Rolfe first, fastest in clash of champions; Morris ruled winner of Sunoco Mini 100
SUNOCO RACE FUELS NIGHT
OXFORD, Maine – Ricky Rolfe was the class of a season-opening Oxford Networks Pro Stock feature Saturday night, helping produce an outcome that if not unprecedented is definitely unusual in the proud history of Oxford Plains Speedway.
Rolfe led all 50 laps of a race in which all top finishers were past champions in the top division. Following the 2003 champion across the finish line were reigning champ Tim Brackett and 2004 boss Scott Robbins.
Al Hammond, a three-time champion in the 1970s, finished fourth, with Jeff Taylor, owner of a speedway record eight titles, in fifth.
Among that star-studded quintet, there was no question that Rolfe was the favorite after plucking the pole position at the pit gate prior to practice. With no point standings yet to fall back on, all 24 entrants were assigned to their spot on the grid by luck of the draw.
That came on the heels of a season debut in which Rolfe contended for the win in the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) New England Dodge Dealers 150 on April 29 before a variety of problems pushed him off the leader board.
“The track owed me one for last week,” Rolfe said. “We had a super, super car until a tire went down. We probably should have parked it at that point, but we said, ‘No, let’s go out and see what we can get out of it.’ And then we got caught up in somebody else’s wreck and pretty much destroyed the front end of this car. We worked all week to get it back here, and it’s still super, super fast.”
Robbins pulled the second starting position and held that spot until lap 19, when Bill Whorff Jr. briefly took over. That, however, was before Brackett made his move in the new, improved second groove on the 3/8-mile oval.
Brackett blasted past Robbins and Whorff to assume the runner-up role on lap 22. Brackett needed a caution flag and a restart in order to cut into Rolfe’s lead, though, and it never came. The race was slowed only three times, all for minor spins and none occurring after the 19th circuit.
Hammond and Taylor, who have combined for more than 140 OPS feature wins, followed Brackett’s lead in racing from deep in the field. Taylor also was a force in the outside lane before running out of time.
The historic Pro Stock result shared the marquee with the Sunoco Race Fuels 100 for the OPS Mini Stocks, the first Cole-Man’s Concrete Iron Man Triple Crown event of the season for the four-cylinders. Champions clashed in that finale, as well, with Dan Morris falling less than a car length short in his bid to overtake Don Mooney at the checkers. But defending division champion Morris received a reprieve when Mooney’s car failed to pass post-race inspection, helping the 2005 champ land the victory that eluded him in his consistent, title-winning year.
Five of Saturday’s six feature winners were former OPS champions. Travis Adams aced the Late Model Stock event, while Shane Green added to his status as one of Oxford’s all-time best intermediate division racers with a Limited Sportsman triumph. Mike Short (1997 champ) and Skip Tripp captured the Strictly Stock 20-lap twins.
Mooney, Morris and Larry Melcher thoroughly dominated the Mini Stock marathon.
Melcher’s first foray at the front took a detour when he veered off course following contact with Jim Childs on lap 24. Mooney and Morris swapped the lead three times between laps 17 and 33, with Mooney narrowly leading their breeze through lapped traffic the rest of the way.
The plot thickened after the third and final caution period with fewer than 20 laps to go. It earned Melcher a chance to catch up with the lead duo, and it offered Morris an opportunity to cool his tires for one final charge. Morris inched his way to the outside on lap 95 and fully committed himself to the move with two to go.
His Toyota and Mooney’s Volkswagen were virtually side-by-side when the white flag appeared, but Mooney maneuvered his car back to a full car length advantage in the middle of the track on the backstretch, and Morris lost enough momentum to (seemingly) lose the race.
Instead, he collected his second career victory at the tech shack.
“I said I was going to run a limited schedule this year, and I know there are three races that I’m going to have to miss,” Morris said. “If we keep running like this, I imagine we’ll be here as much as possible.”
Bill Thibeault was also disqualified from a top-five finish. Chris Varney advanced to third, the last car on the lead lap, trailed by Wal-Mart Rookie of the Year candidates Adam Polvinen and John Cary.
Adams completed an impressive recovery from worst to first after his car’s engine expired on the first lap of last week’s opener. His wire-to-wire leadership didn’t go unchallenged, with Jon Brill riding a close second throughout and sophomore standout T.J. Watson embarking on a late charge.
“We wouldn’t be here this week if Ken Farley (owner of Limited Sportsman driver Kenny Harrison’s car) hadn’t given us a short block for this,” Adams said. “My dad really put some heads together this week and made it possible for us to get back out here.”
Last week’s feature winner, Dale Verrill, continued his strong start in fourth, followed by Glen Luce in his best finish as the new driver of the LaVallee Motorsports #28.
Green admittedly “snookered” relative newcomer Bruce Helmuth on a restart with six laps remaining to take command of the 35-lap Limited Sportsman encounter.
Helmuth slipped back in the running order and was not a factor in the finish, with Carey Martin, Steve Bennett Sr., David Vaughn and David Tripp freight-training their way across the stripe behind Green. Harrison, who is not running a full season, was a no-show after his opening victory.
