WISCASSET — Chris Thorne wasn’t interested in comfort prizes Saturday night time.
Logan Melcher of Jay gained his fourth Late Model race of the season at Wiscasset Speedway, first pulling far from Thorne on a restart with eleven laps closing after which conserving off a charging Tiger Colby of Wiscasset to take the 50-lap characteristic win. Colby ended up 2d with Thorne 0.33.
Melcher’s four wins are the most by means of any driver in the department this season.
“I’m not going to lie, I truly recognize (Thorne’s) persistence,” Melcher said “He should be the maximum patient race car motive force we’ve got here at the track. It’s an honor to race with him, not to mention beat him.”
Thorne, of Sidney, in reality, clinched his 5th profession Late Model championship along with his finish. With Harrington’s Andrew McLaughlin finishing seventh to be mathematically removed from title competition, Thorne holds a 56-factor lead over Melcher with one race last within the season.
All Thorne has to do is finish twenty-fifth or higher — with Melcher winning both his heat race and the function on Sept. 28 — to win the championship. Only once this season has a Late Model area at Wiscasset had greater than 25 entries.
Not that Thorne has paid near interest to the identifying photo.
“How close is it?” Thorne requested before departing victory lane Saturday night time. “At the give up of the remaining race, if it all comes together, it’d be great to win it — but actually today the championship became no longer on my mind. I want to get at least one greater win before the 12 months are over.”
With a 5th championship, Thorne could tie Bowdoin’s Scott Chubbuck for second on the music’s all-time listing. Maurice Young of Chelsea has six profession championships.
“Winning the championship is excellent, however, it’s now not like I sit at home each night and consider how high-quality all of my championships are,” Thorne, 35, stated. “This yr, I, in reality, desired to have amusing and win a gaggle of races. That’s sincerely what we’re right here for now.”
He appeared near prevailing Saturday night time for the first time on the grounds that starting day in early May.
After starting 13th within the 22-vehicle field, Thorne navigated via a rash of early incidents and cracked the pinnacle 5 earlier than the race was even 15 laps old.
Melcher took the lead from pole-sitter Bill Pinkham of Wiscasset on lap 30. On a restart one lap later, Thorne accompanied Melcher from 1/3 and tried to hold to the leader’s outdoor following a final lap 39 restarts.
He absolutely couldn’t make the outdoor work to get around the fast Melcher.
“Tonight turned into actually the first time all year the auto actually felt appropriate,” Thorne stated. “Something on that last restart changed and the automobile just wasn’t as exact as it were earlier than.
“Logan has without a doubt taken off this yr. He’s been a rocket. I completed 2nd to him twice and lost to him again tonight, however, we had been so close this night. I hoped I should get in advance of him in lapped traffic because I knew as soon as it changed into the 2 people out front it was going to be whoever could get there first.”
Melcher unofficially sits six factors beforehand of McLaughlin for 2nd inside the standings after nine races.
“The vehicle became certainly hooked up on the outside,” Melcher stated. “It turned into the form of unfastened getting out (of the corners), but at the out of doors, I may want to truly make the tune huge and make the track massive and use each bit of the race song I needed to to allow the auto-rotate. That’s where I may want to truly generate some velocity inside the center (of the nook).”
By taking the inexperienced flag in the 25-lap Outlaw Mini feature, Jimmy Childs of Leeds have become certainly one of 3 drivers to clinch a 2019 championship at Wiscasset Speedway on Saturday night. Richmond’s Scott Trask gained the race over Kyle Willette of Waterville and Zach Audet of Skowhegan. … Woolwich’s Adam Chadbourne clinched the Modified division title in a race received through Nick Reno of West Bath. The victory becomes Reno’s 5th of the season. … Zach Emerson of Sabattus finished third inside the Strictly Street feature to comfortable his second profession championship in the division. Saturday’s event becomes the very last Strictly Street points race of the season with the open opposition seventy five-lap Strictly Shootout slated for Sept. 28.
