Episode 306

March 8, 2020

With only three races to go snowmobile racing in Hermon was furious

The Tame the Track Snowmobile Racing Tour made its eighth stop of the 2020 race season at Sled Hermon facility hosted by the Penobscot Snowmobile Club. Eighteen feature races took place with some familiar faces in the winners circle as well as some new as well.

The grand prix style race course was icy since not a lot of natural snow was available and much had to be trucked in to the venue.

Race results are as follows:

Dysart’s Truck Stop, Crabbie’s Racing, KLIM KIDS 120cc STOCK —
1st place Trenton Hanscom: Benton, ME, Polaris
2nd place Cole Wiggin: Carmel, ME, Arctic Cat
3rd Place Malcolm Witham Jr: Carmel, ME, Polaris

Recreational Motorsports & Machias Savings Bank KIDS 120cc IMPROVED/LO 206 —
1st place Aubrie Keaton: Stratton, ME, Arctic Cat
2nd place Cole Wiggin: Carmel, ME, Arctic Cat
3rd Place Dexter Smith: Lincoln, ME, Arctic Cat

Witham’s Paving, Daigle Oil Company KIDS 120cc MODIFIED
1st place Riley Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Polaris
2nd place Evan Witham: Levant, Maine, NH, Polaris
3rd place Mason Silva: Hudson, M, Polaris

Corinth Village Creamery & Willette’s Automotive KIDS 200 STOCK —
1st place Jayden Huff: Hampden, ME, Arctic Cat
2nd place Rayce Ross: Carmel, ME, Arctic Cat
3rd Place Joe Joe Smith: Lincoln, ME, Arctic Cat

Casella Waste Systems/ Pine Tree Waste WOMEN’S INVITATIONAL —
1st place Alley Ripley: Center Ossipee, NH, Yamaha
2nd place Haley Frohlich: Auburn, ME, Polaris
3rd place Haley Brownell: Center Ossipee, NH, Yamaha

Riley Hartford,Wolfeboro, New Hampshire tries the outside of Evan Witham, Levant, Maine in race action at the Tame The Track Snowmobile Tour Racing Series in Hermon. Witham took the Junior Invitational class followed by Riley Hartford, and Hailey Hartford. ( Elizabeth Agnew Hartford photo)

TNT Road Company & Last Chance Motorsports JUNIORS INVITATIONAL —
1st place Austin Witham: Levant, ME, Yamaha
2nd place Riley Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Yamaha
3rd place Hailey Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Yamaha

Workstore and Houlton Powersports & RV TEENS INVITATIONAL —
1st place Nate Alexander: Orrington, ME, Yamaha
2nd place Landon Collins: Wolfeboro, NH, Yamaha
3rd place Asa Grace: West Ossipee, NH, Yamaha

Blanchard’s Towing & VIP Tires SINGLE CYLINDER MOD
1st place Mike Morris: Turner, ME, Arctic Cat
2nd place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Sno Jet
3rd place Asa Grace: West Ossipee, NH, Yamaha

Single cylinder stock class with Daytona Gould on inside left hounded by Justin Hartford on the outside right. Both were on Sno Jet sleds owned by Tim Ferreira and Ron Nason.(Jamie Hathcock photo)

Harry’s Motorsports & Equipment & UniFirst SINGLE CYLINDER STOCK
1st place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Sno Jet
2nd place Nate Alexander: Orrington, ME, Sno Jet
3rd place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Sno Jet
** All top 3 snowmobiles are owned by Tim Ferreira & Ron Nason of Unity, Maine.

Landon Collins, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire,  on left battles for position with David White, Levant, Maine in the 340 Stock class at Sled Hermon facility on March 7 as part of the Tame the Track 2020 Tour. (Jamie Hathcock photo)

SnowStuds, Star City Rentals & PowerMadd 340 STOCK —
1st place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Yamaha
2nd place Nate Alexander: Orrington, ME, Yamaha
3rd place Christian Hanscom: Benton, ME, Yamaha

Savage Paint & Body and Dead River Company 340/440 MODIFIED —
1st place Matt Weeks: Carmel, ME, Polaris
2nd place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Arctic Cat
3rd place Nate Alexander: Orrington, ME, Yamaha

Bangor Motorsports & J McLaughlin Construction 440 STOCK
1st place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Yamaha
2nd place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Arctic Cat
3rd place Alley Ripley: Center Ossipee, NH, Yamaha

