Tag Archives: Chris Foster

July 9, 2022 · 6:06 pm

Drew Morse wins Outlaws Feature

Drew Morse gets the win and Will Dunphy finishes second

(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.

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.

“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.

“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.”

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 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.

Skip Tripp chases pole sitter Jake Dobson

Chad Wills catches a break and wins 2nd Bandits race at Oxford Plains Speedway

Chad Wills wins the Bandits feature with Jeff Libby second at OPS

Chad Wills takes a victory lap after winning for the second time at OPS this season

(Oxford ME) Over a year ago in the Bandits Division at Oxford Plains Speedway, Caleb Proctor won his only race of the season while driving the 04.

Tonight, Caleb’s 04 earned another checkered flag. This time, however, the driver was Chad Wills.

“I’ve really got to thank Caleb,” said Chad post-race. “I wrecked my car two weeks ago and he let me use his.”.

Chad has gotten a third and now a first in Caleb’s car. Caleb will probably be the driver the next time the 04 appears at OPS.

There will be nearly two weeks off before the next Bandits race. “I bought another car yesterday,” explained Chad, “like the hatchback that I wrecked. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks I’ll be here with it.”

Chad Wills and Jeff Libby get inside Eric Parlin (3) in the last lap

Chad got his first win on July 25^th when he took full advantage of a multi-car crash to move into contention. Tonight, it wasn’t a crash. This time it was leader Eric Parlin slipping away from the bottom of the track near the end of Lap 18.

“Eric got loose in the last lap,” said Chad, “and I happened to be close enough to capitalize on it.”

Chad moved inside of Eric and Jeff Libby followed as Eric tried to recover. Chris Foster also got to the bottom of the track.

“I could have forced my way back down there,” said Eric Parlin afterwards, “but cars might have been wrecked and I couldn’t do that.”

Eric ended the race settling for a tough fourth behind Chad, Jeff, and Chris.

Eric Parlin gets ahead of Brady Heath (91)

At the outset of the 20-lap feature, Eric took the lead from Brady Heath in the second lap. Chad followed with Alex Mowatt running third.

Alex is not only the points leader but has won two straight weeks. It was easy to expect him to get the lead sooner or later. But not tonight. In fact, his brother Luke, beat him in the second Bandits heat race.

Alex spent most of the evening racing on the upper levels of the track. “Alex worked hard on the outside, but it heated his tires,” said Chad. “It was impressive that he could hang out there as long as he did.”

Alex Mowatt (11) persisted in trying to pass Eric Parlin using the upper part of the track

Alex threatened leader Eric Parlin from the outside on several of the later laps. When Eric slide up from the bottom in Lap 18, Alex got caught behind him and ended up finishing fifth.

Chad realized his good fortune. “For the second time this year I was in the right spot at the right time. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky rather than good.”

Jeff Libby continues to chase that elusive first win. He has finished second three different times, including tonight.

Jeff was behind Chad Wills when the bottom of the track opened up on Lap 18. “We followed Chad and that’s how we ended up where we did,” said Jeff.

Luke Mowatt won the second heat defeating his brother Alex in the process.

Chad Wills won the first heat and Luke Mowatt won the second heat.

Eric Parlin’s car threw off plenty of smoke last week. No sign of any smoke this week.

Eric had a pretty good hold on first until a spinout (Brady Heath) in Lap 11 forced a caution and a restart. The restart bunched everyone up.

The good weather continues. This is the 8^th week I’ve been at OPS and it’s been nothing but sunshine.

Limited number of spectators on the other side of the track.

I am on twitter (McClellandPeter) and Instagram (McClellandMiscellanea).

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

Caleb Proctor Chad Wills, Brandon Caston

Jeff Libby (2nd)

Last lap action

Alex Mowatt tries to get by Eric Parlin on the high side

Eric Parlin comfortably in front in the feature

Brady Heath has the early lead in the feature

Chad Wills and Brady Heath set up in front for the Bandits feature

Luke Mowatt

Luke Mowatt on the inside and Alex Mowatt on the outside in Heat 2

Chad Wills and Josh Lovell in front in Heat 1

Alex Mowatt overcomes obstacles notching 2nd Bandits Division win at Oxford Plains Speedway

Alex Mowatt battled back to get second Bandits win

Alex Mowatt (11) escapes a Lap 2 wreck

(Oxford ME) It wasn’t a straight line to his second win, but Alex Mowatt will take it.

“I didn’t have the fastest car,” said Alex, “but we still won.”

Alex finessed his way through a major wreck in Lap Two only to be placed last while he had a damaged fender removed in the pits. He didn’t let that discourage him and skillfully worked his way close to the front in the closing laps.

Alex has dominated the Bandits Division at Oxford Plains Speedway for six weeks, never finishing lower than third in every race this season. He is the current points leader in the division

Having a good car helps but Alex’s ability to stay out of wrecks so far has been crucial.

David Cook first and Alex Mowatt second

Newcomer David Cook actually won tonight’s race but was immediately disqualified giving Alex Mowatt the winner’s trophy.

There were eighteen cars in tonight’s crowded feature. With the heats having little bearing on the positioning in the feature you knew that newcomers in the cars in the front would have their hands full.

They did manage to go around the track once but in the tight second lap leader Doug Churchill spun out and finished several driver’s evenings with the resulting crash.

Chad Wills looks back at his damaged car

Chad Wills took advantage of a spinout last week and came out of it in second place. Tonight, he wasn’t so lucky.

Alex Mowatt faced the spinning car and avoided a direct hit by getting down to the curb. Chad was behind Alex and had nowhere to go, taking a direct hit that ended his evening.

Bridgton’s Chris Foster was further back. “I was lucky enough to be behind the wreck,” said Chris. “I saw it happening, so I got into the curb and avoided it.”

Chris earned second place tonight.

This is what the spinout/wreck in Lap Two of the Bandits feature looked like:

Travis Verrill with the lead after the spinout

Travis Verrill and Brandon Caston came out of the wreck in first and second.

Chris Foster and Jeff Libby chased Travis for a few laps before David Cook rallied for first in the 13^th lap of the 20-lap feature.

Alex Mowatt was the lone challenger over the last few laps.

“He (Doug Churchill) got into my fender,” explained Alex. “I had to go off and get that fixed and had to start last.” Alex would rein in everyone but the disqualified winner in a rousing comeback.

Chris Foster captured second place

Chris Foster: “We started 11^th. That wreck helped us a lot. I’ve got a good crew and a good car. I used to race on Wednesday nights. I ended up buying a Bandits car and here we are.”

There were a few spectators in the grandstands as Governor Mills limited the crowd to two hundred people. But that is better than the zero spectators that had been allowed previously! The Oxford 250 is four weeks away. What will the crowds be like then?

I am on Twitter (McClellandPeter) and Instagram (McClellandMiscellanea).

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