by Ken Minott

     It was a chilly night Saturday at Wiscasset Speedway. Fans huddled into the coastal Maine race track to cheer on Group 2 racers along with an appearance from the Wicked Good Vintage Racers. Despite the cool temps, the action in the Late Model Sportsman class was as hot as ever. The last two winners of the prestigious Coastal 200 each made a statement to rest of their competitors in the 40 lap feature, starting deep in the 23 car field and grabbing the top 2 spots in victory lane. Harrington’s Andrew McLaughlin, the defending Coastal 200 champ methodically picked his way through the pack from his 12th starting position to grab the lead at the halfway marker and run to the feature win; his first since the 2017 Coastal. “If you’re gonna win one race a year (as a Late Model driver), that’s the one. I still get chills thinking about that race last year”, said McLaughlin. “I want to be the first one to win it back to back”. One driver that may have a say in whether that happens is 2016 Coastal 200 champ Chris Thorne of Sidney.

The 4-time LMS champ had perhaps the strongest car in Saturday night’s 40 lap tuneup race but never got the opportunity to challenge McLaughlin for the win. The race was slowed by just one early caution. Thorne started 15th and turned in a strong 2nd place finish, still closing in on the leader in the closing laps. In victory lane, Thorne gave a sly grin when saying “If this car goes this well in 2 weeks, everyone may be in trouble, but we’ll see”. J.R. Robinson of Steuben made up the most ground in Saturday’s race, starting 18th and reaching 2nd with 10 laps to go. He would give that spot up to Thorne, but still land a solid 3rd place finish in his season debut. The top 5 was rounded out by rookie’s Brandon Fowler and Logan Melcher.