By Phil Whipple,Staff Writer

OXFORD – Phil Mitchell III survived a half-dozen restarts and a few close calls in traffic to capture the 100-lap Strictly Stock Iron Man Series feature Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.

The Poland driver took over the point from Peter Hafford on lap 23 and hung on for his second extended-distance win at OPS.

“This is very special, it’s been too long since we’ve been up here,” Mitchell said. “I knew Roy (Weymouth) had a strong car tonight, but I’m happy we held him off.”

Weymouth tried every trick in the book to get around Mitchell but settled for second.

“I thought I had a run on him a couple of times, but couldn’t quite get the job done,” Weymouth said. “We’ll take second, and I’m happy to see a clean racer like Phil get the win.”

Ben Tinker drove his way to a solid third-place finish, while Larry Emerson and Hafford completed the top five. Finishing sixth through 10th were Chris Coolidge, Bob Crocker, Jason Gaboury, Rick Thompson and Rick Valentine.

Seven cautions slowed the pace, the most notable on lap 65 when Rick Stone slammed head-on into a backwards-facing Jeff Merrill on the backstretch. The incident looked far worse than it actually was, as both drivers escaped unhurt. After a lengthy red-flag period for cleanup, the race resumed with Mitchell in command.

Among the highlights of the evening was the first-ever appearance of the United States Auto Club (USAC) Ford Focus Midget Series. New York-based driver Jeff Abold thrilled the crowd en route to winning the 25-lap feature. The 16-year-old sensation is the son of ISMA Supermodified driver Pat Abold, a ground-pounding division that will appear here at Oxford next Saturday night.

Dana Messier and Shawn Gosselin completed the top three in a high-speed performance from the open-wheel squad.

Andy Shaw, Nick Reno, Carey Martin and Ted Audet were also feature winners on a busy night of racing at the 3/8-mile oval.

In early action, Reno held off a strong late-race charge by Ricky Morse to win the Lee Auto Mall Late Model Stock feature. Reno, of Bath, was running third behind early leader Matt Sanborn and second place Jim Duguay on lap 18 when Scott Hodgdon spun in Turn 4. Expecting a caution, the front-runners slowed going into Turn 3. That yellow flag never waved, allowing Reno to drive around the top two and into the lead.

New Gloucester’s Buddy Leavitt came from ninth on the grid to finish third, while Travis Adams claimed fourth. Oxford veteran Dale Verrill of South Paris worked his way steadily up from 20th to complete the top five.

Audet earned his second win of 2005 in the 30-lap Mini Stock feature. The Greene driver drove underneath early leader Jim Robbins on lap 12 and survived two restarts to record the victory. Larry Melcher kept his championship hopes alive with a strong second-place finish, yet point leader Danny Morris quietly came from 18th to claim third. Former division champ Don Mooney and Robbins filled out the balance of the top five.

Martin drove to victory in a wild, battle-for-survival Limited Sportsman feature. The four-time champion notched his 33rd career OPS win with a dominant performance, building as much as a full straightaway lead at one point. Tom Oliver recorded a strong second-place finish, while Dennis Spencer Jr. claimed third. Steve Bennett Sr. and Archie Watt Jr. avoided all of the carnage and finished fourth and fifth.

Shaw recorded his first victory of 2005 in one of the best Oxford Networks Pro Stock features in several weeks. The Center Conway, N.H., native drove under OPS veteran Al Hammond with four laps remaining and hung on to win.

Hammond looked to be well on his way to his 81st career win until Shaw powered past. The ageless wonder graciously settled for second, while early leader Scott Moore finished third.

Lewiston’s Corey Morgan and Tommy Tompkins stayed within sight of the leaders the whole race and rounded out the top five.

Only one caution slowed the event which ran off in near-record time.