Andrew Mclaughlin of Harrington made it two in a row Saturday night at Speedway 95 as he wired the Strictly Street Coca-Cola Series race #1 at the 1/3 mile Hermon oval. McLaughlin won the qualifier for the event which put him on the pole for the feature, and he just kept on leading from there. Roger Smith Jr. of Clifton finished the race in second, after Cody Brassbridge of Frankfort pulled off the track on lap 20 and parked his Camaro with mechanical trouble. Shelby Kimball of Cornville placed third with the father son duo of Shawn Hamel II and Shawn Hamel of Bangor finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
Dysart’s Late Model action also saw a repeat winner as Mike Hopkins of Hermon took control of the 35 lap feature early on in the event and went on to post his second win of the season. While Hopkins and second place finisher Dale Swoboda of Hermon played follow the leader up front, Ryan Deane of Winterport was putting on a show, working his way up from his eighth place starting spot to a solid third place finish. Deane used the inside groove to pass eventual fourth place finisher Brenton Parritt of Steuben and Dave St. Clair of Liberty who finished fifth. Deane held the third spot from lap 28, while Parritt and St. Clair battled for their finishing positions, which weren’t decided until lap 33 of the 35 lap race. Hopkins and Swoboda were both winners of the qualifying events, placing them on the front row for the feature.
Jay Robichaud of Eddington posted a hard fought victory in the Sport-Fours as he had to hold off former Strictly Street Champion Bradley Norris of Ellsworth through several restarts over the 20 lap distance of the event. On lap 9, Norris, Keith Ogden of Dedham and Becky Elston of Carmel were all involved in a scrape on the backstretch while jockeying for position behind Robichaud. On the restart, all three were placed at the rear of the field and the race was on from there. After a quick trip to the pit area Norris began his charge to the front, regaining enough ground to challenge Robichaud for the lead but settling for runner up finish. Elston finished third, but both had to contend with a stubborn Andrew Crosby of Hermon, who finished fourth after trying in vain to hold Norris and Elston back. Ogden was also able to recover from the early fracas to post a fifth place finish. Last week’s winner Steve Heath on Milo was never a factor this week as he left the qualifier early and never showed for the feature event. Elston won the qualifier, but had to start back in the pack due to her second place finish the previous week.
Sportsman action saw Jeremy Glasier of Appleton inherit the lead on lap 10 when Steve Moulton of Holden suffered a mechanical problem that forced him to the pit area for repairs. Moulton was able to make repairs and rejoin the field prior to the restart, but was quickly eliminated from competition when he damaged his car in a false restart that scattered the field. Glasier was able to hold on to the lead to the checkers despite a valiant effort by D.J. Moody of Prospect to take the spot from him. Moody challenged Glasier from the restart to the checkers, but was forced to settle for a second place finish. Mike Overlock of Franklin finished in third with Gene Wasson of Greenbush claiming the fourth spot. Moulton was credited with a fifth place finish.
The Bomber division field more than doubled in size from it’s inaugural event on May 7, and the competition was strong as the lead changed several times over the 20 lap distance of the race. In his first appearance of the year, Ryan Modery of Hermon passed Garret Hayman of Milford, another newcomer to the division, on lap 18 and went on to post his first win of the season. Hayman finished second after coming from the rear of the field and leading for 8 laps before Modery snatched the win away from him. Third went to Ken Ogden of Seal Cove, with Duane Seekins of Stockton Springs fourth and Gilbert Ogden Jr. of Ellsworth fifth. Modery, Hayman and Ken Ogden were all first time racers in the new division, designed for entry level competitors. Modery previously raced in the Wednesday night “Stars of Tomorrow” division, Hayman is a former mini cup driver and Ogden is a regular Wednesday night Little Enduro compeitior.
Also appearing on the card Saturday night were the Wicked Good Vintage Racing League, fresh off their week long stint at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Kris Watson of Hermon barely edged out Milford’s Tim Reynolds for the win in the Outlaws, and Jamie Henderson took the win in the Late Models over Scott Tucker and Keith Smalley. In the Mini Mods, Reid Lanpher of Greene took the win over Tommy Stilphen of Kennebunk and Dan Snow of Pittston.
Racing action continues at Speedway 95 on Saturday May 28 at 5:00 when the Varney Agency Sport-Four Series takes to the track for race one of their three race series. Also on the card are the Dysart’s Late Models, the Sportsman, Strictly Streets and Bombers. Fans can ride with their favorite driver starting at 4:30 in a preliminary activity prior to the night’s racing program.