Joey Polewarczyk Jr., a two-time American Canadian Tour winner at Oxford Plains Speedway, went to great lengths to get the kinks out of his new race car last weekend.

Friday night, Joey Pole, as he’s known by fans, was eighth in the ACT Governors Cup 150 at USA Speedway at Lee, N.H.

Saturday night, Polewarczyk, who is based in Hudson, N.H., was 11th among 22 cars in a 40-lap Late Model feature at OPS.

“We just basically wanted to go there to make (the) whole team feel better about ourselves and give us a good feeling about going into (the next race),” Polewarczyk said.

Polewarczyk expects to have his Ford Fusion start in the second ACT 150 of the season Saturday at Oxford Plains.

On the ACT tour’s previous stop at Oxford Plains on May 16, Polewarczyk failed to qualify for the final.

“The car was great during practice,” he said. “We were running some of the fastest times during the day but we ended up having engine issues.”

In the past, Polewarczyk has run well there.

“It put a bad taste in our mouths,” he said. “Oxford is one of my favorite tracks and we’ve always had success there.”

In addition to winning ACT events the past two seasons, Polewarczyk finished third in the TD Bank 250 in 2008.

This year, Polewarczyk switched from a Chevrolet power plant to a Ford. Since the change, his racing team, Pole’s Automotive, has continued to make adjustments.

“There’s going to be some bugs along the way,” said Polewarczyk, sixth in the ACT standings. “It’s new and there’s going to be issues.”

OPS OWNER Bill Ryan expects as many as 15 Late Model drivers from his track will attempt to qualify for Saturday’s ACT 150.

In the most recent ACT event at the track, 15 of the 53 cars that competed for slots on the final starting grid were from the speedway.

“I would expect the same number, maybe a few more of the local guys will race in the ACT 150 as they start thinking about the 250,” Ryan said.

OPS will host the TD Bank 250 on July 17-18.

“They want to run that longer race to get more experience,” Ryan said. “There’s a big difference from the 40 laps, which we run on Saturday nights.”

PASS NORTH Rookie of the Year candidate Joey Doiron of North Berwick will try to get back on the right track when the series heads to Unity Raceway for a 150-lap race Sunday.

After posting consecutive top-10 finishes at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and White Mountain Motor Speedway, Doiron was last after an accident early in a 200-lap event Saturday at Speedway 660 in New Brunswick.

Doiron, who was ACT’s top rookie last season, has never raced at Unity in a Super Late Model. Two years ago he finished among the top five in a Sportsman division car there.

MATT DOW of Buxton won back-to-back Roadrunner features Saturday night at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.

He was able to pull off the double win because rain washed out the Roadrunner final May 29.

“Before their race started, we got a rain shower so we just held it over a week,” said Beech Ridge owner Andy Cusack.

Dow moved up to Roadrunners this season after competing in Thursday Thunder, an introductory series at the track.

VETERAN GUY CHILDS of Oxford was among several drivers in the Outlaw Division who raced at Oxford Plains and Wiscasset Raceway last weekend.

After finishing 15th among 16 cars in one of the two Outlaw races Saturday night at OPS, Childs finished third among seven cars in an Outlaw race at Wiscasset on Sunday.

“Back about five or six years ago, I used to run Wiscasset on Friday nights and Oxford Plains on Saturdays,” Childs said.

Since Wiscasset switched to Sundays, Childs has been able to resume his weekly regimen.

“I just love racing,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun. I’d race five days a week if I could.”

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com