Credit Photos: Mary and Peter Taylor petespicks.smugmug.com
St Clair is one of those family names synonymous with Wiscasset Speedway; a name that is engrained in the history of Maine’s fastest track, much like Ripley or Reno. It began with Dave “Boss Hogg” St Clair, who has turned laps since it’s opening in 1969 and still races today. Then came son Puncin St Clair, who was a regular winner in Super Streets& Late Models in the 90’s and 2000’s; winning Driver of the Year honors in 1996. The family legacy remains intact today with Puncin’s sons Josh and Ryan becoming rising stars in the track’s Late Model Sportsman division. The 3 generation racers from Liberty each visited victory lane Saturday night with Group 2 in action; eldest brother Josh taking honors in the regular 35 lap points feature, and younger brother Ryan winning the special Dave’s World Dash For Cash at night’s end. It was a busy night on the track, and also turned out to be a busy night in the tech garage with trophies changing hands in all four classes.
Saturday’s race program started a half hour late due to a pair of mid-afternoon showers passing through the area. That didn’t dampen the spirits of eager fans and anxious racers. The Late Model Sportsman division rolled out for the first feature of the night with 22 drivers going after the checkers. #00 Alex Waltz and #4 Ben Erskine made up the front row as several heavy hitters lurked back in the field. While Waltz and Erskine waged a good early battle for the lead, two early movers in the race were #33 Josh St Clair (starting 13) and #17 Chris Thorne (starting 15th). It took the pair just 8 laps to run up the outside lane and into the top 5. The field would be bunched up for a lap 10 restart and that is all the help Josh needed, taking over the lead on lap 11 and quickly pulling away. It turned out to be the only caution of the 35 lap race. St Clair would lead the remainder of the race on his way to his second win of the season. But there were plenty of racers scrambling to join him in victory lane. #21 Shane Clark came out of the group to claim second as Waltz desperately tried to hold on to third through the midpoint of the race with Thorne, Erskine, #30 Ryan St Clair and his Grandfather #14 Dave St Clair all in hot pursuit. On lap 22 Waltz slipped up exiting turn four just enough for Ryan St Clair to sneak underneath to grab the 3rd position and Thorne to follow into 4th. Things settled down for the remainder of the race as they all chased Josh St Clair to victory lane. It was the older St Clair brother’s 2nd win in as many weekends. Clark took the 2nd place trophy but would soon have to return it as he would fail post-race inspection. The runner up honors then passed on to Ryan St Clair and Thorne would be bumped up in the official finish to take 3rd.
The Strictly Street 25 lap feature was slowed by 3 early cautions in the first five laps as youngsters Faith Cleaves (#89), Brett Osmond (#05), and Dylan Varney (#42) were each involved in minor spins. Prospect Maine’s DJ Moody in the #4 held the early lead until #51x of Bryan Robbins took over on a lap 5 restart. From there he would cruise to the checkers with the brothers Hewins chasing him across the stripe. However Robbins, having grabbed his 3rd win of the season, refused post-race engine inspection resulting in a disqualification and forfeiture of his win. Point leader Kurt Hewins would then be declared the winner, resulting in his 3rd win of the season. Defending champ Kyle Hewins (#51) would be bumped up to 2nd and 5-time champ Maurice Young (#03) took 3rd. As of press time the full results of the Strictly Street race remain Unofficial pending engine inspection on Kurt Hewins’ car.
The Napa Modifieds went caution free for their 30 lap feature. Wiscasset’s Chuck Colby held point wire to wire for what appeared to be his first open wheel victory. However his #87 mod failed post-race inspection turning the win over to the #15 of Joe Williams. It would be the veteran racer’s first win in over 20 years at Wiscasset. Former modified champ Allen Moeller Sr would be awarded the 2nd place trophy and 3rd went to the #7 of Nick Reno. Defending champ and point leader Mark Lucas struggled to a 5th place finish, just his second outside the top 3 in nearly 2 yrs.
The Kennebec Equipment Rental Outlaw Mini race also had a twist of fate for drivers following their 25 lap feature. Action packed as always, the race was slowed by three mid race cautions. Augusta’s Shane Smith held the lead in the early going as the top drivers stormed up from the back of the pack until former champ Jimmy Childs took over the lead on lap five. Childs looked well on his way to his best finish of the season in his #5 Ford Mustang. However, Justin Trombley grabbed the lead away from Childs at the midpoint of the race with an inside pass out of turn four. The race went caution free through its completion with the class chasing Trombley to the checkers. His victory celebration did not last long with the win being voided in post-race inspection. Point leader Zach Audet, who thanks to ongoing engine issues had made a last minute decision to race at all, would move up in line to take the win, his 5th of the season. Bryan Lancaster notched a season best 2nd place finish in his #81, and Childs claimed the 3rd place trophy.
As the program started with the Late Model Sportsman, so it would end with the Late Model Sportsman and a race called the “Dave’s World Dash for Cash”; a special non-point 25 lap feature for Wiscasset Late Model drivers who had not won a feature in the past 2 years. The race was the brainchild of Dave St Clair, bringing back a race he had held in his time as track owner. Thirteen of the fifteen eligible drivers answered the call and found out their starting position by random draw on the front stretch at race time. The #3 of Richard Jordan drew the pole position and took the bonus challenge of starting at the back of the field for an extra $500 bonus should he win the race. With the entire starting field moving up a spot, Buxton’s Danny Smart took point in his #7x with the #66 of Bryan Robbins alongside. It took just one lap for the #30 of Ryan St Clair to blow by the pair from his 3rd starting slot to take the lead on the front stretch. From there he cruised to a caution free victory and happily pocketed the $500 cash that his grandfather had put up for the race winner. Nate Tribbett drove his #13 to the runner-up finish. The big mover of the race was Windham’s Steve Minott, starting 12th and blasting up through the pack to claim the 3rd place trophy.
Wiscasset Speedway returns to action Saturday August 13th with Group 1 in action plus special double features for the Amsoil NELCAR Legends. The spotlight division will be the Thunder 4 Minis. Grandstand gates open to fans at 4:00pm with the green flag kicking off racing at 6:00pm. Bring the whole family! Admission is less than the cost of a movie ticket at only $5 and entry fees are waived for kids under 7 years old. See you next week at Wiscassett Speedway – Maine’s largest and fastest track!
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SPONSORSHIPS: Grow your business this year by joining the Wiscasset Speedway family as a Premier Division Sponsor. To reach thousands of race fans each week, contact Ken Minott at kmwiscspeedway@yahoo.com.
EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY: Bring home your favorite memories from this race and others by visiting www.petespicks.smugmug.com. Official Speedway Photography is courtesy of Pete and Mary Taylor.
WISCASSET SPEEDWAY
Since 1969, Wiscasset Speedway has offered a family-friendly racetrack in heart of Lincoln County where fans and athletes can feel like they’ve come home. Every year, thousands of people gather from miles around at the Speedway’s 35-acre facility to enjoy exciting, affordable entertainment. Built on healthy competition and sportsmanship, Wiscasset