TWISTED THOUGHTS – BY MIKE TWIST
Maine has a number of historic oval racetracks within its borders. Storied facilities such as Oxford, Wiscasset, Speedway 95, Unity and Spud are set to roar to life again in 2023. We are also blessed with memories of tracks such as Beech Ridge, Arundel, Sanford, Belfast and Brewer. The history of tracks in Maine is a rich one. However, there is also a track that falls outside of Maine’s borders that is like an adopted child. It is nearly 900 miles between the Piscataqua River Bridge near the Southwestern corner of Maine and Hickory Motor Speedway, but our state and that track are very well connected.
A trio of Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame honorees have left a major mark on the Hickory track. Waterville native Pete Silva (HoF Class of 2016) was the 2002 Hickory Motor Speedway track champion and Mike Rowe (HoF Class of 2014) won the inaugural Easter Bunny 150 event there in 2006.
On April 3, 1994, Newburgh’s Ricky Craven (HoF Class of 2019) went to victory lane at Hickory in what is now known as the NASCAR Xfinity Series (known then as the NASCAR Busch Series). Craven also has the added distinction of being an owner/driver for that event. His winning stead that day was the colorful #2 Dupont-sponsored Chevrolet of Ricky Craven Motorsports.
The final race at Hickory for NASCAR’s second most prestigious series took place on April 11, 1998. It was a tough field to get into that day as ten teams did not qualify and had to head home early. However, a pair of Mainers did make it into the field. Neither driver had much good luck in the Maine event though. Scarborough’s Joe Bessey qualified tenth but had trouble in the race and finished 48 laps down in the 25th position. Cherryfield native Andy Santerre exited the event early with an engine failure and was credited with a finish of 29th.
The 1998 race was Santerre’s only NASCAR Busch Series start at the track. Bessey’s record consisted of four Hickory starts with a best finish of twelfth in 1993. In more recent times, racing promoter Tom Mayberry of Naples, Maine; has put on the Easter Bunny 150 Pro All Star Series event at Hickory regularly. In addition to Mike Rowe’s 2006 victory, several other Mainers have had success in the event. Ben Rowe placed second in the 2007 Easter Bunny 150. Two years later, he backed that up with a victory in the event. Rowe would also win the race in 2016. Boothbay’s Corey Williams scored a big victory in the 2008 Easter Bunny 150. In 2013, Trevor Sanborn of Parsonsfield finished on the podium with a third-place Easter Bunny 150 result. In 2015, there were two Rowes from Turner in the top five of the Easter Bunny 150. Mike finished third while his son Ben settled for fourth on that day.
After the COVID pandemic canceled the 2020 Easter Bunny 150, the event consisted of double features in 2021. Hermon’s Mike Hopkins finished third in both the Friday and Saturday feature events that season.
Just weeks ago, there was another race run under the Easter Bunny 150 brand. Weather issues set up a super Saturday of racing at Hickory that included double features for both the ACT Late Models and PASS Super Late Models.
Hopkins actually ran all four feature races. His best finish was third in the final PASS event. His luck in the other races was not quite as good though as that podium finish was his only top ten result of the weekend. Pittsfield’s Max Cookson, the reigning track champion at Oxford, had the best weekend of the Maine contingent. He finished as the runner-up in both PASS events. Westbrook’s Brandon Barker also finished in the top five of both events. Scarborough’s Garrett Hall finished fifth in the second race.
Other Maine drivers who have run competitively in the Easter Bunny 150 throughout its history or in CARS Super Late Model races at the track include Travis Benjamin, Wyatt Alexander, Scott Mulkern, Trevor Sanborn, Johnny Clark and Cassius Clark. The late Katie Hagar of Damariscotta was also a regular in the Late Model division at Hickory back in 2010.
