OXFORD — Veteran short track driver Tommy Ricker powered around the outside of Scott Luce on lap 18 and pulled away to claim the final 40-lap Late Model trophy dash of 2009 on Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Jason Larrabee led the first four circuits before Gary Chiasson took command. Scott Luce and Chiasson swapped the lead a couple of times before Ricker powered by to make his statement. Formerly known as “Two-lap Tommy” for his tendency to go out just two laps into the feature, Ricker is now a two-time Late Model winner.

“Ever since the 250, we’ve done a lot of fine tuning on the car and it has really paid off,” Ricker said. “We finally got the tires figured out, the car worked pretty well even up in the third groove tonight. By lap 15 or so when I was up there, I knew it was time to either go backwards or go forward, and I wanted to go forward. It feels great to end the regular season with a second win.”

Luce notched his second straight runner-up finish, while Ben
Ashline was third. Jimmy Childs and Tim Brackett rounded out the top
five in a caution-free affair.

Finishing sixth through 10th was Don Wentworth, Jeff White, Travis Stearns, Shawn Martin and Travis Adams. Adams, of Canton, officially earned his fourth straight and fifth overall Late Model title. He will now prepare for next Saturday’s inaugural ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“To wrap up our fourth straight and fifth overall championship is fulfilling a dream my father had, so this night is for him,” Adams said. “When we get down to Loudon next week for the Invitational, that will be for me. I’m proud for this whole team, and I’m excited about representing Oxford on the big track next Saturday.”

All 17 cars that started the Late Model feature finished on the lead lap. Ricker’s margin of victory was .667 seconds, hard to discern with the naked eye. Of note was the return of nine-time Oxford champion Jeff Taylor to competition. The veteran from Norridgewock came home in the 12th position in his first start since July of 2007.

Deanna Robertson, Jim Davis Jr., Jimmy Childs and Skip Tripp were also
feature winners on the season’s final program.

In earlier feature action, Robertson went wire-to-wire in the Ladies division. The South Paris driver never had more than a few car lengths over the field, but never missed a beat. Cathy Manchester battled Tori Burgess in the first half and eventually claimed second, while Vanna Brackett snuck past Burgess for third with two circuits remaining. Burgess faded to fourth at the finish, with Hartford’s Debbie Marston completing the top five.

“It sure feels good to be back in victory Lane,” Robertson said. “This is my cousin’s car, and it really handled well tonight.”

Davis took the lead from Dan Brown on lap four and held off a hard-charging Josh Childs to claim the final Outlaw battle. The Sabattus driver had all he could do to keep Childs at bay, but did so in a clean manner. Childs kept up the pressure throughout but settled fcr second, while Addison Bowie came from ninth on the 27-car grid to edge Brown for third. Steve Moon of Gray completed the top five.

Childs became the event’s fourth different leader when he drove past 2008 champion Ashley Marshall on lap 21 and drove away to claim a 30-lap tilt in the Mini Stock division. The Leeds veteran capitalized after a lap-19 restart to snooker Marshall coming through turns 3 and 4. Marshall hung on for second, while newly-crowned 2009 champion Justin Karkos finished third. Butch Keene led four laps and wound up fourth, and Darrell Moore was fifth. Two cautions slowed the pace, while 13 cars finished on the lead lap. Childs’ margin of victory was slightly less than one second.

Tripp capped a stellar season when he earned his ninth overall and sixth Strictly Stock victory in the last seven events. The 2009 champion from Poland was nearly untouchable the last few weeks, but a few veterans kept up the pressure until the bitter end.

Tommy Tompkins wheeled his way up from ninth to claim second, while Zach Emerson finished third. Matt Williams and Nick Hoyt completed the top five.

“All season long, we’ve had the car to beat, and tonight was no different,” Tripp said. “Mike (Short) got up beside me there once, but he faded and we were able to hold off Tommy. Nine wins is a great season for anybody, and I’m lucky to have a great crew, strong engine and excellent team owners. Together, the whole package was just unbeatable.”

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