Matt Dufault was alert when removed from his car to a LifeFlight helicopter.
A Buckfield man was airlifted to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston on Wednesday night after a crash in his Big Apple Summer Series feature race at Oxford Plains Speedway.
Although Matt Dufault was briefly unconscious following the crash, his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Fire and ambulance crews at the scene assessed Dufault’s injuries before using the jaws-of-life to remove the roof of his damaged car.
LifeFlight of Maine arrived at the track at 8:58 p.m., about 45 minutes after the crash.
Speedway publicist Bobby Walker told spectators that Dufault was “conscious, alert, and not at all looking forward to a helicopter ride.”
An emergency worker reported that Dufault’s vital signs were stable and that he had no visible external injuries. She said that Dufault may have been unconscious for five minutes.
Dufault spun out of control coming out of the fourth turn and entering the front stretch on lap 3 of the first of four regularly scheduled Outlaw races.
After his car skidded to a stop, it was hit broadside at a high rate of speed by another car driven by John Paul Roaix.
The impact knocked the right rear tire off the car, sending it rolling down the track.
Dufault’s crash is the most serious accident at OPS since Late Model driver Dennis Dee of Poland was killed in a crash June 14. Dee was the second driver to die as a result of a wreck at Oxford in its 53-year history.
More than 200 drivers compete in four different divisions on the highly popular summer circuit. The cars and trucks are as close to the true definition of “stock” as any that compete at the track, with few modifications permitted.
Drivers, most of them relatively inexperienced, are required to wear a crash helmet, and their cars must be equipped with roll cages and basic safety equipment. Fire-retardant suits are not mandatory but highly recommended.
Wednesday’s crash marked the fifth time that LifeFlight has been called to the speedway since July 2001. One of those incidents involved driver Darick Barker at a Summer Series race. Two of the others were Enduro races, which are no longer contested at the speedway but feature similar cars.
In the previous four instances, each driver was conscious when removed from the scene. One had suffered an epileptic seizure, and another had a medical condition that may have contributed to his crash.
The remainder of Wednesday’s racing program went on as scheduled after the crash.
koakes@sunjournal.com
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