Sean Johnson is eighth different Super Street winner at Wiscasset
Wiscasset Speedway returned to action Saturday evening with a regular points program sponsored by Islebrook Village of Wiscasset for its Group 1 divisions and coming off the busy Labor Day weekend. Each weekly race show seems to reveal a theme of its own and Saturday was no exception. This show turned out to be a night redemption for some, and first-time victory lane appearances for others. Two different drivers rebounded from recent heartbreak to claim their first wins of the season. One young driver withstood a couple of late-race restarts to grab his first career win, and another driver continued to stack up wins in a dominant season. Mixed into this were several drivers turning in season-best performances and picking up their first hardware of the year.
The biggest example of redemption came for hall of fame driver Kelly Moore in the Norm’s Used Cars Pro Stocks. He shook off a heartbreaking post race disqualification in the Boss Hogg 150 the previous week to claim a convincing win in Saturday's 40-lap feature. It was Moore's first win of the season at the track where he started his legendary career. Not to go unnoticed, Durham's JT Thurlow turned in his best performance at Wiscasset taking runner-up honors, while pole sitter Nick Calvert held on for the third-place finish, his best of the season.
In the Brackett's Market 4-Cylinder Pro 25 lap feature, all eyes were on top contenders Ben Burgess and Jaxson Moreside who had tangled for the heat race win earlier in the show. But, by midway in the feature, the attention turned to rookie Max Parlin who had run away with nearly a full straightaway lead. A pair of late-race cautions bunched up the field and put the young driver to the test with challenges from Jacobee Thacker and Chassidy Shorty. Parlin took command once again on a green-white-checkered finish and held off Shorty for his first career win. He and Shorty made contact coming to the checkered flag, sending the field scrambling and spinning across the line. Shorty held on for the runner-up finish, matching her career best. Burgess would sneak in to grab the third-place trophy.
Zach Audet of Norridgewock continued his dominance of the Kennebec Equipment Rental Thunder 4 Minis. The defending champ grabbed the lead from teammate Kyle Willette in the 30-lap spotlight feature and held him off to claim his 7th win of the season. Willette chased him across the line in second, while Pownel's Mike Golding raced Mike Landry to the line for the third-place finish.
The program wrapped up with the always competitive Gosline Insurance Super Streets and a 30-lap feature. Veteran racer Sean Johnson of Oakland had claimed a checkered flag earlier in the season only to lose it in post-race technical inspection. He would not be denied this time as he took off from his pole position starting spot and held off all challengers to pick up the win. The win held up following post-race inspection making Johnson the 8th different winner in 9 points races this season for the Super Streets. Noah Haggett worked his way up from mid-pack and claimed the second place trophy for his second podium appearance of the season. The feel-good story of the race may have been rookie Josh Hall, who picked up his first checkered flag of the season with a heat race win. He started at the pole position in the feature and ran a solid race to finish third for his first podium appearance.
Wiscasset Speedway returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 14 with regular racing in the Group 2 divisions, including the final points race for the Portland Glass Strictly Streets, plus a 20 lap exhibition race for the revamped Wiscasset Senior Modified club.
The pit gate will open at 1 p.m., grandstand at 4 and racing action will begin at 5. The 2024 season is winding down and championship battles are coming into focus. Find schedules, results, points and more info at www.wiscassetspeedway.com
For the official track schedule, race results and more, please visit http://www.wiscassetspeedway.com.