2026 race season concludes at Wiscasset Speedway
After wet weather forced the cancellation of what would have been Wiscasset Speedway's Group 2 season finale and Strictly Shootout two weekends ago, track management decided to pull an audible and add those racing events to their season-ending "Fall Fury" program, which was appropriately renamed "Fall Fury XL" following the change.
Due to the schedule becoming supersized, the start time was moved up by two and a half hours. Much to the track's surprise, the turnout on Saturday was absolutely phenomenal, with nearly 200 competitors showing up to compete across all divisions. This was completely new territory for the track, but they welcomed the challenge and opened a never-used area of the pits to successfully accommodate and fit all of the drivers.
Before the biggest events of the afternoon were run, Team Wiscasset had some important business to take care of: crowning their remaining Group 2 champions. Due to the busy schedule, all 3 divisions ran features only. Frank Moulton entered the season finale with a 12-point lead over Jonathon Emerson in the Wood Pellet Warehouse Late Models. Moulton remained patient over the course of the 40-lap feature, climbing into the top 3 as the laps wound down. He was able to hold off Emerson by 3 spots, scoring the division championship while Chase Burgess took home his first career victory at Wiscasset Speedway.
Division rookie Jaxson Moreside, who had won a PASS Modified race this season but not a weekly Sport Modified race, finally broke through in the division on Saturday and picked up a win, beating out Kyle Hewins, who won the division championship. Gavin Gerow, who also entered Championship Day with a hefty points lead, took home the victory and the championship in the Dale’s Cash Fuel Roadrunners.
Over 30 drivers tried their hand at this year’s 14th annual Strictly Shootout presented by Thayer’s Automotive, the most prolific Street Stock race of the season. The race is truly one of a kind, as additional race winnings are up for grabs at every corner, whether that be by finishing top 5 in the qualifying heats, electing to take the “Back to the Front” challenge, winning a number of contingency prizes including the “Hard Charger” award, and more.
Brady Romano, Jonathon Emerson and Zach Bowie won the 3 heat races, but the top 12 drivers did a redraw for starting position prior to the start of the feature. In truly fitting fashion, “Cowboy” Dan Trask redrew the pole for the 50-lap shootout. Although Dan Trask started on the point, it was Tyler Jordan who led the charge for the opening half of the race. The battle for the lead started to heat up at halfway, with Scott Eck and Dan Trask making it a 3-way fight for the top spot.
A caution with 20 laps to go brought the field together and Dan Trask took advantage of the opportunity, pulling ahead with the lead. It wasn’t over yet, as a pile-up with just 8 laps to go took out many heavy hitters. Zach Bowie, who had been running in the top 5 all race, also had sudden mechanical troubles under yellow, retiring to the infield. The leaders were gridlocked on the restart and Scott Eck and Dan Trask went head-to-head, with neither driver giving up an inch. After their short battle, Eck pulled ahead and never looked back, scoring his long-awaited first career Strictly Shootout victory. Tyler Jordan and Zack Emerson snuck right in there at the end, completing the podium.
Just a few short weeks before the season finale, track owner Richard Jordan announced in Victory Lane that the track would be hosting a $6,000-to-win race for the Carver’s Driving Academy Crown Vics on Fall Fury. The division, which has become highly popularized in recent years, drew in nearly 30 cars on Saturday with drivers coming from a handful of local tracks to compete. Due to the stacked schedule and the aggressive nature of the division, it was decided that the race would be either 75 laps or one hour, whichever came first.
Derek Guptill, who won his first Crown Vic race at Wiscasset Speedway in his last outing, was the early standout in the 75-lap feature. Unfortunately, the better half of the race was riddled by cautions and the field didn’t truly settle until about 20 laps to go. Notable drivers that were taken out of contention amongst the chaos were Karson Hewins, Ray Dinsmore and Traver Michaud, among others. It was a dog fight between Derek Guptill and Kevin Sherman as the laps wound down, and the two drivers led a spirited battle all the way to the checkered, where Sherman nipped Guptill at the line for the victory and $6,000 payout to boot. Shane Farrar followed, completing the top 3.
The racing portion of the night concluded with an 150-lap Enduro race, the longest of the season. The end-of-season Enduro is also special as it’s the only Enduro race of the season that full-time drivers are allowed to compete in. We saw many of these drivers in the field on Saturday, including Gavin Gerow, Ricky Austin, Andy Kaherl, Dan Nessmith, Adam Chabourne, Hayden Carver, “Mr. Excitement” Zach Audet, and others.
Phil Main, Jr. got off to a hot start in the race and was the “one to beat” for the majority of the 150 laps. Zach Audet also began to come to life in the second half of the race, pulling to a comfortable lead as the laps began to tick away. Just when everyone thought he had it in the bag, Audet was forced to retire from the race with a flat tire, handing the lead back over to Phil Main, Jr. Main paced the field until the 99m machine decided it had been pushed enough, coming to a drastic slow with just 7 laps to go. Gavin Gerow took over from there and never looked back, scoring his second victory of the day. Ben Audet and Irving Doughty rounded out the podium, and Doughty was dubbed the 2026 “King of the Enduro” for being the top average finisher over the course of all 4 Enduro races this season.
The night concluded with a family-style potluck dinner and awards ceremony in victory lane, honoring all of this season’s champions, track volunteers and special award winners. This included the track announcing their final 2 Pepsi “Driver of the Month” winners, awarding Jonathon Emerson (August) and Ryan Phillips (September. They joined Chassidy Shorty, Chuck Wagstaff and Ricky Austin as the final candidates for the coveted “Driver of the Year” award. Ultimately, Chassidy Shorty was deemed this year’s winner following an outstanding season where she dominated the County Truss 4-Cylinder Pros with 7 wins, 10 top 3 finishes, 11 top 5 finishes and 3 heat wins. She also became just the third female in track history to win a division championship.
Saturday’s “Fall Fury XL” event was the perfect way to cap off an action-packed season at Wiscasset Speedway, and everyone at Team Wiscasset would like to thank all of the volunteers, drivers and fans that helped bring the race track to new heights in 2026!
Before the season fully comes to a close, Wiscasset Speedway will be hosting their annual “Trunk or Treat” event which will fall on Halloween this year: Saturday, October 31st. The free event, which will take place from 2:00-4:00pm, will feature race cars, haunted houses, go karts,vintage cars, numerous displays, and most importantly, a safe AND fun way for the kiddos to enjoy the holiday.
For official track news, point standings, and more, please visit http://www.wiscassetspeedway.com.
