Mike Hopkins Rolls to Two Late Model Wins at Speedway 95
HERMON, ME — Hermon’s Mike Hopkins took away 2 winners trophies in the Dysart’s Late Models at Speedway 95 on Saturday night as he captured his 3rd Fletcher/Phippen Memorial win and also won the Maine State Lottery 50 lap series event. In the Fletcher Memorial race, Hopkins won the first 23 lap segment run on Thursday July 18, and came back to place second in the final 59 lap segment, held over from that Thursday night’s rain out. Hopkins led the final segment until lap 53, when Ryan Deane of Winterport ran him down, made the pass and led the final 6 laps for the win. Although Deane took the segment win, Hopkins took second to record the best overall performance in the two segments giving him the overall win. Ryan Deane, Deane Smart of Bradley, and John Kalel II of Orrington tied for the second, third and fourth spots with equal scores for the two segments. Paul White of Corinna came in fifth overall.
In the regularly scheduled Maine State Lottery 50 lap series event, Bradley’s Deane Smart led from the drop of the green until a caution flag flew on lap 24 for a solo spin by Bangor’s Donnie Blanchard. Hopkins, who started fifth in the 16 car field, had worked his way up to second when the caution came out, passed Smart on the restart and led the final 26 laps of the race. Smart fought off a tenacious Andy Saunders of Ellsworth for the second spot with Saunders, who started ninth, finishing third. John Kalel II of Orrington finished fourth and Corinna’s Paul White was fifth. By finishing third in the third series event, Saunders picked up the overall points title for the series, which will net him extra bonus money at the annual awards banquet in November.
The Keystone Automotive Strictly Streets also did double duty due to the July 18 rain out. Shelby Kimball of Cornville won the caution free make up feature, followed by Jordan Pearson of Glenburn in second. Matt Kimball of Cornville was third, followed by David Gray of Dixmont fourth and Glenburn’s Emma Libby in fifth. In the regularly scheduled feature, David Gray of Dixmont took the win, followed by Skowhegan’s Zach Audet in second. Jim Bragdon of Corinth finished third, followed by Jordan Pearson of Glenburn and Shelby Kimball of Cornville. Only one caution slowed the action in the second race when Joey Doyon spun in turn two when a ball joint on his car broke, causing him to lose control of the steering.
Kris Watson of Hermon returned to victory lane in the Darling’s Ford Sportsman division after he raced from his 9th place starting position to the lead, passing rookie Bradley Smart of Bradley on lap 16 of the 25 lap feature race. Skowhegan’s Kris Matchett finished third after an early battle with Smart for the lead. Fourth went to 2012 champion Steve Moulton of Holden with Corinth’s Ralph Melanson taking fifth.
In the Sport-Fours, it was a tenuous start to the 20 lap feature when the caution flag flew four times in the first four laps. After that it was clear sailing for Cornville’s Brad Bosworth as he led from the outside pole to the checkers. Jayson Bosworth of Cornville worked his way up to a second place finish, with 2012 champion Ted Ryder of Carmel finishing third. Fourth went to Hudson’s Donny Silva with Bradley Dolan of Glenburn finishing fifth.
Denis Burns of Carmel took another win in the Bomber division in a 20 lap feature race stopped twice for single car spins. Rick Gomm of Dixmont finished second after leading briefly early in the event. Chris Blanchard of Clinton finished third, after recovering from one of the solo spins causing a caution. Scott Bonney of Bangor was fourth with Richard Jackson of Corinth finishing fifth.
Saturday racing continues at Speedway 95 on August 3rd, with the Darling’s Ford Sportsman racing their third event in the Darling’s Bangor Ford series. Joe Leger of Milford and Kris Watson of Hermon are tied for the lead in the series points, making this the deciding event for that series. Skowhegan’s Kris Matchett is only 4 points behind the leaders, so could pull out an upset if luck has it’s way for him. Also on the schedule are the Dysart’s Late Models, Keystone Automotive Strictly Streets, Sport-Fours, Bombers and the Wicked Good Vintage Racing League for their second appearance of the season. Racing starts at 6:00 p.m.
Sources: Speedway 95 PR