STANDISH- Kenneth Paul Lund, 78, passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, November 28, 2020. Kenny was born in Gardiner Maine, and was raised in Saco. He was a graduate of Thornton Academy.
Kenny was a 3 time Racing Hall of Fame Recipient, which includes Beech Ridge Motor Speedway (2015), Wiscasset Speedway (2020) And the Maine State Stockcar Racing Association(2013).
Kenny’s racing career started in 1965 at Beech Ridge where he quickly displayed the ability to start at the rear of a field many times of 40 to 50 cars and get to the front in less than 20 laps. One such night was recounted in a newspaper clipping from his rookie year. “Looking over the past 3 weeks Kenny Lund has won every race he started, except one, a heat, and he finished second in that one. That may sound fairly reasonable to most people, but we saw him on the tail end of nearly 60 cars at the start of a 30 lap feature, and he took the lead on lap 9”.
Kenny went on to win back to back championships in 1966 and 67, while at the same time becoming an accomplished B Class driver, as illustrated by his winning Rookie of the Year in the Bomber division in 1967. That 67 season was also extra special because the car owner and crew chief was his dad, Elmer Lund.
One of Kenny’s tough competitors, Hall of Famer Larry Tanguay, told me of his first trip to Wiscasset for an open comp race. Larry said that they were kind of at a loss regarding set-up, that is until Kenny Lund came over and basically told the Tanguay's what they needed to change, and in the process, literally gave Larry what proved to be the winning combination. Yes, Larry ended up winning the feature that day! Kenny’s willingness to always help a competitor was two fold, one because he was always generous with his time and knowledge but really because he said the better the competition, the greater the victory.
After a brief break from racing, in 1978, Kenny qualified for all the Late Model Open Comp events at Oxford, including the Oxford 250. Then it was Beech Ridge full time where he won championships in the highly competitive Limited Sportsman division in 1980 and 81. That 4th championship at Beech Ridge in 1981, behind the wheel of Clarence Harmon’s #90 was won by what we believe was a record margin of 245 points!
A close friend of Kenny’s actually gave Vesta a trophy for her 30 years of marriage to Kenny. Kenny enjoyed that trophy as much as she did. Another good Kenny story was the one when someone threw a snake into Kenny’s car just before the lineup was to roll onto the track. Kenny was TERRIFIED of snakes and one story is that Kenny jumped out of the car, another story claimed that he drove out of the pit, off the track and down over the banking… I guess we’ll never really know now.
There was so much more to Kenny then racing… Kenny lived a life most people dream of. When Kenny met Vesta in 1972 he had found his ‘rock’. And they lived a full life while traveling and making many, many friends. They traveled to the Caribbean for 20 plus years, spending many vacations in Cancun, Mexico collecting more friends from all over the US.
Kenny built a camp in Andover, Maine in the early 80’s. There they spent every weekend in the winter snowmobiling all over Western Maine. They made many trips to Canada, including a trip around the Gaspe’. Kenny was also an avid hunter and they spent the summers on Richardson lake enjoying boating with the family, friends and grandchildren.
In his spare time, he loved to golf. Kenny took many trips to Myrtle Beach with the boys. Unknown to most, but Kenny was colorblind. During one of his golfing trips, his ‘friends’ got to his suitcase and rearranged all of the color coordinated outfits that Vesta has so meticulously packed for him. That made for some very funny stories in the friend group...not so funny to Vesta!
Kenny is survived by his loving wife Vesta and children Ken Lund of Brunswick and Stephanie Ludka of Florida, his sister Kim and husband John Jacques of Buxton, Carolann Merritt of Auburn, Eddie Lund of Windham and Vincent Lund of Buxton. Also six grandchildren, Blaine and Jacob Lund, Lauren and Lance Ludka, and Erica and Kristen Gammon. Kenny also leaves behind many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his father Elmer Lund and mother Pauline Rand, his stepson, Douglas Gammon and his sister, Marsha Westberry.
Visiting hours will be held on Saturday, Dec. 5th, from 11 AM - 2 PM at the Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service Chapel, 498 Long Plains Road (Rt. 22) in Buxton. Please be mindful of COVID restrictions and mask wearing both inside and outside the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Animal Refuge League, PO Box 336, Westbrook, Maine 04098