McClelland Miscellanea

September 16, 2019 · 10:32 pm

Manchester-Essex overcomes two-goal deficit to tie Newburyport 2-2

Kellen Furse in on GK Stefan Berlind

Josh McPherson over the sliding tackle of Ryan Archer

(Newburyport MA) Both teams are still undefeated in the Cape Ann League but there wasn’t a lot of celebrating after today’s game.

“I thought we had them,” said Newburyport coach Shawn Bleau afterwards. “We were up 2-0 and playing well.”

The Clippers took a 2-0 lead with 16:37 left in the second half. They had taken more shots and certainly had been set up with more corner kicks.

But the Hornets (4-1-1) can score and in a span of just over a minute had the two goals back.

“Newburyport scored that second goal and it would have been easy for us to put out heads down, but we didn’t,” recalled ME coach Robbie Bilsbury. “It was great that we were able to battle back.”

Will Acquaviva after scoring the Clippers 2nd goal

Freshman Will Acquaviva had a goal and an assist for Newburyport (2-0-3) while sophomore Naderson Curtis did the same for Manchester-Essex.

Yes, Will is Sam’s brother. Sam moved from soccer and became a tremendous long-distance runner for the Clippers. He’s now a freshman at MIT.

“We knew about Will in youth soccer,” said Coach Bleau. “I coached Sam before he turned to cross country. Luckily, for us, Will likes soccer a little more than running.”

Ryan Archer dribbles in traffic

The Clippers, led by super-active Ryan Archer, were relentless in harassing ME in their own end in the first half. “We knew that we could pressure them carrying out from the back,” said Coach Bleau. “Ryan Archer did a great job.”

Newburyport also had Max Gagnon shadowing Hornets playmaker Kellen Furse.

The Clippers took a 1-0 lead with about nine minutes left in the first half. Junior Owen Spence collected the goal off a tremendous feed from Will Acquaviva.

“We’ve been working on bringing the ball to the end line and cutting it back across,” said Coach Bleau. “Will came in on the left and sent the ball across to Owen Spence on the right. Owen wasted no time in getting off a shot. It was nice to see them execute something we’ve been working on in practice.”

Ryan Archer shoots at GK Ben Goutal

Junior Ryan Archer set up the Clippers second goal. “It was Ryan hustling his butt off,” added Coach Bleau. “He got off a shot and their keeper made a terrific save.” But there was a rebound and Will Acquaviva was there to cash it in.

The goal happened at 16:37 and you did sense at the time that it was more likely that Newburyport would score the next goal.

Why? They now had a two-goal lead, it was hot, they were playing at home……..but it didn’t matter.

“Newburyport asserted themselves early,” said Coach Bilsbury. “They were tough on every 50/50 ball, won headers, slide tackled, hustled, and outworked us. We wanted to impose our possession style on them because they were closing us down. We picked up our scrappiness in the second half. Getting that first goal was crucial.”

The first ME score was not only timely but it came quickly after the Newburyport score…….just under ninety seconds later (15:12).

“Striker Naderson Curtis found a little pocket of space and fed a pass through to Kellen Furse near the goalie,” said Coach Bilsbury. “Kellen was able to poke the pass by the NHS goalie (Stefan Berlind).”

Graham Smith (2) slides across the goal line trying to keep a shot out

Kellen and Stefan arrived at the ball at the same time and the resulting collision sent the ball toward the goal. Defenders Cameron McDermott and Graham Smith did everything they could to keep the ball from crossing the goal-line. Graham slide across the goal mouth but the shot had crossed the line.

Just over a minute later (14:01) the Hornets stunned the home team with another goal.

“It was a corner kick,” recalled Coach Bilsbury. “There was pressure on the goalie, and he may have mishandled it, but we’ll take it. Getting the equalizer was huge for us.”

Incoming corner kick that turned into a goal

The ME pressure was supplied by a jumping Thomas Birkeland who effected a clear look at the CK and by Eli Cox who was very close to GK Stefan Berlind.

“We had breakdowns in the back on both of their goals,” said Coach Bleau. “Our keeper needs to talk up a little bit more. It’s something we can fix. Missing a play can happen but not being vocal back there shouldn’t.”

Coach Bleau: “We’ve had a couple of ties. It’s tough. It’s bad on our stomachs. Hopefully our guys can pick up on that and turns ties into wins in the future.”

One area the Clippers will have to get better on is corner kicks. They had plenty of them and just couldn’t get the ball and bodies near the ME goalie Ben Goutal and create scoring chances.

