Thomas in wacky 52-minute `95′ win Spectacular crashes mar `95′ feature

File this one under the wild and the wacky….

When Speedway 95’s Strictly Street drivers took to the track last Saturday night for the first of two 25-lap feature races, nobody could have guessed what was in store.

Two spectacular crashes – one involving a car flipping not once, not twice, but three times – lowlighted a six-yellow, one-red flag, caution-filled race.

When Mike Thomas of Brewer finally took the checkered flag at the conclusion of lap 25, a whopping 52 minutes had passed since the green flag first dropped and 24 cars started the feature.

That’s right: 52 minutes!

“It was crazy,” said Thomas, who earned his first-ever feature victory despite having to wait almost an hour for it. “I can you tell exactly what I was thinking. I was sitting in my car wondering, `What in the hell are these guys doing?’ We still had another feature race to run. I was wondering why it was happening.”

“It was a bit much,” added Speedway 95’s spokesman George Thomas.

Ironically, the second feature produced only one yellow flag despite featuring some of the cleanest side-by-side Strictly Street racing a fan could hope for. On the average, a normal 25-lap, Strictly Street race could take 20-25 minutes.

If foreshadowing meant anything to stock car racing fans, they might have suspected it would be a long race when Wayne Russell of Brownville Junction entered turn one, fishtailed his 1971 Mustang a couple of times, and flipped it three times down the grassy slope on the outside of the track.

“I was wondering when I was going to stop,” quipped Russell, who was lame, but not seriously injured, following the wreck. “It was really rough. All I know is it was a rough ride and I got a mouthful of dirt.”

A few laps later a car driven by Ken Lord lost its axle and a car driven by John Snow of Penobscot went over it, sending Snow’s car into the air and into a pile of tires on the backstretch.

“I guess that’s just about the worst (race) I’ve seen,” said the 23-year-old Russell, adding the fact he has attended races since he was 12 years old.

If the Strictly Street debacle wasn’t enough, Sport Four driver Ray Young of Cherryfield, who won the track’s annual preseason Pretty Car Contest, flipped his Ford Escort over twice on the evening – once in the heat race and once in the feature.

A familiar face returned to the Speedway 95 pits on Saturday – two-time defending Sportsman champion John Kalel of Orrington.

Kalel had been running for points at Oxford Plains Speedway early in the season. Toward the end of May, however, Kalel began running low on funds and a “$5,000 accident,” as a member of Team Kalel put it, was the last straw.

“That mishap put us at the end of our rope,” said Tammy Kalel, the driver’s wife.

Kalel will be racing once again at Speedway 95 – he already has one win this season and is fourth in points – and will also pick and choose a few 100-lap events at other tracks around the state.

Someday, he hopes to make a return trip to OPS.

Ricky Craven has gone south, but his fans up here remember him well.

Those wishing to keep closer tabs on the Newburgh native, who is now racing on the NASCAR Grand National tour and leading the rookie points, can do so through the driver’s fan club.

For $12 a year, members will receive a membership card, eight newsletters, an autographed picture, and a few other perks.

Information on the Ricky Craven Fan Club can be obtained by contacting P.O. Box 2236, Cornelius, N.C., 28031.

IN THE PITS – Wiscasset Raceway will be the hub of Late Model Sportsman activity on Friday night as a 100-lap, $2,000-to-win feature race will highlight the racing card…. This Saturday night, Speedway 95’s racing card will include the previously postponed 150-lap Bomber Race…. A 50-lap Charger feature is on tap at Unity Raceway on Saturday…. Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough celebrates its 44th anniversary on Saturday with 44-lap features in all three divisions…. The NASCAR Grand National North Tour heads to Lee/USA in Lee, N.H., for a 150-lap race on Sunday….