OXFORD — He went on a roll early in the 2010 season, and he just might have something up his sleeve for the summer of 2011, as well. 

“Two-lap” Tommy Ricker charged through the field in dominant fashion to win the Maine State Lottery Trophy Dash on Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway. 

The Late Model feature capped one of Oxford’s biggest nights of the season, drawing nearly as many fans as the prestigious TD Bank 250. 

Rick Spaulding, Darrell Moore, Bill Childs Jr. and Guy Childs were also feature winners on an absolutely perfect summer night for racing at the 3/8-mile  oval. 

Defending champion Tim Brackett drove up from ninth on the grid to finish second in the Late Model tilt, while two-time champion Dennis Spencer Jr. came home third in the caution-free affair. Lewiston’s Corey Morgan was fourth, but it was the man who finished fifth that everybody was watching.
 
Nine-time OPS track champion Jeff Taylor is preparing his familiar No. 88 machine for the TD Bank 250, and it is already super fast. The talented car builder from Fairfield started 29th on the 30-car grid, then went three-wide in the outside lane several times and drove all the way up to fifth place in 40 laps. 

Yet it was still Ricker’s night to enjoy the spotlight. 

“We weren’t real sure how the car would go tonight,” Ricker said. “We had some overheating and handling problems in the recent ACT 150, but it seemed to be alright tonight. With 40 laps of flat-out racing, I decided to push the car and see what it could do. It stayed under me the whole race, which is great. Next week we’ll start out back, then we’ll see just how fast this thing really is.” 

Finishing sixth through 10th was early leader Shawn Knight, Jeff White, Donnie Wentworth, Doug Coombs and Dave Farrington Jr. All results were unofficial pending post-race technical inspection. 

With all the recent rainouts at Oxford and the northeast, teams from as far away as New Jersey converged on Oxford looking to get a little seat time as the TD Bank 250 draws closer. With the big show now just three weeks away, even a handful of American-Canadian Tour (ACT) teams made the trip to work on their chassis setups. 

Don’t think the 250 is a huge deal to every Late Model team out there? When 37 cars show up for a regular Saturday night show, including Taylor and Vermont veteran Eric Williams, you know they aren’t here just to pass the time on a nice summer evening.  

In earlier feature action, Bill Childs overpowered his competition in the first of two 20-lap battles for the Outlaw division. The Leeds veteran drove underneath early leader Missy Morgan on lap seven and checked out on the field. Chris Burgess finished a distant second, while Morgan settled for third. Gordon Bell and Fred Clavet completed the top five. 

“That was an eventful 20 laps,” Childs said. “I guess I got into Missy a little bit, and I’m sorry for that. The car had good power and was handling well tonight. It sure feels great to pick off a win.”

Guy Childs came from dead-last on the grid to claim the second Outlaw feature. The veteran from Norway used the outside groove to work his way through traffic, steering clear of the mayhem and madness that usually dominates this entry-level division. 

Guy’s son, Josh, followed him up through the pack to finish second, while Steve Moon brought his machine home third. Jacob Hethcoat and Dan Brown completed the top five. 

“The car was a little loose tonight,” Guy said. “It was making a weird noise in the rear end, but it stayed together and we made it up here. I’ll have to take a good look at it this coming week, but I won’t mind after a win. This feels pretty good.” 

Moore gave the big holiday crowd reason to cheer when he edged his cousin Matt Moore at the line in a thrilling Mini Stock feature. The driver from Harrison inherited the second spot when Jeff Moon’s car suffered mechanical trouble on lap 22. Former champion Danny Morris put in a solid effort to finish third, while Jeff Beaule and Adam Polvinen completed the top five. 

“That was fun, for sure,” Moore said. “Matt works hard on his car. We always pit side-by-side and have a good time. I was driving the wheels off it those last few laps, anything to win as long as we do it clean. This was a great night for both teams.” 

Spaulding survived a wild Strictly Stock feature. The Lisbon driver powered his way past early leader Zach Bowie on lap nine and hung on for top honors. Defending champion Kurt Hewins looked rocket-fast early, then got spun out by Matt Williams and had to dig hard to recover. Former champion Larry Emerson stayed out of harm’s way to claim second, while rookie sensation Vannah Brackett came home third. Skip Tripp and Hewins completed the top five. 

“We were a little loose in the qualifying heat,” said Spaulding. “The guys made an adjustment before the feature. It tightened it up just right, and I loved it. It feels great to win on a big night like this.”