Winterport racers remember a peer

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WINTERPORT – Roaring engines and squealing tires went suddenly quiet Sunday as the racers at Winterport Dragway offered a moment of silence for a fallen champion.

The popular drag strip had a large crowd as the family of racers gathered in memory of Mike Johnson, who died a week ago as he drove home from another successful day at the track.

Johnson, 50, of Stockton Springs apparently suffered a heart attack while driving on Route 1A about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, June 12.

He was towing his drag racer on a trailer when he was stricken, then crashed into a grove of trees. He left behind his wife of 28 years, Denise, and a son, Sean. Johnson’s funeral was Friday.

“We can take comfort that Mike spent his last day doing what he loved, racing at Winterport,” track president Butch Urquhart told Sunday’s gathering over the public address system, his voice cracking with emotion. “He always had a smile and a pleasant word for everyone.”

Johnson was the Stockton Springs plumbing inspector and a member of the town’s volunteer fire department.

A Stockton Springs firetruck led the procession down the drag strip. Race cars followed, including one with Sean Johnson, 17, in the cab’s passenger seat, carrying the flag indicating the class of car his father raced.

Tears were evident during the tribute and many wore black ribbons on their chests with the legend J-141 printed on them in honor of Johnson’s car number.

Johnson had been a regular at the track since the early 1970s, and although his 1971 Barracuda race car was damaged in Sunday’s wreck, his friends already have started working on it, getting it back in shape for his son to race.

“He was an outstanding example for all of us, a true sportsman,” Urquhart said. “Long live the ‘Cuda 141.'”

That’s the way it is at the Winterport Dragway. The men, women and children who get behind the wheel may race hard and compete against each other with a vengeance. But when the engines shut down and the smoke clears, they become one big family – a family that pulls together in time of crisis or whenever someone needs a helping hand.

Urquhart noted that Johnson spent his last Saturday night pulling an axle from a wreck because he knew a fellow racer needed that part to race the next day. A friend needed a hand and Johnson was there, said Urquhart.

“Everyone helps everybody and everybody’s friendly,” said Melissa Cunningham of Bangor. “My kids are up and waiting at the door every Sunday morning. They can’t wait to get here.”

Cunningham is from a racing family. Her father, Barney Ryan of Harmony, has raced at the track for years. Her husband, Derrick, is the track manager, and her daughter Kylie, 8, was given a junior dragster for her birthday on May 27. The dragster was built by her father and grandfather.

Her younger sister and brother, Alexis, 5, and Ryan, 2, were right beside Kylie as she climbed from her dragster after a practice run. Her mother said Kylie was a bit reluctant to get behind the wheel at first, but once she did it’s been hard to pry her away.

“I can’t get her out of it,” Cunningham said of her daughter’s sleek drag racer.

“It’s fun,” said Kylie when asked if she liked speed. “I’ve raced 22 times. … I’ll never get out.”

Kylie’s dragster is set up to hit a top speed of 32 mph on the one-eighth mile drag strip. Like all those who race, she wears a helmet, fireproof clothing and racing gloves. There are more than 3,000 junior dragsters nationwide, according to Urquhart.

Winterport Dragway was founded in 1967 and is privately owned. The track is leased from the town at Fernald Field, the Winterport-owned airport.

Races take place every weekend from May through October. Competitors come from all over eastern and northern Maine. Many bring tents and campers, along with their cars, tools, parts and stories.

“Me and a couple of my friends came down here five years ago to play, challenge each other with street cars,” said Bob Reynolds of Winterport. “Before you knew it, we were addicted. I’ve had nothing but fun and haven’t missed a day in five years.”

Reynolds, a three-time champion, races a street legal car, as does his wife Robin and son Mike.

His grandson Gage races lawn mowers. Besides cars and trucks, there are race categories for motorcycles, snowmobiles, four-wheelers and lawn mowers at Winterport.

Hot rods are still the main attraction at the drags, and speed is the thrill. Loud exhausts and spinning tires add to the excitement.

The day begins with time trials during which each racer “dials in” his car by running it down the track at top speed. The trial speed is then recorded. When the races begin, the driver who can match that speed as close as possible wins the heat.

Speeds are measured by computer down to one-one-hundredth of a second. Some drivers still floor the gas pedal when the light turns green, others have an electrical “box” that launches the racer automatically. Racers compete for points as well as cash prizes and trophies.

Johnson was a “no-box” racer and was always in the thick of things. On the day he died he finished second overall in his pro-stock class. He was the drag strip’s points champion in 2004.

“We were here last Sunday. We had a great day and to see him drive away and then hear about it hours later, it was horrifying,” Cunningham said.

“One minute you see somebody burning tires and racing down the track and the next he’s gone. He loved it here. He was an awesome racer. He was very humble about it. Some people brag, but he didn’t. You would never know he was a champion unless you watched real close and saw the way he went about his business.”