Reid Lanpher is prepping for what will be a busy summer.
“Oh, definitely,” he said. “It’s going to be slim pickings for off weekends. But I’m really looking forward to it.”
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Lanpher, 14, of Manchester, will race the NELCAR Legends series again this season. He finished 11th in the points last year, despite racing a limited schedule.
However, that’s not all Lanpher has planned for the summer.
“Over the winter we bought a Super Late Model,” Lanpher said. “We plan on running that in the Granite State Pro Stock Series. We’ll be busy.”
Lanpher hooked up with Tony Ricci of Ricci Racecars to participate in a two-year driver development program. Ricci, of Westbrook, will serve as Lanpher’s crew chief in the Super Late Model series on the Granite State Pro Stock Series Tour.
“I’ll go down and work with the car,” Lanpher said. “He and his crew will teach me a lot about it. At the same time I’ll go to the track and run a bunch of races.”
The Granite State Pro Stock Series opens May 26 at Monadnock Speedway in Monadnock, N.H. The series makes one stop in Maine, at Unity Raceway on June 23.
In the NELCAR Legends Series, which is already underway, Lanpher is 10th in points. He had to sit out last weekend’s race at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway because he isn’t old enough to be in the pits at that track. He entered the weekend first in points.
“I’m very excited because this is going to be a big learning year for me,” Lanpher said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
• • •
It was a forgettable start to the Pro All Stars Series North season for four-time defending points champ Johnny Clark.
Clark, of Farmingdale, finished 16th — his worst finish in two years — at the season opener last weekend at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.
“It happens,” Clark said. “I’m awfully disappointed, but you can’t win them all. We just want to win our fair share.”
On Saturday, engine problems dogged Clark throughout the race. He qualified in a consolation heat and started 19th. He worked his way up a crowded field only to slide back when his motor failed.
“I don’t know what happened with the engine,” Clark said. “It was electrical. I’m pretty confident we fixed it, but the problem is we can’t have the race back.”
Clark rebounded late and surged as high as fifth.
“We tried something and it didn’t work,” he said. “We just move on.”
The series shifts to Star Speedway in Epping, N.H. on Saturday.
• • •
Unity Raceway will host a 34-lap Late Model race in honor of the late Butch Burgess, a three-time points champion at the track during his 24-year racing career, on May 27.
Burgess, who died in 2009, won points championships at Unity in 1971, 1977 and 1979.
His son, Jeff, is the defending Late Model points champ at Unity.
Jeff Burgess is selling laps at $20 apiece. The money will go to the lap leaders on race day.
“We’ve sold like half the laps already,” Burgess said. “We just thought if we sold laps it would be a bigger deal. We wanted to make this is more of an event rather than just another race. … I’m sure it’s going to be a hard day, but I’m sure it will be a good day for everybody.”
• • •
Pete McCollett has never won a points championship in his decades-long career. He didn’t win at Wiscasset Raceway, and he didn’t win at Unity.
Now, the 50-year-old Readfield native is setting his sights on Oxford Plains Speedway.
“I’ve never won one but I’m going to win one,” he said. “I think I’ve found a home at Oxford.”
McCollett, who competes in the Mini Stock class, first ran at Unity last season before he took his four-cylinder Gulf to Oxford. He won three of the final seven races at Oxford, giving him reason to be optimistic for a points chase this season.
“I just love the track,” McCollett said. “It’s smooth and there’s plenty of room to race. The car just adapted to the place right from the get-go.”
As a result, McCollett said he changed little to the car over the winter.
“We didn’t do any major changes at all,” he said. “That’s how good it was there. We made a few modifications, put a new body on it, painted it, and put decals on it. That was it. We’re ready to go.”
Racing starts at Oxford Plains on May 20.
• • •
Nate Weston is taking his Sportsman car to Speedway 95 in Hermon after racing at Unity last season.
“It wasn’t much of a choice,” said Weston, who lives in Norridgewock.
Unity dropped that division in the middle of the season last year because of low car counts.
Weston said he’ll make frequent treks to Speedway 95 this season, but he won’t race for points. He is preparing for a 50-lap race Saturday.
“There’s some good car counts in Bangor,” Weston said. “There’s some really good racing up there. I think the division will stick around up there.”
Weston said he is looking for a Late Model car to drive.
“To be honest, I tried to sell the car over the winter and then drive a Late Model,” Weston said. “I’m looking to drive for someone else, and if something came up I’d park my Sportsman.”
Left turns: Pittston native Ben Ashline is 14th in the American-Canadian Tour points standings. He has one top-five finish in three starts. … Oxford Plains and Spud Speedway will hold their first practice sessions of the season Saturday. … Unity Raceway will resume its regular division racing Saturday at 2 p.m. after inclement weather postponed action last weekend.
Bill Stewart — 621-5640
bstewart@centralmaine.com
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