White nips Dean to win PASS race Phippen 3rd in Speedway 95 event

HERMON – Town Hill’s John Phippen went from last to first in 46 laps during Sunday afternoon’s 100-lap Pro All-Stars Series North Division Late Model race at Speedway 95.

But there was a price to pay, namely the wear and tear on the right front tire, and Corinna’s Paul White capitalized as he drove around Phippen on lap 79 and pulled away to take the checkered flag by 1.8 seconds over Winterport’s Ryan Deane, who was the pole-sitter.

Phippen finished third, 7.4 seconds behind White.

Stockton Springs’ Duane Seekins finished fourth and Wiscasset’s Billy Pinkham was fifth. Rounding out the top 10 in the 22-car field were Jay Sands of Seabrook, N.H., St. Albans’ Greg Morse, Albion’s Matt Lee, 15-year-old Derick Ramstrom of West Boylston, Mass., and Chesterville’s Joe Decker.

“I used the car up getting to the front,” said the 53-year-old Phippen. “At the end, I had no right front tire left. It had an awful push. It wouldn’t steer for me.

“Those guys deserved to win. They had [some] car left at the end. I didn’t,” added Phippen, who started 21st.

Benton’s George Fernald Jr. couldn’t start the race due to car problems.

White, who started third, was driving his first race with a lightweight $5,100 spec engine.

“The engine is pretty lazy on the restarts but, other than that, it really races good,” said White. “We felt good all day. We practiced yesterday and put down some pretty good times. We put some pretty good times down today. We knew we had a pretty good car.”

He went to the preferred outside groove to pass Phippen and never looked back.

“The outside is the place to be here. Our car was real good on the outside,” said the 32-year-old White. “[After we got the lead for the last time], we just rode the last 15 laps, keeping cars behind us and keeping a steady pace.”

Deane said, “We just didn’t have enough for Paul. The car got a little loose at the end of the race and we just didn’t have enough to stick. If we could have run on the bottom [of the track] a little bit more, maybe we could have done some more.”

There were seven cautions and one brief red flag.

Only 11 cars finished the race.

Ranstrom and Lee had fast cars throughout the race and appeared poised for top-five finishes but both had late-race car problems while they were each running fourth.

Ramstrom said he heard his car go “pow, pow” with just two laps remaining and his ignition shut off. Lee suffered a flat tire with 25 laps to go after “one of our bleeder screws screwed out of the rim.”

The bleeder screw helps adjust the air pressure, he explained.

Brewer native Mike Thomas, now living in Lewiston, and 18-year-old Rodney Brooks of Thomaston, finished 16th and 17th, respectively. They were making their way through the field when Thomas was involved in a wreck that ended his day on lap 43 and Brooks blew a power steering line that limited him to just 34 laps.

In the regular Speedway 95 features, Hermon’s Shawn Sperrey won the Strictly Street race in convincing fashion.

Glenburn’s Derek Pearson was a distant second with Clifton’s Jim Carr, Glenburn’s Jordan Pearson and Steuben’s Rowland Robinson Jr. rounding out the top five.

“The car was very good today. We won three or four weeks ago but had to change a couple of things. I’m pretty happy with it,” said Sperrey.

In the Super Street class, Milford’s Joe Legere cruised to a comfortable win over Holden’s Steve Moulton and Franklin’s Greg Pung. Bradley’s Deane Smart and Hermon’s Kris Watson wound up fourth and fifth.

“I’ve really got to thank my crew. They really work hard on the car yesterday. I just about blew the motor on it [in practice]. And my dog had to have surgery last night,” said Legere. “It just wasn’t my day but I guess it was my day at the end of it.”

In the Limited Sportsman, Fred Brown of Winterport held off Liberty’s Dave St. Clair for the win. Frankfort’s Bob Seger Jr., driving brother Bruce Coulter’s car, was third with Milo’s Nick Jenkins and Steuben’s Rowland Robinson Sr. finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

“My car was really good. Any time you can beat Dave St. Clair, you’ve done something,” said Brown.

St. Clair said, “I needed a different tire. I had too much stagger. The car was going good but it was loose.”

In the Sport Fours, Justin Trombley of Winter Harbor took the checkered flag. Hermon’s Mike Hopkins was second and rounding out the top five were Oakland’s Reggie Bickford, Winterport’s Ernie Wallace Jr. and Alan Cookson Jr. of Old Town.