Quebec touring driver, who is also competing in today’s True Value 250, runs away from field in ACT Dodge race.
OXFORD – Bonjour, Oxford!
Patrick Laperle, the only Quebec driver on the Oxford Plains Speedway grounds this weekend, dominated the second half of the ACT Dodge Tour Maine-ly Action Sports 100 on Saturday night.
His weekend isn’t over, either. Laperle will park his Late Model Sportsman car, climb into a Pro Stock and attempt to qualify for today’s True Value 250.
The victory in the weekend’s No. 2 event provided a measure of revenge for the touring drivers, who were beaten by home track favorites Ryan Moore and Ricky Rolfe in their two previous appearances at OPS.
Laperle survived eight caution flags, three as the leader, to collect his fifth career tour win.
ACT Dodge Tour regulars snagged the first six spots. Todd Stone, Phil Scott, Dave Pembroke, Derek Lynch and Brent DRagon finished second through sixth, respectively.
All was not lost for Oxford standout Travis Adams, who led 37 of the first 38 laps. The Canton driver, his car’s neon green and pink paint cluttered with black tire doughnuts, was the top-finishing OPS regular in seventh and earned a provisional starting spot in Sunday’s True Value 250. He nosed out Shawn Martin for the honor.
If he elects to upgrade his car to Pro Stock specifications and accept that option, Adams must start every available heat race in order to cash in that berth. It would be his first career race above the Late Model Stock ranks.
Chad Wheeler took four laps to get around Adams for the lead, pulling a full car length in front on lap 43.
Laperle followed him to the inside two laps later and took command on a lap 56 restart following a spin by Eric Williams.
Laperle, Wheeler and Pembroke ran in freight-train formation in first through third when the sixth caution flag appeared for a multi-car crash on lap 74. That tangle took out fifth-place car Jamie Fisher.
The seventh stoppage came three laps later when a brief bump between Wheeler and Pembroke resulted in a chain-reaction crash deep in the field. Wheeler’s hopes of victory ended when his right front tire went flat as the field sped up for the restart.
Seventeen OPS regulars attempted to join the tour regulars in the field, with a dozen making the cut. Six of the top nine qualifiers were home-track personalities.
Adams and T.J. Brackett each won a 15-lap heat race, as did tour drivers Wheeler and Cris Michaud.
In early feature action, after two-and-a-half seasons of trying, including a 2003 campaign that finds him in the top 10 in two different divisions at the halfway juncture, David Raymond achieved his first OPS win in a 25-lap Limited Sportsman sprint.
Raymond surged from third to first in less than a quarter-mile following a lap 5 restart. From there, he pulled away from Doug Poland and division dominators Kenny Harrison and Carey Martin by more than a dozen car lengths in an uninterrupted run to the finish.
“I don’t have to wait anymore,” said Raymond.
Harrison, a five-time feature winner, outmaneuvered Doug Poland for second on the final lap. Martin and early leader Chuck Estes crossed the stripe fourth and fifth.
Raymond earned a provisional starting spot in the ACT Dodge Tour finale. He was the top-ranking OPS driver not to make the field through four heats and a pair of consolation events.
“I’m starting last (37th), so if I win that one it will be quite a show,” Raymond said.
He was out of the nightcap before the 50-lap mark.
Joe Hutter, Chris Coolidge and Billy Childs Sr. also went to the winner’s circle in supporting features.
Hutter reeled in rookie Glenn Hall and made the winning move to the inside with less than three laps remaining, claiming his second Strictly Stock ‘A’ feature victory of the season. Hall edged fellow freshman driver Bob Crocker for second, with division point leader Gerry Burgess fourth and Jon Brill fifth.
Coolidge cruised to his third Strictly Stock ‘B’ victory in the last five weeks. He led by approximately a half-lap prior to a caution flag with four laps to go and easily outdistanced Bill Dunphy after the ensuing restart. Rusty Gaghan edged Skip Tripp at the line to finish third, just ahead of Jerry Sirois.
Childs patiently forged to the front of the Mini Stock field in a caution-free, 20-lap event for his division-leading fourth triumph of the year.
Ralph Felker led the first seven circuits before departing with a fluid leak. Rookie racer Larry Melcher set the pace the next seven times around and offered Childs a few moments of resistance before the point leader drove around him and accelerated to victory.
Melcher and Dan Sirois were second and third, the best finish of the summer for both. Terry Warren and Steve Barker rounded out the top five in a 27-car field.
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