Windham High School sophomore revs up fast start in auto racing career

By Ed Pierce

He may only be a sophomore at Windham High School, but Cole Robie of Windham is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in professional auto racing.

Cole Robie of Windham, 16, won the Nelcar Tour Race at
Star Speedway in New Hampshire on Sept. 14 and that was
after he won the Legends Feature Race there on Aug. 30.
He comes from a racing family and has won five 
championships in just three years, starting at age 13.
COURTESY PHOTO 

Robie, 16, started racing three years ago at the age of 13 and since then has built a resume of success on the racetrack including winning five different championships so far and counting. Competing in his Legends car, Robie took the checkered flag and the features victory for the Nelcar Tour race at Star Speedway on New Hampshire on Sept. 14, and that came on the heels of his Legends feature win at the same racetrack on Aug. 30.

Racing cars in Legends, Late Model and Super Late Model divisions, despite his youth, Robie continues to rack up wins and experience as he ultimately aims for a career in the racing industry when he finishes school. His chances of doing that are excellent as racing is a family tradition with his grandfather, father and uncles all having raced professionally. Cole’s uncle, Derek Kneeland of Windham, is currently a spotter for NASCAR’s Richard Childress Racing and has been involved in the sport as a driver since he was young.

“I have always wanted to race,” Robie said. “My Dad had a lot of interest in getting me into racing and was the one that made it happen. We started in 2021, and racing is just in my blood.”

His exceptional driving skills and will to win at such a young age show that Windham remains at the forefront in state for developing championship auto racers, a fact not lost on Robie.

“There are a lot of race families born and raised in Windham and I just happen to be part of one,” he said. “Racing has just gone from generation to generation in those families which is pretty cool.”

Almost every weekend Robie can be found at the racetrack, and he travels to warmer states during the winter months when racing is not possible in New England.

According to Robie, he enjoys auto racing for several reasons.

“I like the adrenaline rush, and the speed factor,” he said. “I also like that it's an independent sport.”

And he’s been able to hold his own against older and more experienced drivers as his racing legacy grows.

Last year he captured his first Legend Car national title, winning the 2023 INEX Young Lions Road Course National Championship. In July, he topped an 11-car field during a Group B race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway and in May Robie led for every single lap while cruising to a NELCAR Legends win at the Lee USA Speedway in New Hampshire.

“I think my family loves it, they have all been in the racing industry for many years and it's exciting for them to see me following my dreams,” he said. “They are all my biggest fans and supporters.”

Up next for Robie will be a Legends race at Dominion Motor Speedway in Woodland, Virginia on Saturday, Oct. 5 and then he will turn around and compete in a Super Late Model race on Sunday, Oct. 6 at Lee Motor Speedway in New Hampshire.

“The most challenging track I’ve ever raced on was at Hallett, Oklahoma in my Legend,” he said. “I didn't have a gear gauge and raced without knowing what gear I was in.”

As far as prestige races go, Robie says the biggest race he’s competed in thus far was in Las Vegas, Nevada for the Oval World Finals in his Legend car.

His racing journey has taken him all over the country this year including events at Anderson Motor Speedway in Williamston, South Carolina; Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina; New London- Waterford Speedbowl in Waterford, Connecticut; Cordele Speedway in Cordele, Georgia; Claremont Motorsports Park in New Hampshire; Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee; Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, North Carolina; Lee USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire; Star Speedway in Epping, New Hampshire; Caffeine and Octane’s Lanier Raceway in Braselton, Georgia; and the Citrus County Speedway in Inverness, Florida.

In 2024 alone, he’s won four times, finished in the Top Five nine times and in the Top 10 a total of 20 times with several months of racing left this year.

He attributes his success to his family, his race team and his friends.

“Everyone in the town that I know has been very supportive of my racing,” Robie said. “Some of my friends have even come along to some of the races and helped me out as part of my pit crew. My whole family and all of my friends are my biggest fans and supporters. I couldn't do any of this without all of them behind me.” <

Racing remains at forefront for Windham’s Derek Kneeland

By Ed Pierce

For Windham auto racer Derek Kneeland, the only way to define your limits is by going beyond them.

Kneeland, 38, continues to be a busy man in auto racing this year, trying to find time to race his own car at local tracks, driving part-time for Mike Bryant Racing in super late model select events, and serving as a spotter for Kyle Busch, Austin Hill xfinity, Nick Sanchez trucks in NASCAR events.

Derek Kneeland of Windham has been racing since he was
8 and now works for Richard Childress Racing as a 
spotter in NASCAR events. He also finds time to compete
on local tracks in his super modified racecar, finishing fifth
in a race at Lee USA Speedway in New Hampshire
on June 22. COURTESY PHOTO   

Racing runs in Kneeland’s blood as his father Jeff competed in the 1970s and his grandfather was the general manager of Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough at one time. Derek started racing go-karts when he was 8 years old, and it ignited a dream of one day taking the checkered flag at a NASCAR race.

As costs to compete in NASCAR rose sharply, Kneeland found another avenue to become involved at that level and he took on the job as a spotter during a race in Pennsylvania 16 years ago. Those spotter duties grew over time and Kneeland now has served as a spotter for drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series.

