Tasha Dyer Brings Home Her First Wiscasset Win
WISCASSET, ME — Last Saturday at the Wiscasset Speedway was a bright and sunny afternoon for the track anniversary celebration. Drivers from the past and present gathered on the track during intermission for special recognition and a ceremony. There were cupcakes for the crowd to celebrate the 44th year of the track. The speedway concession stand was named Wilford’s in honor of the track founder, Wilford Cronk. The grandstands were jammed with fans all eager to see drivers and to watch some racing action. The features began just as the bright lights of Wiscasset began to shine.
The Outlaw Mini race was first on the schedule. This was a quick twenty-five lap feature. The No. 9 of George Fortin was in the pole position, followed by Shawn Kimball in the No. 20 and Jimmy Childs in the No. 10. Fortin was quick to leap to the forefront, with Kimball hot on his heels. However, by midpoint of the race, Fortin had solidified his lead, and he sped to the finish as the victor. Kimball placed second. Childs took third.
Post-race time, Fortin said, “It was a good race, coming out from being wrecked two weeks ago. We worked really hard to get my car back together. I’d like to thank my sponsors, the racetrack, the fans, and my crew chief, Todd Simone.”
A thirty-five lap Late Model Sportsman race was the next crowd pleaser. Starting in the pole position was Allen Moeller driving the No. 4. Nick Reno in the No. 7 and Nick Hinkley in the No. 15 were in the second and third starting positions. There was action from the start. Turn two saw Hinkley move ahead of Nick Reno on the inside, taking second.
The No. 68 driven by Steve Reno passed Nick Reno in lap three, on the outside of turn three, to take third. In lap ten, Nick Reno saw an opportunity to advance and passed Hinkley to take second. Coming up from behind was Darin Ripley in the No. 09. Ripley, who started in eighth, moved up on the outside of turn four and passed Hinkley on the front stretch of lap eighteen to take third.
Lap twenty-three saw a caution when there was contact between the No. 27 driven by Dough Coombs and Nick Reno. Nick Reno went into the wall on the front stretch and Coombs headed to the pits. The restart saw the race leaders vie for position. Race leaders remained the same.
The No. 00 of Alex Waltz spun on the track during lap twenty-seven. A caution was thrown. Moeller, the race leader spun sideways on the restart. Waltz spun into the front stretch wall. Waltz went to the pits. Moeller was sent to the back. When racing action resumed, Steve Reno had become race leader. He was followed by Ripley and Hinkley. Despite some heavy racing for position, race leaders remained constant until the end of the race. Steve Reno placed first. Ripley came in second. Hinkley took third.
A twenty-five lap 4-Cylinder Pro Stock feature was next. James Logan in the No. 44 was in the pole position. Kevin Sherman in the No. 11 and Tim Jeski in the No. 38 were behind him. Logan surged ahead on the start. Sherman and Jeski battled for position, and in lap three, Jeski made contact from behind. Sherman went off the track, and a caution was thrown. Jeski and Sherman went to the back for the restart. The No. 8 driven by Craig Dunn moved to second. Jeff Prindall in the No. 24 moved to third.
Dunn and Prindall raced hard for the number two spot, each moving ahead of the other for brief periods of time. Coming up from behind was Sherman, having moved up through the pack. Lap eight saw Sherman pass Prindall on the inside of turn four for third. Sherman raced hard and by lap eleven was able to overtake Dunn for second. The following lap Prindall passed Dunn for third. Logan had sped away with the lead. Coming up from behind was Jeski. Lap sixteen saw Jeski pass Dunn on the inside of turn four for third.
During lap twenty-two, Jeski was able to pass Sherman on turn two. However, coming out of turn two, Jeski spun out of control on the back stretch. His car collected Sherman, the No. 26 of Dayl Kaulback, and the No. 6 driven by Travis Dunbar. Dunbar went into the wall on the back stretch. Dunbar needed extraction from his vehicle. He sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries. He did lose consciousness at the time of the accident. He was transported to Midcoast Hospital for further tests, but was later released.
The race was called official with three laps remaining. Logan took first place. Dunn placed second. Prindall took third.
Although the Mini Truck division had been consolidated with the Thunder 4 division, six trucks arrived Saturday to race. Track officials gave them a short ten lap feature event. Starting in the pole position was the No. 32 driven by Herb Farrar. Behind him was the No. 35 of Corey Williams and the No. 68 driven by Roger Allard. The trucks gave an exciting performance. First lap out, Williams passed Herb Farrar on the outside of turn two. Then, three wide on turn three of lap one, both Allard and the No. 69 driven by Ryan Farrar passed Herb Farrar.