1st Rate Bait and Pelletier Ford IFS 440 STOCK —
1st place Nate Alexander: Orrington, ME, Arctic Cat                                                 2nd place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Ski Doo
3rd place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Arctic Cat

Racing into the turn in Hermon is Fort Kent’s Joe Pelletier with Justin Hartford, outside. Pelletier commented,” The track was very icy because they had to truck the snow in, but snowmobile club did a great job with what they had to work with. I felt very fast all day but had some bad luck in 2 of my finals so my results weren’t what I would have hoped for. And yes, I’ve been racing most weekends so I’m getting to where I need to be as far as fitness” (Elizabeth Agnew Hartford photo)

Mission Trailers & Briarwood Motor Inn IFS OUTLAW —
1st place Joe Pelletier: Fort Kent, ME, Arctic Cat
2nd place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Arctic Cat
3rd place Caleb Morris: Turner, ME, Polaris

Thundering Valley Grass Drags, FKPS Trail 600 —
1st place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Ski Doo
2nd place Matt Weeks: Carmel, ME, Polaris
3rd place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Arctic Cat

Witham’s Paving Couples Combination —
1st place Alley Ripley/Justin Hartford: NH, Ski Doo
2nd place Riley Hartford/Kris Wheeler: NH, Yamaha
3rd place Austin/Evan Witham: ME, Yamaha

Witham’s Heating King of Track 340 division —
1st place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Ski Doo
2nd place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Arctic Cat
3rd place Nate Alexander: Orrington, ME, Yamaha

Alan R Dorr Construction & Coach House Restaurant King of Track Final — 34 Laps
1st place Adam Williams: Limestone, ME, Polaris
2nd place Matt Weeks: Carmel, ME, Polaris
3rd place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Arctic Cat

Limestone man victorious in 2020 race debut

Adam Williams, left receives the King of the Track 34 lap feature in memory of Alan R. Dorr $250 prize from Tame the Track Snowmobile Racing Tour’s Jere Humphrey. Cody Thibodeau Of T.W. Willard in Caribou assisted Williams with preparation of the race winning Polaris XCR 440. (Last Chance Motorsports photo)

“After this weekend’s race, Squeeze the Throttle @ the Penobscot Snowmobile Club in Hermon,” said Jere Humphrey,  “Last Chance Motorsports has no choice but to mention our newest driver,  Adam Williams of Limestone.

“This is the initial race Williams has entered and competed in with Tame the Track Snowmobile Tour in 2020 and his first time piloting the 1999 Polaris XCR 440, that was recently added to the fleet of green.”

“Last race of the day was the thirty-four lap feature event only, in Memory of the late: Alan R Dorr, labelled King of the Track. Williams lined up on the Savage Paint & Body starting grid, way to the left, looking not only for the holeshot, but some added traction on the glazy 1/3 mile track.”

“As the green flagged dropped Williams shot ahead to the second position, chasing down the leader, which on Lap 6 of the extended lap special feature, Adam overtook the top spot and never looked back sliding through the corners for the next twenty-eight laps.”

“Caleb Morris who races regularly was right on the rear bumper with the #569 Polaris entry owned by Kerry Merrifield putting up a fierce battle for several laps, but had mechanical issues that not only dropped him off the podium, but out of the event.”

“Competitors battled it out for the remaining positions, but Adam Williams was able to gap the lead, once Morris was eliminated unexpectedly.”

Williams remarked after the race, “It was a great time, couldn’t have done it without a great team like I have behind me always looking to make the sleds faster and check setups in no time! And always keeping me on the positive mind-set to keep pushing!”

Tame the Track Tour officials remind folks that the next regularly scheduled race is the “Make Your Move” –combined race event with Eastern SnoCross Tour and the YouTube celebrity, Larry the Enticer, at  Bass Park in Bangor, Maine. Races will be held on both Saturday March 14th and Sunday the 15th during the Tame the Track Snowmobile Tour regular season schedule.

More information about Bangor SnoCross and Tame the Track Snowmobile Tour on March 14 & 15 @ Bass Park in Bangor, Maine can be found at   http://www.tametracktour.com or http://bangorsnocross.com

Coming to Caribou soon, Mega Meltdown snowmobile races

The grand finale 2020 Championship Saturday will be the “Mega Meltdown” at Northern Brewing Company in Caribou on March 21st. This is a fundraiser for Brian’s Ride Cancer Fund created in 2015 in memory of Brian Caldwell. The fund to date has provided $75,000 to more than 200 cancer patients in The County. The race will include the popular Brian’s Bracket Challenge, a single elimination series of races with winner take all. Note racing starts at 10:00 am not 11:00 am as previous announcements have stated.

