Corinna racer eyes top rookie honors

A new face has found success in the Sportsman Division at Speedway 95 in Bangor.

Corinna’s Paul White is a rookie in the Sportsman’s Pro Stocks in 2004, and won in his third start. White also earned second- and eighth-place finishes and sits in the top five in points.

“We’re going to go for the championship and win a couple more races, and hopefully win Rookie of the Year as well,” said 31-year-old White.

Last year’s Limited Sportsman champion, Ryan Deane, is also competing for top rookie honors in the Pro Stocks.

White, a three-year veteran of the Limited Sportsman division, and 2002 champion, said the move up to Speedway 95’s top class was “not as bad as I thought it was going to be.”

But, just like most drivers, White didn’t start at the top – he had to earn his way there.

White got his start in the Strictly Street class in 1997 after deciding that he wanted to race.

“I used to watch a lot of the races in the stands and decided I wanted to race, too. I bought an old Street Stock and my friends helped me get it on the track,” White said.

It didn’t take long for him to be a success. In 1998 he was crowned the Strictly Street co-champion with Dean Smart and moved up to Super Streets the next year. After two years and a runner-up finish in points in 2000, White moved up one more rung to the Limited Sportsman class, which he said he enjoyed the most.

“We had an awful lot of good luck and success [in the Limited Sportsman class],” he said.

He also ran that car at Wiscasset Raceway on Friday nights and came to Speedway 95 on Saturday nights.

Some fans forget that these drivers don’t take full credit for their success on the track. White was quick to thank some of his crew members who have helped him along the way.

Anthony Wilcox builds the chassis for White’s cars and Chris Nickerson builds the engines.

At the end of last year, White sold his Limited car and needed a Pro Stock built for this year, and Nickerson was there to help him build it.

“I couldn’t be doing this without them,” said White.

Mike Hopkins, 18, helps White by doing a little bit of everything. Hopkins is also working on a Sport 4 car, and White said he’d do anything to help him get started.

As White tries to take the Sportsman championship this year, he will also try to enter the DNK Select 250 – which is attracting the state’s best drivers – at Unity Raceway on June 13. He has never run at Unity before but said, “We’re going to shoot for it. But first we’re going to rent the track for a day to test.”

Racing action last Sunday at Speedway 95 was washed out because of rain, but will resume at 2 p.m. this Sunday.