Category Archives: Oxford 250

August 28, 2023 · 7:10 pm

Kyle Richardson celebrates Oxford 250 weekend with Mad Bombers feature win

(Oxford ME) Their last race wasn’t what you expected.

A 20-lap feature with no cautions?

For the Mad Bombers, that is unusual. I haven’t seen all their thirteen features this season but I’m believing that cautions are the rule not the exception.

On August 12^th it was clear sailing. Those up front, stayed up front.

The unpredictability of the Mad Bombers returned AFTER that race ended when the apparent winner wasn’t registered to drive that car and was disqualified. Derek McKee (formerly in second) accepted the “gift.”

Switched from Friday night because of the rain, the Mad Bombers were part of the opening acts on Oxford 250 Sunday.

Before the large crowd, the Mad Bombers reverted to form and provided some exciting action. The outcome was in doubt and the interactions were numerous.

Cars collide on the first turn of the 20-lap feature

Kyle Richards came away with his first win.

Kyle crosses with the win and Corey Morgan takes second

The best Kyle had done previously, in this his first year in the Mad Bombers division, was 4^th in May and 2^nd in July.

“I had a great car today,” explained Kyle afterwards.

“We usually put one tire on a week, but we had four on this time,” he added. “The grip we had today was awesome.”

Kyle knew that he had something special in the heat he won. “We were flying on the outside,” he said.

Kyle needed more than those new tires to get the lead in the 20-lap feature.

Kyle got the help he hoped for on the first turn when a spinout by Cam Richards, in the first row, reshuffled the front of the pack.

Kyle took the high side past the trouble and started in the front row on the restart next to Jon Vargas.

Kyle took the lead but had a battle on his hands for a while with Justin Galloux who had also won his heat.

Also in the mix was points-leader Corey Morgan.

“We came out of that first caution in seventh and worked our way further up,” recalled Corey afterwards.

As Kyle started to extend his lead over Justin and Corey, another caution came out with five laps left.

That restart gave Justin and Corey another clean shot at overtaking the leader. (I thought at the time, that since Kyle and Justin had never won before, and Corey had won four times, I had to like his chances in a five-lap race.)

But Kyle had the pole and the tires and never gave in. Corey, however, had enough time to get second.

“I never thought I had the time to catch the 43 (Justin Gailloux) but the restart gave me the chance,” said Corey.

There have been seven different winners in the thirteen features in the Mad Bomber division. I think that the division has plenty of good drivers although many of them are young. The drivers tend to be aggressive, and the distance (20 laps) is short. Things happen.

In the second heat, Michael Deardon had the lead and looked safe to win it. Suddenly, his car slowed up, nearly causing an accident, and several cars went past before he regained his speed. He ended up third, but that brief speed loss cost him.

In the first heat, Callahan Cox took a spin. Dan Caswell tried to avoid him by turning right but instead went hard into the driver’s-side rear.

Sometimes you see an accident out on the track. Not this time. This was one that you heard…and I was at the top of the pit-side grandstand! Fortunately, Callahan got out of his car and walked on his own to the ambulance where he was checked over. Hopefully, he’s okay.

Justin Gailloux, Kyle Richardson, and Corey Morgan

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Filed under Mad Bombers, Oxford, Oxford 250, Oxford Plains Speedway

Tagged as Callahan Cox, Corey Morgan, Justin Gailloux, Kyle Richardson, Mad Bombers

August 23, 2023 · 6:56 pm

2023 Media Day for the Oxford 250

(Oxford ME) If the weather will only be this nice on Sunday!

Sunny, with a breeze and temperatures in the low 70s.

This afternoon (Wednesday) was Media Day leading up to the 50^th running of the Oxford 250 on Sunday.

Track owner Tom Mayberry hosted the event.

Opportunity was given afterwards to interviews drivers.

I spent time with eight of them and appreciated their cooperation.

Instead of trying to summarize what they said, I have chosen to quote them verbatim as closely as I can off my digital recorder.

