Riding the roads for racing’s sake PI’s Pangburn seeks Speedway 95 win

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Presque Isle’s Chris Pangburn is no stranger to Interstate 95.

He can probably navigate it in his sleep.

Pangburn is in his first full season in the Pro Stock division at Hermon’s Speedway 95 and commutes more than three hours one way every weekend to race.

It is actually his fourth year of racing at Speedway 95 as he also has raced in the Limited Sportsman division.

In each division, he ran a limited schedule the first year before running the full schedule in year two.

“We absolutely love it,” said the 31-year-old Pangburn, who began competitive racing in the half-scale Mini-Cup cars seven years ago and stayed with that touring series for three seasons.

Pangburn travels with his stepfather, Robert Prestwood Jr., and crew member Dale Simpson as they transport the open trailer with his 2003 Ford Taurus on board. They may get another crew member or two on occasion. Pangburn’s three sons, Colby, Gavin and Matthew, are among the family members who make the trip every week.

Prestwood co-owns the car and is his crew chief.

“We don’t mind the travel. On the way down, we’ll have good conversations about how we’re going to set the car up. I’ll get butterflies in my stomach and we’ll share the emotion with each other,” said Pangburn.

However, he did acknowledge that “the ride home can get tiring.”

Pangburn said the sport is well worth the travel.

“I like the power. I like the adrenaline rush. Even if you win, you want to go right back and win again. You keep testing yourself. You keep pushing yourself to see if you can do it,” said Pangburn.

He currently is running ninth in points but is just five points out of eighth.

“We’ve been very pleased with our season,” said Pangburn. “We had a rocky start. We had some motor trouble and got involved in a couple of wrecks that weren’t our doing. Other than that, we’ve been running right up there and we’ve been in contention to win. You can’t ask for any more than that.”

Pangburn has yet to win a feature at Speedway 95 in either the Limited or Pro Stock division but he has collected some seconds and thirds.

If he wins a feature, he will pay the grandstand admission fee for the first 27 fans the next weekend.

“I love to see the stands full and the fans jumping out of their seats,” said Pangburn.

He drives car No. 27 in honor of the 27th Fighter Squadron stationed at the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone.

“A fighter pilot used to drive the No. 27 car [at Caribou’s Spud Speedway] for my step-dad’s father [Robert Prestwood Sr.], who was the crew chief,” explained Pangburn.

Pangburn’s stepfather got him started in the sport and they won several Mini-Cup races, including nine in a row in one stretch.

“He wanted me to do something constructive on the weekends,” said Pangburn, a Houlton native.

They have a small race shop at Pangburn’s mother’s house in Easton where they build their race cars.

He said he benefited from his time in the No. 88 Mini-Cup car.

“It taught me a lot about patience and how to pass. It was a learning experience,” said Pangburn, who is contemplating going to Modifieds next year.

He has raced at tracks across the Northeast but Speedway 95 has always been special.

“I’ve always liked it. I like the way it feels. When I’m on it, I feel safe and at home. The groove agrees with my driving style,” said Pangburn, who owns his own home improvement company.

His primary sponsors are the Almon Fogg Co. in Houlton and Richardson Hardware in Patten. Design Heating.com and Rob’s Pit Stop also sponsor him.

OPS drops Pro Stocks, Limiteds

Oxford Plains Speedway owner Bill Ryan said his Pro Stock and Limited classes will be eliminated after this season.

He will merge his Pro Stocks and Late Model class into a cost-effective Late Model division that will serve as his top class in 2007.

“If you look around New England, the Pro Stocks are shrinking as a division and the Late Models are growing. I don’t want to see 38 cars trying to qualify for 37 spots for the [TD Banknorth] 250 in three years and that’s what would happen if I didn’t make the change,” said Ryan.

Wiscasset Raceway eliminated its Pro Stock class during the 2004 season and Unity Raceway followed suit last year.

Hermon’s Speedway 95 and Scarborough’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway will be the only tracks in Maine with Pro Stocks.

Ryan said that Late Model cars can run the Crate engines that cost $6,000 to $7,000 as compared to Pro Stock engines that run in the $20,000 to $25,000 range.

“It has been a wasteful year in the Pro Stock division. The drivers have had to spend so much money to buy new motors. The Crate engines are the way to go,” said Ryan.

Ryan said the new Late Model class should be very competitive and the car counts should be healthy.

Next season, he will run his Late Model class, Mini-Stocks and Strictly Stocks on Saturday night along with a selected division on a rotating basis from his Wednesday night race card.