By day, she is a nattily-attired vice president of the Bansco Federal Credit Union in Bangor.

But on Saturday nights, Vicki Wright is adorned in Unity Raceway sweatshirts. She is the chief scorer at the stock car oval. She is in her eighth year at the credit union and at Unity Raceway.

It is an interesting contrast but it is a normal progression to Wright.

“I was a tomboy and my father [Robert Wright] began taking me to stock car races in Westboro, Mass., when I was three years old. He used to race,” explains Wright. “I dreamed of being a stock car driver.”

She eventually got her chance to run in a pair of powder puff races when she was 19.

“I blew the clutch in one and I think I crashed in the other,” said Wright, who also learned how to break down an engine and put it back together; change the oil; and perform other car fix-its.

Marriage and motherhood short-circuited her driving aspirations but when her marriage ended after 19 years, she was ready to get back into the sport she loves.

“I went on a University of Maine hockey trip to Providence [Eastern Regionals in 1992] and got to know Kim Pelletier on the trip. She was a scorer at Unity Raceway. She eventually quit and asked me if I wanted her job,” said Wright, who had been attending races at Speedway 95 and Unity.

“It’s hard to get a job at the tracks, especially if you’re a single woman,” said Wright, explaining that wives or girlfriends of the drivers can be a jealous lot. “There were many times I’d go to the races and sit by myself.”

Wright jumped at Pelletier’s offer and has been a fixture at Unity ever since.

“She has done an excellent job,” said Unity Raceway owner Ralph Nason. “She didn’t know a lot about it when she came on board but she taught herself and is excellent.”

The chief scorer oversees the people monitoring track position. Wright and the other scorers busily jot down the running order of the cars on every lap and make sure the cars line up in their proper positions on restarts.

They also keep track of the cars that are laps down and insist on cars having visible numbers.

“The majority rules [on controversial decisions],” said Wright, who has had to deal with irate drivers, their family members and friends from time to time.

She says she uses the same patient negotiating skills she employs at the credit union in dealing with customers.

She said the key to both jobs is “communication.”

The one thing she won’t tolerate at the track is angry people who insist on arguing their point when she is scoring a race.

“I’ll tell them to come back after all the races are done and we’ll sit down and talk about it then,” said Wright, the mother of two daughters (Jeanne and Taryn).

She enjoys her position of authority.

“I enjoy being in charge and the respect I receive from it,” said Wright, who oversees the loan department at the credit union. “And I absolutely love motorsports.”

She likes the people she works with at the credit union as well as at the raceway.

Has she ever considered getting involved at a higher level of auto racing?

“Yes. But it would involve moving to North Carolina [where virtually all of the NASCAR Winston Cup shops are located] and getting a 9-to-5 job. At my age (49), I don’t want to do that,” said Wright. “It would be easier to get a job at a track than with a team because the teams hire the wives, girlfriends and family members. It’s very difficult to get a [full-time] job with a team.

Besides, the Bangor resident is perfectly content swapping her weekday suits and dresses for jeans and Unity Raceway sweatshirts on Saturday night.

Indy 500 intrigues Craven

Would Newburgh’s Ricky Craven, the driver of the Tide Ford car on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit, ever consider entering the Indianapolis 500 in the open cockpit division?

“There is a side of me that would really like to run that race one time. It’s such an awesome event. I’d love to be able to say I did it,” said Craven.

“But it’s not realistic, particularly at this point in my life. It would be a very difficult transition to make,” added Craven, who will run the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., after the Indy 500.