Burgess edges Turner at Unity Raceway
Unity, Maine – Jeff Burgess of East Madison survived a torrid battle with Freedom’s Dylan Turner to win the 35-lap Late Model feature race, topping the stock car racing card Saturday night at Unity Raceway.
Burgess, locked in a tight battle for the 2011 championship at “Maine’s Toughest Racing Oval,” lost the top spot to Turner on a mid-race restart, then returned the favor, prevailing in a five-lap shootout following a late-race caution flag.
Turner crossed the line under the checkered flags in second position, followed by points leader David Folsom I of Skowhegan, who moved up in the running order after Justin Drake of Burnham and Seth Raven of Waldo crashed while racing for the final trophy position as the race neared its’ end.
Chad Dow of Fairfield, filling in for Albion’s Dean Fuller, finished fourth in a rare appearance at the third-mile oval this season. Montville’s Tyler Robbins rounded ut the top five. Raven and Folsom won heat races.
Maurice Young of Chelsea helped his championship hopes out in the Keystone Automotive Industries Wildcat division, scoring another victory in that 20-lap feature race. Young fought a tough battle for the lead with reigning division champion Chris King of Burnham after King had led the first half of the event.
Multi-time Wildcat champion Carl McAlpine finished third, surviving a wild incident that saw Skowhegan’s Kris Matchett take a hard ride into the frontstretch barrier in front of the flagstand. Matchett was uninjured, but the car was not. Ben Gilbert of Pittsfield and Skowhegan’s Ed Gilblair rounded out the top five. King won the heat race.
Mathew Burgoine of Newport picked up his career-first feature win in the visiting NELCAR Legends touring series race. Burgoine held off a fast-closing Kevin Hutchens of East Waterboro to earn his first trip to victory lane. Connecticut invader Ed Field was the third-place finisher, in front of apparent fourth-place finisher Bobby Weymouth of Topsham, who was disqualified in post-race tech after the car borrowed from Manchester’s Scott Lanpher was found to have illegal brakes. The official top-five rundown was filled out by Evan Beaulieu and Terry Kirk, both from Durham.
Tim Robinson of Clinton drove the Jimmy Dennis 38 to an easy victory in the Late Model Pro Four 20-lapper as chaos again unfolded behind him. Norm Cummings, Jr. of Augusta avoided much of the carnage to claim runner-up honors in front of Benton’s Lance Chapman. Steve Rackliff of Starks and Benton’s Jamie foster were fourth and fifth, respectively. Chapman won the heat race.
Mike Mason of Madison returned to competition a few weeks after destroying his Monster Mini division car in a vicious wreck. He put it back together in fine fashion and drove to a convincing win in the 20-lap main event for his class, driving around point leader Zach Audet of New Sharon to get the job done. Tim Collins of Farmingdale prevailed in an aggressive battle for the final trophy position, with Hudson’s Richard Jackson and Justin Moore of Madison rounding out the top five. Reigning champion Mike Wilson of Chelsea won the heat race.
Brad Bosworth of Cornville outgunned multi-race winner Ryan Ripley of Waldoboro for top honors in the 20-lap main event for the Flyin’ 4 division. The winner’s younger brother, Jayson Bosworth, picked up third-place hardware. Point leader Kyle Robinson of Clinton was fourth across the finish line, followed by Augusta’s Bob Gerard. Brad Bosworth was the heat race victor.
Aystin Clemons of Norridewock won his third straight Teen Thunder feature race. Colby Robbins of Montville led most of the 15-lapper, and crossed the line in second position. Detroit’s Ricky Pease raced from the back of the pack follwing a mid-race restart to finish in third position. Early race leader April McAlpine of Burnham was fourth, followed by Derek Pariseau of Brooks. Clemons also won the heat race.
The competition is getting closer in the Challenger division, yet Chad Folsom continued his dominant season with another 20-lap feature event score. Folsom has won all but one race in the class this season. Eric Peavey of Clinton was the best of the rest again, with Rick Sirois of Norridewock claiming his second straight third-place finish. Benton’s Samantha Farnham kept all the tires inflated on her ride for the first time in several weeks and ended up in fourth position. Waterville’s Mike Stowe rounded out the top five. Folsom won the heat race.
Kyle Turner of Freedom won the four-cylinder enduro race. John McCarron and Josh Spencer were second and third, respectively.
