WHORF WINS PRO STOCK THRILLER AT WISCASSET SPEEDWAY

May 6, 2019 | Maine Race Tracks, Wiscasset Speedway

WHORF WINS PRO STOCK THRILLER AT WISCASSET SPEEDWAY
by Ken Minott


     April showers bring May flowers, but it also brought frustration to anxious race fans and drivers waiting to get the 2019 racing season started. After losing the first two races of the season to weeks of persistent rain, Wiscasset Speedway was finally able to get in a show on Saturday, May 4th. Group 1 got the call for their season opener, plus the first of three Enduros on the season schedule. Veteran racer Jeremie Whorff of Bath took home the victory in a wild finish to the 40 lap feature for the ServPro of Biddeford Saco Pro Stocks. Whorff was running 4th as the field stormed onto the front stretch to take the white flag. But the lead pair tangled sending drivers scrambling, and Whorff had the lead by the time they got to turn one.

From there he cruised to the improbable win. In victory lane, he said, “Hey, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, right?!” with a big smile. In other action, Jason Oakes was the winner in Maxwell’s Market Super Streets; Zach Audet in the Thunder 4 Minis, and Jeff Prindall in the Cahill Tire 4-Cylinder Pros. Ben Audet was the victor in the 100 lap Enduro.      The Maxwell’s Market Super Streets had the spotlight race for the opening day program. Freeport’s Bob Crocker and Jefferson’s Mike Hodgkins lined up on the front row for the 35 lap feature. Hodgkins pulled out to a commanding half straightaway lead through the first half of the race. Trouble began to brew for the leader as sparks began to appear under the rear end of the car and he soon relinquished the lead to Jason Oakes. A much-needed caution allowed Hodgkins to head to the pits for repairs on a broken track bar mount. On the restart, Oakes shook off a challenge from Bobby Mesimer, pulled away to a comfortable lead and cruised to the victory. He was chased across the line by Mesimer and defending champ Michael Harrison, who had to start the race back in the middle of the 12 car field. Hodgkins recovered from his mechanical issues and made a late race charge to finish 4th. Dan Nessmith of Wiscasset rounded out the top five.      In the 25 lap Thunder 4 Mini feature, veteran Zach Audet grabbed the lead from polesitter Curtis Anderson on lap 10 and went on the victory in the caution free race. It quickly became a two-car race for the win as the pair stretched out their advantage to a full straightaway. Anderson kept Audet within striking distance through the entire race and crossed the line in 2nd place less than half a second behind the winner. Doug Degroat and Spencer Sweatt put on a good race for the 3rd spot with Degroat coming out on top. Sweatt settled for 4th with rookie Caleb Willette of Winslow filling out the top five.      The Cahill Tire 4-Cylinder Pro was a caution-filled 25 lap feature, mostly from minor spins. Defending champ Jeff Prindall of Lisbon Falls showed the kids how it’s done and led wire to wire for the win. Sophomore drivers PJ Merrill and Dom Curit put a great show racing for the remaining spots in victory lane. They traded spots several times during the race. Merrill would go on to nail down a career-best 2nd place finish while Curit settled for 3rd. Curit made history in 2018 by becoming the track’s youngest ever feature winner at 11yrs old. The top five was completed by rookie Colby Peacock of Yarmouth and Taylor Lane of Philips.      The ServPro of Biddeford Saco Pro Stocks lined up with a stout field of 18 cars for their 40 lap feature. Defending champ Nick Hinkley set the early pace with former champ Andy Saunders giving chase over the first 25 laps of caution-free racing. Saunders would take the lead from there until Kevin Douglass moved up to challenge. The two raced side by side for several laps with Douglass edging out Saunders by 2/100 of a second for the lead when the caution came out again with just 2 laps to go. The restart lined up with Douglass and Saunders on the front row and Hinkley and Whorf directly behind. Saunders drove around Douglass to take the lead on the backstretch. As they stormed out of turn 4 to take the white flag Douglass got into the back end of Saunders car sending the leader spinning sideways. In the scramble to avoid the spinning car, Douglass and Hinkley made hard contact and Whorff was able to thread the needle and take the lead by the time they got to turn one. From there he cruised to the victory. Hinkley and Douglass chased him across the line, however, Douglass would be penalized for the contact with the leader, relegating him to finishing in 6th as the last car on the lead lap. Saunders was able to refire his car and finish the race on the lead lap, being unofficially credited with a 5th place finish. However, in another twist to the race, Saunders frustration in how his race ended carried into the pits. His team refused to bring his car to post-race tech inspection, which is a requirement for top 5 in all feature races. With the refusal to submit to tech inspection, he was penalized and officially scored in 13th place as the last car running on the track at the end of the race. The final official top-five finish in the race was #00 Whorff, #15 Hinkley, #09 Ed Drake, #2 Chris Ryan, and #18 Douglass.       Wiscasset Speedway returns to action Saturday, May 11th with the season’s first race for Group 2. The Wood Pellet Warehouse Late Model Sportsman, The Norms Used Cars Strictly Streets, The K&A Services Modifieds, and The Kennebec Equipment Rental Outlaw Minis will all be in action. Also appearing will be the Wicked Good Vintage Racers with their Hobby, Early Late Model, and Outlaw divisions. The Pit gate will open at 12 noon, the grandstand gate at 3 pm and the green flag waves at 5 pm. Details and info on Wiscasset Speedway can be found at www.wiscassetspeedway.com. 
WISCASSET SPEEDWAY OFFICIAL FINISH 5/4/19