Beautiful weather in a terrific stadium to play soccer and to watch soccer.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Kellen Furse jarred the ball loose from GK Stefan Berlind and a goal resulted

Hornets celebrate a goal

Clippers celebrate a goal

Emerson Khale and Ryan Archer

Harry Costello and Marcos Pasquale

Henry Acton (15) and Jake Edwards (17)

Jamie Brooks

John Fehlner throw-in

Max Gagnon (14) shadows Kellen Furse (10)

Naderson Curtis readies a corner kick

Owen Spence (11) gets a shot past GK Ben Goutal

Thomas Birkeland (4) and Henry Acton (15) vie for the ball

Thomas Birkeland

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Filed under Manchester-Essex, Newburyport

Tagged as Kellen Furse, Naderson Curtis, Owen Spence, Ryan Archer, Will Acquaviva

September 15, 2019 · 7:41 pm

Travis Verrill wins 2nd leg of Bandit Triple Crown Series at OPS

Travis Verrill wins the Bandits Triple Crown feature

A line formed

(Oxford ME) It was like the old schoolyard days when the teacher told the class to get in line and stay there!

Travis Verrill started on the pole in the 25-lap Bandits feature at the Oxford Plains Speedway and nobody passed him.

Believe me, the attendees this sunny Sunday afternoon will tell you that those who wanted to pass Travis were close by for most of the race.

The track conditions forced drivers to stay down low (in line) and wait for something to happen.

Chad Wills and Shelby

“Today was pretty much a one-groove track,” explained 3^rd place finisher Chad Wills afterwards. “There were no second groove whatsoever. It was too slippery out there.”

This was the second time Travis has won at OPS.

“It’s been an awesome weekend for our team,” he said. “We won the Demolition Derby at the Fair (Oxford County) last night and then to come over here and win this race is something special.”

Travis got a good start and separated from the rest of the drivers in the early going. Grady Doherty (finished second last week) was the nearest pursuer.

“In the beginning I broke away a little,” said Travis. “I thought for a little bit that I had some room, so I tried to make the track a little wider for myself. Once I saw (Chad) Wills and Alex (Mowatt) get by #1 (Grady Doherty) I knew that it would be only a couple of laps before they would get close. It was just a fight for the bottom.”

Once Alex and Chad got close there were at least fifteen laps for them to get by Travis………..but they couldn’t.

Alex Mowatt

“Travis did a good job of holding me off,” explained 2^nd place finisher Alex Mowatt. “I didn’t have anything for him on the outside. It was just too slippery.”

So in line they stayed and very close to each other.

“Everyone was sliding around so it was a much slower race,” explained Chad. “You really had to use the brakes and pay attention so that you didn’t run into the guy in front of you. On a normal night you’re able to coast through the corners but today people were slowing down because they had no grip.”

There was plenty of contact.

“Alex came into me a couple of times, but I managed to hold on,” said Travis.

“We were playing tag a little bit,” added Alex. “I was having fun and they were having fun and we all got trophies.”

I asked Alex about moving out and trying to pass Travis: “I might have had a chance, but Chad was right on my butt and I didn’t want him to get under me.”

There was contact but Travis held on

“I could feel them there,” said Travis. “There wasn’t time to look back. I could hear them. You get caught mirror-driving here and it will cost you. I over-drove one corner because I made eye contact with Alex in the mirror.”

Alex won the first leg of the Bandit Triple Crown on July 7^th. (That was the first Bandits race I covered.)

The final leg of the Triple Crown is in October.

Travis: “Today is my last race. My boy plays flag football and I’m a coach.”

Chad: “I will do the October race and maybe a race in Bangor after that.”

With a win and a second, Alex is the points leader going into the final race in October.

Chad: “GA Downing (Minot) sponsors me and I work for them. They like racing and have helped me out a lot.”

Travis: “I told Alex in tech that he did a great job because he easily could have dumped me a couple of times. Chad and Alex were in my rear view the whole race. They certainly were faster than me.”

Nice weather with sun and temperatures in the low 70’s.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Car 50 starts on the pole

Frustration for driver of Car 50

Chad Wills, Travis Verrill, Alex Mowatt

Chad Wills tries the second lane

The final stretch of the Bandits feature

Grady Doherty was in second early in the race

Onto the tow truck in another race today

The finish of the top three

Travis and Alex afterwards

Travis out of the car with the checkered flag

Victory lane

Victory lap

The start of the race

Early in the race

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Filed under Oxford, Oxford Hills, Oxford Plains Speedway

Tagged as Alex Mowatt, Chad Wills, Grady Doherty, Travis Verrill

September 11, 2019 · 9:05 pm

Bilal Hersi (4 goals,2 assists) leads Lewiston by Oxford Hills

Bilal Hersi had four goals and two assists

Senior Bilal Hersi

(South Paris ME) Bilal Hersi.

Special player.

Bilal scored goals and set up teammates as Lewiston dominated Oxford Hills, 8-0, on a sunny/cloudy/rainy Wednesday afternoon.

The Blue Devils (2-0) have won the Class A title two straight seasons and three of the last four. They’re awfully talented.

