The final points race unfolded on Oct. 12 as faithful fans bundled in blankets to see the outcome of the championship standings for the season.
In the ProStock division, the championship was on the line between two drivers with an eight gap separating the two.
Point leader Randy Turner of Freedom has been steady competitors throughout the season with the most top five’s in the class with no finishes better than third. Jeff Burgess of East Madison came in as the division’s hottest contender having won three out of the last five races to bring him into contention.
Both drivers came in with a Unity Raceway championship under their belts, both in search of their first career ProStock/Super Late Model title at Wiscasset Raceway. The championship finale in the ProStock division highlighted a full schedule for the afternoon with the sun in the sky and the fall foliage in the hills that surround the oval.
Turner added two points to his lead at the completion of the heat race and he knew he needed to finish (again) in the top five in the 50-lap feature event, regardless of what Burgess would do, to secure the title.
John Phippen of Bar Harbor also had a shot himself with 18 points behind Turner. All three drivers started the feature in the lead pack and lined up in the top three positions on the outside row. Phippen grabbed the lead from pole sitter, Gary Smith on lap four and survived three cautions early in the feature, but Smith took charge of the lead position once again on lap 18, while Burgess and Turner held strong in the top five as well.
Burgess worked his way to second place on lap 20 and pursued the leader for 10 laps. Veteran Charlie Colby made a strong charge on the outside groove from his 11th starting spot into the top five.
The chase for the points tightened a bit more following a pair of lap 30 restarts. Burgess took the lead away from Smith as Turner slipped back into fifth at the same time, dropping the interval to just two points (as they ran.)
As Burgess continued to hold off Smith and Colby throughout the next 10 laps, Turner had Colby putting the pressure on him for the fifth position.
This set for an exciting finish and the possibility of a tie, but the caution flag came out on lap 40 and changed everything. On the restart, coming out of turn four, Burgess lost control on his own and came spinning onto the front stretch, bringing out the sixth caution flag of the race and ending his hopes for the title.
On the next restart, Colby took the lead and pulled away from the pack for the win over Smith. This was Colby’s first win of the season.
Smith finished second and Ryan Deane of Winterport took advantage of the final restart to grab the third place finish. Turner held on to his division high ninth top five of the season in 14 (points paying) races.
With Phippen finishing sixth and Burgess ninth, Turner wrapped up the title by 18 points. The 27-year-old Turner will collect a $10,000 check for the track champion for this division at the Wiscasset Raceway awards banquet on Nov. 9.
Chris Thorne of Sidney moved a step closer to his second straight title in the Late Model division. The defending champ started on the pole for the 30-lap feature and pulled away for an easy green to checkered finish.