MAXWELL’S MARKET SUPER STREETS (35 laps – spotlight)

PosNo.NameHome TownStateLapsDiffGapBest TmIn Lap
111Jason OakesBoothbayME3516.5576
23Bobby MesimerWoolwichME351.2351.23516.7724
385Michael HarrisonDurhamME351.7000.46516.8544
423Mike HodgkinsJeffersonME352.0290.32916.4723
548Dan NessmithWiscassetME353.2971.26816.87624
655Bob CrockerFreeportME354.0310.73417.0368
705rGlen ReynoldsTurnerME354.4750.44416.9744
824David ThompsonJeffersonME354.7150.24017.0196
918Parker VarneyWindhamME341 Lap1 Lap17.36318
108Bouncer KnightJayME341 Lap5.50016.8834
1154Boe GreenBerwickME278 Laps7 Laps16.8422
1235Mike WallaceWiscassetME1025 Laps17 Laps17.7592

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THUNDER 4 MINI (25 laps)

PosNo.NameHome TownStateLapsDiffGapBest TmIn Lap
14Zac AudetSkowheganME2518.4628
204Curtis AndersonRichmondME250.4060.40618.4002
384xDouglas DegroatOxfordME256.1925.78618.73125
484Spencer SweattAlbionME2510.3734.18118.91718
560Caleb WilletteWinslowME2513.6053.23218.9626
623Jacoby PerryPittstonME2516.1372.53219.0012
79Gill CoteWinslowME2518.4882.35118.9032
876Mark SawyerNewburghME241 Lap1 Lap19.4517
97Howard RobertsJayME232 Laps1 Lap19.6018
1088xWes TurnerFreedomME169 Laps7 Laps19.9116

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CAHILL TIRE 4-CYLINDER PRO STOCK (25 laps)

PosNo.NameHome TownStateLapsDiffGapBest TmIn Lap
124Jeff PrindallLisbonME2516.86716
200PJ MerrillCantonME252.5502.55017.04115
35Dominic CuritSacoME252.6410.09116.98315
426Colby PeacockYarmouthME254.0901.44917.34710
570Taylor LanePhillipsME258.0253.93517.4869
642Mike KibbenLisbon FallsME259.5831.55817.72614
77bBenjamin BurgessHartfordME241 Lap1 Lap18.54324
817ANoah AlexanderOrringtonME241 Lap2.16818.53821
919Andy KaherlSacoME232 Laps1 Lap18.8606
1041Nicole BenincasaBuxtonME1312 Laps10 Laps17.3439
118Callahan CoxHarrisonME1213 Laps1 Lap17.6456
1211Marissa LaPointePeruME025 Laps12 laps0.0000
note: #11 LaPointe did drive onto track under own power but did not take green flag
 – per rules scored last place