“Bristol is my favorite race as a spotter,” Kneeland said. “It’s busy, there’s a lot going on, a lot of information, it’s loud and an exciting environment. Keeping up with the differences in divisions I spot is the hardest thing, different drivers, different vehicles, the job itself is still the same, give info, and try to describe the things I see the best way I can to be a valuable asset to my drivers and teams.”

He is currently working for Richard Childress Racing as a spotter and typically is out on the road for 38 weeks every year. That can be an exhausting schedule and doesn’t leave much time, but he is planning on racing his own car this summer at Lee Speedway in New Hampshire on July 26, Oxford Speedway in Maine on Aug. 4, Berlin Raceway in Michigan on Aug. 7, and possibly the Oxford 250 on Aug. 25 and the Snowflake 100 at Five Flags Speedway in Florida.

As a NASCAR spotter, Kneeland relays information to the driver of the team he works for, keeping them alert of what is occurring on the track. To get a complete look at the racetrack, he is usually positioned on top of one of the grandstands or support buildings.

“For me I think the hardest part is I don’t get to race weekly like most do because of traveling around the country working my NASCAR duties, so there are a few things I need to clean up to figure out such as how to go faster and be better as a driver. And money obviously, it takes a lot of money to race these cars and be competitive.”

He said racing his own car is more of a hobby than something he calls his career.

“I love it, done it since I was 8 years old,” Kneeland said. “I’m just fortunate to be able to do it a handful of times a year with my busy schedule.”

According to Kneeland, his greatest fans are his family, including his wife, Carley, his two stepsons Kolby and Logan, his parents Jeff and Kelly Kneeland, and his sister, Tasha.

He said all his family and friends have been supportive of his life in racing.

“My dad and my cousin Rusty Poland and my good buddy, Nick Brown, we all work together on my car and Rusty’s,” Kneeland said. “It’s definitely a family sport. My parents and my wife every weekend tune into the NASCAR app to listen to me spot for my drivers as well. They love it all whether it’s getting to watch me behind the wheel or listen to me do my job on a weekly basis.”

His proudest moments in racing include his first Cup win at Michigan with Kyle Larson, being a part of an Xfinity championship with Tyler Reddick and a Superspeedway win with Kyle Busch.

His career as spotter has taken him to NASCAR tracks all over the nation and as a driver, Kneeland has raced in Maine, New Hampshire, Michigan, North Carolina, and Florida. He says the biggest race he’s competed in is the Oxford 250 because he raced against NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski in that event.

“I still have a couple things left to check off my list,” Kneeland said. “And they are tough ones. A cup championship and a Daytona 500 win.” <

Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame inducts Windham racer for three decades of excellence

By Ed Pierce

One could say Bobby Babb Jr. of Windham was meant to be an auto racer. His dad, Bobby Babb Sr., won a feature race at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway the very night he was born and passed on his love for racing to his son. That love for racing has led Bobby Babb Jr. to enshrinement in the Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Retired auto racer Bobby Babb Jr. of Windham
was enshrined in the Maine Motorsports
Hall of Fame during a ceremony on 
Oct. 22 at the Augusta Civic Center.
Babb's racing career spanned  more than
three decades and included numerous
victories at racetracks in the state.
COURTESY PHOTO    

Babb Jr. was inducted into the Hall of Fame at an event in Augusta on the evening of Oct. 22, capping an illustrious career spanning more than three decades on racetracks in the state. He’s lived his entire life in Windham and graduated from Windham High School in 1981.

“I started racing the night that I turned 16 on July 3, 1979,” Babb Jr. said. “I drove through 2008 and again in 2012. I raced for 31 years, and my son Brad is in my car now.”

With his induction into the Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame, Babb Jr. joins his late father who also was inducted for his career accomplishments in 2007. He is the 10th racer from Windham to be inducted into the group of storied racers.

Babb Jr.’s own racing history is the stuff of legends. He raced at the Beech Ridge track in Scarborough from 1979 through 1982, and then competed on the NASCAR North Tour in 1983 and 1984. From 1985 through 1987, he competed at the Oxford Plains Speedway before returning to race at Beech Ridge from 1988 through 2008 and one final time in 2012.

All of Babb Jr.’s races came in the Late Model Sportsman Class, which eventually became what is known today as the Prostock Class. He was no stranger to taking the checkered flag, winning numerous races, and racking up five seasonal championships at Beech Ridge in 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2006. Babb Jr. was honored with two “Driver of the Year” titles at Beech Ridge and was awarded as the “Driver of the Decade for the 2000s” there. He was previously inducted as the 50th member of the Beech Ridge Hall of Fame and took home five Maine State Championship NASCAR trophies during his long career.

“My biggest win was every one of them,” Babb Jr. said “It wasn’t easy to win any of them because of the competition. I competed against my father, Dick Wolstenhume, Homer Drew, Ralph Cusack, Bob Randall, Mike Maietta, Mike Johnson, and Bub Bilodeau, to name just a handful of them. They were some of the toughest racers anywhere.”

