26 July 2008

ON SITE: Thrill of victory, agony of defeat for Joey Doyon

Unity raceway logo Charles Barkley made waves years ago by saying he was not a role model.

On Friday night at Unity Raceway, Joey Doyon tried hard to be the best role model he could – but felt as though he may have misled the young drivers looking up to him. Perhaps he should adopt the old adage ‘Do as I say, not as I do.’

Despite being the central figure in an early accident that wiped out nearly half of the contenders at Unity Raceway, Doyon rallied to win the 50-lap Late Model feature, his first Late Model win at the facility.

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25 July 2008

ON SITE: Brad Bellows and the Midnight Hour

June 20 22 007 The minutes click ever closer to midnight, but we’re still a long way from wrapping up here at Unity Raceway.

A long way – and it’s as though someone lost the GPS on the way to wherever it is we’re traveling. We’ve had ANOTHER DELAY FOR A BLACKOUT, and we’re hauling cars out of the dirt embankments here like it’s some kind of sadistic Easter egg hunt. The cars, of course, and not the eggs, are the brightly painted ones.

In case you were wondering.

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ON SITE: Santa Claus brings a gift to Unity Raceway

Unity raceway logo Maurice Young is here. Santa Claus is here. And there’s a new PT Cruiser for one of the Fernald boys.

This is not your typical Unity Raceway.

I know this, of course, not because Santa and Maurice are here, but because for the first time since I started covering Unity a few years ago, I was stopped and asked where my credential was.

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ON SITE: Grab a video, the motor's running

Unity raceway logo The "Rambo" poster on the wall isn’t for the original film, although you can never be too sure here.

I mean, who knew that honest-to-goodness video rental stores still existed? Then again, this is the only town in central Maine where I dare leave a laptop computer sitting on the backseat of an unlocked car.

I think Unity Variety and Video across the street from Unity Raceway is one of the – oh, I don’t know – about 100 or so reasons I just love this little place. Man, every time I feel like I can’t think about another stock car race (maybe you heard, but the Oxford 250 weekend just wrapped up about 12 minutes ago), this place rejuvenates me.

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Andy Santerre will race in Peterbilt 250

Santerre mug Andy Santerre will be back in a race car for the first time since he hung up his NASCAR Camping World East Series helmet in 2005.

Santerre has entered the 8th annual Peterbilt 250 at Speedway 660, the track formerly known as New Brunswick International Speedway, in Geary, New Brunswick. The race is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 31.

Santerre is a 4-time CWES champion who fields a current entry in that series for Peyton Sellers.

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24 July 2008

Military members can attend Wiscasset Raceway for free on Sunday

Wiscasset logo Have uniform, will travel.

And will get into races for free.

As part of its ongoing "Operation Recognition" program this season, Wiscasset Raceway will allow all current members of the military with a valid military I.D. to get into this Sunday afternoon’s races for free with their immediate family members.

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ON PIT ROAD: Sanborn, Sprint Cup and soggy shoes

It's Thursday again. That means it's time to roll the old Mini Stock out of the garage, wipe the dust off and shake down the setup with a spin around the dirt track at the end of the street. With that, here's the latest list of notes collected in a dog-eared notebook over the last few weeks...

Camping world series logo * EVERY TIME A non-Sprint Cup-affiliated team wins a NASCAR Camping World East Series race, it should be celebrated, particularly by fans who lament the significant changes the series has undergone in the last few years.

When the CWES was still a northeastern-based series, Matt Kobyluck’s Mohegan Sun team was one of the better funded teams there was. These days, with Cup teams putting East cars on the dyno every day – every day! – it’s impossible for "regular" guys to keep up.

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23 July 2008

OXFORD 250 NOTES: Carey Martin, Shawn Martin and Kevin Harvick's goodwill

I'm not sure, but I think I've finally dried out after sloshing through puddles for the last 5 days. All that rain sure does give you plenty of time to think about everything that happened last weekend at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Harvick check * CONGRATULATIONS TO CAREY MARTIN for setting the reputation of the local racer back about two decades.

It's not that Martin chose not to back down to a Sprint Cup Series driver in the TD Banknorth 250, and it's not that the Denmark, Maine, driver was willing to trade paint with a guy who's won the Daytona 500.

It's that Martin wasn't racing the race cars on the track -- he was racing the name of the guy in his rearview mirror, and it was about as bush league as it gets.

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21 July 2008

ON SITE: Kevin Harvick wins the Oxford 250

Harvick mug Kevin Harvick had never seen Oxford Plains Speedway before Friday. He left having mastered it in a brand new car.

Harvick unofficially led the final 118 laps to win the TD Banknorth 250 on Monday night, a race postponed one day and then 3 hours by rain on Monday afternoon. Harvick’s crew chief Shane Wilson built the car specifically for the Oxford run, and its now a perfect 1-for-1.

And already sold to the American-Canadian Tour team for which Karl Allard drives.

"I know everybody’s supposed to be asleep right now, but damn I’m happy," said Harvick, the 2007 Daytona 500 champion. "I want to thank all the other competitors. What a great race. What a lot of fun."

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ON SITE: Oxford 250 finish

Oxford 250 log Unofficial TD Banknorth 250 top-5:

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Glen Luce
3. Joey Polewarczyk Jr.
4. Shawn Martin
5. Ben Rowe

Harvick led the final 118 laps

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