A meet-and-greet and ride with your favorite driver session kicks off this Saturday’s action at 5:30 p.m., with racing action set to start at 6:00 p.m. For more information call (207) 453-2021 or visit unityraceway.info
Late Model (35 laps): 1. X Jeff Burgess, East Madison; 2. 9 Dylan Turner, Freedom; 3. 15 David Folsom I, Skowhegan; 4. 04x Chad Dow, Fairfield; 5. 34 Tyler Robbins, Montville; 6. 51 Craig Robbins, Montville; 7. 09 Justin Drake, Burnham; 8. 20 Corey Walker, Strong; 9. 25 Will Collins; Waldoboro; 10. 12 Seth Raven, Waldo; 11. 18 Brian Whitney, Burnham; 12. 21 Ben Clark, Clinton; 13. 75 David Folsom II, Skowhegan; 14. 10 Glenn Curtis, Hudson; 15. 7 Brian Gullifer, Farmington; 16. 3 Jophn Rideout, Washington.
Keystone Automotive Wildcat (20 laps): 1. 03 Maurice Young, Chelsea; 2. 29 Chris King, Burnham; 3. 18 Carl McAlpine, Burnham; 4. 51 Ben Gilbert, Pittsfield; 5. 24 Ed Gilblair, Skowhegan; 6. 82 Mike Moore, Smithfield; 7. 20 Joe Harriman, Pittston; 8. 9 Wayne Ripley, Waldoboro; 9. 17 Kris Matchett, Skowhegan; 10. 8 Jerry Robbins, Jr., Montville; 11. 5x Bill Bowley II, Canaan.
NELCAR Legends (20 laps): 1. 38 Mathew Burgoine, Newport; 2. 27 Kevin Hutchens, East Waterboro; 3. 30 Ed Field, Deep River, CT; 4. 56 Evan Beaulieu, Durham; 5. 17 Tery Kirk, Durham; 6. 2 Ryan Hammar, Derry NH; 7. 81 Dan Winters, Windham NH; 8. 33 Alan Smith, Lincoln; 9. 59 Reid Lanpher, Manchester; 10. 10 Ed Getty, Gray; 11. 8 Matt Chagnot, Derry NH; 12. 42 Steve Johnson, Conway NH; 13. 49 Pete Cannell, South Berwick; DQ 19 Bob Weymouth, Topsham (car borrowed from car owner Scott Lanpher failed post-race inspection).
Late Model Pro Four (20 laps): 1. 38 Tim Robinson, Clinton; 2. 26 Norm Cummings, Jr., Augusta; 3. 64 Lance Chapman, Benton; 4. 94 Steve Rackliff, Starks; 5. 22 Jamie Foster, Benton; 6. 9 Sean Johnson, Sidney; 7. 2 Jordan Hawes, Skowhegan; 8. 5 Bill Ellis, Parkman.
Monster Mini (20 laps): 1. 51 Mike Mason, Madison; 2. 19 Zach Audet, New Sharon; 3. 18 Tim Collins, Farmingdale; 4. 53 Richard Jackson, Hudson; 5. 15 Justin Moore, Madison; 6. 92 Mike Wilson, Chelsea; 7. 2 Greg Cummings, Augusta; 8. 71 Donny Silva, Hudson.
Flyin’ 4 (20 laps): 1. 15 Brad Bosworth, Cornville; 2. 09x Ryan Ripley, Waldoboro; 3. 51 Jayson Bosworth, Cornville; 4. 62 Kyle Robinson, Clinton; 5. 22x Bob Gerard, Augusta; 6. 22 Jamie Foster, Benton; 7. 61 Cole Robinson, Clinton; 8. 54 Donald Giggey, Athens; 9. 60 Matt Glover, Rumford; 10. 19 Christie Foster, Norridgewock; 11. 10 Mike Dulaney, Richmond.
Challenger (20 laps): 1. 15 Chad Folsom, Skowhegan; 2. 44 Eric Peavey, Clinton; 3. 86 Rick Sirois, Norridgewock; 4. 96 Samantha Farnham, Benton; 5. 45 Mike Stowe, Waterville; 6. 4 Jacob Shaw, Lakeside CA; 7. ? Louie Stillman, Clinton; 8. 19 Kenneth Violette, Clinton; 9. 17 Steve Perry, Windham; 10. 7 Troy Rusconi, Clinton; 11. 41 Dan Lambert, Waterville; 12. 45x Nick Jackson, Waterville; 13. 16 April Haring, Hot Spring AZ; 14. 88 Henry Boudreau, Bristol; 15. 84 Ken Lord, Waterville.
Enduro (15 laps, top-five): 1. 0 Kyle Turner, Freedom; 2. 18 John McCarron, Newport; 3. 4 Josh Spencer; 4. 99 Chad Michaud, Fairfield; 5. 88 Mike Mathieu, Oakland.
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