WISCASSET — Lapped traffic was a factor only once Sunday at Wiscasset Speedway, but it played a starring role nonetheless.
Mike Hopkins of Hermon inherited the lead in the caution-filled Boss Hogg 150 just over 50 laps from the finish and drove away to a $10,000 win – his second career victory in the event. Parsonsfield’s Trevor Sanborn was second and Jamie Wright of Woolwich finished third.
“After 20-30 laps, I knew we were good to go,” said Hopkins, whose final margin of victory was more than four seconds after starting 26th in the 30-car field. “I didn’t know what was going to happen when we got to the top five because it gets tougher (to pass), but these guys (in my crew) – Mickey Green, Kevin Nobley and Travis Stearns – they nailed it.”
Hopkins, also the 2018 winner, used the first half of the race to march toward the front of the field, but it was Kevin Douglass’ misfortune that opened the door for Hopkins.
When four cars crashed together in Turn 1 on Lap 94 while racing at the back of the pack, Douglass couldn’t slow down in time and drove headlong into the stopped car of Justin Larsen. Gone was his 3.2-second lead over Hopkins and his shot at a second consecutive Boss Hogg 150 win.
“I couldn’t see anything. He was too far ahead of us at that time,” said Hopkins, who now has five straight top-three Boss Hogg 150 finishes. “That’s a shame for him because I was looking forward to racing with him. He’s dominant here, and I wanted to give him a run for his money.”
“I think (Douglass) had us covered,” Sanborn said.
The race was slowed 11 times by the caution flag, including a pair of red flag periods. Fifteen of the 30 cars that started the race had retired by the time it concluded.
The lengthiest delay came during the qualification rounds when a multi-car accident resulted in an injured driver.
Ryan Deane of Winterport was taken by LifeFlight to Maine Medical Center in Portland following a fiery crash during a consolation race. Deane’s car was trapped against that of fellow competitor Miller Buzzell, and Deane remained in his car for more than two minutes engulfed in flames, thick black smoke and exhaust from fire extinguishers.
According to track officials, Deane had significant burns to his lungs, neck and arms and was taken to Portland as a precaution. He was alert and responsive after climbing out of his car under his own power.
“It’s really hard to watch when it’s someone you know,” Douglass said prior to the main event.
Hopkins spun following contact with Kelly Moore in his qualifying race and needed a good result in the consolation race to advance to the feature. One week after failing to make the Oxford 250 field, he thought his bad luck was continuing.
“I was so down and out after the heat race thinking this was two weeks in a row,” Hopkins said. “The crew kept working and working and working, and that kept me positive.”
Sanborn had several restarts to the outside of Hopkins in the final third of the race but was unable to keep pace. With so many caution flags, those behind Hopkins never had the chance to try to pick him off in lapped traffic, either.
“(Hopkins) was a rocket. He could just roll the bottom, and I couldn’t do that,” Sanborn said. “I could run with him for a lap or two, and that was it.”
Dave Farrington Jr. and Joey Polewarczyk finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Garrett Hall, Jeremy Davis, Austin Teras, Joe Decker and T.J. Watson completed the top 10.
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