Jul 11, 2016 | Maine Race Tracks, Maine Racing News, More Maine Racing News
BY: SOPHIE GABRION, RACE MEDIA REP
WISCASSET, MAINE – While pop culture tells us that heavy rain brings with it cats, dogs and even men, the only thing that the rain brought to Wiscasset Speedway this past Saturday night was champions. With five divisions racing against ominous rain clouds, drivers put their feet to the floor – determined to outrun Mother Nature as well as each other.
First up were the Strictly Streets competitors, who clearly came prepared with speed and strategy, trading the traditional heat race for a 30-lap feature event. Drama developed faster on the track than in a daytime soap opera. Traffic immediately 3-cars wide throughout the pack as Michael Haynes of the #67 from Livermore Falls and Brett Osmond of the #05 from Wiscasset emerge as early leaders. While Haynes and Osmond battled each other through the early laps, the familiar flash of pink from Kurt Hewin’s #55H patiently moved up through the ranks. By the seventh lap, Hewins successfully replaced Osmond in the second position and continued focused his energy on Haynes.
Halfway through the race, Maurice Young from Chelsea pulled a “Hewins,” as he steadily worked his #03 car up through the herd, while the #00, driven by Kimberly Knight, battled intense traffic from the eighth position. By lap 19, Hewins had closed the gap between himself and Haynes, while Young faced a full straightaway to overcome before he could take on the two pack leaders. When the first caution came in lap 22 after a solo spin out starring Osmond, it gave Hewins the opportunity he needed to claim his victory, followed by Young in second and Bryan Robbins, driving the #51x from Montville, in third.
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Jul 6, 2016 | Maine Race Tracks, More Maine Racing News
Credit Photos: Mary and Peter Taylor petespicks.smugmug.com
BY SOPHIE GABRION, RACE MEDIA REP
WISCASSET, MAINE – When most people think about Wiscasset Speedway, they picture big, fast fun. When the track’s owners, Richard and Vanessa Jordon, think about the Speedway, they think about family and fans. It was the first of two Fan Appreciation days, offering everything from prize giveaways to kid’s bike races to a packed Driver Meet ‘n Greet, where spectators flooded the track to meet their favorite competitors. “The biggest reason I’m even here is because this is where my mom would come watch me race,” said Richard, when asked why the track is so important to him. “It’s all about family for me!”
Keeping racing as a family activity is the style of many shining stars who competed in the evening’s 50-lap spotlight feature race. The short wheelbase of the New England 4-Cyl. Pros translates to a smaller machine, disguising the skill needed to maneuver the power that they pack. Both car #98 and #84, driven by Kamren Knowles and Jamie Wright respectively, snatch an early lead right after the green flag, followed closely by RJ Pinkham in the #48. Pinkham clearly came to do work, ready to hit the ground running after a frontend collision forced him to hang up his helmet four weeks ago.
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Jun 27, 2016 | Maine Race Tracks, More Maine Racing News
Credit Photos: Mary and Peter Taylor petespicks.smugmug.com
BY: SOPHIE GABRION, RACE MEDIA REP
WISCASSET, MAINE – Across the world, waving a white flag in battle symbolizes defeat, used by weaker contenders to indicate surrender. When it flies at Wiscasset Speedway, drivers and fans receive a very different message: go hard. Triggering white knuckles on steering wheels and tense toes to accelerators, this is the white warning of one lap to go. Champions finish as hard as they start regardless the cautions, collisions and chaos in between. In his second win of the season, Bryan Robbins in the #51x of Montville denied defeat all the way to victory lane, claiming first in the Strictly Streets 35-Lap Spotlight Race last Saturday night.
Starting strong, this division kept spectators on the edge of their seats until tricky traffic on lap five caused the first caution. Chris King from Burnham conceded the night when his #29 car left the shuffle horizontal at the top of turn one. Through intense smoke billowing from beneath Robbins as he climbed the ranks, fans could barely make out the flash of the yellow flag less than five laps later. In the second caution, Ryan Ripley’s #09 car spun from turn three into four, while Mike Duffy’s #02x barely managed to stay on the track.
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Jun 20, 2016 | Maine Race Tracks, More Maine Racing News
Official Photography: Pete & Mary Taylor / Website: www.petespicks.smugmug.com
BY SOPHIE GABRION, RACE MEDIA REP
WISCASSET, MAINE – Next time you head to work in your sensible sedan or make a quick trip to the store in your humdrum hybrid, consider this: humans have a need for speed. It is the reason you can wake up in California and fall asleep in Maine the same day; what generates millions of dollars in movie ticket sales each year; and keeps the grandstands at Wiscasset Speedway packed week after week – filled with fans on their feet who dream about being fast and furious.
Sponsored by Four Season Synthetic, the Driver of the Month Award goes to an individual who excels on and off the track. On Saturday, Nathan Tribbett of Richmond, driving the #13 car for the Prostock Division, received May’s Driver of the Month Award in front of friends, family and fans. Holding third place for points so far this season, Tribbett has demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship behind the wheel and earned the respect of countless fans, described as “cool under fire.”
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Jun 13, 2016 | Maine Race Tracks, Maine Racing News, More Maine Racing News
By Lisa and Rich Maguire
The Northeast Midget Associations’ NEMA Midgets and NEMA Lites visited Wiscasset Speedway last Saturday. Despite some early showers, the fans lined the stands to see the four cylinder open wheeled race cars. The NEMA Midgets have nearly 400 HP, large wings, and wide Hoosier tires. The NEMA Midgets are the fastest asphalt midgets in the world, and it is natural fit for them to appear at Maine’s fastest oval. Speaking on behalf of NEMA, Joe Santa Maria, said, “This is the third time we have been to Wiscasset Speedway. It is nice here and the track is well maintained. The Speedway is rapidly becoming a favorite of the racers.”
Prior to the feature event, the NEMA Midgets held time trials to determine racing order. Six of the seven cars that participated in the trials had times that were under the track record time of 13.34 seconds, which was set last season by Danny Cugini. Defending series champ, John Zych reset the track record last Saturday with a 13.004 second lap time, with an average speed topping 103 MPH.
The NEMA Midgets were soon on the track to compete in a thirty lap Spotlighted feature event. Starting on the pole was the #5B of Bethany Stoehr. Beside her was the #47 of Randy Cabral. In third was Jim Chambers of the #21. When green flag racing action began, Bethany Stoehr and Cabral raced side by side until lap two, when Cabral passed for the lead. Cabral kept the lead until lap fifteen.
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