Oxford, Maine – Shawn Martin of Turner made his first start in an Oxford Championship Series Pro Late Model a successful one Sunday afternoon, driving from the rear of the starting field to the front of the pack, claiming victory in the 40-lap headliner at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Skip Tripp of Poland scored his first victory of the year in the 30-lap Allens Coffee Flavored Brandy Street Stock feature race. Lisbon’s Nik Coates wired the Allen’s Cofee Flavored Mini Stock division’s 30-lapper, while the Ripley & Fletcher Ford Outlaw Sportsman division honors went to Corey Morgan of Lewiston for the second consecutive week.

Martin, a proven champion in the recently-upgraded Late Model class, skipped the Championship Series opener, and had to start the main event behind all cars racing the previous week. Martin admitted that fresher tires on his car certainly helped in his run to victory lane.

Gary Chiasson of Peru bolted from his front row starting spot to a lead of about a straightaway’s length before a caution period tightened the field a bit past the halfway point. After working his way through traffic in entertaining fashion, the previous week’s winner, Dale Shaw of Center Conway, New Hampshire, got by Chiasson following a spirited battle.

Shaw’s drive to the front apparently ran afoul of race control, and after being shown the black flag, Shaw retired to the pit area, handing the lead back to Chiasson. Martin, who started a couple of positions behind Shaw and had taken a more conservative approach than the former NASCAR champion in his move toward the front of the pack, soon caught Chiasson, got by, and pulled out to a victory margin of just over one second.

OPS newcomer Kevin Douglass of Sidney continued to impress, scoring a third-place finish in just his second start at the Route 26 oval. TJ Brackett bounced back from a mid-race pit stop to post a fourth-place finish, with Donnie Wentworth of Otisfield rounding out the top-five.

Former division champion Skip Tripp of Poland jumped from a front row starting position into an early lead he would not relinquish, cruising to an easy victory in the Street Stock 30-lapper.

Tripp’s closest rival as the checkered flag waved was Matt Williams of Brownfield, who made a last-lap move on the outside of Dixfield’s Ryan Robbins to claim runner-up honors. Despite Williams’ impressive drive and second straight podium finish, he claims to be unhappy with his car’s performance.

Robbins did salvage a trophy-earning spot at the line. The previous week’s winner, Kurt Hewins of Leeds, was close behind in fourth, with the final top-five position earned by Corey Morgan of Lewiston.

Competing in two divisions, busy Lewiston racer Corey Morgan became the only driver to kick off his Championship Series campaign with two straight victories in a competitive 25-lapper for the Outlaw Sportsman class.

It wasn’t as easy as his near wire-to-wire score on Opening Day for Morgan, who started from 14th position and had to keep the hammer down throughout the main event, holding off 19th-place starter Guy Childs of Turner, who was making his first appearance of the season.

Childs made a couple of bold, three-wide moves in his march through the field, but couldn’t capitalize on a late-race restart and settled for runner-up honors. Kyle Hewins of Leeds also moved through traffic nicely, gaining ten positions from his starting spot to earn the final podium perch. Mike Haynes of Livermore Falls and Auburn’s Kyle Treadwell both drove from outside the top-ten in the early-going to end up in fourth and fifth positions under the checkered flag.

Oxford Championship Series competition continues Sunday, May 12 at 2:00 p.m., with the final afternoon program of the Spring schedule on tap, with racing in the Pro Late Model, Street Stock, Mini Stock and Outlaw Sportsman divisions. Oxford Championship Series racing moves to a weekly Friday night schedule beginning May 17, with Post Time set for 7:15 p.m.

Oxford Championship Series race summary; event #2, May 5, 2013:

Pro Late Model (40 laps)
1. 94 Shawn Martin, Turner
2. 71 Gary Chiasson, Peru
3. 21 Kevin Douglass, Sidney
4. 61 TJ Brackett, Buckfield
5. 63 Don Wentworth, Otisfield
6. 6 Tommy Ricker, Poland
7. 70 Tommy Stilphen, Arundel
8. 73 Adam Polvinen, Oxford
9. 60 Tim Brackett, Buckfield
10. 18 Thom Bell, Minot
11. 22 Scott Farrington, Minot
12. 3 Vanna Brackett, Buckfield
13. 68 Dale Shaw, Center Conway NH
14. 72 Chris Coolidge, Norway.

Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy STREET STOCK (30 laps)
1. 12 Skip Tripp, Poland
2. 63 Matt Williams, Brownfield
3. 9 Ryan Robbins, Dixfield
4. 55 Kurt Hewins, Leeds
5. 26 Corey Morgan, Lewiston
6. 34 Spencer Morse, Waterford
7. 5 Ryan Hewins, Leeds
8. 23 Zach Emerson, Sabattus
9. 36 Rick Spaulding, Lewiston
10. 69 Tyson Jordan, Poland
11. 3 Josh Childs, Leeds
12. 04 Zach Bowie, Sabattus
13. 08 Robbie Wentowrth, Conway NH
14. 57 Mike Short, Auburn;
15. 96 Matt Dufault, Turner;
16. 88 Nick Hoyt, Mechanic Falls
17. 1 Billy Childs, Jr., Leeds
18. 777 Mike St. Germain, Auburn
19. 58 David Whittier, Poland
20. 8 Keith Stuart, Naples
21. 83 Dan Brown, Peru
22. 60 Richard Wentworth, Conway NH
23. Richard Mains, Portland
DNS 14 Mike Roe, West Paris.

Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy MINI STOCK (30 laps)
1. 4 Nik Coates, Lisbon
2. 8 Calvin Rose, Jr., Turner
3. 19 Shane Kaherl, Jay
4. 06 Ryan Glover, Rumford
5. 2 Rob Greenleaf, West Bath
6. 83 Brady Romano, Livermore Falls
7. 16 Mike Ward, Harrison
8. 18 Justin Larsen, Peru
9. 29 Brandon Palmer, Bridgton
10. 20 Pete McCollett, Readfield.

Ripley & Fletcher Ford OUTLAW SPORTSMAN (25 laps)
1. 26 Corey Morgan, Lewiston
2. 5 Guy Childs, Turner
3. 51 Kyle Hewins, Leeds
4. 67 Mike Haynes, Livermore Falls
5. 44 Kyle Treadwell, Auburn
6. 14 Seth Hethcoat, Danville Junction
7. 72 Deanna Bisbee, South Paris
8. 19 Steve Moon, Gray
9. 38 Addison Bowie, Auburn
10. 71 Fred Clavet, Buckfield
11. 39 Gerry Freve, Buckfield
12. 7 Chris Burgess, Buckfield
13. 17 Mike Bradstreet, Bowdoin Center
14. 28 Josh Toothaker, Sabattus
15. 21 Rachel Dubois, Sabattus
16. 10 Scott Ellis, Lewiston
17. 6 Todd Bisbee, South Paris
18. 63 Bob Ferguson, New Gloucester
19. John White.