A blustery & chilly June evening didn’t deter a large contingent of fans and race teams from packing into Wiscasset Speedway for the track’s annual Ames Ture Value NEMA Night on Saturday evening. The lightning-fast asphalt spring cars highlighted a full Group 1 program at Maine’s fastest track along with Pro Stocks, 4-Cylinder Pros, Super Streets, and Thunder 4 Minis.
by Ken Minott
Once again major speed and the track record were in the crosshairs of the invading drivers from the North Eastern Midget Association. Avery Stoehr from Lakeville, CT showed that the coastal Maine speed plant is quickly becoming one of his favorites, running to a dominating win in the 25-lap NEMA Midget spotlight feature. In doing so, he nearly broke his own track record of 12.875 seconds around the 3/8 mile banked oval, missing the mark by .001 seconds. In Coastal Autoparts victory lane Stoehr joked “sorry to disappoint you guys” when told how close he came to beating the record that he had set just a year earlier. Perennial contenders & NEMA champions John Zych and Randy Cabral joined Stoehr in victory lane. In the 25-lap support feature for the NEMA Lites, reigning division champ Jake Trainor of Medway, MA took just three laps to charge to the front and hold off any and all challengers for his first win of the season. The NEMA Lites will return to Wiscasset Speedway for a special 60-lap feature on Saturday, August 20th.
In the regular Group 1 action, point leader Daniel Harding led the 25-lap caution-free feature for the Brackett’s Market 4-Cylinder Pro division from green to checkers for his first win of the season. In victory lane, he dedicated his win to a close family friend who had passed away a couple of weeks prior. Ben Burgess, who had his breakthrough first career win in the previous race, backed it up with a runner-up finish. They were joined in victory lane by Josh Hall, who earlier in the evening was honored as the track’s Four-Season Synthetic Driver of the Month. The Norms Used Cars Pro Stocks were the next class on the track, and it came down to a showdown between the division’s top two drivers, Josh St Clair & Kevin Douglass. Steven Chicoine and Josh St Clair led the 16-car field to the green for the 40-lap feature. Following a lap one caution, the race settled down into a green flag run where St Clair held the lead while being chased by point leader Douglass. After following St Clair for several circuits around the track, Douglass drover around him to grab the lead on lap 29. A late-race caution bunched up the field once again and the two put on a clinic of good hard yet respectful racing. St Clair retook the lead and ran to the checkers for his second Pro Stock win of the year (7th win overall across 4 divisions). Douglass, a 2-time winner himself, took home the runner-up trophy. Jamie Wright of Woolwich turned in a strong effort, taking the third-place trophy after a good battle with Chicoine. The division’s previous race winner Nick Reno charged up from the back of the field to complete the top five. The Market 27 Super Streets never disappoint when it comes to dishing out the action. Dominic Curit and Charlie Sanborn III occupied the front row of the 18-car field ready to go for the 30-lap feature. Curit paced the field in the lead for the first 16 laps until newcomer Richard “Bubba” Pelton drove up the outside lane and around both Michael Harrison and Dom Curit to grab the front spot. There was plenty of action in the caution-free race, including rookie Brett Osmond’s charge up from the back of the field from 15th into the top three by lap 25. Pelton, a multi-time winner at his home track of Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, would go on to secure his first Wiscasset win in a dominating performance. Polesitter Dom Curit also turned in his best run of the season, taking the runner-up honors. Osmond, wheeling the car his dad James drove to the division crown in 2021, backed up his win from two weeks ago with a strong 3rd place finish. The top 5 were rounded out by Harrison and point leader Matt Beers. New Vinyard wheelman Shane Webber took the checkered flag for the 25-lap Sweatt’s Concrete Thunder 4 Mini feature. It was the first win of the season for last year’s division runner-up and Rookie of the Year. He was joined in victory lane by regular front-runners David Cook or Jay and Zach Audet of Norridgewock. The Thunder 4 Mini’s boasted the largest field of cars on the evening with 24 competitors taking the green flag.
Wiscasset Speedway returns to action on Saturday, June 25th with Group 2 in action. Wood Pellet Warehouse Late Model Sportsman, 88.5FM WHCF Modifieds, Kennebec Equipment Rental Outlaw Minis, and the Portland Glass Strictly Streets will all be in competition with the Strictly Streets as the night’s spotlight division. The special guests on the evening will be the Senior Tour Auto Racers (STAR Tour). Pit gates will open at 1:00 pm and grandstand gates at 4:00 pm with the green flag flying on the action at 5:00 pm. As always, grandstand admission is just $5 (kids 6&under free) and pit admission is $20 for all. For a full race day schedule and more information, go to http://www.wiscassetspeedway.com. Wiscasset Speedway is located on the West Alna Rd in Wiscasset.
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