OXFORD — Reid Lanpher powered his way around the outside of veteran Alan Wilson on lap 42 and hung on to claim the Dave’s Small Engine Trophy Dash for Super Late Models Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Corey Morgan (Street Stock); Ryan Robbins (Mods) and Jacob Hall (Bandits) were also feature winners on an overcast yet dry night for racing at the 3/8-mile western Maine oval.

Lanpher, of Manchester, started 15th on the 19-car grid and wasted little time wheeling his machine up into contention. Polesitter Tommy Tompkins led the first circuit before Wilson took over the point with an impressive outside move.

Jeremy Davis, of Tamworth, N.H., also came from deep in the field, wheeling his No. 09 entry from 17th on the grid into contention by halfway. Davis made a late run at Lanpher but settled for second, while Wilson hung on for third. Two-time champion and winner on opening night Timmy Brackett edged his son TJ for fourth at the finish, with two-time and defending track champion TJ completing the top five.

“The car was on a rail tonight,” Lanpher said. “This has been a long time coming, but it feels even better than I expected. There is a stacked field in this division; you’ve got the top guys from around the state here every week. Our program is coming together nicely this year, I just want to thank everybody who works so hard to make this happen.”

Finishing sixth through 10th in the Dave’s Small Engine Trophy Dash was Vanna Brackett, Shawn Martin, Spencer Morse, Justin Gibbons and Kyle Treadwell. Three cautions slowed the pace, none for serious incident. When the elder Brackett nipped his son for fourth, it was by four thousandths of a second.

In earlier feature action, Morgan drove underneath Rick Spaulding going into turn 1 on lap 19 and pulled way to his first win of 2015. Spaulding hung on for second, while Calvin Rose Jr. finished third. Josh Childs and Zach Emerson completed the top five in the 30-lap affair for Street Stocks.

“I’ve been struggling to get this car hooked up since we started the season,” Morgan said. “I think I bumped the wall a little earlier; I guess it wasn’t very hard because the car handled pretty well. It feels great to be back in Victory Lane. Now I just hope we can keep things rolling in the right direction.”

Robbins earned his second consecutive Modified victory with a blazing performance. The young hotshoe from Dixfield powered his way around the outside of early leader Brad Hammond on lap three and pulled away for top honors. Hammond gave chase but settled for second, while Evan Armington came home third. Oxford veteran Nik Coates of Lisbon finished fourth with another solid effort.

“That was a very fast feature,” Robbins said. “I appreciate all the help I’ve received to get this car running so well this early in the season. I wish we had more cars here, but I feel this is a solid support class. The numbers will grow after a while, and I hope we can stay this competitive all season long.”

Hall went wire-to-wire in a caution-free tussle for the entry-level Bandits. The driver from Oxford led Dan Wade and Troy Smith of Bridgton to the green flag in fine fashion. Cam Childs kept his family legacy intact with a solid run, powering his No. 56 entry up to second at the finish. Shawn Hinkley came home third, with Smith and Wade completing the top five.

“This is fantastic to bag a win this early in the season,” Hall said. “We worked on the car during practice and got it dialed in pretty well. There are a few really fast cars in this class; it takes a good setup and heads-up driving to pull this off. I’m thrilled we could do it and hope to win one again in the coming weeks.”

pwhipple@sunjournal.com

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