Lap two saw Allard pass Williams for the lead. The trucks raced together in a pack. Lap six saw the No. 12 driven by Gerry McKenna pass Ryan Farrar for third. McKenna and Ryan Farrar raced head to head around the track for position, neither giving way.
With one lap remaining McKenna surged ahead. He looked for an opportunity to pass and claim second. He made one last big push, the trucks three wide coming around turn four and heading down the front stretch. At the checkered, the trucks finish three wide, with only fractions of a second between them. Allard claimed first. McKenna clinched second. Rounding out the top three was Corey Williams.
Super Stock cars hit the track next for a twenty lap feature race. Josh Bailey in the No. 2 had the pole position. James Osmond in the No. 5 and Bobby Mesimer in the No. 3 were in the second and third spot. From the start, Bailey and Osmond engaged in a five lap battle for first. There was no clear race leader until Osmond surged ahead coming out of turn four onto the front stretch heading into lap six. Midway through the race, Osmond had a five car length lead over Bailey.
Lap fifteen saw a caution when the No. 2R driven by Ryan Robinson went off the track on turn three. When racing action resumed, Osmond leapt into the lead. Mesimer was able to pass Bailey on the inside of turn one to claim second. Race leaders remained constant until the end of the race. Osmond placed first. Mesimer took second. Bailey came in third.
A ten lap Thunder-4 race was next. Leandra Martin in the No. 31 was in the pole position. Behind here were Cody Robbins in the No. 15 and Adam Armstrong in the 31X. Martin did not have a good start and Robbins moved to first immediately. Martin spun out on turn one and went to the back after a caution. On the restart, there was a scuffle for position. When the dust cleared, Robbins was in first. Cameron Knowles in the No. 20 was second. Kevin Sherman in the No. 11 was third. Sherman passed Knowles in lap six on the outside of turn three, and took second. Then in the last lap, the No. 21 of Kalib Bernatchez scraped Knowles. Knowles went off the track and Bernatchez took third. Robbins took first place. Sherman placed second. Bernatchez placed third.
There was a lot of racing action in the twenty-five lap Pro Stock feature. Starting in the pole was Chris Thorne driving the No. 17. The No. 13 of Casey Nash and the No. 0 of Bill Penfold were behind him. Thorne was quick off the starting line, with Nash and Penfold dogging his heels. Lap two saw Penfold pass Nash on the inside of the front stretch. The No. 15 driven by Scott Chubbuck was coming up from the back of the pack. In lap six Chubbuck passed Nash for third.
There was a caution in lap twelve, and on the restart, Penfold and Thorne raced furiously for first. Thorne took the lead on turn three. Then on turn four, Thorne was bumped by Penfold and made a great save but dropped to fourth place. Penfold was the new race leader. In lap thirteen, Thorn was able to pass Nash and took third.
Chubbuck and Penfold were in the front racing for position. With only two laps remaining, Chubbuck piloted his Ford Fusion to the outside of the track, making a bid for first. Chubbuck slowly moved up alongside of Penfold. The crowd erupted into cheers. With less than a lap remaining, the pair round turn four, nose to nose. They both sweep under the checkered with Chubbuck 4/100th of a second ahead of Penfold for the win. Thorne finished in third.
After the race, Chubbuck said, “He (Penfold) slowed up a little bit and I went to the outside, and luckily, and I was able to pass him. I would like to thank Bartlett Auto Sales, and my wife, Stacy.”
The last feature of the night was a quick, straightforward fifteen lap Strictly Street race. Tasha Dyer in the No. 32 was in the pole position. Behind her were Mike Moody in the No. 1 and Zach Poland in the No. 06. Dyer was quick off the start and had a ten car length lead by the second lap. Starting from the back of the pack in ninth position was Corey Morgan in the No. 26. Lap eight saw Morgan pass Poland on the outside of turn two for third. The following lap Morgan overtook Moody on the front stretch and claimed second place.
Dyer could see Morgan in her rear view mirror, and was able to keep him there for the remainder of the race. Dyer placed first. The win was Dyer’s first Strictly Street victory at Wiscasset. Post-race, Dyer said, “It’s about time. We have worked so hard for this all year. It felt really good. I would like to thank my crew chief, Todd. I would like to thank my grandfather, Ryan Barnes, Dillon, all my sponsors, and the car owner, Jerry.”
Morgan came in second. Moody came in third.