For role models he credits his father, Bobby Babb Sr., and Dick McCabe, as the inspirations whose path he wanted to follow during his racing career. McCabe is a retired NASCAR Busch Series winner, and he also won the Molson Tour twice and the NASCAR Busch North Series championship twice. He also competed in races at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire and in the Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. During a 30-plus year driving career, Bob Babb Sr. won two track championships at Beech Ridge and finished first in more than 80 feature races through the years at Beech Ridge, Oxford Plains, and the Arundel Speedway.

As a young man, Babb Jr. started working for his father’s business, Robert Babb Logging, in 1981 and he still works there today and is part of the crew team for his son, Brad Babb, who is a Super Modified racer competing at the Star Speedway in Epping, New Hampshire. His daughter, Kelsey, also has raced at tracks in Maine.

In reflecting upon his career in racing, Babb Jr. says his most rewarding victories came when watching his children, Kelsey and Brad, and his son-in-law, Mike Ordway Jr., win races.

“I miss trying to outthink and outdrive someone for the win, but I still live it now watching Brad going for wins, trying to figure out his next move,” he said.

According to Babb Jr. his induction to the Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame was bittersweet.

“Bruce Elder called me last October and told me I was going into the Hall of Fame. It was just over a month after my dad passed away,” he said. “It was very emotional for me that night but my wife Carla had known about the Hall of Fame induction and had let my dad know about it when he was in the hospital. Before he passed, he knew about it, so I want to thank her for that. I’m very proud of being put into the Hall of Fame with my father who was inducted in 2007 and I’m honored to be in the Hall of Fame with McCabe, Drew, Wolstenhume, Seavey, Maietta, Johnson, Randall, Bilodeau, all of them.”

His advice to young drivers looking to launch a racing career is simple.

“Watch and listen to older more experienced drivers, stay focused, be determined to make it and have fun doing it,” Babb Jr. said. <

Bubar closing out 2023 racing season in winner’s circle

By Ed Pierce

Auto racer Corey Bubar of Windham is finishing the 2023 season with a flourish by winning the finale for the Granite State Pro Stock Series in New Hampshire on Oct. 1 and will compete Sunday in his final race this year at the Oxford Plains Speedway.

Auto racer Corey Bubar of Windham takes the checkered flag
for winning the Bosowski Properties 150 Pro Series Race,
the final event of the 2023 Granite State Pro Stock Series, at
Lee USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire on Oct. 1. 
Bubar's victory earned him a first-place check for $8,500.
SANDY HALEY PHOTOGRAPHY     

In winning the Bosowski Properties 150 Pro Series Race and the $8,500 first-place check at the Lee USA Speedway, Bubar continues to impress after a handful of races there this year. Earlier this summer, he finished third and fourth in the races that he entered there.

“We built a new car this year, so it took a while to figure it out and all of those good finishes were in the last three races there,” Bubar said. “We just have worked really hard on trying to improve it little by little and slowly we kept getting closer to where we needed to be and had a race where everything went our way.”

Bubar, 31, was second in time trials for the Bosowski Properties 150 Pro Series Race in New Hampshire, and that gave him a good feeling about his chances to win the race that night.

“We time trialed second, and I knew we had a good car because I suck at time trialing,” he said. “We had a couple of good battles with Jimmy Renfrew Jr. and Ryan Green but ended up with the big check. Thank you so much to my crew, Dan Bubar, Alan Berry, Karen Salvo Bubar, Dylan Bilodeau, Tinker Doughty, and Michael Landry. We lost a clutch in the second practice, and they all busted their butts to get it changed in time to make it out there for the scuff session. Thank you to Ryan Green for letting us take his spare clutch.”

During the race, Bubar held off challenges from drivers Ryan Green and Jimmy Renfrew Jr. to pull away down the stretch and win his second Granite State Pro Stock Series event.

His passion for racing began at a young age when he started competing in go-kart races at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough in 2004. His father Dan started racing at that track in the 1980s and as his racing career was wrapping up, he stepped up and helped his son launch his own career.

Bubar moved up to auto racing in the Sports Series division in 2007 at Beech Ridge, and then just a year following his graduation from Windham High School, he won the championship in the Sports Series division at the Beech Ridge track in 2011. He raced there in the Pro Series division in 2012 and enjoyed breakout success, winning more NASCAR Night races than any other racer at Beech Ridge and was eventually honored with the “Driver of the Decade Award” at Beech Ridge for the 2010s.

A key to his continued success on the racetrack is his knowledge of mechanics and being able to quickly size up problems with his car as they arise. He started working as a used car mechanic at Lake Region Imports in Westbrook while still in high school and in 2020, Bubar started a new job at Viking-Cives in Lewiston building plow trucks and performing welding there.

By 2021, he had built a solid Bubar Motorsports racing team and Bubar won three different races that year along with his first touring series race. He narrowly missed winning the championship in the last year of racing at the Beech Ridge racetrack, trailing by only four points in the standings. Last season was tough for Bubar, but he’s rebounded in 2023 and appears to be back in business and aiming at another title.

He debuted his new car in April built by Berry Racecars and Customs during a race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and Bubar says he’s grateful to everyone who has helped him get to this point in his career, including his wife, Ashley, and daughters Kinsley and Gracey.

“Thanks to my sponsors, Jef Simpson from J.A. Simpson, Strictly Roofing, Union Wharf Market, and T&L Racing,” he said. “And thanks to Tom Mason, and Alan and Stefanie Berry. Thank you to Robbie Harrison for all the help he's been this year.”

