HOPKINS BACK IN 95 LATE MODEL VICTORY LANE
Hermon’s Mike Hopkins returned to victory lane in the Dysart’s Late Models at Speedway 95 Saturday night to celebrate win number 8 for the season. Hopkins took the lead on lap 3 of the 35 lap race and finished 10 car lengths ahead of second place Ryan Deane of Winterport. Hopkins fourth place finish last week, caused by a tire going flat, was made worse for a while by his disqualification during a post race inspection for an allegedly illegal shock absorber. Following the inspection by track officials, which was contested by Hopkins and his crew chief, track co-owner Del Merritt took the suspect shock to a professional to have it checked. The professional judged it to be within the rules, and the disqualification was revoked. Hopkins finish and points were restored, and he remains atop the standings with 4 meets left in the season. Deane Smart of Bradley fought his way to a third place finish, followed by Dale Swoboda of Hermon in fourth and Bangor’s Jesse Smith in fifth. The remainder of the finishing order was 6. Don Alexander Jr. Carmel, 7. Nick Jenkins, Brownville, 8. Donnie Blanchard, Bangor, 9. Greg Ellis, Hermon, 10. Duane Seekins, Stockton Springs, 11. John Kalel II, Orrington, 12. Alex Waltz, Damariscotta, 13, Brenton Parritt, Steuben, 14. Shane Clark, Winterport. Seekins and Swoboda won the night’s qualifiers
D.J. Moody of Prospect took the lead from Bradley’s Deane Smart on lap 9 of the 20 lap Sportsman feature and went on the post his third win of the season. Smart finished a close second with Gene Wasson of Greenbush posting his first top three of the year. Mike Overlock of Franklin was fourth and Steve Moulton of Holden finished fifth. Moody also won the qualifying heat for the division.
In Strictly Street action, Shelby Kimball of Cornville made it two in a row as she again held off a hard challenge from Andrew McLaughlin of Harrington for the win. Kimball and McLaughlin fought for the lead throughout the 25 lap event, with each leading several times before Kimball took the lead for good on the 21st lap. McLaughlin finished a very close second with Cody Brassbridge of Frankfort finish third. Pole sitter Shawn Hamel II of Bangor came in fourth, followed by Jim Carr Jr., of Clifton. Randy Clear of Cherryfield finished 6th, with Ryan Beale, also of Cherryfield in 7th. McLaughlin was the winner of the division’s 10 lap qualifier.
Steve Heath made it two in a row and three for the season in the Sport-Four division as he came from the rear of the field to take the lead on lap 12. A pair of early race cautions kept the field bunched up making Heath’s to make his move to the front easier. Keith Ogden of Dedham finished second after leading early, followed by Hermon’s Gerry Phillips, who also had a few early laps at the front of the field. Fourth place went to points leader Bradley Norrris of Ellsworth, who took advantage of an early caution to duck into the pit to make an adjustment to his car and had to restart at the rear of the field. Carmel’s Becky Elston finished fifth, followed by Jay Robichaud of Clifton in sixth. The remaining finishing order was: 7. Matt Shaw, Burnham, 8. Mike Heath, Brownville, 9. Joshua Grant, Carmel, 10. Bradley Dolan, Winterport, 11. James Johnson II, Bucksport, 12. Brock Worster, Kingman and 13. Roy Hathorn, Brownville. Mike Heath and Norris won the qualifying heats for the division.
Ryan Modery of Hermon took the win in the Bomber division with last week’s winner Emma Libby of Glenburn finishing second. Third place went to Scott Bonney of Bangor with Andrew Crosby of Hermon finishing fourth. Ken Ogden of Seal Cove was fifth, followed by Chris Burbelo of Frankfort in sixth. Russell Blenkhorn of Bucksport finished seventh, followed by David Ogden of Old Town in eighth. Modery also won the qualifying heat.
Speedway 95 returns to action on Wednesday August 17, at 7:00 p.m. with a regular Wacky Wednesday show featuring a “ride with your favorite driver” opportunity at 6:30. The next Saturday night show is on August 20 at 7:00.