This approach does leave you, the reader, unaware of the exact question I asked to get the response I’ve posted. I’m guessing, however, that OPS fans will figure that part out without any help from me.

Johnny Clark – “Hindsight is 20-20. At the time the place was really a one-groove track. I committed going down the backstretch to where I was going, and it just didn’t work out. But, that was a year ago. We can’t play that anymore in our heads. We have just moved past it. There has been no interaction with the winner. We haven’t spoke, and probably won’t. Don’t need to. Trouble won’t happen. I can’t guarantee what could happen on the track. That’s not going to happen on our end.

We’ve done so bad over here lately. I think we’ve exhausted all the things we wanted to try and have gone back to the basics here for the weekend. We’ve been so good at White Mountain this year. Oxford alone hasn’t changed that much. The same people that typically have been running good, are running good. We’re going to flip back the notebook a few years. We’re going back to the 250 notebook continuously to find more speed and comfort. Boy, I’ve failed at that recently here in the four times I’ve raced here. Last year we were in contention, obviously won it in 2020. We’ve been competitive the last eight years. We’ve either led laps or been in the top five. We just want to give ourselves a legitimate shot.

I shouldn’t have lifted behind the lap car. I thought that the lap car was going in a different direction. He surprised me. We were fortunate to spin it out and keep moving. The caution flew and the field was frozen, and we were moving forward and that’s why we restarted where we did. We came home fourth and were lucky it was a DNF.

Hopefully, with the weather the owner can salvage Saturday and Sunday.”

DJ Shaw – “It’s been a lot of years of close and just off on the pit strategy or one wrong move in traffic. There’s been so many years that I’ve made mistakes behind the wheel. We’ve had cars to contend and no one ever knew it because of things I did.

We’re off a little bit in general. I would say that here (OPS) we’ve been above average for us. We’re not winning races but we’re in the top six or so every time out. We have good momentum but not winning momentum.

Last year we won the race leading up to this one. We jumped ship on our strategy too soon I think. We ran near (Cole) Butcher the whole race. I wasn’t getting the track position I wanted. We took four tires first to get the track position we wanted and then took two at the end when everyone was taking four and hung on for 8^th. We knew that it was a move that would cost us a chance at a win, but it gave us a chance for a good finish.”

Dave Farrington – “2020 was our closest chance. We were chasing Johnny (Clark) down with about 25 laps to go. We caught him in lap traffic and then the caution came out. We restarted on the outside and lost it pretty much on that restart. We finished 4^th there and 6^th in 2012.

The crew comes together on race day. Everyone has their assigned task to execute, and they do a heck of a job. We raced close to 200 at Wiscasset this year. We were the first ones off pit road. We beat Mike Hopkins and all those guys. It’s a group of guys who get together for one day and get the job done. My crew is experienced. They make it happen.”

Gabe Brown – “We were lucky to get where we did. We had a good car but went down two laps early. We want to stay on strategy this year and have a chance at the end. If we can stay on strategy we might have a chance at the end. It was definitely good for us that this was a long race. We struggled to qualify and had trouble in the first 20 laps of the race. We were two laps down. We had a good enough car to be up front. We just needed to get there. We hope to start up front and stay up front. To go from two laps down to finishing third was something. It sucked being that close to the win at the end of the race but before that we had never been that close.”

Kate Re – “I would love to have this weather on Sunday, not too hot, not too cold. The rain can really change the track. I’m just here to put my helmet on like everyone else. When it comes to the Oxford 250, I want to be known as just another driver. I don’t want to be singled out because I’m a female up there. We’ll start by trying to race our way in and go from there. This track is greasy with not a lot of grip. You’re constantly turning so it’s not like your normal Thompson with a long straightaway and tight corners. You’re constantly turning. Passing is hard with the lack of grip. I would not be tempted to ride up on the high side. I like the fourth groove out there.”