As far as the future goes, Bubar said he takes it one race at a time but will be back racing again next year.

“We don't have plans for next year yet,” he said. “I think we will wait until the schedules come out to decide but we will probably race some at Lee and some at Oxford again.” <

Taking checkered flag in first ACT race lands Windham racer in record books

By Ed Pierce

Windham’s Brandon Barker joined some prestigious auto racers when he entered the record book by winning his first race on the American Canadian Tour at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire on May 21. Barker, 26, is only one of three drivers to win in their first ACT start, with the late Dale Earnhardt and DJ Kennington being the only others to accomplish that feat.

Brandon Barker of Windham won his first 
race on the ACT Tour at Lee USA Speedway
in New Hampshire on May 21. He entered
the record books along with the late Dale
Earnhardt and Canadian driver DJ
Kennington as the only drivers to win
an ACT race in their only ACT start.
PHOTO BY ALAN WARD

Barker is currently in the middle of a busy 2023 racing schedule that includes 35 races running from March through November. He’s been racing mostly super late cars but chose to enter the ACT’s New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 race driving a late model car at Lee USA Speedway and defeated 24 other drivers to claim the checkered flag there.

He took the wheel of the Sullivan Construction 0NH car to the pole position in the ACT race with current top rookie Andrew Molleur to his outside after both earned prime racing positions in preliminary heats. Barker grabbed the early lead and then regained it late in the race. He traded first place back and forth with driver Jimmy Renfrew until lap 145 when Renfrew spun out. With just five laps remaining, Barker held off a challenge from driver Gabe Brown to earn his first American Canadian Tour victory in just his first and only start on the ACT Tour. In winning, Barker joined an elite list of ACT winners in their only start which includes Earnhardt’s victory at Cayuga Motor Speedway in Ontario in 1983 and longtime NASCAR Pinty’s Canadian Series standout Kennington who won at the Lee USA Speedway in 2004.

“What I love about racing is the competition part of it mostly,” Barker said. “But also having a good group of crew guys going to the races, they make it fun. The challenges I’ve found about racing professionally have got to be the money aspect of it. It’s so dang expensive. I’m extremely grateful I got a good group of sponsors and people backing me.”

His start in racing came when Barker was 5 just turning 6 in 2003 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway’s go-karting series. His grandfather obtained a couple of go-karts for Barker and his cousin to race there, and it prompted Barker to go on and pursue an auto racing career outside of his day job working for the Maine Turnpike Authority.

“Right now, I’m racing Super Late Models basically every weekend. And late model a few times,” he said. “I race on the Pro All Star series for Sam Snow, the Granite State Pro stock series, and the NASCAR weekly series Pro stocks at Lee USA Speedway for Archie St. Hilare, and a few American Canadian Tour Late Models for Chad Sullivan.”

He’s raced in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina and his sponsors include DLM Property Care, NLM Custom Homes, Keen Parts, Corvette Parts, Sam Snow Construction, CBS Lobster, R.N. Craft, DiRenzo Rentals, and Maietta Towing.

“What I hope to accomplish in my racing career before I am finished is I have yet to win a Pro All Star series race. I really want to do that, it’s the only series I have raced in where I haven’t won,” Barker said. “If it happens and not at Oxford, then winning the Oxford 250 would be one because that’s my favorite race and one of the biggest races in the country. The most challenging track I’ve raced on has got to be the Thompson Speedway in Thompson, Connecticut. I have no idea why I’m terrible there, it’s a high bank of 5/8 mile with long straightaways. It’s the second fastest track we go to. Speed doesn’t bother me but I’m just not very good there.”

According to Barker, Maine has many great drivers like Mike Rowe, Ben Rowe, and Joey Doiron because of the abundance of great racetracks in the state.

“Beech Ridge is closed now but I think that flat tracks are the toughest tracks to get a handle on and if you do, you go to places with banking,” he said. “It helps your car’s handling usually, so if your good at the flat tracks you can usually go anywhere and be competitive.”

He credits other auto racers from Windham for giving him confidence and offering sound advice about racing when needed.

“Support from others in Windham comes from friends like Brad Babb and Bobby Timmons,” Barker said. “They’re older than me so they were always a step ahead. I looked up to them and would ask their advice. Whether it was good advice or not, it seems to have worked out.”

Barker’s girlfriend, Sara Wear, has a brother and father who also race, so she is used to the competitive aspect of the sport and tries to attend as many of Barker’s races whenever possible.

His next race is scheduled for Saturday, June 3 at Riverside Speedway in Northumberland, New Hampshire for the Granite State pro stock series and then on Sunday, June 4, he’ll compete at Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine in the Pro All Star series.

But if he doesn’t win any further races this year, Barker will remember 2023 for his history making victory in the ACT New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150.

“First, you never forget your first win, that is the most satisfying feeling, winning your first one,” he said. “But winning your first touring race feels great because it proves you can do it and you belong to be out there.” <

Windham’s Bubar makes great strides on racing circuit

By Andrew Wing

It is common knowledge that driving cars at over 100 mph is dangerous. However, for Corey Bubar, his love for racing is so immense that he doesn’t spend much time worrying about that, but rather he is just focused on having fun racing in the moment.

