Payea Takes Third Win of Season in Thriller at Oxford

By admin August 27, 2016 ACT, ACT LM Tour, Oxford Plains

Oxford, ME – Colchester, VT’s Scott Payea emerged as the victor in a heavyweight thriller at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway on Saturday, August 27, beating out Eddie MacDonald, Dillon Moltz, and Brad Babb for his third American-Canadian Tour (ACT) win of the season in the Dave’s Small Engines/Ferris Mowers 100.

Payea, Babb, and MacDonald had engaged in a three-way battle for more than half the race, with Payea and Babb swapping the lead numerous times while MacDonald lurked in the wings. Payea finally gained the edge for good shortly after a lap-79 caution for Emily Packard’s spin, sweeping around the outside of Babb for the event’s 13th lead change. The title contender then held on through two more restarts for his eighth career ACT Late Model Tour victory and first at Oxford.

Hinesburg, VT’s Bobby Therrien, the winner at Oxford in the ACT season opener, led the first five laps from the pole before Rich Dubeau got around him following a hard duel to lead his first laps ever in ACT competition. Babb followed Dubeau up the outside line, then swung to the outside himself to nab the point on lap 18.

Payea and MacDonald worked their way to second and third shortly thereafter, and following a lap-29 caution for an incident between Walter J. Hammond and Mark Jension, the three began their battle royale. Babb and Payea, constantly swapped lanes and the lead, with MacDonald sticking his nose into second multiple times in his own attempt to get the top spot. At one point, Babb and Payea rode through turns three and four sideways as they went three-wide around lapped traffic, with neither willing to give an inch. Meanwhile, Moltz steadily moved up from his 19th starting position, and looked to be one caution away from joining the fray.

The two traded the lead three more times on successive laps following the lap-79 restart before Payea finally gained control. MacDonald followed him into second and made bids for the lead following cautions on laps 88 and 90, but it was Payea who would ultimately wear the championship belt.

MacDonald settled for second, while Moltz swiped third in the closing laps. Babb faded to fourth, followed by ACT point leader Nick Sweet in fifth. Unofficially, Sweet’s lead over Payea will shrink to just two points, with MacDonald 16 points back in third.

Rookie Ryan Olsen earned a career-best sixth-place finish, while Rowland Robinson, Jr. roared back from an early pit stop to take seventh. Packard recovered from her misfortune to finish eighth. Scptt Dragon and Dubeau completed the top-10.

The ACT Late Model Tour concludes its Maine swing with a return trip to Scarborough’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on Saturday and Sunday, September 17 and 18 for New England 500 Weekend. Qualifying will be held on Saturday, with the Fall Foliage 200 on Sunday marking the next-to-last event of the 2016 season. The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models and Valenti Modified Racing Series will also be in action. Post time is 12:00pm both days.

For more information, contact the ACT offices at 802-244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com.

ACT LATE MODEL TOUR
OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY
DAVE’S SMALL ENGINES/FERRIS MOWERS 100
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

Pos Start Pos Driver Car # Hometown Laps

  1. ( 4 ) Scott Payea ( 37VT ) , Miton, VT , 100 Laps
  2. ( 6 ) Eddie MacDonald ( 17MA ) , Rowley, MA , 100 Laps
  3. ( 19 ) Dillon Moltz ( 5CT ) , Waterford, CT , 100 Laps
  4. ( 10 ) Brad Babb ( 15NH ) , Windham, ME , 100 Laps
  5. ( 9 ) Nick Sweet ( 40VT ) , Barre, VT , 100 Laps
  6. ( 5 ) #Ryan Olsen ( 61NH ) , N. Haverhill, NH , 100 Laps
  7. ( 15 ) Rowland Robinson, Jr. ( 28ME ) , Steuben, ME , 100 Laps
  8. ( 12 ) Emily Packard ( 9ME ) , E. Montpelier, VT , 100 Laps
  9. ( 22 ) Scott Dragon ( 16VT ) , Milton, VT , 100 Laps
  10. ( 3 ) Rich Dubeau ( 30NH ) , Lebanon, NH , 100 Laps
  11. ( 7 ) #Devin O’Connell ( 1VT ) , Madison, CT , 100 Laps
  12. ( 16 ) Dave Farrington, Jr. ( 23ME ) , Jay, ME , 100 Laps
  13. ( 14 ) Shawn Swallow ( 04NH ) , Stark, NH , 100 Laps
  14. ( 8 ) Mike Ziter ( 54VT ) , Barre, VT , 100 Laps
  15. ( 1 ) Bobby Therrien ( 5VT ) , Hinesburg, VT , 99 Laps
  16. ( 20 ) Spencer Morse ( 50ME ) , Waterford, ME , 99 Laps
  17. ( 26 ) #Mark Jenison ( 22RI ) , Warwick, RI , 99 Laps
  18. ( 23 ) Claude Leclerc ( 11QC ) , Lanoraie, QC , 99 Laps
  19. ( 2 ) Brandon Atkins ( 4NY ) , AuSable Forks, NY , 99 Laps
  20. ( 21 ) Raymond Christian lll ( 93CT ) , Norwich, CT , 99 Laps
  21. ( 11 ) Corey Mason ( 1NH ) , Groveton, NH , 99 Laps
  22. ( 13 ) Bryan Mason ( 10NH ) , Stark, NH , 99 Laps
  23. ( 17 ) Mike Kenison ( 3NH ) , Lancaster, NH , 99 Laps
  24. ( 18 ) Mark Hudson ( 82MA ) , Norton, MA , 98 Laps
  25. ( 25 ) Walter J. Hammond ( 97ME ) , Canaan, NH , 82 Laps
  26. ( 24 ) James Linardy ( 77MA ) , Somerville, MA , 30 Laps

Sources: ACT PR