Mike Rowe – “I think I’ve missed two or three of them out of the fifty. We hope to draw a good number and start up front this Sunday. We won here two or three weeks ago. The cars are so close. It’s hard to move up. It’s no cakewalk. You have to have everything going good for you. You have to have a good pit crew and sponsors to make this thing happen. The memory that sticks out is winning here for the first time. To be the first Mainer to win this was awesome. Tom Mayberry and his crew have done a tremendous job on the track. They’ve done pit row over. The place looks awesome.

It’s great to have Ben in the race. You look out for each other. He won’t be getting by me if I can help it, however.”

Joe Pastore – “I was racing for a different team last year. We put 80 or so laps and yellow came out with 160 laps down. I said, ‘Why don’t we come in and pit for fuel,’ and they said ‘no, we’ve got to make it to 180 and then come in and put 4 tires on.’ We were the 180 yellow. We never made it. We had a great car too all day. I think we had a chance to win it if we’d pitted and got fuel. You never know. There were a bunch of yellows and all that running around on yellow led to our running out of fuel. That was a bad way to give up a chance to win. I wish there had been a dial to signal empty but there wasn’t. We won’t do that this year. Maybe we’ll have full tank at the end!

It should be a great race. I’m racing for a new team. This year we were second here in points for a while and have fallen back to fifth. We ended up winning the big 100-lap race here.”

Ben Rowe – “We’ve raced each other for years. He’s not going to let me by very easily. The other drivers here will tell you, he’s probably the hardest one to get around. I don’t expect him to give me a break. He’s got a separate car, crew, and sponsors. He’s got his own deal and I’ve got mine. We race each other clean. We never rough each other up. The first year I won, we both started on the pole. That’s something you don’t even dream of. I grew up in these stands him bringing me since I was a little kid. This is all we know. Other than work, this is what we do.

The car this year has been good. It’s a matter of starting up front. Last time up we started up front, paced ourselves, and were able to go at the end and stay ahead of Max (Cookson).

You can’t win this thing in the first fifty laps, but you can lose it. You don’t want to get tore up. You want to stay out of trouble. You want to have a boring race until halfway and then start positioning yourself and get yourself right for the end. They say there will be 62 drivers and I say that at least 35 of them have a chance to win.”

Well, there you have it. Interesting things in there.

I can’t resist trying to predict the outcome.

Last year I guessed that it would be one of the Clark’s and that looked like an awfully good choice until things unraveled with eight laps left.

This year I’m going with DJ Shaw. He’s been close and he seems, to me, to be extremely well prepared. He knows what to do, but can he manage the variables that are bound to come on a small track, with so many cars, for a long distance? I say he gets it done on Sunday.

See you at the race.

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Filed under Oxford, Oxford 250, Oxford Hills, Oxford Plains Speedway

Tagged as Ben Rowe, Dave Farrington, DJ Shaw, Gabe Brown, Joe Pastore, Johnny Clark, Kate Re, Mike Rowe, Oxford 250, Tom Mayberry

August 13, 2023 · 6:34 pm

Derek McKeen wins his 2nd Mad Bombers feature

Derek McKeen with his mother and brother and tonight’s winner’s trophy

(Oxford ME) The Mad Bombers 20-lap feature is always interesting.

Spinouts, lead changes, and cautions are usually part of the package.

None of that tonight.

Those who started in the front had a good chance to still be there at the end.

Car 161 never trailed in the twenty laps

Derek McKeen (second inside) was one of those benefitting from the nice starting place.

“I was just glad it went green to checker,” said Derek. “That helped us a lot.”

Everyone stayed out of trouble and Derek finished second.

Derek McKeen finishes second……..for a while

“We kept it tight on the inside and didn’t let anybody have any room,” said Derek.

But Derek’s good fortune on the track continued into the tech inspection area on this night.

When the tech inspectors checked the paperwork of the winner, it was discovered the car wasn’t registered to him.

The winner’s mistake cost him first and gave the win to Derek McKeen.

