OXFORD — A night of racing at Oxford Plains Speedway typically highlights the faster, more lucrative Late Model division.

But Saturday’s night of racing was far from typical.

One of the scarier events of the racing season unfolded during the Runnin’ Rebel feature Saturday. As Kyle Hewins’ No. 54 car rounded turn 2, it burst into flames and veered toward the outside retaining wall. On contact with the wall, the car became fully engulfed.

Hewins emerged from his car in a matter of seconds, and he was attended to immediately by track safety personnel before being airlifted to Maine Medical Center in Portland. The racers on the track sat idle for a few minutes while Hewins was tended to.

In Saturday’s main event, veteran short-track driver Shawn Knight dove underneath Gary Chiasson on lap 29, survived a late-race charge from Timmy Brackett and hung on to claim the WOXO/Aaron’s Late Model Trophy Dash.

Jeff Hebert, Jimmy Childs and Matt Williams were also feature winners.

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Matt Sanborn led a snarling pack of machines to green in the Late Model feature. Chiasson powered his way around Sanborn to take control at lap 16, and for a while looked to have the field covered.

The race changed complexion shortly after, as the action after a restart got intense. Brackett settled for second just as he had done one week earlier, while son TJ came home third. Former champion Shawn Martin finished fourth, while Chiasson faded to fifth in the closing laps.

“This win has been four years in the making,” Knight said. “We put ourselves in position to win on a number of occasions, but it just never quite came together for us. TJ (Brackett) has been maintaining this car the last few weeks, and his skills really showed tonight. This is a very special feeling.“

Finishing sixth through 10th in the Late Model feature was Doug Coombs, Corey Morgan, point leader Travis Stearns, 2011 champion Jeff White and rookie Vanna Brackett. Only two cautions slowed the pace, while Knight’s margin of victory was less than a second.

In earlier feature action, Hebert fought off a hard-charging Craig Bartlett to claim the 20-lap tussle for Runnin’ Rebels. Brady Romano stayed within sight of the leaders throughout the race but finished a distant third, while Cody Chiasson and Jamie Heath completed the top five.

“I was just trying my best to protect that bottom lane,” Hebert said. “I have to thank Craig, he ran me clean the whole way even though I think he had a faster car. That was respectful driving, and I’m glad we were able to hold him off. It feels great to win one as the season winds down.”

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Childs took sole possession of the record for most feature victories in Oxford’s Mini Stock division with another dominant performance. The longtime driver from Leeds powered around the outside of rookie Scott Farrington on lap 16 and pulled away to a huge lead en route to his 47th career victory.

Farrington hung on for a distant second, while point leader Rob Greenleaf came home third. Pete McCollett and George Fortin completed the top five in a caution-free affair.

“I’ve been doing this for 17 years, and it’s been quite a ride,” Childs said as he started to realize the number of wins he’s amassed. “This car has been the best thing I’ve ever built. With my father’s help and some help from others, I’ve managed to win a lot of races. Six wins this season, and 47 since we started doing this. I’m excited about breaking Cliff Libby’s record; it took a lot of effort to get here. I really appreciate everybody who has helped me along the way.”

Williams made it two in a row in Strictly Stock action, but this week he was handed the feature on a silver platter.

Lewiston’s Corey Morgan dominated most of the race, leading 20 laps until his machine fell off the pace with a mechanical failure. Williams had charged his way up to second from 16th on the grid, and was ready to capitalize on Morgan’s misfortune.

Former champion Skip Tripp put forth a big effort to claim second, while Zach Emerson finished third. Defending champion and current point leader Kurt Hewins was fourth, while Ryan Robbins completed the top five.

“That really isn’t the way we like to win them,” Williams said. “Corey had us all covered tonight, but I guess something broke in his car and off to the pit area he went. We were fast all night, as well, and were in the right spot when it counted. It’s been kind of a dream-like season for us.”


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