Story By: MARK THOMAS / OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY – OXFORD, ME – Curtis Gerry of Waterboro extended his winning streak in Pro All Stars Series competition at Oxford Plains Speedway to four, surprising few observers with his triumph in Sunday’s Honey Badger Bar & Grill 150 at the historic Maine speedplant.
It was the third PASS North Super Late Model victory in three attempts this season for Gerry, who also won a 200-lap race at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, where he is the reigning track champion.
In the waning laps it was defending PASS North Series champion, and current championship points leader, Travis Benjamin of Morrill providing the final challenge to Gerry’s dominant run. Benjamin earned runner-up honors.
Two-time Oxford Plains Speedway track champion TJ Brackett of Buckfield led the early stages of the race and battled with the frontrunners throughout the distance to claim a third-place finish. Garrett Hall of Scarborough raced hard with the contenders all afternoon and earned a fourth-place finish.
Manchester’s Reid Lanpher rounded out the top-five after leading a healthy chunk of the Honey Badger 150. Lanpher was running in second position when he was clearly turned around by an irate fellow competitor, who was subsequently penalized.
Justin Drake of Burnham, rookie Gabe Brown of Center Conway, New Hampshire, John Peters of Westbrook, DJ Shaw of Center Conway, New Hampshire and rookie Austin Teras of Gray rounded out the top-ten.
‘Outlaw’ Eddie MacDonald of Rowley, Massachusetts prevailed in the 150-lap feature race for the American-Canadian Tour Late Models. MacDonald chased polesitter Nicholas Sweet of Barre, Vermont for about half of the race before getting by with an impressive, three-wide move in lapped traffic.
Once in front MacDonald maintained a reasonably-comfortable advantage over Sweet and, later, Jimmy Hebert of Williamstown, Vermont. Hebert got by Sweet late in the race and was closing in on MacDonald when the checkered flag waved. MacDonald and Sweet went on strap into PASS Super Late Models to attempt both 150-lap races on Sunday. They were the only two racers attempting to tackle both halves of the Honey Badger twinbill.
Corey Mason of Groveton, New Hampshire was the fourth-place finisher, and the last ACT Late Model to complete all 150 laps. Current ACT Late Model Tour championship points leader Scott Payea of Milton, Vermont rounded out the top-five. Winner MacDonald substantially closed the gap between himself and the points leader Payea.
Gary Shackford of Center Conway, New Hampshire returned to victory lane after a long hiatus, winning for the first time in the PASS Mods main event competition. Shackford, a track champion in 1990-91 at Oxford Plains Speedway, last won a race at Oxford around the turn of the century. He took the lead away from defending PASS Mods champion and current championship points leader Ben Tinker of New Gloucester, then drove on to the winner’s circle.
Tinker earned his second consecutive runner-up finish after winning the first two races of the season. Adam Gray of Granby, Massachusetts had an excellent debut in the division, challenging Shackford and Tinker throughout the 40-lapper before settling for third place under the checkered flag. Bruce Helmuth of Wales and Freeport’s Jariet Harrison filled out the top-five.
The next Pro All Stars Series North Super Late Model race is scheduled for Sunday, May 27 at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont. The Budweiser Championship Series returns to Oxford Plains Speedway on Saturday night, May 26, with a 50-lap Super Late Model race highlighting a 7:00 p.m. racing program. For more information visit proallstarsseries.com, oxfordplains.com or call (207) 539-8865.
Results from the Honey Badger 150 Pro All Stars Series North Super Late Model race at Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, May 20 showing starting position, car number, driver’s name, driver’s hometown:
Pro All Stars Series Honey Badger 150 Super Late Model (150 laps) 1 7 Curtis Gerry, Waterboro, ME; 2 7 Travis Benjamin, Morrill, ME; 3 TJ Brackett, Buckfield, ME; 4 94 Garrett Hall, Scarborough, ME; 5 59 Reid Lanpher, Manchester, ME; 6 09 Justin Drake, Burnham, ME; 7 2 Gabe Brown, Center Conway, NH; 8 51 John Peters, Westbrook, ME; 9 60 DJ Shaw, Center Conway, NH; 10 29 Austin Teras, Gray, ME; 11 17 Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, MA; 12 12 Derek Griffith, Hudson, NH; 13 40 Nicholas Sweet, Barre, VT; 14 47 Kelly Moore, Scarborough, ME; 15 42 Kyle Reid, Fort McMurray, AB, Canada; 16 7 Glen Luce, Turner, ME; 17 90 Derek Kneeland, Sebago, ME; 18 32 Steven Murphy, Woburn, MA; 19 14 Scott McDaniel, Livermore, ME; 20 (DQ) 4 Ben Rowe, Turner, ME; 21 36 Ryan Robbins, Dixfield, ME; 22 78 Ivan Kaffel, Raymond, ME; 23 72 Scott Robbins, Dixfield; 24 60 Tim Brackett, Buckfield; 25 46 Dennis Spencer, Jr., Oxford.
American-Canadian Tour Late Models (150 laps) 1 17 Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, MA; 2 58 Jimmy Hebert, Williamstown, VT; 3 Nicholas Sweet, Barre, VT; 4 1 Corey Mason, Groveton, NH; 5 37 Scott Payea, Colchester, VT; 6 5 Bobby Therrien, Hinesburg, VT; 7 0 Miles Chipman, Nottingham, NH; 8 54 Mike Ziter, Barre, VT; 9 30 Rich Dubeau, Lebanon, NH; 10 9 Chip Grenier, Graniteville, VT; 11 28 Rowland Robinson Jr., Steuben, ME; 12 72 Ryan Kuhn, East Bridgewater, MA; 13 1 Evan Hallstrom, Northfield, VT; 14 78 Quinny Welch, Groveton, NH; 15 61 Ryan Olsen, Woodsville, NH; 16 9 Brian Tagg, Oxford, MA; 17 10 Bryan Mason, Stark, NH; 18 15 Joey Laquerre, E. Montpelier, VT; 19 97 Adam Gray, Granby, MA; 20 11 Claude Leclerc, Lanoraie, QC; 21 42 Matt White, Northfield, VT; 22 21 Jean-Francois Dery, Quebec, QC; 23 7 Dylan Payea, Milton, VT; 24 3 Mike Kension, Lancaster, NH; 25 41 Christopher Pelkey, South Barre, VT; 26 77 James Linardy, Somerville, MA; 27 49 Matt Anderson, Franklin, NH; 28 00 T.J. Moreshead, Seekonk, MA; 29 21 Reilly Lanphear, Duxbury, VT; 30 22 Peyton Lanphear, Duxbury, VT.
PASS Mods (40 laps) 1 60 Gary Shackford, Center Conway, NH; 2 19 Ben Tinker, New Gloucester, ME; 3 60x Adam Gray, Granby, MA; 4 25 Bruce Helmuth, Wales, ME; 5 85 Jariet Harrison, Freeport, ME; 6 14 Mark Napolitano, North Yarmouth, ME; 7 27 Josh Hedges, New Bedford, MA; 8 2 Matty Sanborn, Windham, ME; 9 16 Patrick Sullivan, Poland, ME; 10 10 Kate Re, Lovell, ME.
