WISCASSET

Wiscasset Speedway’s Prostocks turned out a race Saturday night that had all the makings of a movie on the big screen — edge of the seat action, suspense, heroes, villains, plot twists and a surprise outcome that few expected.

There was more than the usual accolades and prize money on the line. The 50- lap spotlight feature also offered the winner a guaranteed provisional for the $10,000 to win Prostock/ Super Late Model National event at Seekonk Speedway in July.

Sixteen drivers lined up to accept the challenge, and when the dust cleared and the checkers flew it was Phil Richardson Jr., of Hermon lifting the first-place trophy, while many of the early favorites loaded up with banged up rides and dashed hopes of the big win. Richmond’s Nate Tribbett and Newcastle’s Charlie Colby joined Richardson in Victory Lane.

Other winners on the night included Mark Lucas of Harpswell in the Super Streets; Logan Melcher of Jay in the Thunder 4 Minis; and Spencer Vaughn of Canton in the New England 4- Cylinder Prostocks.

The feature for the ServPro of Biddeford- Saco Prostocks rolled out with Daren Ripley and Brandon Sprague on the front row. Eyes were also fixed back in the middle of the pack on five-time champ Scott Chubbuck as well as Ben Ashline, who had been turning near record laps earlier in the day. Ripley quickly jumped out to a comfortable lead until the first caution flew on the eighth lap as Ashline turned Joe Decker.

The race took on its first major turn on the ensuing restart as Ripley and Wyatt Alexander failed to cooperate on two straight restart attempts, sending the pair to the back of the field and moving Charlie Colby and Jeff Burgess to the front. Colby took command of the race, with Chubbuck charging around Burgess into second. However, Colby himself brought out the second caution of the race on lap 23 as he lost control and spun out on his own coming out of turn 4.

Chubbuck found himself the next man up to lead the charge on the lap 24 restart. He held the lead for the next eight laps until, as anticipated, Ashline arrived to take the lead from him on lap 32. That pass for the lead was wiped off the board though as lap 32 also brought out the race’s third caution for a minor spin by Sprague.

Chubbuck and Ashline took the green for the restart, but this time Ashline started drifting back instead of forward. As if the action wasn’t already intense enough, things got turned up even more over a handful of laps. Ripley and Alexander, who had been relegated to the back of the field, had raced their way back into contention, with Ripley driving around Chubbuck for the lead on lap 36, and just a lap later Alexander moved into second.

The fourth caution flew on lap 40 as Ashline finally succumbed to a deflating tire, sending him careening into the turn three wall. The restart — or restarts that followed — once again turned the script on an already eventful race. The first attempt with Ripley and Alexander back at the front was short-lived as Phil Richardson apparently missed a shift, stacking up a handful of cars in the middle of the pack including Sprague, Mike Moody, Cody Tribbett and Jamie Wright.

The second try at the restart was successful but only lasted one lap. Alexander attempted a crossover move on Ripley, cutting across the nose of Chubbuck and then under the leader Ripley on the back stretch. In an attempt to counter the move, Ripley got on the brakes into turn three, bunching up the trio and sending Ripley spinning sideways through turn four. With the fans in a frenzy, the three came to a rest in the infield, dropping them from contention.

That turned out to be the final caution of the race. Richardson led the remaining drivers to the checkers, chased across the line by Nate Tribbett and Colby. Travis Benjamin of Morrill struggled most of the day but managed a fourth-place finish. Chubbuck salvaged a disappointing fifth place.

In support action, 20 of the 22 Thunder 4 Mini drivers were able to answer the bell for their 25-lap feature. Once again Melcher was the class of the field in the caution filled race. Melcher started 14th and took advantage of a pair of early cautions to take the lead on the fifth lap. He was relatively unchallenged the rest of the way to pick up his second win of the season. The race of the night for the Thunder 4’s was between pole sitter Brian Sweatt and Dan Trask, who had charged through the pack from 18th into the top three. The two raced side by side for the final 10 laps with Trask finally getting the better of Sweatt for the runner-up trophy. Sweatt settled for third.

The Super Streets 25-lap feature had its share of action, but the end result was no surprise with defending champ Lucas taking top honors. He passed Oakland’s Sean Johnson with five laps to go and cruised to his first checkered flag of the season. Johnson had his strongest run, holding the lead for the first 20 laps and notching a career-best second-place finish. Mike Hodgkins of Jefferson turned in a strong third-place run but failed post race inspection for an unapproved rear spoiler. The third-place trophy was awarded to Josh Bailey.

While the three other divisions struggled, the 4-Cylinder Prostocks turned in a solid performance with just one early caution in their 25- lap tilt. With the long green flag run, Jeff Prindall got out to a seemingly comfortable lead. However, that lead went away as Vaughn charged up from his eighth starting spot and chased down Prindall, taking the lead from him just past the halfway marker. From there Vaughn stayed strong and nailed down his first career win to close out the program. Prindall held on for the runner-up finish. They were joined in Victory Lane by Jefferson’s Ryan Hayes, who made his first appearance of the season.

Wiscasset Speedway returns to action this upcoming Saturday with Group 2 in action, featuring the Midcoast Region NAPA Modifieds, plus the Norms Used Cars Strictly Streets, the Kennebec Equipment Rental Outlaw Minis and the Wood Pellet Warehouse Late Model Sportsman. The flex race of the night will be the first 100-lap Enduro of the year.

Pit gates will open at 2 p.m., grandstand gates at 4 p.m., and the green flag drops on the racing action at 6 p.m.

For more information, go to the Wiscasset Speedway website at www.wiscassetspeedway.com.

Wiscasset Speedway

Saturday top-5 finishers
SERVPRO OF BIDDEFORD SACO
PROSTOCKS (50 laps, national
qualifier)
1. Phil Richardson, Hermon
2. Nate Tribbet, Richmond
3. Charlie Colby, Newcastle
4. Travis Benjamin, Morrill
5. Scott Chubbuck, Bowdoin.

THUNDER 4 MINIS (25 laps)
1. Logan Melcher, Jay
2. Dan Trask, Richmond
3. Brian Sweatt, Albion
4. David Greenleaf, Brunswick
5. Noah Haggett, Wiscasset

SUPER STREETS (25 laps)
1. Mark Lucas, Harpswell
2. Sean Johnson, Oakland
3. Josh Bailey, Wiscasset
4. Jason Oakes, Boothbay
5. Michael Harrison, Durham

N.E.4-CYLINDER PROS (25 laps)
1. Spencer Vaughan, Canton
2. Jeff Prindall, Lisbon
3. Ryan Hayes, Jefferson
4. Connor Wenners, Edgecomb
5. Max Rowe, Turner