By Phil Whipple,Staff Writer

OXFORD – Kim Tripp and Bill Whorff Jr. earned top honors in their respective divisions Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Tripp captured the Oxford Hannaford 100 for Strictly Stock teams, while Whorff drove to victory in the Oxford Networks Pro Stock division. The extra-distance run for the Strictly gang was Round 2 in the 2006 Cole-Man’s Concrete Iron Man Triple Crown Series. Whorff became the fourth different winner in four Pro Stock races thus far in 2006. It was the Topsham native’s first feature win since the 2004 season opener.

Tripp held off a hard-charging Jeff Moon in the closing laps to pull off the win. Bill Childs Jr. drove a smart race, avoided all the madness and came home third. Zach Emerson came from deep in the field to claim fourth, while Tommy Tompkins finished fifth.

Finishing sixth through 10th in the Oxford Hannaford 100 was Skipp Tripp, B.J. Chapman, Justin Karkos, Bobby DiPompo and Kurt Hewins. Five cautions slowed the pace, none for serious incidents.

“I thought I was in trouble when Tommy made his run up the outside there early,” said Tripp. “I found out the outside groove has lost some of its bite, so we were able to hold them off. A lot of people help me out with this car, and I appreciate all they do. This feels great to win tonight.”

Moon, who also ran strong in the last extra-distance event, expressed his frustration yet was pleased with the outcome.

“The sealer that was applied to the track early in the season has worn off,” he explained. “We tried to work our way up the outside lane, but it’s getting a little difficult. I know it’s early, but we run for points, and I’m just happy to come away with a solid runner-up finish.”

Whorff was thrilled to be back in the winner’s circle after such a long hiatus.

“We’ve had a rough couple of years, he said. “This is a brand new car, and tonight was its first race. It ran great and handled like it should, which allowed us to hold off Charlie. I knew he was fast, but I sure am glad we could hold him off.”

Charlie Colby battled side-by-side with Whorff in the closing laps and settled for second, while defending champion Timmy Brackett finished third. Corey Williams, the former Legends car sensation from Boothbay, claimed fourth while nine-time champion Jeff Taylor rounded out the top five.

“We got to bumping there a little near the end, but that’s just good hard racing,” said Colby. “Timmy ran me clean, and we didn’t have anything for Bill. I like racing like that, and even though we wanted a win, I’m happy to be here.”

Six cautions slowed the proceedings, while three different drivers took turns on the point. Gary Drew jumped out to the early lead, running away from the field until he got caught up in a Turn 1 collision on lap 14. Whorff took over the point for one circuit, then Colby reasserted himself as the man to beat. The Newcastle resident set the pace for 10 laps until caution flew again for a fracas in Turn 4. Whorff took control for good with an impressive run in the outside groove on a lap-26 restart.

Terry Merrill, Larry Melcher and Jon Brill were also feature winners on a perfect summer-like evening for racing at the 3/8 mile oval.

In early action, Merrill took the lead from Tommy Ricker on lap 23 and hung on to capture the Limited Sportsman feature. The Saco resident started fourth on the grid and held off a late charge from Kenny Harrison to notch his second victory of the season. Ricker held on for third while OPS veteran Shane Green and David Vaughn completed the top five.

Melcher earned his second Mini Stock feature of the season with a slick move in traffic coming off Turn 4. The Jay resident dove under early lead Jim Childs to take over the point on lap 21 and hung on to win. Childs, who won three of the final five races in 2005, settled for second while David Mooney drove his brother Don’s car to a solid third. Rookie sensation Adam Polvinen of Minot finished fourth while Tutner’s Butch Keene came home fifth.

Brill recorded his first victory in two years with a strong run in the Agren Appliance Late Model Stock feature. The Sebago resident grabbed the lead from Nick Reno on lap 27 and held off a hard-charging Mike Ferguson for top honors. The runner-up finish was a carrer-best for Ferguson. Reno hung on for third while Ron Charpentier came from deep in the field to claim fourth. OPS veteran Glen Luce rounded out the top five in a race slowed by just two caution periods.