I only saw a half of today’s game because by halftime there was drizzle under a threatening sky. My camera and I have an arrangement; I keep it dry and it keeps working!

So I left at halftime but Lewiston was already comfortably ahead, 5-0, so I had good idea what the final outcome would be.

Bilal Hersi and Mario DeVivo

By then, senior Bilal Hersi already had three goals and had set up teammate Mohamedamin Nur beautifully for a goal.

My homework prior to today’s game led me to believe that the Vikings (0-2) would have their hands full with the visitors from Lewiston. OH was coming off a 7-8 season with ten seniors. Only five seniors are on this year’s team. They were rebuilding.

I also read that Lewiston had taken Oxford Hills out of the Class A North quarterfinals, 5-0, in 2018.

What impressed me about Lewiston? The first thing was their ability to possess the ball. They weren’t hesitant to pass laterally and backwards in order to maintain control. Secondly, they could get away from individual defenders and that created chances down the field.

Bilal Hersi

What impressed me about Bilal Hersi? He’s tall and fast. He seemed to have the ability to control a possession for longer than other players. He certainly had the skills to put himself in a position to finish. I saw him score from long range, in from the right, and in from the left. I wonder if there are any college plans?

I love watching unselfish players. Bilal showed that side in the first half. Hemmed in on the right by a defender near the goal, he managed to thread a pass across the goal mouth to uncovered teammate Mohamedamin Nur to set up the third goal of the game. Creative play!

Sophomore Romano Bassa also had a goal in the first half. He came in from the right past defender Casey Southworth for a clean look at goalie Sam Morton and capitalized.

Later I learned that according to a tweet by Lewiston AD Jason Fuller post-game, Bilal’s four goals and two assists tied a school record.

Abdirahman Daud and goalie Sam Morton

It is not wise to predict how a season will go after two games but come Class A tournament time it would be easy to imagine that Lewiston would be in the mix for a third straight title.

Despite the exceptional opposition, the Vikings never let up. They gave up goals, but they didn’t get after each other. They will get better as their inexperience turns into experience.

Thanks to Oxford Hills AD Kevin Ryan for making both rosters available to me on short notice.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Abdilahi Abdi and Daniel Paine

Andrew Merrill and Suab Nur

Bilal Hersi congratulates Mohamedamin Nur

Bilal Hersi puts on the captain’s band

Cam Stetson and Nick Bancroft

Lewiston coach Mike McGraw

Goalie Sam Morton

Keegan Watson and Suab Nur

Freshman Khalid Hersi

Lewiston goal scorer

Bilal’s long shot sails past Sam Morton

Romano Bassa and Casey Southworth

Goalie Sam Morton

surrounded by Blue Devils

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Filed under Lewiston, Oxford Hills

Tagged as Bilal Hersi, Mohamedamin Nur, Romano Bassa, South Paris

September 7, 2019 · 10:45 pm

Dustin Salley wins Bandits feature, Chad Wills claims points title

Dustin Salley wins his 6th race of the Bandits season

Mason, Chad, and Shelby

(Oxford ME) Dustin Salley won the Bandits feature tonight.

Chad Wills won the Bandits points championship.

Dustin looked to be on his way to winning his second straight points title but ran into some “technical difficulty”, as Chad described it, after the August 23^rd race and was disqualified.

Dustin’s zero points for that race put Chad ahead going into tonight’s final chance for points.

“I knew that I had to stay within five cars of the 18 (Dustin Salley) to win the points title,” explained Chad.

The opportunity to win the championship had an effect on Chad prior to the race: “I was a nervous wreck. I was quite sick before the race. It was nerves.”

So while Chad played it safe, Dustin was all in.

Dustin Salley

“I drove the wheels off it,” Dustin said. “Tonight, this thing was hooked up. Brand new tires are what make a difference with these cars, it’s not going to be all about the motor.”

Grady Doherty had a big night. He won his heat and came across second in the feature. Grady’s best previous finish had been a 4^th on August 10^th.

Dustin won his heat and had already won five times before tonight’s victory.

Grady had the pole in the feature while Dustin started 6^th.

Several laps in, the race was between Grady and Dustin. They were side-by-side briefly and there was contact between the two of them as Dustin took the lead for good.

Dustin squeezed by Grady Doherty and Alex Mowatt

“I tried to keep it as clean as I could,” he explained. “I didn’t have the preferred groove when I’m out in the second groove, so I kept it tight.”

Once Dustin had the lead, the issue wasn’t who would win but by how much would he win.

“We’ll take the win and move on and see what next year brings us,” added Dustin.

To win the title at Dustin’s expense was bittersweet for Chad: “I owe a lot to Dustin. He helps me on and off the track. I thank Kyle Hewins too. He and Dustin are pretty much the mechanics. All I’m good for is driving the car.”

