Brian Whitney of Burnham roared from back in the pack to claim victory in the Late Model main event Saturday night at Unity Raceway, earning his third trip to victory lane this season at Unity Raceway.
Whitney took the top spot away from three-time track champion Frank Moulton of Burnham and wasn’t seriously challenged over the last dozen circuits of the 35-lap feature race.
Moulton claimed the lead on a mid-race restart from Unity’s Mark Dodge, who had built an impressive lead while setting the pace for the first 18 laps. Dodge was later eliminated from competition in a frontstretch crash as the yellow flag waved for another altercation on the raceway surface.
David “Deuce” Folsom II of Skowhegan started at the back of the pack in his first appearance of the season and drove to an impressive third-place finish. Reigning track champion Jeff Burgess of Fairfield fought mechanical difficulties throughout the night, but managed a fourth-place run,. Ajay Picard of Palmyra rebounded from a couple of on-track altercations to post a fifth-place finish.
Late Model heat race victories were posted by Folsom and Whitney.
Chris King of Burnham led almost the entire distance in the 20-lap Wildcat division feature event, holding off point leader Brent “Poochie” Chase’s late challenge to claim his first victory this year. Ryan Robinson of Clinton returned after a week’s absence to repair his damaged mount, and raced to a third-place finish in front of Skowhegan’s Ed Gilblair and rookie Wes Turner, making his first start in the class. King also won the heat race.
Norm Cummings, Jr. of Augusta broke a dry spell of several years, leading all 20 laps in the Late Model Pro Four main event. It was no easy win for Cummings, who survived a late-race, paint-swapping battle with multi-time division champion Steve Rackliff of Starks to earn his trip to victory lane. Clinton’s Tim Robinson ended up in third position, followed by Benton racers Alex Fernald and Scott Horne. Rackliff won the heat race.
Defending Monster Mini Stock division champion Zach Audet of Skowhegan continued his dominance of that class, winning his 20-lap main event by a healthy margin over Farmingdale’s Tim Collins. Clinton teenager Cole Robinson won an intense battle for the final podium finishing position, with the top-five filled out by Jayson Bosworth of Cornville and Matt Shaw of Burnham, who led several laps before Audet went by. Audet also won the heat race.
Kayla Allen of Penobscot won her first-ever Flyin’ 4 division feature race, passing division point leader Mike Dulaney of Richmond to claim the lead and eventual victory. Dulaney took runner-up honors, with Henry Boudreau of Benton earning his first trophy in the class with a third-place run. Mike Mathieu of Oakland crossed the finish line in fourth position, followed by Samantha Farnham of Benton. Cody Robbins of Oakland won the heat race, and led several laps in the main event before mechanical issues sidelined his machine.
Point leader Ken Lord of Waterville just edged out teammate Robert MacDonald of Oakland to win yet another feature race in the Challenger division. Skowhegan’s Christie Foster posted yet another third-place finish. First-time Challenger racer Matt Picard of Unity returned to the cockpit after a long absence and posted a fourth-place finish. Benton’s Robert Corson rounded out the top-five. Lord won the heat race.
The Saturday night event was the first of a Memorial day Weekend doubleheader, which was followed by the Butch Burgess Memorial Race on Sunday afternoon. Racing action continues Saturday at 6:00 p.m. For more information visit unityraceway.info or call (207) 453-2021.
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Feature race Results (Finishing position, car number, driver, hometown)
Late Model: 1. 18 Brian Whitney, Burnham; 2. 15 Frank Moulton, Burnham; 3. 75 David Folsom II, Skowhegan; 4. X Jeff Burgess, Fairfield; 5. 99 Ajay Picard, Palmyra; 6. 21 Ben Clark, Clinton; 7. 1 M.J. Silva, Fairfield; 8. 9 Dylan Turner, Freedom; 9. 73 Mark Dodge, Unity; 11. 25 Will Collins, Waldoboro.
Wildcat: 1. 29 Chris King, Burnham; 2. 31 Brent “Poochie” Chase, Burnham; 3. 2 Ryan Robinson, Clinton; 4. 24 Ed Gilblair, Skowhegan; 5. 88x Wes Turner, Montville; 6. 98 Todd Rollins, St. Albans; 7. 20 Joe Harriman, Liberty; DNS 91 George Fernald III, Benton.
Late Model Pro Four: 1. 26 Norm Cummings, Jr., Augusta; 2. 94 Steve Rackliff, Starks; 3. 38 Tim Robinson, Clinton; 4. 91 Alex Fernald, Benton; 5. 3 Scott Horne, Benton; 6. 5 Bill Ellis, Parkman.
Monster Mini: 1. 19 Zach Audet, Skowhegan; 2. 18 Tim Collins, Farmingdale; 3. 3. 61 Cole Robinson, Clinton; 4. 51 Jayson Bosworth, Cornville; 6. 09 Matt Shaw, Burnham; 7. 62 Kyle Robinson, Clinton; 8. 92 Mike Wilson, Chelsea; 9. 15 Brad Bosworth, Cornville; 10. 5 Heff Prindall, Lisbon Falls; DNS 88 Wes Turner, Montville.
Flyin’ 4: 1. 20 Kayla Allen, Penobscot; 2. 10 Mike Dulaney, Richmond; 3. 88 Henry Boudreau, Benton; 4. 8 Mike Mathieu, Oakland; 5. 96 Samantha Farnham, Benton; 6. 00 Alica Goodwin, Clinton; 7. 81 Ed Archer, Skowhegan; 8. 15 Cody Robbins, Oakland; 9. 11 Mika Stover, Augusta; DNS: 04 Nate Tribbett, Richmond.
Challenger: 1. 28 Ken Lord, Waterville; 2. 84 Robert MacDonald, Oakland; 3. 19 Christie Foster, Skowhegan; 4. 04x Matt Picard, Unity; 5. 88 Robert Corson, Benton; 6. 5 Mike Flagg, Montville; 7. 7 Troy Rusconi, Clinton; DNS 86 Rich Sirois, Norridgewock.
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