Frank Moulton Jr. has watched a lot of races this summer.

“We’ve been getting our stuff ready,” said Moulton, 22, of Burnham. “We’ve been waiting.”

The wait finally ended for Moulton, who made his racing debut Aug. 6 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough.

Moulton is the three-time defending Late Model points champ at Unity Raceway, but decided to enter the Pro Stock division at Beech Ridge this summer. However, he sat out the spring and early summer because of financial concerns.

“We wanted to get down there earlier but we didn’t have the funds to do it,” he said. “We waited until we could do it right. It was cool to finally be out there.”

Moulton started 19th and finished 18th in his Beech Ridge debut Aug. 6.

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“That first week, we had one practice and didn’t have a heat race,” he said. “It was hard. We had to get used to the track during the feature. This past week we got a little more practice.”

On Saturday, Moulton started 18th and finished 13th.

He said it’s been quite an adjustment from Unity.

“The track at Beech Ridge is a lot different,” he said. “I’m still driving too hard down there. It’s just a whole different place. You kind of roll around the track down there. Unity has more grip so you can use the power more. At Beech Ridge, there isn’t as much grip so you can’t use the power. We have some ideas on how to make the car better.”

Moulton already has made several changes to the car in preparation for the Pro Stock class. The motors in the Pro Stock class are set farther back in the car, giving it a bit more power.

“We put more expensive shocks on and we had to have a bigger intake on it for more power,” he said. “The Pro Stock class also has 10-inch racing tires (as opposed to 8-inch tires on Late Models), so that was different, too.”

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There are just two more Pro Stock points races left at Beech Ridge and Moulton said he’ll race in at least one of them. He may skip one to retain his eligibility for rookie of the year honors at the track next season. To be eligible, Moulton can only compete in three or fewer races this season.

“We’ll see,” he said. “We’re just glad to be out there again.”

* * *

Ben Ashline learned a lot last weekend while racing in the American-Canadian Tour All-Star Challenge last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. even if he wasn’t entirely thrilled with how things went.

“Well, let’s put it this way the car is one piece,” Ashline, a Pittston native, said. “It wasn’t the greatest of weekends.”

The All-Stare Challenge featured 25-lap and a 50-lap features. The combined finishes determined a driver’s standing on the weekend. Ashline finished 28th.

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“It was a learning experience,” he said. “It was an experience I won’t forget. That track is a whole different animal to train. You run the short tracks here and then you go there for the mile. You have a lot of time to think about it on the straight-aways.”

Ashline, who is ninth in points in ACT, added the car “just wasn’t right” at Loudon.

“We learned a lot and took a lot of notes,” he said. “We missed the setup on our second segment. We were just off on the day, but we still had a great time.”

The ACT returns to Oxford Plains Speedway on Saturday for a 150-lap feature. The race originally scheduled on June 25 but was postponed because of rain.

* * *

Wiscasset Raceway still doesn’t have a buyer, owner Doug White said Wednesday.

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White is asking $500,000 for the track, the same price he purchased it for in 2007.

“Same old, same old,” he said. “Nothing has changed. We’re still looking for a buyer. I thought I had one, but now it looks like I don’t. We’re just on standby.”

When asked if he’s lost any money this year on the track, White replied, “Not really because I’m not spending any money. I lost money the last two years.”

* * *

When Unity Raceway director George Fernald Jr. shut down the Super Street class at the end of July, it left drivers scrambling to explore alternatives.

Points champ Nate Weston previously said he may try to race a Pro All Stars Sportman car.

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Brad Bellows, of China Village, who was running third in points at Unity, said he had hoped to get into a Late Model somewhere.

“But it’s just not happening,” he said. “I can’t seem to hook up with anybody with a car. We’ve put the word out, but I don’t see it happening. There are not a lot of car owners out there looking for drivers.”

* * *

Left turns: With just one Late Model points race left on the schedule — Aug. 27 — Jeff White is in prime position to win the championship. White leads Don Wenworth by 20 points, which will be tough to overcome. … The Pro All Stars Series North is idle until Aug. 28, when drivers will race at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H. Farmingdale driver Johnny Clark sits atop the point standings. He holds a comfortable 71-point lead over Turner native Ben Rowe with four points races left.

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com


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