Dustin: “We had a great crew; KHM, Chad, Kyle and all of those guys. They help out a ton. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to race anymore. It’s a perfect combination between Kyle and me. We get these things to go pretty good. I can’t thank those guys enough.”

Dustin wins the feature with plenty to spare

I decided this summer to spend some time at Oxford and opted to specialize in one division. The Bandits became the choice, and in my six visits I met six different winners; Alex Mowatt, Travis Verrill, Jake Hall, Caleb Proctor, Chad Wills, and Dustin Salley.

Dustin finished with six victories. Chad had three.

“We got a DQ last week which cost us the championship,” said Dustin. “In the whole year it was the only time we were out of the top five so I can’t complain.”

Other divisions settled championships today as well.

I always find the Rookie division entertaining. It is almost a certainty that the cars will get tangled up. Tonight’s tangle eliminated all put two cars and so 12-year-old Maddie Herrick was declared the winner.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Maddie Herrick wins Rookies feature

Truck winners

Curtis Geary

Driver taken to an ambulance after hitting the wall

Dustin (DSal) and Chad (Wills) get by Dean Jordan (55)

Dustin Salley won the second Bandits heat

Grady Doherty and Alex Mowatt tangle in the feature

Grady Doherty leads in the first Bandits heat

Grady Doherty wins the first Bandits heat

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Filed under Oxford, Oxford Plains Speedway

Tagged as Bandits, Chad Mills, Dustin Salley, Grady Doherty

September 1, 2019 · 7:46 pm

Field of Dreams 2019

Dylan Hardy and Brett Netzer

Out of the corn they came

Brock Lundquist had a homer and a triple

(Portland ME) The Portland Sea Dogs emerged in costume out of the cornfield set up in centerfield at Hadlock Field.

The 15^th sellout crowd of the season then witnessed the Portland version of a segment of the baseball classic, “Field of Dreams.”

The reenactment was well done on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Radio announcer Mike Antonellis narrated the show dressed in appropriate attire.

I always like the show, but to me the best part is after the Portland Eskimos reach the infield. They then go up into the crowd and thank folks for their support. That’ll win you a lot of repeat customers!

There was also a baseball game played afterwards and it did not go well for the Sea Dogs. The visiting New Hampshire Fisher Cats won easily, 7-1. NH starter Yennsy Diaz held the home hitless into the seventh inning. The Dogs would only get one hit (Brett Netzer).

Josh Palacios had a homer for New Hampshire

Josh Palacios and Brock Lundquist homered for the team from Manchester (NH).

The teams will meet against tomorrow (Labor Day) to conclude their seasons.

I went to the game hoping to catch another look at Portland pitcher Daniel McGrath. He was scheduled to start but got the call (yesterday?) to move up to Pawtucket to fill in there. Daniel should start 2020 in Pawtucket with a chance to move to Fenway. He’s that good, in my opinion.

This game was short on action because of the barrage of strikeouts. Ten Sea Dogs K’d, and sixteen Fisher Cats were retired without contact. For a team scoring seven runs (NH) it was hard to imagine how they could do it with that many strikeouts. Josh Palacios was the only Fisher Cat who didn’t strike out.

Josh’s solo homer was pulled down the right field line. Portland pitcher Matthew Gorst applied some body English to keep it foul, but it didn’t work. I overheard Josh in the dugout say that “it started out foul and then came back fair.”

I continue to wish that minor league teams would wear uniforms with numbers on the front. I am trying to set myself up with an excuse if I misidentify the pictures I took today.

Bag missed

Slugger did himself no favors in his baserunning competition with a youngster when he tried to compete out of uniform. He was all gussied up with a top hat. He didn’t even get into his starting stance, so I knew he was done for. The most troubling part of today’s loss was that the opponent was in enemy (Fisher Cats) garb and never came close to touching third. Slugger didn’t catch the baserunning shortcut and took yet another defeat in his usual classy way. Maybe a video review will give the big guy today’s win?

Chris Cameron

Thanks (again) to Chris Cameron for enabling me to be in the best photography locations for yet another season.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them. Please let me know (85peterjulie17@gmail.com) if I have inaccurately identified players, so that I can make the needed changes.)

Yennsy Diaz pitched superbly for New Hampshire

Nick Lovullo

Portland’s Marcus Wilson takes a lead

Shortstop Kevin Smith

Jarren Duran eyes a pitch

Fisher Cats dugout

Cullen Large 3B

Cullen Large with Coach Donnie Murphy

Bag stolen and a bubble blown

Adam Lau

Brock Lundquist

Dustin Feltman signed autographs before the game

Marcus Wilson

Nash Knight

Vinny Capra

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Filed under New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Portland, Portland Sea Dogs

Tagged as Brock Lundquist, Cullen Large, Field of Dreams, Josh Palacios, Kevin Smith, Marcus Wilson, Vinny Capra

August 25, 2019 · 11:14 pm

Travis Benjamin gets his third Oxford 250 win

Travis Benjamin wins the 46th Oxford 250

DJ Shaw (3rd), Travis Benjamin, and Derek Griffith (2nd)

(Oxford ME) “Short track racing is alive and well here at Oxford Plains Speedway,” declared 3^rd place Oxford 250 finisher DJ Shaw.