Windham auto racer Corey Bubar and his team will compete 
for a $10,000 prize at the Keen Parts 150 race at the Lee 
USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire on July 15.
COURTESY PHOTO

Before he had even reached his teenage years, Bubar was racing go-karts at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough in 2004. After doing that for a few years, he moved up to the sports series division in 2007, and then just one year after graduating from Windham High School, Bubar won the championship in the Sports Series division at Beech Ridge in 2011.

Following his championship, Bubar moved up to the Pro Series division in 2012 and his overall time in that division was also incredibly successful, winning more NASCAR Night races than any other racer at Beech Ridge and he also won the “Driver of the Decade” award for the 2010s.

Bubar has always had a passion for cars. He started working as a used car mechanic at Lake Region Imports in Westbrook while still in high school. After leaving there at the end of 2020, Bubar began working at Viking-Cives in Lewiston where they build plow trucks for New England towns and he performs most of the welding there.

Despite his passion for cars, Bubar got into racing because the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

“I got into racing because my dad has raced since the 1980s,” said Bubar. “He stopped in the early 2000s and when the opportunity came for me to get started in go-kart racing, we didn’t hesitate and we’ve been at it ever since.”

Since Bubar started racing nearly 20 years ago, he has come to find many things that he likes about the sport, but his favorite is the thought process that goes into it.

“There are so many options of how to set up your car and you always have to think of ways that can make it better,” said Bubar. “Some of the things that I come up with are really outside of the box, and it’s really cool when they work.”

On the other hand, Bubar has also come to find out that there are some parts of racing that he doesn’t like as much, and the worst part to him is altercations with people.

“Racing is so competitive, and sometimes people’s tempers get hot,” said Bubar. “If you’re successful, then you will have your fair share of them, and I have lost friends because of racing.”

There have been a lot of ups and downs throughout Bubar’s racing career, but last season just might’ve been the best yet for him and his Bubar Motorsports team as they won three races and Bubar won his first touring series race.

“Last season was pretty good for us,” said Bubar. “I had a chance at the championship, but ended up in second place, just four points behind. A lot of credit goes to my team, we had a fast car just about every week.”

Following his exceptional season in 2021, Bubar was excited for what this season had in store, but with Beech Ridge Motor Speedway closing at the end of last year, he and his team didn’t enter 2022 with many expectations. Despite the closing, Bubar and his team have competed in some races, and while their luck hasn’t gone their way so far this season, Bubar and his team still have hope for what’s yet to come.

“The results from our season have been a little bit discouraging,” said Bubar. “However, we have still had good speed at a few of the races, so hopefully we can get some good finishes this year.”

Next up for Bubar and his team is the Keen Parts 150 race that features a $10,000 prize at the Lee USA Speedway in New Hampshire on July 15, and at the Oxford 250 that will be held at the Oxford Plains Speedway on Aug. 28. There are also a couple other races that they plan on going to as well, but without the pressure of a championship at Beech Ridge, Bubar and his team’s goal for the rest of the season is to just go and race for fun.

Aside from the rest of this season, Bubar is realistic about what he can accomplish in racing professionally.

“I don’t really have any higher aspirations for my career. I just like doing what we are doing now,” said Bubar. “I would just like to thank all of my family, crew and sponsors who help me out to be able to keep racing.” <

Windham third-generation auto racer continues family tradition of winning

Windham's Brad Babb is a rising star in auto racing having
won many races in different divisions at tracks in Maine,
New Hampshire and Connecticut. COURTESY PHOTO

By Ed Pierce

Racing automobiles is in the blood of Brad Babb of Windham and it’s a family tradition going back nearly 70 years.

Babb, 29, is following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Bob Babb, who started racing at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway in the 1950s, and his father, Bobby Babb, who raced for many years at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough. Brad Babb’s sister Kelsey has also raced professionally, so it was a natural progression for him to want to compete on the racetrack too.

“I was brought up going to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway every week to watch my dad, and I started racing go-karts when I was 8-years-old,” Babb said.

He’s currently racing a 350-Supermodified car at the Star Speedway in Epping, New Hampshire and typically competes every other weekend, about 12 times in all from May through September. 

Supermodifieds are made to be raced on asphalt tracks and are a favorite of racing fans. It has a tapered tube chassis that is tipped by a roof wing and mounted on struts keeping ti level for maximum straightaway speed while titling the vehicle forward for maximum corner downforce. Engines on supermodifieds ride alongside the driver for even weight distribution and are mated directly to the rear axle.

“I’ve also previously raced Super Late Models, ACT Late Models, Tour Type Modifieds, and Sportsman divisions,” Babb said. “So far the only division I haven’t won several races in is Tour Type Modifieds.”

A 2011 graduate of Windham High School, Babb has grown accustomed to winning, capturing the Jim Belfiore Memorial for 350 Supermodifieds at Star Speedway on Aug. 14 and winning the 2017 overall championship at Epping in just his first season of Supermodifed racing.

“My favorite part of racing is the competition,” he said. “I obviously enjoy going fast, and I really enjoy getting to know all the different people at the track, but I really love being challenged.”

