Fall racing on docket at Unity Demolition derby, Long John 150 slated

loading...

The auto racing season is winding down but first-year Unity Raceway manager John Crawford begs to differ. So Unity Raceway will have a healthy dose of activities in October.

“Usually, there’s a drop-off in September. But I haven’t seen it,” said Crawford. “We had 110 cars last weekend and 109 the weekend before. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.”

Crawford noted that other tracks are starting to close down so he is offering them another venue if they want to continue racing.

“Last week, we had 11 cars show up from Speedway 95,” said Crawford, who leased the track this year and has a five-year option on it.

Ralph Nason owns the track.

Unity Raceway’s October schedule kicks off with the New England Demolition Derby championship on Sunday, Oct. 6.

“We’ll be taking over 100 cars and we have 60 signed up already,” explained Crawford. “We’ll have heats and consolation races [to qualify] for the feature.”

He said anyone interested can contact him at 465-7266 or on his cellphone at 314-1651.

The event starts at 12:30 and the winner will take home a check for $2,000. The runner-up will claim $1000 with third place being worth $500. Cars four through 21 will earn $50.

There will also be 20-lap mini stock and mini-truck races.

The following Sunday, Oct. 13, will see the Long John 150 pro stock event sponsored by the Partnership for a Tobacco-free Maine.

It will be the third race in the triple crown series.

The winner of the race will pocket $3,500 and the winner of the series will take home $2,000.

That will start at 1 p.m.

The season will conclude the weekend of Oct. 26-27. There will be an open practice Oct. 26 from noon to 4 p.m. It will cost $8 per car.

The next day will conclude the racing portion of the season with three classes involved starting at 1:00.

There will be a 75-lap street stock race worth $1,000 to the winner; a 50-lap mini-stock event paying $500 to win and a 50-lap mini-truck race which will also pay $500 to the victor.

“And there will be very minimal rules for those three races,” said Crawford, who is already looking ahead to the off-season and next year.

“We’re going to pave the pit area and fix the bump in turn three,” said Crawford.

PASS winds up season at Oxford

The 15th and final Pro All-Stars Series race of the season will be held Sunday at Oxford Plains Speedway when the P & K Sand and Gravel/Western Maine Concrete Contractors 150 takes the green flag.

Time trials get under way at 11:45 a.m. with the racing slated to begin at 1.

Turner’s Ben Rowe will claim the points championship by climbing into his Chevy Monte Carlo car as he enters the race with an insurmountable 148-point lead over defending champ Sam Sessions of South Paris. Sessions leads third-place Kenny Wright of Woolwich by 36 points. Hallowell’s Johnny Clark and Cushing’s Chuck Lachance trail Sessions by 44 and 48 points, respectively.

Clark is a rookie.

Rowe has five wins and 13 top-five finishes.

PASS President Tom Mayberry has been pleased with the tour’s success in its second season and is already making plans for year number three.

“There was definite growth from last year. We increased our attendance by 15-20 percent and our car counts by 20-25 percent,” said Mayberry, who will lease Wiscasset Raceway with partner Harry Franssen next year.

He said he is talking to some “potentially big sponsors” for next season and is hoping to lock up a 15- to 16-race schedule involving several of the same tracks while also expanding to other tracks.

There will be a 200-lap non-points race next month at Thompson International Speedway (Conn.) and Mayberry said he hopes it goes well so they can schedule their first-ever points race there next season.

He would also love to have a first-time race at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough.

“That’s a real good market for us,” said Mayberry.