By Phil Whipple,Staff Writer

OXFORD – Carry Martin has been known to dominate races on occasion at Oxford Plains Speedway.

The multi-time champion from Denmark redefined the term Friday night, as he drove to a convincing win in the DNK Select 100, Round 2 of the 2006 Cole-Man’s Concrete Iron Man Triple Crown Series.

Martin started fourth on the grid, powered his way past Kenny Harrison into the lead on Lap 36 and never looked back.

Harrison looked strong in the early stages, but settled for second, while Kurt Hewins finished third.

Terry Merrill and Brian McClure rounded out the top five in the caution-free affair. Finishing sixth through 10th was Tommy Ricker, Shane Green, Cory Newendyke, Neil Martin and David Tripp.

“The tires get pretty hot after 100 green-flag laps here,” said Martin in Victory Lane. “I thought when I got to Kenny, I was going to follow him around until the end. He slipped up just a little, and I was able to get under him. From there, I put it on cruise control until it was over.”

Harrison said his race was tough from start to finish.

“That car was a handful all night,” he explained. “For the first few laps, the car was right on the money. Then the handling just went away all together and it got pretty tough to stay up there. Running one of these races with no cautions in this kind of humidity takes a lot out of you, I’m just about dead.”

Jeff Taylor, Bill Childs Jr., Phil Mitchell III, and Jim Childs were also feature winners on Fan Appreciation Night at the historic 3/8 mile oval.

In early action, Taylor received a gift from the fickle finger of fate when Gary Drew’s domination of the Oxford Networks Pro Stock feature went south in a hurry. For the fourth week in a row, Drew saw what looked like an insurmountable lead turn to disaster in the late stages of the event.

This time, it was a Turn 3 spin by Ricky Morse on lap 45 that ended his hopes of finally shaking that monkey off his back. The Otisfield resident had no where to go and slammed into Morse. Taylor easily held off 2003 champion Ricky Rolfe at the finish to record his 65th career win, while former Wiscasset and Unity regular Jeff Burgess finished a solid third. Former OPS regular Dale Shaw and 2005 champion Timmy Brackett completed the top five.

“We didn’t have the fastest car tonight,” said Taylor. “Gary had us all covered, but he just can’t seem to get any good luck. We were able to get up through traffic without too much trouble, and capitalized on Gary’s misfortune. I hate it for him, but am happy to be here.”

“I don’t like finishing second,” explained Rolfe, who came from 18th on the 24-car grid. “I had nothing for Jeff tonight. My car was getting tight on the restarts, it would take me at least five laps to get up to speed. I think Jeff deserved the win, and I think we deserved to finish second.”

Mitchell grabbed the lead from Rick Thompson on lap three and cruised on to victory in the 30-lap Strictly Stock feature. The Poland native held off Ben Tinker by five car lengths to notch his first victory of the 2006 season. David Weir finished third while former Wiscasset regular Dave Brannon and Zach Emerson rounded out the top five. Only one caution slowed the pace, with a slightly extended delay in the restart for a brief rain shower.

Childs earned his first feature win of 2006 in the Agren’s Appliance Late Model Stock feature. The Leeds native grabbed the point from early leader Gary Chiasson on lap nine and hung on for a convincing victory. Shawn Martin edged 2003 champion Travis Adams at the line for second, while Nick Reno claimed fourth and Dale Verrill was fifth. Unofficially, Adams took over the points lead by a scant two markers.

Jim Childs made it a brother act in Victory Lane with an impressive win in the Allen’s Mini Stock feature. The Turner resident powered his way around Bob Guptill and into the lead on lap eight and survived a restart to take down the win. Former champion Butch Keene came from outside the top 10 to finish second, while rookie sensation Adam Plovinen claimed third. Polvinen’s strong performance went hand-in-hand with a late-race spin by point leader Larry Melcher, as the gap between the two is now only eight points. Auburn’s Danny Morris, the 2005 division champion, returned to action and notched a solid fourth-place finish, while Ted Audet of Greene completed the top five.