Finding the time to devote to auto racing has been difficult.

“The most challenging thing is trying to balance my time. I’m at the track as much as I can be because it’s what I love to do,” he said. “But it takes a lot of work in the shop to have the car ready to go on top of working a full-time job and trying to have a little bit of a personal life.”

Married to wife Jackie, Babb works as a welder/fabricator for Casco Bay Steel Structures and is grateful for the support his wife and family offer for his racing career.

“My wife Jackie also used to race go karts as a kid, and her brother still races to this day. So luckily, she enjoys racing too,” Babb said. “I don’t have any kids besides my yellow lab, Sophie. She doesn’t like the noise of the cars, but when she was a puppy, she went to the track with me and loved all the attention she got.”

Prior to competing in 350 Supermodifieds, Babb racked up an impressive record of success in other divisions. He was the 2012 NASCAR All-American Series Maine State Champion, Track Champion and Driver of the Year at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and was a finalist in the Concord, North Carolina Kulwicki Driver Development Program for the 2015 season.

Babb was awarded the 2008 “Rookie of the Year” honors at the Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and won the 2012 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Pro Series Championship at Beech Ride Motor Speedway and went on to claim the overall 2012 championship at Beech Ridge. In 2010, Babb was honored as the American Canadian Tour’s “Late Model Rookie of the Year.” 

In 2012, he also got to compete in a race at Beech Ridge against his father Bobby, who himself had raced against his father Bob at Beech Ridge in the 1980s. 

During his career, Babb has raced at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire and in the three-night American Racer Challenge in 2015 at New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

His current sponsors are Robert Babb & Sons Wood Contractors, Kaminski Automotive, and Spence & Mathews Insurance, although he says he always be willing to welcome new sponsors onboard. 

His next race will be at Star Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 11 and he’s already preparing for that competition. 

“My two main goals right now are to continue having success in the 350 Supermodified division, and to win a Tour Type Modified race, because as I said, I haven’t won in that division yet,” Babb said. < 

Windham driver a formidable force on racetracks in 2020

Bobby Timmons III of Windham competes
in a Super modified race at Star Speedway
in Epping, New Hampshire. He is a third-
generation auto racer who is making his
mark on the racing scene in New England.
Timmons won the 350 Super modified race at
Thompson Motor Speedway Motorsports
Park in Connecticut over the Columbus
Day weekend.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE ROTHWELL 

By Ed Pierce

As far back as Bobby Timmons III can recall, he’s had a need for speed and 2020 has proven to be an unqualified success for the 27-year-old driver from Windham.

A third-generation racer, Timmons, 27, launched his career while competing in go-karts at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough after watching his father, Bobby Timmons, Jr. and his grandfather, Bobby Timmons, race Super modified automobiles at racetrack in both Maine and New Hampshire. His devotion to living up to their legacy has led to numerous racing victories, including taking the checkered flag in September’s Star Classic at the Star Speedway in Epping, New Hampshire and winning the 350 Super modified race at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Connecticut over the Columbus Day weekend.

“I admire my dad and his work ethic toward racing cars and life in general,” Timmons said. “Growing up I was a fan of local guys that were friends with my dad, Scott Mulkern, Gary Drew, and Larry Gelinas. I was also a big fan of Ben Rowe. On the NASCAR end of things, I was huge Kevin Harvick fan. He filled in for Earnhardt after he died and was a rookie the same year that I was a rookie in go-karts.” 

Currently Timmons competes in two different super modified cars, which are a class of open wheel race cars that compete on paved short tracks throughout the U.S. and Canada.

“The car I drive predominantly is a 350-super modified. It has a 350-cubic inch Chevrolet small block engine that produces a little over 400 horsepower and 10-inch wide tires,” Timmons said. “The other car I have is an ISMA (International Super Modified Association) super modified. That car has a 468-
cubic inch Chevrolet big block that makes around 800 horsepower and has tires that range from 13- to 18-inches wide. They are considered the fastest short track racecars in the country.” 

During the season, Timmons races weekly at Star Speedway in New Hampshire on a one quarter-mile banked track. Races are typically 35 to 60-laps in length. In winning in his final race of the year in Connecticut, Timmons raced on a 5/8 of a mile track with the most banking out of any racetrack in New England. This summer he also raced in three ISMA events and in the past has raced in the Oxford 250 in Maine.

“The challenge of trying to make a car go faster than everyone else in the garage and on the track, the friends I've made along the way, and the shear aspect of driving a car that fast are the best things about  the sport for me,” Timmons said. “At the last ISMA race I competed in, we were reaching speeds of 150 mph.”

A 2011 graduate of Windham High School, Timmons says that the worst part of auto racing for drivers is the money it takes just to be there, let alone to be competitive

“We are very fortunate to be able to build a lot of the things we need to race in-house, but the costs of everything that we can't build or the things that we have to have continue to go up in price every year,” he said. “We have a couple of small sponsors that help us out with the weekly costs of new tires or fuel,
but my dad and I fund the majority of it out of our own pockets.”

He’s worked for his father since he was 12 and is a machinist and a welder at his father’s shop, Timmons Machine & Fabrication Inc. of Windham, when not racing Super modified cars.

