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Kris Watson worked in the pits at Hermon’s Speedway 95 for five years when he was a teenager.
“I did the lineups and stuff,” recalled Watson.
But he wanted more.
“Being around the cars, after a while you want one. And that’s what happened,” said Watson, who eventually acquired a 1989 Ford Escort – a “$100 beater,” he quipped – and started racing in the Little Enduro class in 1999.
That led to Mini-Trucks and to Super Streets.
And he is having a season so far in the Super Streets that racers dream about.
The 1999 Hermon High School graduate has won seven of the nine races at Speedway 95 and has a comfortable 90-point lead over Franklin’s Mike Overlock.
In addition, he is running second in points in the Sportsman class at Unity Raceway, which races on Friday night.
Speedway 95 had raced on Sunday afternoons before switching to Saturday nights recently.
“I’ve been real happy,” said the 28-year-old Watson.
Watson said he has been surprised at his dominance in the Super Street class at Speedway 95 and credits his success to a group of longtime friends who have helped him with his car for several years: brothers Shane and Eric Tatro, Davey Cunningham, Anthony Moore, Tim Burns and Erick Emery.
“I met them through another friend when I started racing and we’ve been friends ever since. We all love racing,” said Watson.
He said they all work on his Chevy Camaro when necessary.
“Sometimes we work on it one night a week but if we were fortunate enough not to have any problems [the previous weekend], we’ll just meet at the track [on race night] and go from there,” said Watson.
The 2004 Truck series champ also noted that the economy has taken a toll on the Super Street class at Speedway 95.
“I thought there would be a higher level of competition. There are a lot of good guys out there and a lot of good cars but times are tough and they don’t always come around,” said Watson.
Unity Raceway has been much more competitive.
“There are a lot of good cars there and they’re hard to beat. You have to be on top of your game to beat those guys,” said Watson.
Watson said his main goal is to win the Speedway 95 points title.
“I’ve got a lot of sponsors in the Bangor area who have really helped me out,” said Watson. “I’m just going to take it week by week at Unity and see what happens. I don’t want to ruin things at Bangor.”
Watson said another key to his success has been running in the Sportsman Class on the Pro All-Stars Series tour last year.
“I learned a tremendous amount. When you go to all the different tracks like we did, [you learn] there isn’t just one set-up that works. Everyone in the division was an excellent driver and you have to earn their respect. And by following those guys, they’ll teach you a lot,” said Watson, who finished seventh in points.
Watson, a boat mechanic at Port Harbor Marine in Holden, has always loved the competitive aspect of racing.
“It’s really fun to sit in the car and pass people cleanly. It’s exciting,” said Watson, who has mastered running effectively in the slower inside groove at Speedway 95.
“If you can run well on the inside, you can run really well on the outside,” said Watson.
His enthusiasm for the sport is why he and his entourage are planning to run three races this weekend: Friday night at Unity, Saturday at Speedway 95 and his debut at Caribou’s Spud Speedway on Sunday afternoon.
“I haven’t been up there since my dad [Steve] took me up to some NEPSA [New England Pro Stock Association] races when I was a kid,” said Watson.
Racing is also in his blood as his dad has been the race director at Speedway 95 for a long time.
He intends to stay in the Super Street class for years to come.
“We’ve been doing well in the Super Streets and times are tough. Money is tough to come by,” said Watson.
Oxford 250 has 110 entrants
Oxford Plains Speedway owner Bill Ryan said he has approximately 110 entrants for the 35th annual TD Banknorth Oxford 250 on July 20.
“That’s good. That bodes well,” said Ryan.
The race will be in its second year as a late model event after being a pro stock race.
That list includes Sprint Cup star Kevin Harvick, currently 13th in points in the Cup series, and defending 250 champ Roger Brown of Lancaster, N.H.
“Roger has signed on with Lux Motorsports and they’ve had a number of [good] guys in the past,” said Ryan, who expects to see him racing at Oxford in the weeks to come in preparation for the 250.
He said they haven’t had any other Sprint Cup drivers sign on as yet but said “there are a lot of teams that would love to supply cars for them. They’ve done it in the past.”
Rising steel prices impact racing
Andy Cusack, owner of Scarborough’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, said his car counts have been down “around 10 percent.
“But I completely understand. There are two things behind it: the economy and the [rising] price of steel. There aren’t that many old cars [to purchase for racing] in the back yard any more,” said Cusack.
People are selling their old cars for a decent piece of change and then the cars are crushed for the steel, he explained.
He said it has significantly impacted his Day of Destruction, which involves three race dates a year and has a variety of junk cars competing in different types of offbeat competitions.
lmahoney@bangordailynews.net
990-8231
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