JOSH ST. CLAIR TAKES ROUND TWO OF LINNEHAN CREDIT NOW AUTO COMPANY TRIPLE CROWN SERIES FOR LATE MODELS AT SPEEDWAY 95 SATURDAY NIGHT

Twenty eight late model drivers from coastal, central, and northern Maine took the green flag Saturday night at Speedway 95 for round two of the Linnehan’s Credit Now Auto Company Triple Crown Series for Late Models. Josh St. Clair of Liberty outlasted the field through a caution filled event to take the win. St. Clair had finished second in round 1 held at Wiscasset Raceway earlier in the season, so now has the edge for the crown going into the series finale to be held at Unity Raceway on October 11. The win wasn’t an easy one for St. Clair, as he had to regain the lead eight times over the course of the 54 lap event for caution periods that kept the field bunched up for most of the distance. Each time the green fell, St. Clair retook the lead, but the competition stayed close behind and threatened him all the way. Pole sitter Mike Hopkins of Hermon stayed the closest and finished the event in second, about two car lengths behind the winner. Wiscasset regular Chris Thorne of Sidney also ran near the front for the entire distance, finishing a strong third. Chris Pangburn of Easton ran a solid race, picking up a fourth place finish, with Winterport’s Ryan Deane, who recently converted his car from a Pro Stock to a Late Model, finishing fifth. St. Clair took home $1754 for his efforts, in a race that was run as a memorial to Bob Coburn of Winn, Maine, a former Pro Stock driver at Speedway 95 who passed away in June. His friends and family added an extra $1054 to the winner’s purse, and asked that the race be run for 54 laps, 54 being the number of the car Coburn raced at the speedway. Hopkins, St. Clair and Brenton Parritt of Steuben were winners of the three 15 lap qualifiers used to set the field for the feature. The event was also the final points race for the Speedway 95 regulars, and John Phippen Jr. of Bar Harbor came out as the points champion for the season in the Late Models at Speedway 95.

The points race for the Super Streets went down to the wire Saturday night as Hermon’s Kris Watson and Holden’s Steve Moulton started the night separated by only two points. When the night was over, Watson won the feature event and the point’s title, with Moulton finishing second in both races. Watson’s Camaro was hooked up this week-end as he took a win at Unity Raceway on Friday night, then backed it up with his win at 95 on Saturday. Moulton did all he could to beat Watson, but never got close enough to mount a serious challenge in the feature. After one false start, the race went caution free, with Watson taking the lead on lap one and holding it to the end. Moulton finished second with Lindsey Young of Winterport getting the third place trophy after Artie McGuire of Bucksport was disqualified in post race inspection. Derek Mingo of Lamoine then finished fourth with Hermon’s Doug Sinclair in fifth. Watson also won the 10 lap qualifier earlier in the evening bringing his total margin for the season to 6 points over Moulton for the championship.

Travis Poulin of Holden picked up his first win of the season in the Strictly Streets as he held off three time winner Doug Day of Glenburn for most of the race. Day could get as close as Poulin’s rear bumper, but was unable to make the pass for the lead, which he tried several times to do. Day finished second, with Shawn Hamel of Bangor in third. Fourth went to Shawn Hamel II of Bangor and Ellsworth’s Bradley Norris finished fifth. Norris had garnered enough points over the season to become the point’s champion without even starting the night’s event. Doug Day was the winner of the night’s qualifier.

Brent Fletcher of Old Town picked up his third win of the season in the Sport-Fours Saturday night in a car borrowed from David Green of Hampden, a fellow driver in the division. Fletcher had blown the engine in his own car during practice earlier in the evening and Green, who had the season’s points title locked up going in to the night’s program, loaned his car to Fletcher so Fletcher could hold his second place standings for the season. As Fletcher’s car sat idle in the pit area, the night’s second place finisher, Ralph Allen of Hermon, borrowed a brake rotor from it so he could compete in the night’s racing, and third place finisher Jeff Overlock Jr. of Hermon borrowed a distributor and wire set from Fletcher’s broken motor to get his car running for the feature event. Fourth went to Lewis Batchelder of Dixmont, without any parts borrowed from Fletcher’s car, and Rick Grant of LaGrange, who had won the qualifier earlier in the evening, finishing fifth.

The Little Enduros were back for another Saturday night of racing in a special 2 race series to finish out the 2009 season. Jason Trundy of Old Town passed race leader Donny Blanchard of Orrington on lap 15 of the 20 lap feature and won his second feature in a row since the division moved to Saturday nights. Trundy started near the back of the field because of his win the previous week, and quickly worked his way through the pack to challenge for the lead. Blanchard’s car began having engine troubles near the half way point, which slowed his car enough to allow Trundy to catch and pass him for the win. Blanchard held on for a second place finish, followed by Newburgh’s Darren Durrell in third. Travis Beale of Hampden finished in fourth with Bucksport’s Mike Ogden finishing in fifth. Blanchard and Adam Russell of Medford won the qualifiers for the main event.

Official finishing order of the Linnehan’s Credit Now Auto Company Triple Crown Series for Late Models, Round 2:

1. Josh St. Clair, Liberty 2. Mike Hopkins, Hermon, 3. Chris Thorne, Sidney 4. Chris Pangburn, Easton 5. Ryan Deane, Winterport 6. Joey Doyon, Winterport 7. Seth Raven, Waldo 8. Scott Modery, Hermon 9. Dave Farrington, Jay 10. Duane Seekins, Stockton Springs 11. John Phippen Jr. Bar Harbor 12. Ricky Morse, St. Albans 13. Dave St. Clair, Liberty 14. Richard Jordan, Kingfield 15. James Osmond, Wiscasset 16. Duane Love, W. Gardiner 17. Shane Clark, Winterport 18. Adam Chadbourne, Woolwich 19. Danny Smart, Buxton 20, Fred Brown, Winterport 21. Brenton Parritt, Steuben 22. Dylan Turner, Freedom 23. Rowland Robinson Jr. Steuben 24. Puncin St. Clair, Liberty 25. Frank Moulton, Burnham 26. Will Collins, Appleton 27. Tyler Robbins, Montville 28. Dale Swoboda, Hermon.
Did not start: Shane Lane, Kingfield, Joe Allard, Stetson.