“My dad built his first super modified when he was 19-years-old,” Timmons said. “Buying equipment and tools to do so is what eventually led to him starting his own business in 1985 that we have still going today. But it’s an entire family affair for us. My dad works on the cars with me. My mom and sister are at just about every race to support me. My sister’s husband helps us out and races go karts himself. My last remaining grandparent, my grandmother on my dad’s side, is my biggest fan and never misses a race. She owns the ISMA big block super that I race.”

His advice for others wanting to become a racer is to just enjoy the experience and have fun.

“Racing has given me a lot of great moments in my life and I've made plenty of lifelong friends from it,” Timmons said. “I just want to keep having fun.” <

Windham High graduate wins first race at Oxford Plains Speedway

Auto racer Garrett Lamb captured the checkered
flag at Oxford Plains Speedway on July 4,
winning in only his second time competing at
that racetrack. He began his career at age 4 by
racing go-karts at Victory Lane indoor karting
in Portland.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GARRETT LAMB 

By Ed Pierce

He may have only just graduated last month from high school, but Windham’s Garrett Lamb isn’t letting youth stand in the way of racing success.

In just his second time competing at the Oxford Plains Speedway, Lamb, 18, won in a 12-car 30-lap Street Stock division race on July 4. It’s just another accomplishment for the young racer, who began by racing go-karts at age 4 at Victory Lane indoor karting in Portland.

His win at Oxford came in just his seventh overall career Street Stock race following previous starts at Scarborough's Beech Ridge Motor Speedway's entry-level Thursday Thunder events.

“As a young kid I always looked up to drivers like Dan Mckeage, Trever Sandborn, and Reggie Leeman,” Lamb said. “I have always looked up to the way these drivers have raced and conducted themselves on the racetrack. “I’ve also raced at Richmond Karting Speedway for about five years. My father has been involved in racing his whole life, so I was brought up around it and I have been involved with it for most of my life.” 

Lamb currently is racing in a Street Stock/Wildcat, a 1982 Chevrolet Camaro with a 602-crate motor. He will attend Southern New Hampshire University this fall to study mechanical engineering.

Street stock racing division features a rough and tumble class of production-based race car. It’s the most competitive type of racing because the fewest number of modifications are authorized to be made to the race car and cars can be easily brought up to division racing standards.

“My favorite thing about driving a race car is just being able to hang out with my friends and family,” Lamb said. “Our entire race team is just a huge family and it is so awesome to be able to hang out with my friends at the racetrack.”

Lamb said that the most challenging aspect about racing at this stage of his career is his lack of experience in a full-sized car compared to most of the competitors that I he races against.

“I have only been in a full-sized car for three full seasons and this will be my first full season in this type of race car,” he said.

In addition to his two races so far at the Oxford Plains Speedway, Lamb also competed in last year’s Ikey Dorre Memorial race at Speedway 95 in Bangor and finished 11th in the 100-lap race there.

To support his career, Lamb works in the grocery department at Walmart and is sponsored by Dodo’s Hot Rods; Libby’s Septic; Portland Speed; Top Gun Construction; Mad Mikes Custom Detailing; DynaMaxx Training System; B&D Burner Service; ASM Graphics; Chasing The Checkered; East Coast Communication; Jay and Brenda Robinson; 

Lucille Brockman; David and Josh Childs; Black Flag Podcast; Night Owl Creations; Naughty 40 Racing; and Shamrock Farms.

“I typically race in the Wildcat division at Beech Ridge on Saturday nights,” Lamb said. “However due to the pandemic, we ventured to Oxford Plains Speedway for a couple races this year and ended up picking up a victory in the street stock division.”

While competing at Beech Ridge, Lamb finished second overall in the points standing during his first season but went back the following year and won two races there and the overall championship.

“It is one of the most special accomplishments in my racing career,” Lamb said. 

The Lamb Family has been involved in racing for most of their lives.

“My dad Scott Lamb maintains all of my cars and is my biggest supporter,” Lamb said. “My mom Amy Lamb is another huge supporter that lets me love my dream out and race.”

He competes for Naughty 40 Racing, a racing team owned by Dan Mckeage.

“I have known Dan as a family friend my entire life and now he’s given me the chance to love my dream and race one of his cars. I cannot thank him enough for every he has done for me and provided for me,” Lamb said. “I can’t thank everybody on Team Naughty enough as well. We are all a huge family and they deserve as much credit for my racing as anybody and that includes Greg Emerson, David Boucher, Chris Robbins, Steve and Missy Taylor, Tim Bennet, Jason and Wade Kennedy, Shawn, Laura and Daniel Mckeage." 

According to Lamb, Dan Mckeage also owns a Super Late Model that Team Naughty has raced all around the Northeast.

“I am the tire guy on his car and my father is the car chief on the car,” Lamb said. “We all work together just about every weekend of the year whether I am racing or not.” 

For Lamb, he said he’s found that the worst aspect of being a race car driver is the ability to keep a clear mind inside of the car while driving. 

After the summer he’ll head off to college, so Lamb’s racing plans for the future are unclear.

“We will continue to race the Wildcat/Street Stock as long as we can until another opportunity presents itself to move up in division,” he said.

