MacDonald Completes Sweep Oxford Regulars Finish Well
By Caleb Lamb
OXFORD, Maine – The next time the American-Canadian Tour visits Oxford Plains they may have to rename the 150 lap race the, “Eddie MacDonald 150”. MacDonald once again took the checkered flag at OPS to sweep the two ACT races held at the track. Add in the fact that he also won last year’s TD Bank 250 and that makes MacDonald 3 for 3 in his latest trips to Oxford. After three rounds of qualifying, the starting grid was set for main event. As a part of Oxford Plains ongoing 60th anniversary celebration, the fans were treated to a special interview with OPS pioneer, Glen Andrews. Then Mr. Andrews gave the command to fire engines and the race was underway. Brian Hoar took the early lead while Eddie MacDonald settled into fourth place behind OPS regulars Jeff White and Shawn Martin. Martin grabbed the lead on a lap 48 restart following the race’s first yellow for one car crash featuring Joey Laquerre. But his lead was short-lived as just 5 laps later the yellow flew once again for the biggest wreck of the night. Corey Morgan got spun around going into turn 1 and several other cars got involved in the mayhem. Mark Lamberton, Travis Stearns, Billy Childs Jr, Ben Ashline, and Jean Paul Cyr were all involved, with Lamberton and Stearns getting the worst of it. Following the restart, Hoar jumped back in front while MacDonald slipped by White and Martin to take second. Ricky Rolfe had a great showing, passing MacDonald for second on lap 75, while Tommy Ricker and T.J. Brackett slowly started picking their way through the field, just outside the top 10. A caution for Joey Pole’s spin on lap 102 set the stage for an all out sprint to the finish as the top drivers pushed their cars to the limit. MacDonald took the lead for the first time shortly after the restart, and Tommy Ricker jumped to fourth, passing five cars in just 7 laps. Corey Morgan recovered well from his earlier spin, and while nearly every other driver followed the high line around the race track, Morgan used the inside groove to pick his way to fourth. With positions constantly changing, Morgan moved to second behind MacDonald on lap 125, and then faded as Ricky Rolfe reclaimed the spot and made the charge at the leader. T.J. Brackett moved into the third position while the likes of Hoar, Ricker, Morgan, and Scott Luce battled it out behind him. But while several drivers came close, nobody could touch MacDonald who navigated the lap traffic well and crossed the finish line several car lengths in front of Rolfe and Brackett. Corey Morgan finished fourth in his most impressive run of the season, while Brian Hoar slipped to second, and Scott Luce finished deep in the field after he spun with just 3 laps remaining.
In other features, Darrel Moore did one better than his second place finish last week, taking the checkered flag in the Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Mini Stock feature. Jimmy Childs represented the closest competition for Moore, hounding him for several laps before some apparent engine trouble dropped Childs out of contention. Ashley Marshall and Butch Keene benefitted from Child’s demise, battling hard for the second spot. Marshall would edge out Keene at the line while Steve Barker took fourth.
In the Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Strictly Stock feature, Kurt Hewins made it 4 wins in a row in another dominating performance in one of the more competitive series. Matt Williams had the early lead but it took just 12 laps for Hewins to chase him down and complete the pass. Williams would hang on for second, and Gene Hatch, who had finished runner-up to Hewins the previous two weeks in a row, spun halfway through the race after doing a great job moving up through the field. Mike St. Germain started on the pole, and did all he could to hold off a number of cars in the battle for third, but in the end Larry Emerson made his way past and rounded out the podium positions.
In the MacDonald Motors Runnin’ Rebels feature, the 3 car team of Troy Jordan, Matt Dufault, and Jason Berry continued their dominance, sweeping the podium spots. Jordan and Dufault each won a Rebel feature during Wednesday night’s Acceleration Series kick-off, and Berry earned a second place finish. This time around, all three drivers quickly picked their way through the field and simply ran away from the pack. Kyle Hewins did all he could as the closest competitor, but in the end had to settle for a fourth place finish.
In the Call of the Wild RV Center Sport Truck feature. Ryan Farrar took an early commanding lead and went on to win with Corey Williams in second and Jeff Schmidt rounding out the top 3.
The Oxford Acceleration Series takes to the track on Wednesday night before Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Motor Mayhem #2 on Friday night. Saturday night features Oxford Championship Series action with the Late Model, Strictly Stock and Mini Stock divisions being joined by the Outlaws and the Ladies.
RACE RESULTS
OCS/OAS/ ACT 150
06/19/10
SPORT TRUCKS
1 – 69 Ryan Farrar
2 – 39 Corey Williams
3 – 22 Jeff Schmidt
4 – 55 Sean Jordan
DNS – 29 Nathan Merrill
RUNNIN REBELS
1 – 6 Troy Jordan
2 – 96 Matt Dufault
3 – 46 Jason Berry
4 – 54 Kyle Hewins
5 – 86 Jeff Hebert
6 – 59 Corey Beaulieu
7 – 22 Scott Farrington
8 – 88 Derek Cook
9 – 8 Dustin Salley
10 – 83 Brady Romano
11 – 91 Jamie Heath
12 – 2 Craig Bartlett
13 – 33 Jonah Farrington
14 – 94 Mike Carver
15 – 25 Roger Bourgoin
16 – 49 Tyler Bennett
17 – 48 Jeff Jordan
DQ – 69 John Childs
DNS – 55 Ryan Hewins
MINI STOCK
1 – 12 Darrell Moore
2 – 77 Ashley Marshall
3 – 2 Butch Keene
4 – 51 Steve Barker
5 – 10 Jimmy Childs
6 – 3 Kevin Bishop
7 – 31 Jeff Beaule
8 – 18 Nik Coates
9 – 29 Greg Watkins
10 – 6 Nathan Guptil
11 – 8 Calvin Rose Jr
12 – 14 Matt Moore
13 – 33 Danny Morris
14 – 01 Bill Childs Sr
15 – 44 Jim Robbins
STRICTLY STOCK
1 – 55 Kurt Hewins
2 – 63 Matt Williams
3 – 24 Larry Emerson
4 – 23 Zack Emerson
5 – 36 Rick Spaulding
6 – 83 Mike St Germain
7 – 06 Craig Coolidge
8 – 53 Richard Damon
9 – 7 Gene Hatch
10 – 39 Jerry Freve
11 – 12 Skip Tripp
ACT 150
1 – 17MA Eddie MacDonald
2 – 51ME Ricky Rolfe
3 – 61ME TJ Brackett
4 – 26ME Corey Morgan
5 – 37VT Brian Hoar
6 – 6ME Tommy Ricker
7 – 55VT Brent Dragon
8 – 60ME Tim Brackett
9 – 50ME Jeff White
10 – 57ME Austin Theriault
11 – 26VT John Donahue
12 – 94ME Shawn Martin
13 – 71NH Scott Dragon
14 – 89VT Scott Payea
15 – 97NH Joey Polewarczyk
16 – 3ME Dennis Spencer Jr
17 – 03ME Travis Adams
18 – 4ME Bradley Babb
19 – 07ME Scott Luce
20 – 04ME TJ Watson
21 – 18VT Jamie Fisher
22 – 85ME Travis Stearns
23 – 41VT Pete Potvin
24 – 7ME Glen Luce
25 – 22VT Jean Paul Cyr
26 – 02NH Randy Potter
27 – 1ME Billy Childs Jr
28 – 72VT David Paya
29 – 52NH Miles Chipman
30 – 15ME Ben Ashline
31 – 23ME Dave Farrington Jr
32 – 15VT Joey Laquerre
33 – 16NY Mark Lamberton