30 May 2024
Hermon native Mike Hopkins is a busy man these days.
In addition to running his own business, Hermon-based Hopkins Paving LLC, he is following his baseball-playing sons Max and Sam at Hermon High School and softball-playing daughter Gracie, who is 11 years old.
And he is also driving his race cars including a Late Model Chevy he bought from Steuben’s Brenton Parritt that he took to Victory Lane at the Coastal 200 at Wiscasset Speedway last Sunday.
It was his second straight Coastal 200 victory in that car and he pocketed $15,000 for the win.
“Winning never gets old,” said the 38-year-old Hopkins.
The three upcoming races on his radar are the inaugural Celebration of America 300 at Oxford Plains Speedway featuring NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kyle Busch and Daniel Hemric on Wednesday, July 3; the 51st annual Oxford 250 at the Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, Aug. 25 and the Boss Hogg 150 at Wiscasset on Sunday, Sept. 1.
He has had a good season to date.
In addition to his Coastal 200 triumph, he had a second-place finish at the Snowflake 100 in December at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. and a fifth at the Northeast Classic 50 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon on April 14.
He also had a fourth in the inaugural North American Pro Stocks National race at Lee USA Speedway in New Hampshire which paid $30,000 to the winner.
He said that he was poised to win the St. Patrick’s Day 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway (N.C.) on March 16 when he tangled with Cole Butcher and got spun into the wall.
Hopkins, who had just passed Butcher to take the lead with two laps remaining, wound up finishing 18th and Butcher was sent by race control to the back of the field for his role in the incident.
Butcher, who has won the last two Oxford 250s, finished 10th.
Hopkins was leading the race at Loudon when he blew a tire.
He was able to scramble to earn the fifth-place finish.
Hopkins used to be a weekly racer at Hermon’s Speedway 95 but running for a points championship isn’t something he cares to do any more.
He said he wants to spend more time following his kids’ careers because when he was racing weekly, he missed out on a lot of their activities. He wants to make up for lost time.
“They grow up fast,” said Hopkins, who stopped weekly racing after the 2019 season during which he won the Pro All Stars Series National Super Late Model points championship with two wins and six top-five finishes in seven races.
“I enjoy racing but it’s hard to do and it takes up so much time. And it costs so much money,” he said.
He added that he just wants to run the big races because of the bigger paydays, the competition and the prestige.
“I like the challenge,” he said. “I don’t care to chase points.”
The winner of the Celebration of America 300 will take home a winner’s check of $40,000; the Oxford 250 victor pockets $25,000 and the Boss Hogg race has paid $10,000 to the winner in the past few years.
Drivers can also make extra money at some races for leading laps.
He won the Boss Hogg 150 in 2021 and 2022.
He will also look for other races to enter.
“I pick and choose my races depending upon how busy work gets and the kids’ schedule,” said Hopkins, whose kids also play for Sluggers in Brewer.
Hopkins has two cars that he races: his Late Model car and a Pro Stock.
“I think I’ve raced my Late Model car six times and I’m six-for-six with it,” said Hopkins, who has won the last two Paul Bunyan Speed Weekend Late Model races at Hermon’s Speedway 95 with it as well as the two Coastal 200s.
He has had his Late Model car for three years.
After he bought it from Parritt, he said he and friend Anthony Wilcox ”cut it up, put a new clip on it and did some updates to it.”
Other friends also helped out.
He has a Port City Chevy for his Super Late Model/Pro Stock car.
Hopkins began racing when he was 17.
“My mom (Cassie) used to take me to Speedway 95 and I also had friends who went,” said Hopkins. “I wanted to do it.”
He wound up winning the Late Model points title in 2011 at Speedway 95.
His best finish at the Oxford 250 were a pair of fifth-place showings in 2020 and 2019.
Winning the Oxford 250 is at the top of his bucket list as well as running in the annual Snowball Derby in Pensacola which he has yet to do.
Racing is in his blood.
“It’s an adrenaline rush,” said Hopkins.