And for those seeking to following in his footsteps in a career in racing, Lamb has some simple guidance.

“Some advice that I would give to an upcoming racer would be to stay focused and stay determined,” he said. “With every opportunity that you are presented, you need to take advantage of it immediately because you never know when it might go away.” < 

‘Need for Speed’ powers Windham racer to track success

Windham Auto Racer Rusty Poland competes at Oxford Plains
Speedway and Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in a super late model
Chevy with a distance racing chassis built by Jeff Taylor.
Poland owns the racecar with his father, Wayne Poland.
SUBMITTED PHOTO

By Ed Pierce

The thrill of competition and taking the checkered flag are what continue to motivate Windham auto racer Rusty Poland.

From as far back as he can remember, Poland, who turns 26 next week, has yearned to race and improve his skills on the track. Starting out in go-karts as a child and moving up to 250-lap stock car races, Poland has become a name well-known to racing fans in Maine through the years.   

“My grandfather Chummy Brown started racing at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough on Day 1 and never looked back from there,” Poland said. “He still works on my racecar to this day almost daily at the young age of 82.”

Poland’s fans have cheered as he’s won national and divisional championships from Maine to Florida in go-karts, then moved up to compete in full-body racecars and won races in the sport series division and pass races in the sportsman division at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. His top mark to date in the super late model division has been a second-place finish in a race at Oxford Plains Speedway, but he’s also optimistic about his chances this year.

“I’m working really hard to earn it, but hopefully we can finally make it happen this season,” Poland said.

During his racing career, he’s captured the World Karting Association National Championship, four WKA divisional championships and was honored as the 2013 PASS Sportsman Rookie of the Year.

On June 28 Poland was 12^th overall out of 34 cars entered in a 150-lap pass tour race at Oxford and his goal remains to get better every time out on the track.

His #44 super late model Chevy is a distance racing chassis built by Jeff Taylor, who Poland describes as one of the best chassis builders in the northeastern United States. Additional parts for Poland’s racecar are maintained and installed by him and his crew and he co-owns the car along with his father, Wayne Poland.

“This season we will be traveling to a couple tracks in New Hampshire to race as well,” Poland said. “A normal race for us is 50 laps and then we run a couple of the bigger shows that are 150 laps and last year we competed in the famous Oxford 250 which was 250 laps.”

In Poland’s opinion, the best thing about racing is all of it.

“I love everything about it. It’s brought me close with so many friends,” he said. “I consider them family and how much of a family sport it is for myself. My grandfather, my mom, my dad, my aunts, my uncles, and my cousins all support me and come to almost every race and always try and help in any way possible. It’s extremely humbling to have the support group that I have and I’m extremely blessed.” 

According to Poland, a 2012 graduate of Windham High School, the most challenging aspect of racing is the constant fight to do better each time out on the racetrack.

Windham Auto Racer Rusty Poland, right, has been racing for
much of his life with the encouragement  of his father, Wayne
Poland, left. Poland's grandfather, Chummy Brown, 82, used to race
in Scarborough and still helps out by working on Poland's car to
this very day. SUBMITTED PHOTO 

“Setups on the cars are always changing and everyone’s finding new things to go faster and it’s just really hard to keep up with and hard to afford buying some of the things for being a small family team like us,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s also that aspect that gives you the thrill and excitement on the nights when you do well.”

He said that the worst part of racing to him is the money involved to stay competitive.

“Not so much the dollar bills themselves, but everything takes money,” Poland said. “Something breaks and it has to be replaced and fixed, you crash it’s going to cost you more money to buy new parts. A lot of teams put so much into it and to see stuff like that happen is a real reality check and bummer for anyone.” 

When he’s not racing, Poland works for Casella Waste Systems in the maintenance department as a diesel truck technician.

He’s also a Maine certified welder and has done a lot of welding and truck body rebuilds. In the little free time he does have, he enjoys snowmobiling, dirt biking and anything that has a motor involved with it.

Poland says he owes a great deal to his sponsors, who have allowed him to pursue his dreams.

“I have some awesome sponsors and I would never be close to where I am today without them,” he said. “I have Derek Kneeland Racing who is actually my cousin and a NASCAR spotter for Kyle Larson. We have Casella Waste Systems who has sponsored me since the very first season and also my mother father and myself are employees there.”

Other sponsors of Poland are Morrell’s Excavation and Septic, Bonang Concrete LLC, Timmons Machine and Ty-gar Machine in Windham, Kruzecks Garage, Maine-ly batteries and his friends and family also chip in and give him tire money and such when they are able to do so. 

As far as his future is concerned, Poland said that he’s realistic, realizing how difficult it is to compete in NASCAR races.

“But I would love to be able to get a ride driving someone else’s racecar and being able to do some pass tour races and things like that would be my top of the line deal that I’d love to see in the future,” he said.

His advice for those considering a racing career is to not ever give up on your dreams.

“If it’s worth everything you put into it, keep the drive and determination to get better, fight through the hard times and enjoy the good times,” Poland said. “Racing is a roller coaster of emotions, but with the right attitude you’ll get through it. And most importantly, surround yourself with good people and good things will happen. Never lose respect or thankfulness of the people that give up time to help you follow your dreams. It takes an army to run a race team.” <