Category Archives: Outlaws

Drew Morse wins Outlaws Feature

Drew Morse gets the win and Will Dunphy finishes second
Skip Tripp and Will Dunphy 1-2

(Oxford) It looked like last week but then it didn’t.

Skip Tripp and Will Dunphy had finished 1-2 last week and there they were in the same order deep into Friday night’s 20-lap Outlaws feature.

A blown tire changed everything.

Skip Tripp suddenly lost speed with Will Dunphy close behind him.

Drew Morse makes his move

This turn of events opened the door for Opening Day winner Drew Morse.

“I saw Dunphy and the 12 messing around,” recalled Drew.  “I was like, ‘You know what, I’m gonna hang her out there and pray that I can get around them on the outside.’”

Get around he did, and Drew held the lead the rest of the way to gain his second win.

Will Dunphy

“I thought I had a chance,” said Will Dunphy afterwards.  “I’m still happy with second, in fact I’m happy to be in the top five.”

Will has now finished second four straight weeks.  He had a win before the run of seconds began.

Tonight, was the first night of three straight days of racing.  There were fewer races tonight and that effected the track significantly.

“We had a way better track this time because we didn’t have all the Super Late Model rubber on the track,” explained Will.

The increased traction opened the upper grooves as options and there were plenty of Outlaws’ takers.

Running four wide is usually a direct route to trouble but not tonight.  The feature had four-wide’s and they never led to cautions.  It was a bit tight for those in the middle of it, however.

Running four wide

“I felt like a pinball out there!” said Drew laughing.

Drew wasn’t pleased with the way his car has been handling since he won the feature the end of May.  “We’ve been struggling with the car being tight,” he said.  “We were still tight tonight, but it was good enough to get the win.”

Drew Morse

However, it wasn’t enough to get the win in the 8-lap heat for Drew. He ended up second to Betty Nelson.

“I just happened to be a little tighter than Betty and she got me,” added Drew.

Chris Foster heads for third

Chris Foster finished third in the feature.

Serious accident in the Rebels’ feature tonight.  The longer the medical people are on the track the more concerned I get.  Can’t help it. 

The prospect of injury is part of the reality that race-car drivers (and their families) face.

“It’s the chance you take every time you buckle in,” said Drew Morse.

The weather was just right. 

Between the heats and the features, kids got rides in race cars.

Victory lap

Last lap

Skip Tripp chases pole sitter Jake Dobson

Betty Nelson wins the heat

Spinout in the Ladies Heat

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Skip Tripp wins third straight Outlaws feature at Oxford Plains Speedway

Skip Tripp takes a victory spin after winning his third straight Outlaws feature

(Oxford ME) They each did it their way and they each made it work.

Skip Tripp had the fast car and the ability to get around cars. 

Skip Tripp (12) heads for the lead in the second lap of the Outlaws feature.
Will Dunphy

Will Dunphy envisioned chaos on the track and stayed back waiting for his chance.

Skip Tripp won his third straight Outlaws feature on Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Skip started in the back because of his successes in the previous weeks.  It didn’t matter. 

Within two laps, in both the 8-lap heat and the 20-lap feature, Skip had used the outside lane to pass the field.  Once there, he didn’t look back.

Skip Tripp

“Everything went our way,” said Skip afterwards.  “We were pretty hooked up.  It was kind of easy tonight.”

Will Dunphy finished second.

Will also started in the back because of previous successes.  Unlike Skip, however, Will was content to stay there for a while.

“I hung back because I knew things were going to happen,” explained Will.  “I could tell the way drivers were acting at the get-go.”

“Some want to get to the top by Lap 2,” he added.  “They need to calm down and realize that there are twenty laps.”

Corey Morgan got spun and his car was totaled early in the Outlaws feature.

“A car getting totaled takes the fun out of it for me,” said Will.  “There were way too many cars wrecked tonight.  There is no need for it.  There are not enough of us out there for that to happen.”

The spin below in the feature gave Will (#4) his chance to move from the back to the front around the involved cars and he did:

Skip Tripp: “We’re just playing with this thing now until we get to Street Stocks for something else.  We’re just getting back into rhythm.  We’ve been out of it for so long.  The car is for my cousin.  I set it to her liking but it’s too loose now for her.  We need to change it.  We’ll tighten it up and hopefully she’ll have the same success.”

Corey Morgan’s car taken off

Will Dunphy: “Tripp’s car is definitely fast.  It wasn’t that fast before but maybe a lot of experience has something to do with the way it’s now going for them.  There was too much rubber on the track today from the Super Late Models.  It was super icy.  I couldn’t stay up there very long.  This is my second year with the Outlaws.  I was told to move up from the Cruiser Class.  It’s been a fun venture so far.”

This was the fifth week of Outlaws’ racing.

Skip Tripp’s lowest finish so far has been third.

Skip Tripp working the outside in Lap 1 of the 8-lap heat

Will Dunphy has been either first or second during the past four weeks.

Car 26 near the Grandstand

Matt Veinott earned third today.  His highest previous finish had been fifth.

Combining two days of racing with fireworks brought out a good crowd.  The weather was ideal too.

Yes, I gave the Bandits coverage last year.  Their demise set me searching for another group to cover.  The Outlaws have a small roster….less confusion initially for me. I’ll see what I can do over the next three months.  There will be pictures and interviews.

(The pictures should enlarge if you click on them.)

Pushing to the lineup

Pre-race family time

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