“What a crowd,” he added……and who could argue!

The seats were filled, and the crowd was into it for the 46^th edition of the OPS 250, held on Sunday.

Travis Benjamin won the Oxford 250 for the third time. The last time was five years ago.

“I can’t believe it,” said Travis to a gathering on Victory Lane that may have included everyone from his hometown of Morrill (ME), “to have our name on the trophy again.”

Travis surveys the crowd on Victory Lane

There was no mention of Travis on Media Day on Wednesday of this week. Why? His best run this year had been a 4^th in Vermont.

And Travis didn’t show much in the first half of the race to make you think that he would be holding the checkered flag later. But he has been racing for a while and there had been some changes to the car and in the makeup of the crew.

“We concentrated on the car that I liked, and we got the crew back together that keyed the other two Oxford 250 wins,” explained Travis.

Travis admitted that for the first half of the race he would have been willing to “settle for a top five finish.”

Travis Benjamin (7) leaves pit row

There were seven cautions, however, and things turned Travis’ way during the one on lap 179. He added four tires and thereafter was in contention, taking the lead for good with forty laps left.

Eddie MacDonald (17) and Ryan Kuhn (72) started in the front

Two cautions, however, in the last twelve laps made things exciting for the crowd and nerve-wracking for Travis, who had gained separation from Derek Griffith and TJ Shaw. “I was nervous on those last restarts,” said Travis. “DJ has won a lot of races and Derek is as hungry as anyone, but I was confident in our car at that point.”

Travis broke away quickly on each of the restarts, regained some breathing room, and won his third title.

“Those last two restarts really helped us,” said second-place finisher Derek Griffith post-race. “I had a better restart run on most of the people around me. He (Travis) was just a little bit better than we were today.”

DJ Shaw crossed third and didn’t think that the restarts did him any favors. “We had a long-run car and we got short runs at the end,” explained DJ.

Scott McDaniel ran into trouble

“To be the best car on a one-stop strategy says a lot for our program,” said DJ. “It was our best race of the year. We led a lot of laps and they knew we were here. It’s never a bad day to get a top three in the 250.

DJ was 6^th in 2018. “This is our second 3^rd-place finish. We’ll look to move up next year.”

Mike Hopkins (Hermon ME) got 5^th but wasn’t happy about it. Mike, however, was quick to praise his crew (“They killed it on pit stops”) but was sure that he personally could have done better.

“Right before we came in to take four tires, I dropped down too early and Tom penalized me and put me in the rear,” Mike told me. “We would have been fifth with four new tires. I don’t think anyone had anything against us, but it would have made a difference, I think. We drove from the back to the front twice. We rode the corners so well and passed a lot of cars.”

Mike had a win in Richmond (VA) in March. “We killed it in Richmond but haven’t put it together since. I cost us a chance tonight to win the Oxford 250.”

Winning car

Travis Benjamin explained that the track was hard to read. “Part of the race I was good outside and other times I wasn’t. The bottom was like that too. You just kind of had to go all over the place.” This was certainly where the years of racing, including many at Oxford, paid off. Travis had the skills to adjust successfully to the changing conditions.

Travis had nothing but kind words for the racing in the Northeast. “When someone like Bubba Pollard (last year’s winner) comes up here and we’re lapping him that tells you who’s racing up here. That’s nothing against the guys down South. It’s just that the racing up here is the best in the country, hands down.”

Forty-four cars started and eighteen of them finished on the lead lap.

Travis started in 11^th place.

The estimated winning total for Travis from the race was $29,000.

Johnny Clark came in fourth.

Bob Bahre was the grand marshall

Former owner Bob Bahre was the grand marshall.

I have to admit the degree to which I was taken in by the talk at Media Day on Wednesday. I heard there plenty of good words about Curt Geary’s chances of winning the 250………and there were lots of them deserved for the 2017 winner. When I saw that “7” flashing by in the limited lights of the track later in the race last night I thought it was Curt Geary (also #7). The PA announcer eventually straightened me out. My bad and I do wear glasses!

Also full disclosure: I did not sit in on the post-race interview with Travis Benjamin in the press box. However, I did see the Sun-Journal’s video of that interview. I had actual conversations with Derek, DJ, and Mike after the race.

The crowd was certainly amazing. The two cautions in the closing laps gave everyone a clear look at the defining moments of the race.