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SERVPRO OF BIDDEFORD SACO PRO STOCK (40 laps)

PosNo.NameHome TownStateLapsDiffGapBest TmIn Lap
100Jeremy WhorffBathME4015.0485
215Nick HinkleyWiscassetME400.9390.93914.7442
309Ed DrakeVassalboroME404.4703.49814.9896
42Chris RyanNewburghME404.6780.20815.0884
518Kevin DouglassSidneyME400.9720.03314.7897
611Cody VerrillWoolwichME391 Lap1 Lap15.45127
713TCody TribbettRichmondME391 Lap0.18115.44531
814Dave St ClairLibertyME391 Lap1.50315.31536
917Joey PeasleeJeffersonME391 Lap0.80815.4748
1025Barry PoulinClintonME391 Lap0.47315.47328
1121James BarkerJayME391 Lap0.97115.5513
128Doug TourtelotteBowdoinhamME382 Laps1 Lap15.59120
1301xAndy Saunders*EllsworthME408.2273.54914.7093
1429Kevin MorseWoolwichME337 Laps5 Laps14.9467
152Shane LaneNorth AnsonME328 Laps1 Lap15.2875
1684Jamie WrightWoolwichME2515 Laps7 Laps15.0824
1799Ajay PicardPalmyraME634 Laps19 Laps15.1162
1813Nate TribbettRichmondME436 Laps2 Laps15.6183
*NOTE:  01x Saunders finished unofficially in 5th, but team refused to go to post race
tech inspection. Per rules, car deemed out of compliance and
scored as last car running (at end of the race)

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ENDURO #1 (100 laps)

PosNo.NameHome TownStateLapsDiffGapBest TmIn Lap
154Ben AudetSkowheganME10020.280100
239Jonathon SpearWiscassetME991 Lap1 Lap20.88995
31Kyle EnmanDurhamME973 Laps2 Laps20.95997
424Steve WardNewcastleME973 Laps15.2120.77584
512John LacaveraWoolwichME964 Laps1 Lap21.00070
64Nathan HaleyWiscassetMe955 Laps1 Lap20.67787
777Travis BradstreetBowdoinME955 Laps9.98621.11189
865Dana IngallsAugustaME946 Laps1 Lap20.87292
989Robbie MichaudFarmingdaleME919 Laps3 Laps21.67486
101Vernon HodgkinsMechanic FallsME8911 Laps2 Laps22.07566
1155Brad ClementReadfieldME8416 Laps5 Laps20.45267
1227Donald NashawatyPittstonME8119 Laps3 Laps21.31981
138Leroy LevittDamariscottaME6733 Laps14 Laps21.81263
1434xRoger BradstreetTopshamME6238 Laps5 Laps21.27655
154Irving DoughtyWiscassetME4456 Laps18 Laps21.68339
1653Jeff ReadWatervilleME3466 Laps10 Laps21.73415
1793Justin SpearWiscassetME3169 Laps3 Laps21.88430
1859n/an/aME2872 Laps3 Laps22.67716
19161Shadow FolsomSkowheganME2575 Laps3 Laps21.74419
2078Jordan MayoDresdenME1684 Laps9 Laps29.8628
2198Jake AllenFarmingdaleMe1288 Laps4 Laps23.50310
2255xTaylor DelanoWiscassetME1090 Laps2 Laps23.7597
2357Jason MeserveyWarrenME397 Laps7 Laps24.4992
24420n/an/aME0100 Laps3 Laps0.0000