Wiscasset Speedway resumes racing action, August 3, 2013 with its group one lineup of divisions: Prostock, Super Stock, New England 4-cylinder Prostock, and Thunder 4. The flex race of the week will a 100 lap Enduro race. The Enduro race is open to 4 cylinder, 6 cylinder, or 8 cylinder cars. See the website for details. Pit gates open at 2:00 PM. Grandstand gates open at 4:00 PM. Racing begins at 6:00 PM. Admission is $5.00 for adults and children aged seven and older. Kids six and under are free. Wiscasset Speedway is located on West Alna Road in Wiscasset. For more information, head to the Wiscasset Speedway website at: http:www.wiscassetspeedway.com.
WISCASSET SPEEEDWAY OFFICIAL FINISH JULY 27, 2013
OUTLAW MINI (25 LAPS)
1. #9 George Fortin, Greene
2. #20 Shawn Kimball, Augusta
3. #10 Jimmy Childs, Leeds
4. #12 Darryl Moore, Oxford
5. #13 Nate Tribett, Richmond
6. #18 Time Collins, Farmingdale
7. #17 Norman Cummings Jr, Augusta
8. #44 Ozzie Cummings, Vassalboro
LATE MODEL SPORTSMAN (35 LAPS)
1. #68 Steve Reno, West Bath
2. #09 Daren Ripley, Thomaston
3. #15 Nick Hinkley, Wiscasset
4. #25 Will Collins, Appleton
5. #34 Tyler Robbins, Montville
6. #4 Allan Moeller Sr, Dresden
7. #3 Shane Lane, Kingfield
8. #28 Steve Minott, Windham
9. #33 Ed Tyler, Farmington
10. #0 Lowell Simmons, NA
11. #00 Alex Waltz, Waldoboro
12. #7 Nick Reno, West Bath
13. #5 Bill Pinkham, Wiscasset
14. #03 Mike Orr, Wiscasset
15. #27 Doug Coombs, Livermore
NEW ENGLAND 4-CYLINDER PROSTOCK (25 LAPS)
1. #44 James Logan, Dighton, MA
2. #8 Craig Dunn, Strong
3. #24 Jeff Prindall, Lisbon Falls
4. #12 Dave Patten, Windham
5. #26 Dayl Kaulback, NA
6. #54 Kamren Knowles, Farmingdale
7. #14 Bob Patten, Windham
8. #17 Nathan McWilliams, Lewiston
9. #6 Travis Dunbar, Lisbon
10. #11 Kevin Sherman, Wiscasset
11. #38 Tim Jeski, Drakut, MA
MINI TRUCK (10 LAPS)
1. #68 Roger Allard, Harpswell
2. #12 Gerry McKenna, NA
3. #35 Corey Williams, Lewiston
4. #69 Ryan Farrar, Sumner
5. #22 Jeff Schmidt, Mechanic Falls
6. #32 Herb Farrar, Sumner
SUPER STOCK (20 LAPS)
1. #05 James Osmond, Wiscasset
2. #3 Bobby Mesimer, Woolwich
3. #2 Josh Bailey, Wiscasset
4. #48 Dan Nessmith, Wiscasset
5. #2R Ryan Robinson, Clinton
6. #1 Adam Chadbourne, Woolwich
7. #34 Craig Robbins, Palermo
THUNDER 4’S (10 LAPS)
1. #15 Cody Robbins, Winslow
2. #11 Kevin Sherman, Wiscasset
3. #21K Kalib Bernatchez, Vasalboro
4. #04 Curtis Anderson, Richond
5. #31X Adam Armstrong, Bath
6. #13 Cody Tribbett, Richmond
7. #07 Todd Hubbord, NA
8. #31 Leandra Martin, Richmond
9. #1 Jeff Davis, Woolwich
10. #20 Dan Trask, Chelsea
11. #55 Matt Myshrall, Pittston
12. #82 Ben Krauter, Raymond
PRO STOCK (25 LAPS)
1. #15 Scott Chubbuck, Bowdoin
2. #0 Bill Penfold, Oxford
3. #17 Chris Thorne, Sidney
4. #13 Casey Nash, Richmond
5. #02 Shane Lane, Kingfield
6. #28 Ken Beasley, Richmond
7. #1 Jeff Burgess, East Madison
STRICTLY STREET (15 LAPS)
1. #32 Tasha Dyer, Arrowsic
2. #26 Corey Morgan, Lewiston
3. #1 Mike Moody, Topsham
4. #06 Zach Poland, Woolwich
5. #13 Chuck Gray, Wiscasset
6. #39 Gerard Freve, Turner
7. #66 Phil Main Sr, Boothbay
8. #99 Phil Main Jr, Trevett
9. #56 Thomas Smith, Boothbay
Sources: Lisa Maguire/Wiscasset Speedway PR