MIKE HOPKINS WINS 95 DYSART’S LATE MODEL 50 LAPPER
Hermon’s Mike Hopkins grabbed the lead on lap 2 of the Maine State Lottery 50 lap series event for the Dysart’s Late Models at Speedway 95 Saturday night when pole sitter Andy Saunders was forced to the pit early with a flat right front tire when the first caution of the race fell at the completion of lap one. Saunders, the division’s defending champion, returned to the track before the green fell starting lap 2, and started his charge to the front of the 17 car field. Saunders had a lot of help when the race was stropped a total of 8 times as he worked his way toward the front. When the final caution fell with 4 laps to go, Saunders was in third, challenging Corinna’s Paul White for the second spot. His efforts fell a little short, however, as White managed to stay in second with Saunders in third when the checkers fell. John Kalel II of Orrington raced in the top five all night, finishing in fourth. Fifth went to Winterport’s Ryan Deane, who also had to pit in the early laps after contact with the turn one dirt berm and work his way back through the field. Donny Blanchard of Bangor, Duane Seekins of Stockton Springs, Wayne Parritt of Steuben, Hermon’s Ryan Modery and Lloyd Nickerson of Corinth rounded out the top ten in that order. Hopkins and Saunders each won a qualifier, placing them on the front row for the main event.
The Bomber division ran an extended length 30 lap feature event, the first of three scheduled for the division this season. The race went the entire distance caution free. Cody Robinson of Palermo took the lead from pole sitter Denis Burns of Carmel on the tenth lap and led from there to the checkers. Burns finished second with Bangor’s Scott Bonney in third. Fourth went to Chris Carroll of Greenbush with Mark Lane of Newport in fifth.
Zach Audet of Skowhegan passed Hudson’s Donny Silva on lap 10 of the 25 lap Sport-Four feature and stayed out front to post the win. Glenburn’s Emma Libby was declared the second place finisher when Tim Robinson of Clinton was disqualified for running on unauthorized tires. Third place went to J.R. Gray of Orrington with Hermon’s Kevin Hartley placing fourth. Andrew Crosby of Hermon was fifth. Silva was ultimately disqualified from the night’s racing following an incident in which he and Lewis Batchelder of Dixmont, who was also sent home with no points or pay, had a physical altercation on the track following a collision on lap 15.
In the Keystone Automotive Strictly Streets, Bobby Seger Jr. of Frankfort led all 25 laps of the caution free race to take the checkered flag first. Alex Berry of Harrington passed Cornville’s Shelby Kimball with two laps to go to claim second, with Kimball nursing her smoking Camaro home to a third place finish. Fourth went to Jim Bragdon of Corinth with Andy Turbovsky of Winslow finishing fifth.
Kris Watson of Hermon took the lead on the 7th lap of the 25 lap Darling’s Bangor Ford Sportsman feature and held off Ryan Robinson of Clinton to take the win. Skowhegan’s Kris Matchett finished in third after Milford’s Joe Legere, who had been running there, went wide in turn 1 on lap 24 losing 7 positions before he regained control of his car. Fourth place was claimed by Ellsworth’s Bradley Norris with D.C. Alexander of Glenburn finishing fifth. Two caution flags slowed the action with pole sitter Lindsey Young of Winterport involved in both. The first was a solo spin coming out of turn four while she was leading, and the second on lap 19, which sent her to the pits for the night with mechanical issues.
Speedway 95 will take a break next week-end as the Monster Trucks once again invade the Hermon oval with their Monster Jam show. No regular racing program will be run on Saturday June 8. Action will resume on Saturday June 15. On Wednesday, June 5, the Varney Buick-GMC-Mazda Wacky Wednesday nights return at 7:00 p.m. with racing scheduled in the Big Enduro, Little Enduro, Ladies, Sinclair Towing pick-up trucks and the Stars of Tomorrow, who will run a three week Triple Crown series prior to their regular season starting on June 26.