo prevailing after running most of the event side-by-side with multi-time winner Patrick Cook of Swanville, who finished in second position. Young Matt Kimball of Cornville made up a lot of ground late in the race to finish third, and he may have been a factor in deciding the winner had the race been just a bit longer. Chad Michaud of Fairfield was fourth across the line, followed by Daymon Dodge of Troy.
The Wicked Good Vintage Racing Association joins all of the regular weekly divisions on Bangor Savings Bank night this Friday (September 11).. NWA On Fire Wrestling & Racing returns to Unity Raceway on Friday, September 18. Post time on both nights has been set for 6:30 p.m. For more information visit unityraceway..info or call (207) 453-2021.
Late Model: 1. Josh St. Clair, Liberty; 2. Brian Whitney, Burnham; 3. Kevin Douglass, Sidney; 4. Ajay Picard, Palmyra; 5. Skip Conner, Oakland; 6. Dylan Turner, Freedom; 7. Darren Doucette, Sidney; 8. Dave St. Clair, Liberty; 9. Chris Doucette, Casco; DQ Scott Modery, Hermon.
Super Street: 1. Steve Moulton, Holden; 2. Donnie York, Thorndike; 3. Shaun Austin, Norridgewock; 4. John kalel II, Orrington; 5. Ryan St. Clair, Liberty; 6. Michael Fortier, Winslow; 7. Steve Rackliff, Starks; 8. Hal Stratton, Belgrade; 9. Kris Watson, Hermon.
Wildcat (make-up): 1. Carl McAlpine, Burnham; 2. Maurice Young, Windsor; 3. Luke Rickards, Anson; 4. Dustin Hubbard, Unity; 5. Brent Chase, Burnham; 6. Ed Sleeper, Vassalboro; 7. Chris King, Burnham.
Wildcat: 1. Carl McAlpine, Burnham; 2. Maurice Young, Chelsea; 3. Luke Rickards, Anson; 4. Dustin Hubbard, Unity; 5. Brent Chase, Burnham; 6. Chris King, Burnham; 7. Ed Sleeper, Vassalboro; 8. Bo Ivey, Winslow; 9. Jason Alton, Burnham; 10.Nate Yeaton, Lisbon Falls; 11. Chet Hanscom, Benton.
Late Model Pro Four (make-up): 1.Ben Clark, Clinton; 2.. Corey Walker, Augusta; 3. Jimmy Dennis, Benton; 4. Bryan Lancaster, Skowhegan; 5. Ben Nile, Anson; 6. Steve Rackliff, Starks; 7. Norm Cummings, Jr., Augusta; 8. Greg Cummings, China.
Late Model Pro Four: 1. Steve Rackliff, Starks; 2. Ben Clark, Clinton; 3. Corey Walker, Augusta; 4. Bryan Lancaster, Skowhegan; 5. Jimmy Dennis, Benton.
Monsta Mini: 1. Kyle Gallant, Veazie; 2. Mike Wilson, Chelsea; 3. Dylan Lancaster, Skowhegan; 4. Rick Grant, LaGrange; 5. Ben Clark, Clinton; 6. Alex Cromwell, Woolwich; 7. Derrick Cook, Wilton; 8. Dom Bailey, Benton; 9. Alica Goodwin, Clinton; 10. Chris Williams, Oakland.
Flyin’ 4: 1.. Mike Mason, Skowhegan; 2. Pete McCollett, Readfield; 3. Natasha Dyer, Arrowsic; 4. Cody Sleeper, Augusta; 5. Brad Bosworth, Cornville; 6. Dylan Lancaster, Skowhegan; 7. Derek Cook, Wilton; 8. Jordan Hawes, Skowhegan; 9. Nick Lizotte, Sidney; 10. Chris Williams, Oakland; 11. Merv Greene, Clinton; Tony DeJulio, Ellsworth.
Ladies (make-up): 1. Molly Feeney, Hope; 2. Alica Goodwin, Clinton; 3. Mika Wilson, Chelsea; 4. Shelby Kimball, Cornville; 5. Kayla Allen, Bucksport; 6. Carol Wilson, Chelsea.
Ladies: 1. Molly Feeney, Hope; 2. Shelby Kimball, Cornville; 3. Becky Elston, Carmel; 4. Kayla Allen, Bucksport; 5. Mika Wilson, Chelsea; 6. Alica Goodwin, Clinton.
Enduro (top five): 1. Chris Burbelo, Frankfort; 2. Patrick Cook, Swanville; 3. Matt Kimball, Cornville; 4. Chad Michaud, Fairfield; 5. Daymon Dodge, Troy.