OPS humor? I heard a seated lady ask a 10-year-old (?) boy, who was walking by, if he had a hole in his sock. The kid naturally said that he didn’t. The woman asked, “How did you get your foot into it?”

Part of the crowd at the Oxford 250

Nice weather but did it ever cool off when the sun went down!

Thanks to the OPS staff, especially Mary Mayberry, for letting me in to witness the race.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Derek Griffith (2nd place) congratulated after the race

Travis Benjamin on the roof

Earlier race trouble on the turn

Eddie MacDonald and Ryan Kuhn introduced as the two in the first row

Garrett Hall (R) pre-race

Heading the wrong way in an earlier race

Setting up for the 250

Third title for Travis Benjamin

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Filed under Oxford, Oxford 250, Oxford Plains Speedway

Tagged as Bubba Pollard, Derek Griffith, DJ Shaw, Eddie MacDonald, Johnny Clark, Mike Hopkins, Ryan Kuhn, Travis Benjamin

August 23, 2019 · 10:51 pm

Chad Wills wins the Bandits feature on 250 Weekend………again

Order of finish set on the final turn of the Bandits feature

Chad Wills celebrates his third win of the season

Chad and Dustin get by Jeff Libby in the feature

(Oxford ME) Two years ago Chad Wills won his first Bandits race.

The occasion was the race-loaded weekend of the famous Oxford 250.

Tonight, before a large crowd, Chad did it again.

Beating Dustin Salley on this cool evening, however, was not easily done.

Both Chad and Dustin won their heats with little trouble. However, the way the features in the Bandits division are set up, winning a heat does not get you to the front in the feature. Instead, the non-winners are put to the front. So Chad and Dustin had to get past drivers in a second race to get to the front.

“We had few cars tonight,” said Chad afterwards, “so it put us more toward the front in the feature. That definitely helped in the first few laps because that’s when you need to get by as many cars as possible before things settle in.”

Travis Verrill, Chad Wills, Dustin Salley

“It’s hard starting from the back,” said five-time winner Dustin Salley. “All the guys out here are really good racers. There’s a lot of respect but when you start back you got to get there. Sometimes you have to be a little rougher than normal.”

Jeff Libby had the pole position in the 20-lap feature.

Chad, and then Dustin, were quick to get by Jeff low…….and then we had ourselves an exciting race between the twosome!

Chad stayed low on the track while Dustin used the second groove for many laps. They were side-by-side at times and close the whole race. Chad won this race because he wouldn’t let go of the inside. On this evening, Dustin didn’t have the car to get by.

“I tried, I tried,” said Dustin afterwards. “I had three brand new tires on the car, and it handled it for a while. Once that right front tire got hot it was junk and I just faded back.”

Chad Wills gets inside Jeff Libby in the first heat

“If Dustin could have got me in the bottom, he would have won,” confided Chad. “He had the car to beat, that’s for sure. I just had position on the track and got there before him. The second groove is hard here, yet he was able to stay with me for many laps.”

The win was sweet for Chad, but he did have to beat his teammate and friend to do it. “Dustin is one of my good friends,” said Chad. “The car he’s driving is the one I started with this year. He had some car troubles, so Kyle Hewins and I let him drive the car I had been driving. I drove a backup car.”

The top three finishers (Travis Verrill came across third) in the Bandits division had their cars checked very carefully after the race tonight. “They pulled the heads off the top three cars,” explained Chand, “checking for competitive advantages.

Dustin on Chad’s shoulder

Dustin is the points leader in the division. “I started strong,” he said, “and the other drivers are getting better and better. I am hoping to win most points for the second straight year.”

Dustin worst finish this year has been fifth. “You try to pick your spots and be smart about it.”

Both drivers have cars owned by Kyle Hewins. “I owe a lot to him,” said Chad.

Chad admitted that he doesn’t know too much about cars: “I can drive them but I’m not mechanically inclined.”

*I have just learned that Dustin Salley was disqualified.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

(I also have a Twitter account – @mcclellandpeter )

Spinout

Truck turnover

Chad Wills wins the first heat

Collision

Sizable crowd for Friday night’s racing at Oxford Plains Speedway

Dustin Salley wins the second heat

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Filed under Oxford 250, Oxford Plains Speedway

Tagged as Chad Wills, Dustin Salley, Travis Verrill

August 21, 2019 · 6:36 pm

Oxford Plains Speedway Media Day

Curt Geary, Mike Rowe, Derek Griffith, DJ Shaw, and Garrett Hall

(Oxford ME) Optimism and uncertainty abounded.

Today was Media Day for Sunday’s 46^th running of the Oxford 250.

The Honey Badger Bar & Grill setting had five drivers; Curt Geary, Mike Rowe, Derek Griffith, DJ Shaw, and Garrett Hall on hand. Ben Rowe arrived later.