Corey Morgan made his usual run on the Angel’s Expressway

The victory for Derek ends four weeks of serious struggling at OPS; (July 8 – 19^th), (July 22 – 17^th), (July 30 – 14^th), and (August 5 – 18^th).

“We’ve had a lot of good runs (first on May 27^th) and a lot of DNFs,” said Derek. “It’s been a rough year.”

“Unpredictable” would be the best way to describe the Mad Bombers Division after eleven weeks of racing. That is what happens when you put 20+ drivers on a small track for just 20 laps.

The next time out for the Mad Bombers is on the Friday of the Oxford 250 weekend. Worth the watch!

Three of the mothers of Mad Bomber drivers

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Filed under Mad Bombers, Oxford, Oxford 250, Oxford Hills, Oxford Plains Speedway

Tagged as Derek McKeen, Mad Bombers Division

August 25, 2022 · 6:19 pm

Preview of the 49th Oxford Plains Speedway 250

Cassius Clark’s winning car from last year

(Oxford) Go ahead, try to predict the outcome of Sunday’s 49^th annual Oxford 250. (I will at the end of this entry.)

On Thursday afternoon, the OPS track owner (Tom Mayberry) and a collection of race entrants gathered on the track ahead of the Oxford 250.

OPS owner Tom Mayberry with Mike and Ben Rowe

Three tents were set up on the edge of the track for the purpose of lessening the heat for the projected warm afternoon.

Just as the proceedings were set to begin, the rains came. Instead of the heat it was the down-coming water that the tents deflected.

Tom Mayberry laughed and said, “We could have been inside but there was 0% chance of rain.”

The unpredictable weather in these parts and projecting the OPS 250 winner on Sunday night are certainly similar: No one really knows for sure how things will go.

I had the chance to discuss the upcoming race with seven drivers on Media Day: Cassius Clark, Eddie MacDonald, Johnny Clark, DJ Shaw, Gabe Brown, Max Cookson, and Bubba Pollard.

Some of the OPS drivers I interviewed today

Owner Tom Mayberry said he expects sixty+ drivers to try to qualify and have forty-two drivers in the race.

Below is a selection of quotes from each of the drivers.

CASSIUS CLARK – “I haven’t raced since last year’s 250. I did attend a race but sat in the grandstands. I’ve had my fair amount of laps around this place. It hasn’t changed. It’s still a big circle. Just planning to get back in the car and go. We’ll have plenty of practice this weekend. I never watched last year’s race. I did see the highlights on TV. I haven’t thought too much about racing but when I walk though the kitchen in my house, I can see the trophy sitting on the mantle. It’s a good memory. (Regarding Curtis Geary’s bumping on the final corner) We kind of expected someone to get into the back of us there. I was prepared for it. I slowed my pace down a little anticipating getting run into. I didn’t want to get knocked off the bottom there. He was going to have to do a lot more bumping to get by me through there. I haven’t seen any of the guys since last year. The car hasn’t raced since last year.”

EDDIE MACDONALD – “We switched cars up last week. There are a lot of good guys here. This is always a tough race. Everything must work out for you. It’s a lot of fun up there in the upper groove when the car handles right. Last year we ended pitting for four new tires near the end. With 50-60 laps left we had the lead but then we ended up getting spun out going around a lap car. Hopefully on Sunday we’ll be there at the end and have a shot at winning.”

JOHNNY CLARK – “Hoping for a little better than last year. You try to put yourself in a position where good things can happen. We want to be in the top five near the end with a shot at it. Last year we were too tight on the last set of tires. We would have been better off to have left them alone. You don’t know if it will be a long-run race or a short-run race.”

DJ SHAW – “We won the last race here a couple of weeks ago. I was running 17^th through forty laps and then the car decided to take off. I’m not usually too good driving on the ‘Angels’ Express’. The main goal in going higher is not to lose out there. We did everything wrong all day last year. We pitted at the wrong time and then didn’t have fresher tires than the people in front of us. We got caught up in a skirmish and just decided to park it. Hopefully we’ll improve and get back to the previous year. This is the best momentum I’ve had going into this race. There are too many guys who have a shot to feel confident that you can win.”

