SAUNDERS AND WESTON TAKE CLOSE WINS IN 95 ACTION
Corrected
Andy Saunders of Ellsworth and Nate Weston of Norridgewock both posted closely contested wins in racing action at Speedway 95 Saturday night. The margin of victory was about a half car length in both features, as sticky track conditions made the racing action tight all night.
In the Late Models, Saunders and eight time winner Mike Hopkins of Hermon started on the front row, and they were the show throughout the 35 lap feature event. At the start, the pair raced side by side, swapping the lead for the first 6 laps until Hopkins got the advantage and slowly pulled away from Saunders and the rest of the field. A caution on lap 26, caused by Wayne Parritt of Steuben losing the steering on his car and tapping Hermon’s Dale Swoboda, causing Swoboda to spin. On the restart, Saunders and Hopkins again lined up side by side and again began swapping the lead until the caution flew on lap 31 for a solo spin by Brenton Parritt. Again, Saunders and Hopkins were on the front row for the restart, and ran the final 4 laps side by side, with Saunders ahead by a nose when the checkered flag flew. Duane Seekins of Stockton Springs used the inside groove to work his way past Winterport’s Ryan Deane to take third, with Deane finishing fourth. Deane Smart of Bradley finished fifth. Smart and Hopkins won the evening’s qualifiers.
Nate Weston of Norridgewock won his first 95 feature of the season in only his second appearance at the track. A former Unity Super Street, Weston came to 95 last week after his division there was disbanded. In his first appearance here he posted a third place finish, and this week he won a hard fought battle with 5 time winner Jeremy Glasier of Appleton to post the win. Weston and Glasier started on the front row and ran side by side or nose to tail for the entire distance, with Weston crossing the finish line first with Glasier’s bumper at his door. Deane Smart of Bradley finished right behind the leaders in third, after Steve Moulton of Holden headed to the pits at the three quarter mark with overheating problems. D.J. Moody of Prospect was fourth with Mike Overlock of Franklin rounding out the top five. Steve Moulton won the heat race earlier in the evening.
In Sport four action, Steve Heath on Milo won his fourth feature of the season, fighting off a challenge from Matt Shaw of Burnham who was later disqualified in post race inspection for having a track with of 3 inches more than allowed in the rules. Keith Ogden of Dedham took the second place trophy home, followed by points leader Bradley Norris of Ellsworth who survived two accidents in the 20 lap event in third. Early on, Norris and Gerry Phllips of Hermon slid off the front stretch and had to be towed back onto the asphalt. In a later mishap, James Johnson II of Bucksport spun in turn four, hitting Norris and Becky Elston, forcing both to the pit for repair. Norris was able to return to the race, but Elston was sidelined for the night. Mike Heath of Brownville finished fourth, followed by Roy Crawford of Houlton in his first appearance of the season at the track.
Bob Seger Jr. of Frankfort was disqualified during post race inspection following the Strictly Street feature for several violations of the motor rules, moving points leader Andrew McLaughlin of Harrington to the top spot in the finishing order. Shelby Kimball of Cornville moved to second, followed by Cody Brassbridge of Frankfort in third. Jim Carr Jr. of Clifton ffinished fourth and Shawn Hamel II of Bangor was fifth. Communications issues between the tech garage and officials in the tower resulted in the incorrect report of the disqualification in the initial press release. Kimball won the qualifier for the Strictly Streets.
Emma Libby continued her “hot streak” in racing at Speedway 95 as she posted her third straight win in a week. The 13 year old from Glenburn won the Bomber feature last week, the Stars of Tomorrow feature in Wacky Wednesday action and continued her streak with a Bomber Division win Saturday night. Libby took the lead early in the event and held off Scott Bonney of Bangor who finished second and the Hermon Hotfoot, Andrew Crosby, who finished in third. Bradley Dolan of Winterport finished fourth followed by Cody Brassbridge of Frankfort in fifth. Libby also won the Bomber qualifier.
Saturday night racing in September will include a regular show on September 3, and the season finale on September 10. The first green flag will fly on both days at 7:00 p.m.
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