Mike Rowe

“At my age (69) I’m still excited about the 250,” said 3-time winner Mike Rowe. “A lot of drivers have a chance to win it. You can’t make any mistakes.”

“If I wasn’t the winner, I’d want my old man to win,” said Ben (2-time winner) with a smile.

Ben took a second at Oxford in July and he was quoted as saying that “it felt like a win.” Makes sense when you realize that in Ben’s previous twelve starts at Oxford Plains Speedway his best showing was one fourth.

“It eats at you when you haven’t won a race in a while,” recalled Ben. “You ask yourself, ‘Did I forget how to do this?’, and ‘Did I forget all I know?”

Ben won the Oxford 250 in 2003-04. “I got stagnant because we were ahead of everyone else, but they caught up. It has taken us this long to get back on top.”

Derek Griffith

Young Derek Griffith (22) watched the race the first time he saw it. “We came over (from New Hampshire) and didn’t make it in. I was real young. It broke us down a bit. We ended up sitting in the backstretch stands. It was a cool show.”

Derek sounded like an OPS 250 promoter as he discussed the event: “There is nothing like this race. It’s crazy watching 41 cars drive around the OPS. Anyone can win. The amount of talent and good cars that are here for this weekend is amazing. People that come for the first time will come back for the rest of their lives.”

Derek has won races this year in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

Last year was Garrett Hall’s first try at the Oxford 250. He finished fourth.

Garrett Hall

Despite Garrett’s success in 2017 his lack of experience in the big race is causing him some anxious moments: “I’m losing sleep. There are so many different factors that run through your mind. It’s stressful. It’s not a race that is easy to get ready for.”

One of the biggest struggles includes the length of the race and the infield pit stop that is required. None of the other races that these drivers run in have the length and that pit-stop requirement. Not only does the driver have to be on his game but his crew needs to as well.

One driver, however, who is familiar with all this is last year’s winner, Bubba Pollard. “Bubba is used to running and winning long races (All-American 400, Rattler 250) and has a crew in place that knows what to do,” added Ben Rowe.

Even though Bubba could handle the quirks of a long race, he came in (from Georgia) last year totally unfamiliar with Oxford Plains Speedway. “What Bubba did last year was impressive. Some good drivers have raced here for years and never won. He comes in for the week and wins it!”

Bubba will be in the field on Sunday. He would seem to be the driver to beat. “I liked Bubba to win it last year,” said Ben, “even though he had never seen Oxford. We tested Beech Ridge with him and then we came over to Oxford. I knew right off the bat that he’s that good.”

Curt Geary

Based on this season’s results at OPS, the 250 favorites would be Curt Geary and Nick Sweet. Nick has been very good lately at the track while Curt had been good all year. Curt won the 250 in 2017.

“The race is unique,” added Derek Griffith. “At times it’s four and five wide. You get guys that can start dead last in the consolations and win this thing. That’s what Mike Rowe did in 2005.”

Derek wanted the race to start right away. “I’m ready to go. The campers are rolling in and the parking lot is filling up. I wish we were here with a truck and trailer today!”

I asked Derek if he had any superstitions: “I got a new race suit the end of 2017 and every time I wore it, I got wrecked. I’ve been wearing my old suit for the majority of this year and we’ve had a good year.”

Garrett Hall gave even more detail to his race-day superstitions. “I am very superstitious: the racing suit, socks, even underwear. Can’t bring a grill to the track. No hamburgers or cheeseburgers….and there’s even more!”

The race should certainly be an exciting one with so many intangibles and so many terrific drivers/cars on the track.

Who will be standing near the $25,000 check on Sunday night?

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Filed under Oxford, Oxford 250, Oxford Plains Speedway

Tagged as Ben Rowe, Curt Geary, Derek Griffith, DJ Shaw, Garrett Hall, Mike Rowe

August 19, 2019 · 11:08 pm

Plenty of excitement as well as baseball at Hadlock as Reading wins 8-7 over Portland

The Philadelphia Phillies top prospect (Alec Bohm) played for the AA Reading Fighin Phils in Portland tonight.

(Portland ME) Ever watch a group of young kids attempt to play musical chairs with no idea what the object of the game is?

Musical chairs winner exits the winning seat

That, and plenty more, was part of the fun at Hadlock Field tonight.

Reading shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa strikes a pre-game post

And there was a ballgame too!

The Reading Fightin Phils won 8-7 in ten innings.

There were lengthy line hours before the gates opened thanks to a promotion that gifted the first one thousand customers with an Andrew Benintendi bobble head.

And to add to the excitement, the ten millionth fan also was noted on this night and that brought out the local TV networks.

I drove through thunder and lightning to get to the game. My intention was to check out the Phillies top prospect (Alec Bohm) and the other prospects of the National League team.

