Vacationland Turns Into NegusLand

Tour Modified driven by Scott Negus

All residents of Maine who drive a car in the state receive a license plate with the long-time slogan "Vacationland" listed on the plate. Maine has been a long time summer getaway for many residents in the northeast. But Tuesday night's dominance by driver Scott Negas at the Oxford 200 could have easily turned the slogan into "NegusLand," if just for one night.

The qualifying time set by Negus of 14.287 seconds was enough to best Ryan Pittman for the pole position. Once the race began, Negus dominated the event by leading all 200 laps on a tricky Oxford Plains Speedway. Broadcaster J.R. Shepherd, known as "The Institution" for his dominance for many years in the Bootleg Racing League, said "This track is a tricky and unforgiving one. You are almost constantly turning left the entire lap and that can really put some heat in the right-side tires." Negus was under pressure early by James Lowe, and at one point, it looked as though Lowe might get under Negus for the lead. But Negus was able to keep his Atlantic Tiltload Ltd. Tour Modified in front heading into the pit stops about halfway through the race. Torrance Childs and Jeff LeMire got together around the halfway point of the race which brought out the first and only yellow flag of the race. "I knew I needed to get tires and had practiced pitting, but it is always a crap shoot pitting in these cars," Negus said after the race. Lowe, who had been pressuring Negus all race, took four tires on his pit stop and went a lap down, freeing up a dangerous driver obstacle that could have caused issues later in the race. Ryan Pittman eventually weaseled his way into second place and began catching Negus. In the end though, Pittman's charge wasn't enough and Negus was able to drive to Victory Lane leading every lap of the event. This was the second win of the season for Negus, having also won at South Boston earlier in the year. Points leader Tom Ogle was at a double disadvantage all night and simply tried to do damage control. Ogle, who was not familiar with the tricky Oxford Plains Speedway, had to learn the egg-shaped .35-mile oval "on-the-fly." To make matters worse, Ogle had to serve an end-of-line penalty and started dead last on the grid. By the end of the race, Ogle was able to work himself up into 12th place. Lap 70 saw some unique action as Tom Hilbert got loose going into Turn 1. His Tour Modified went down onto the apron and ultimately did an Evil Knievil-style jump over one of the dirt "ant hills" that are unique to the Track.

As far as the point standings go, after Round 11 Tom Ogle was still able to barely hold onto the lead. Ogle has a one-point lead over Kenny Allen in second. And Scott Negus, with his victory, is now only two-points behind Allen.

The YesterYear Racing™ Tour Modifieds take a 3-week break before resuming on Tuesday, October 14 at Pocono International Raceway for the Race of Champions. The flagship event of the Series races the full "Tricky Triangle" just like they did between 1977-1979, and is a double-points race.

Wannamaker Names Childs As Part Owner of YesterYear

YesterYear Racing

On Thursday, September 18, Allen Wannamaker, Founder and Owner of the YesterYear Racing League, named long-time friend and associate Torrance Childs as co-owner of the League. "It became quite obvious to me that I could not continue running the League solo, and without other support. The demands of even a small, niche League like YesterYear are numerous. Rules, race review, scheduling, website, Discord, YouTube......and the list goes on. I couldn't think of a better partner than Torrance. We have raced together for over eight years, and have also been work colleagues. Torrance possesses skills I do not have, and I the same. We are a good compliment to each other both in our professional careers, as well as our hobbies," Wannamaker said. Childs initial duties included rules review, and 2026 schedule review, among other things. Wannamaker said, "I needed fresh eyes on the Rules of the Road for YesterYear. They have been out there for over 18 months and needed review. In addition, Torrance's input on scheduling for 2026 will be important. We intend to add a 5th race to the 2026 IROC Series, as well as run another Tour Modified season that has taken place in the past. I look forward to the work ahead."

Essary Plays Cinderella At Langley

Langley Speedway logo

Eric Essary showed up at Langley Speedway Tuesday night looking to continue his tutelage learning the intricacies of the Tour Modified stock car. Little did he know, or anyone else in the field know, that at the end of the night Essary would leave with his first victory in the YesterYear Racing League. "Things just kind of went my way throughout much of the night. Tom (Ogle)and Jerry (Isaacs) had given me a couple of good tips prior to the race. Things like never take four tires on pit stops, only two, And don't overdrive the car. These really helped me throughout the race," Essary said in his post-race interview. Essary took the lead with 16 laps to go and finished 1.46 seconds ahead of Chris Davis, who played the "long game" all night. "I was focused on taking care of my tires all night. I notice that the leaders would run away from me early in a run, but I would reel them back in as the run went on," Davis said after the race.

Points leader Tom Ogle ran into trouble on lap 60 of the 250-lap event after he and Brian Neff got together in turn 3. The two drivers have had a tumultuous relationship on the track over the last several "bull ring" races. With Ogle out, the door opened for drivers to close the 17-point lead Ogle had in the season standings. "Once Tom was spun, my race became a points race," Kenny Allen, who finished third, said in his post-race interview. Scott Negus also was able to pick up a slew of points as he came home in fourth place behind Allen. Unfortunately for some drivers, they could not capitalize on Tom's troubles. Brian Johnson went a lap down early and could never recover, while Todd Liston had connection issues and finished 62 laps down in 14th place.

The event saw only three caution and was a relatively calm affair for a bull ring like Langley. "It seemed a bit more tame out there tonight than any of the South Boston races. The field was smaller, but for the most part the race craft was there across most of the field. A 250-lap race run in 1 hour and 7 minutes is not bad," Allen Wannamaker, Founder of the YesterYear Racing League said after the race. The Series moves next to Oxford Plains Speedway for the Oxford 200. The race will take place on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, and will be broadcast live on the Virtual Grip Network.