“I feel bad for the kid in the #25 (Helmuth). That was his race. I kind of messed with him on that restart, but it was what I had to do to win,” Green said. “We didn’t expect to be up here tonight, because our car is still not where we want it to be, but we’ll take it.”
Martin, who is bidding for division championships in both Late Model and Limited this season, matched last week’s LMS finish by running second in his Limited #18. Steve Bennett Sr. was a steady third for the second straight week.
Short shared Adams’ engine woes in Week 1, but he transplanted what he called a “Wednesday night” (Summer Racing Series) motor into the #56 and blistered the competition in this week’s Strictly Stock ‘B’ main.
His margin of victory was nearly six seconds over Kim Tripp, who fell one spot shy of tying the all-time record for most career victories in Strictly Stock. Jason Gaboury overcame brake failure and clutched the third-place trophy, with Chris Coolidge and Mike St. Germain rounding out the top five.
Skip Tripp narrowly missed being involved in a multi-car wreck on lap 13 before catching his breath and breezing to the Strictly ‘A’ victory.
He and Sumner Sessions rubbed door panels while scrapping for the top spot on the front stretch. Sessions spun and absorbed a hard, broadside hit from B.J. Chapman. Rookie Glen Henderson also was involved in the incident. All drivers were uninjured.
Tripp was the class of the field after the restart, with Guy Childs holding off opening-night winners Tommy Tompkins and Jeff Moon for second. Jeff Merrill repeated his fifth-place run of a week earlier.
The Weekly Racing Series continues at OPS with the Dunkin Donuts’ 100 for Strictly Stocks and a full slate of Pro Stock, Late Model, Limited and Mini feature action beginning at 6:30 p.m. next Saturday, May 13.
MINI STOCK (100 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (4) #33 Dan Morris, Auburn, 100
2. (7) #41 Larry Melcher, Jay, 100
3. (5) #92 Chris Varney, Scarborough, 100
4. (18) #73 Adam Polvinen, Minot, 98
5. (20) #66 John Cary, Cumberland, 98
6. (11) #47 Curtis Gleason, South Portland. 96
7. (14) #77 Ashley Marshall, Jay, 95
8. (1) #14 Jeff Prindall, Lisbon Falls, 87
9. (12) #60 Scot Moore, Oxford, 85
10. (15) #11 Dwayne White, Livermore, 80
11. (13) #31 Butch Keene, Turner, 79
12. (16) #18 Tony Bennett, Bethel, 58
13. (10) #10 Jim Childs, Leeds, 50
14. (9) #08 Kevin Bishop, Oxford, 39
15. (8) #19 David Mooney, Wales, 30
16. (17) #5 Steve Barker, Jay, 28
17. (19) #44 Jim Robbins, Dixfield, 6
18. (2) #90 Dale Durgin, Norway, 4
19. (21) #91 Bob Guptill, Mechanic Falls, 0
DQ: #80 Don Mooney, #57 Bill Thibeault.
Lap leaders: Prindall 1, Morris 2-78, Melcher 79-98, Morris 99-100.
Cautions: 3 (laps 33, 42, 81)
Time of race: 41 minutes, 4.002 seconds
Margin of victory: 1 car length
Fast lap: Jim Childs, 18.136 seconds
OXFORD NETWORKS PRO STOCK (50 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (1) #51 Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township, 50
2. (16) #60 Tim Brackett, Buckfield, 50
3. (2) #72 Scott Robbins, Dixfield, 50
4. (18) #1 Al Hammond, South Paris, 50
5. (14) #88T Jeff Taylor, Niorridgewock, 50
6. (3) #00 Jeremie Whorff, Topsham, 50
7. (5) #03 Scott Moore, Anson, 50
8. (13) #66 Andy Shaw, Center Conway. N.H., 50
9. (7) #07 Kevin Kimball, South Portland, 50
10. (4) #0 Bill Whorff Jr., Topsham, 50
11. (8) #2 Charlie Colby, Newcastle, 50
12. (12) #97 T.J. Brackett, Oxford, 50
13. (22) #97 Chuck Colby, Newcastle, 50
14. (21) #29 Ricky Morse, St. Albans, 49
15. (19) #9 Mark Lucas, Harpswell, 49
16. (6) #26 Corey Morgan, Lewiston, 49
17. (20) #33 Jason Swett, Carthage, 45
18. (23) #34 Jeff Burgess, Oakland, 37
19. (10) #11 Scott King, Livermore Falls, 30
20. (17) #10 Chris Kennison, Oxford, 18
21. (11) #50 Jeff White, Winthrop, 17
22. (15) #113 Tommy Tompkins, Dixfield, 9
23. (9) #22 Gary Drew, Otisfield, 1
Lap leaders: Rolfe 1-50.