Bangor based rally team gears up for summer contests

Last Ditch Racings rally Subaru awaits tender loving care and maintenance in anticipation of races in July and early August 2020. Owner/driver John Cassidy and crew have begun to install updates and deal with preventative maintenance preparing the race car for the pounding it takes in hillclimb and rally action.. Cassidy is one of only a handful of Mainers racing in these events. (Last Ditch Racing photo)

Last Ditch Racing owned by John Cassidy, Bangor, Maine is hard at work preparing for the 2020 Climb to the Clouds Hillclimb at Mount Washington July 10-12 and the New England Forest Rally headquartered at Sunday River Ski Resort in Bethel July 31 and August 1, 2020.

Last Ditch Racing has competed in both events for several years experiencing great success as well as not so successful adventures. I have featured the Bangor based team in several episodes of UpNorth Motorsports and for the Bangor Daily News Sports Department.

Cassidy posted the latest update on the team on the Last Ditch Racing Facebook page used here with permission:

The off-season, which is really never, in rally, is an interesting thing. T4 (team nickname for their Subaru which is their fourth rally car) has sat for several months, but my mind has been thinking about things that I’d like to do to it. Some practical and some not.

As the season approaches, the financial reality of racing sets in. Surprisingly, so does excitement. Kind of weird to get excited when you know the bank account is going to take a hit. 

Entry fee for an event 4 months away was just posted. There will be multiple vehicle and trailer registrations. Insurance payments. Fuel, tires, lodging. And more entry fees. All that money spent without any being spent on the car specifically(well, except the tires).

We’ve identified some issues with the car and have some new bits to go on the car. A lot of BDA and R+R(Battle damage assessment) in the works. Looking at weight saving. Looking at performance. Looking at making things as bomb proof as we can.

We hope that you all are as excited as we are for 2020! We at least have Climb to the Clouds and NEFR (New England Forest Rally) on the schedule. Beyond that, we’re not sure.

We’re running on struts that are over 10 years old. A car that’s 17 years old this year. I won’t even mention how old I am. 😉

If anyone in the Subaru performance industry is interested in discussing partnering with Last Ditch Racing for 2020, please let me know. We pride ourselves on doing a lot with a little, but we could always use support. That last 10% of performance/improvement isn’t easy to find.

Hope everyone got to spend some time with their favorite car this weekend!

Cheers! John (Cassidy owner/driver)

Another unique trophy from Cold Hard Art

Another clever trophy designed by Tom Patsis, Cold Hard Art, Brownsburg, Indiana. I claim him as a Maine man since he graduated from Ellsworth High School. The trophy was built for the USAC Shamrock Classic Midget Series indoors at Southern Illinois Center, Du Quoin, Illinois. (Cold Hard Art photo)

Tanner Thorson in Victory Circle with his crew at the USAC Shamrock Classic held indoors on the 1/6 mile dirt track at Southern Illinois Center, Du Quoin, Illinois. Thorson started 15th in the 50 lap feature and made his way through the field to capture the Cold Hard Art trophy and $5,000. (Photo courtesy Dirtman Photography)

Chassis building at HTF Motorsports STEM Headquarters

This ramp will be used to launch STEM crush zone cars. The cars pictured below will have an egg mounted in front of the car, rolled down the ramp, and crashed into a wall at 4-5 mph. The egg must survive. (HTF Motorsports photo)

STEM students will be given 100 toothpicks, hot glue, white glue, one sheet of paper, and limited time to mount an egg to the front of these crash cars. The cars will then be rolled down the ramp in the previous photo and crashed into a concrete wall. The egg must survive. (HTF Motorsports photo)

Part two will be the Twist,Torque, and Crush chassis being assembled at HTF Motorsports for day four of STEM week at Caribou Tech Center. A raw chassis is displayed at center back of the photo. STEM team members will also get balsa wood roll bar material (HTF Motorsports photo)

Finished chassis with roll cage. Student models will be twisted to determine increase in stiffness from a raw chassis and must support at least 20 pounds of weight applied to top of the roll cage. It is more difficult than it looks. (HTF Motorsports photo)

Let’s Go Racing!

Tom Hale

Soli Deo Gloria (Matthew 5:16)