Alec is a tall (6-5) third baseman with a home run swing. That swing produced a 4-base blast (his 13^th) to centerfield off Konner Wade.

Alec was picked first by the Phillies (3^rd overall) in 2018, out of Wichita State. He is 23 and on the fast track to the big team.

Mickey Moniak

Mickey Moniak was a first-round pick in 2016 out of high school. Only 21, the young outfielder is leading the Eastern League in triples. He notched his 13^th tonight. Very aggressive at the plate.

Jarren Duran is the top Boston prospect still with Portland. Bobby Dalbec and CJ Chatham have moved on to Pawtucket. Jarren has the speed to turn a routine grounder to short into a close play. I suspect that Jarren starts at Portland in 2020 but will reach Pawtucket during the season.

Outfielder Marcus Wilson is the other ranked prospect with Portland. He had a homer tonight to send the game into extra innings.

Slugger comes close tonight

Slugger ran a solid race tonight. He didn’t trip. He didn’t engage someone/anyone in conversation and get side-tracked. On this night the competition was serious (the kid had a great shirt) but the big guy hung in there. If the young man had faltered, Slugger was close enough near home plate to get there first…….but the kid didn’t falter and the losing streak continues.

Musical chairs, on this night, was the highlight of the between-innings activities in my opinion. The young ladies involved were excited. I’m guessing 5-year-olds. It was quickly obvious that none of them had ever played musical chairs. They saw chairs and they jumped on them! Of course, you jump on an inflatable and it’s likely to fall over…and they did. The music played and the girls were already all over the chairs. Next they learned that they had to wait until the music stopped before taking a seat. One girl waited beside an empty seat instead of getting into it. That didn’t go so well for her. It was also interesting to watch the girls enlarge the circle by running around the Hadlock staff members as well as the chairs. A winner was finally determined but because of the size discrepancy between the chair and the participant nearly vanished from sight. The crowd loved it.

Happy musical chairs participants

Hadlock continues to be friendly for all ages and all levels of baseball IQ. I highly recommend a visit there before the season ends in very early September.

Thanks again to Chris Cameron for enabling me to witness the activities at Hadlock.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Alec Bohm after striking out to end an inning

Alec Bohm congratulated after homer

Alec Bohm leads off first as Konner Wade pitches

Alec Bohm on first with 1B Joey Curletta

Alec Bohm takes a cut

Austin Rei

Brett Netzer

Charlie Madden

Cornelius Randolph

Daniel McGrath

David Parkinson

Grant Dyer, Jakob Hernandez, and Jeff Singer

Jarren Duran bats

Jarren Duran hustles to first

Jarren Duran

Jeremy Rivera

Jhon Nunez

1B Joey Curletta

Luke Williams

Marcus Wilson homered in the 9th

Mauricio Llovera

3B Mike Osinski

Nick Maton

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Filed under Portland, Portland Sea Dogs, Reading, Reading Fightin Phils

Tagged as Alec Bohm, Arquimedes Gamboa, Cornelius Randolph, David Parkinson, Jarren Duran, Marcus Wilson, Mickey Moniak, Nick Maton

August 10, 2019 · 11:28 pm

Caleb Proctor wins first Bandits feature at Oxford Plains Speedway

Chad Proctor won his first Bandits feature tonight

Chad Proctor on Victory Lane

(Oxford ME) You come back week after week and finally everything falls into place.

That’s what happened tonight for Caleb Proctor as he won his first feature at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Caleb started in the pole position and never let go of the lead.

“Starting at the front really helped,” said Caleb afterwards. “We started in the front and stayed there.”

The driver from Casco has been in all fourteen of the Bandits races this season. Prior to tonight his best finishes were third on June 29^th and fourth on May 25^th.

I asked Caleb if they had done anything different with the car this week: “Nothing different. We’re running on old tires. We’re about as low-budget as it gets.”

Jeff Libby – still chasing his first win

Jeff Libby, from Poland, took second.

“Sooner or later we’re going to get one,” said Jeff afterwards. “We’re getting close.”

Jeff finished second on July 27^th behind Travis Verrill.

Jeff stayed in second for most of the 20-lap feature after moving up from 5^th at the start.

“Caleb is a really good guy,” explained Jeff. “Running second to him? I’m not mad about it.”

I asked Jeff what it might take for him to win a race: “A little bit better starting position would help.”

I dubbed Dustin Salley, “Mr. Consistent,” last week. He continues to be just that. DSal’s lowest finish this season was 5^th on June 8^th. Tonight he ended up third but believe me he was pressing Caleb and Jeff over the last few laps. Dustin started near the back in the feature but skillfully worked his way into contention.

Travis Verrill and Bobby Doherty caused a caution early in the race. Travis didn’t return from the collision that resulted.