Cautions: 3 (laps 9, 11,19)
Time of race: 22 minutes, 36.236 seconds
Margin of victory: 1.276 seconds
Fast lap: Ricky Rolfe, 15.348 seconds
LATE MODEL STOCK (40 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (1) #03 Travis Adams, Canton, 40
2. (2) #77 Jon Brill, Sebago, 40
3. (7) #04 T.J. Watson, Harpswell, 40
4. (10) #56 Dale Verrill, South Paris, 40
5. (11) #28 Glen Luce, Turner, 40
6. (15) #94 Shawn Martin, Turner, 40
7. (13) #42 Richard Tibbetts, Wilton, 40
8. (8) #69 Dave MacDonald, New Gloucester, 40
9. (14) #8 Dennis Spencer Jr., Norway, 40
10. (9) #18 Carey Martin, Denmark, 40
11. (14) #70 Gary Chiasson, Peru, 40
12. (4) #44 Jim Duguay, Greene, 40
13. (5) #5 Mark Brackett, Jay, 39
14. (17) #20 Erick Leiter, Livermore Falls, 39
15. (3) #93 Mike Ferguson, Rangeley, 30
16. (16) #99 Cecil Bryant, Wilton, 30
17. (6) #1 Billy Childs Jr., Leeds, 19
Lap leaders: Adams 1-40.
Cautions: 1 (lap 10)
Time of race: 16 minutes, 36.791 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.320 seconds
Fast lap: Travis Adams, 16.012 seconds
LIMITED SPORTSMAN (35 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (4) #0 Shane Green, South Paris, 35
2. (6) #18 Carey Martin, Denmark, 35
3. (7) #22 Steve Bennett Sr., Buckfield, 35
4. (8) #63 David Vaughn, Naples, 35
5. (10) #8 David Tripp, Oxford, 35
6. (1) #25 Bruce Helmuth, Auburn, 35
7. (11) #44 Neil Martin, Freeport, 35
8. (2) #46 Bill Sprague, Minot, 35
9. (5) #1 Tommy Ricker, Poland, 35
10. (9) #36 Terry Merrill, Saco, 34
11. (3) #61 Matt Williams, Brownfield, 29
Lap leaders: Helmuth 1-29, Green 30-35.
Cautions: 2 (laps 10, 29)
Time of race: 18 minutes, 14.531 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.382 seconds
Fast lap: Matt Williams, 17.327 seconds
STRICTLY STOCK 'A' (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (4) #12 Skip Tripp, Sabattus, 20
2. (5) #1 Guy Childs, Turner, 20
3. (13) #113 Tommy Tompkins, Dixfield, 20
4. (14) #97 Jeff Moon, Gray, 20
5. (7) #00 Jeff Merrill, Roxbury, 20
6. (8) #23 Zach Emerson, Sabattus, 20
7. (12) #19 Ben Tinker, Gray, 20
8. (1) #66 David Weir, Center Conway, N.H., 20
9. (10) #07 Rick Thompson, Naples, 20
10. (11) #39 Jerry Freve, Buckfield, 20
11. (3) #76 Don Harvey, Pownal, 20
12. (6) #61 Roy Weymouth, Winthrop, 19
13. (15) #55 Kurt Hewins, Leeds, 18
14. (2) #0 Sumner Sessions, Norway, 13
15. (9) #81 B.J. Chapman, Naples, 13
16. (16) #57 Glen Henderson, Sabattus, 13
17. (17) #36 Ron Charpentier Jr., Wales, 12
Lap leaders: Weir 1-2, S. Tripp 3-11, Sessions 12, S. Tripp 13-20.
Cautions: 2 (laps 11, 13)
Time of race: 12 minutes, 3.352 seconds
Margin of victory: 1.196 seconds
Fast lap: Tommy Tompkins, 18.261 seconds
STRICTLY STOCK 'B' (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (4) #56 Mike Short, Auburn, 20
2. (5) #42 Kim Tripp, Oxford, 20
3. (2) #5 Jason Gaboury, Readfield, 20
4. (8) #84 Chris Coolidge, Norway, 20
5. (13) #777 Mike St. Germain, Auburn, 20
6. (12) #91 Danny Smart, West Buxton, 20
7. (16) #97 Perry Tucker, Buckfield, 20
8. (7) #90 Dale Brackett, Oxford, 20
9. (10) #9 Justin Karkos, Wilton, 20
10. (15) #6 Matt Moore, Oxford, 20
11. (6) #53 Dick Damon, Livermore Falls, 19
12. (9) #4 Bill Dunphy, New Gloucester, 19
13. (3) #P38 Skip Turner, Carthage, 19
14. (11) #35 Phil Mitchell III, Poland, 19
15. (1) #64 Randy Heath, Casco, 17
16. (17) #29 Chris Mosher, Litchfield, 3
17. (14) #11 Mike Stewart, Durham, 2
Lap leaders: Heath 1, K. Tripp 2-5, Short 6-20.
Cautions: 1 (lap 2)
Time of race: 10 minutes, 11.440 seconds
Margin of victory: 5.940 seconds
Fast lap: Mike Short, 18.561 seconds
Sources: Oxford Plains Speedway PR