GABE BROWN – “Luckily, we’ve gotten in on a provisional. I think this year we’ve actually got a car that can make the race and be competitive. In 2018 I raced here weekly and ran up front every week. We then struggled in the PASS races with the same car and against the same people. This place changes so much but that is the character of it. I think that we have a better handle on it this year.”

MAX COOKSON – “It’s a pretty cool feeling to be in the race. I’ve watched all the races forever. I’ve watched the races online, picking them apart. I admire Bubba (Pollard). He’s won everything from here to California. I want to do what he’s doing. We have the car. We need to stay patient. We’ve got to complete all 250 laps. We’re putting a crew together. I have a lot of people involved from my hometown. Some have never been to a racetrack before. We’ve had them over practicing pit stops.”

BUBBA POLLARD – “What keeps me coming back (from Georgia) is the atmosphere, history, and the fans. You look around and see all the campers and fans. We had great success a couple of years ago. We want to get our ducks in a row and our feet back on the ground. We didn’t qualify last year so we started 40^th. We were able to drive up toward the front and have a top ten race car. Hopefully, we can build on notes we took from last year. The first year here we came in not knowing what to expect. We didn’t know how the racetrack changed. We ended up winning. I believe that the last few years we’ve been overthinking it.”

I put this at the bottom because how many readers will actually read this far? I am about to make my predictions.

I believe that the winner’s last name will be “Clark.” It could be Cassius again or it could be Johnny.

Cassius won last year. His car is well rested and so is he. He has finished in the top eight in six of the last eight years.

Johnny won in 2020. He has the best record of anyone over the past three years never finishing lower than fifth.

Those two are my favorites but I must give consideration to several others in the field.

Derek Griffith finished 3^rd last year and 2^nd in 2019.

Curtis Geary was a close 2^nd last year.

Joey Doiron finished 5^th or better in three of the last four years.

DJ Shaw finished 6^th or better in three of the last four years.

Trevor Sanborn has been excellent at OPS this year and finished 8^th in the last two 250s.

Dave Farrington has been in the top eighteen for five straight years.

Brandon Barker has been in the top nineteen for four years in a row.

Ben Ashline has top-thirteen finishes the last three years.

Plenty of possibilities with very little certainly. Could make for a very exciting Sunday at Oxford Plains Speedway.

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Filed under Oxford, Oxford 250, Oxford Plains Speedway

Tagged as Bubba Pollard, Cassius Clark, DJ Shaw, Eddie MacDonald, Gabe Brown, Johnny Clark, Max Cookson

August 30, 2021 · 2:21 pm

Cassius Clark wins 2021 Oxford 250

(Oxford ME) Last year it was Johnny Clark.

This year, Cassius Clark.

No, they’re not related.

But both, in successive years, put an end to their Oxford 250 frustrations.

Cassius was the latest, winning the 48^th annual Oxford 250 on Sunday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Cassius had failed to win the event in thirteen previous tries, same number as Johnny Clark.

Oxford crowd gives their traditional wave

It wasn’t a record either one of them wanted to be a part of. Their eventual success, however, should be an inspiration for those who keep trying to win the event.

“We’d dominated so many 250’s,” explained Cassius recalling his frustrations. “In other attempts, we had led with twenty-five laps left and had been in front for over hundred laps and yet failed to win. The race was just a thorn in our side!”

But that changed tonight. The Farmington (ME) resident took the lead for good with twenty-seven laps left.

Cassius also had to survive a pretty good bump from second-place finisher Curtis Gerry on the final turn to get the win.

“I bumped him a little bit and moved him over,” said Curtis afterwards, “but I didn’t make it to the line to beat him. I wouldn’t want to win that way anyway.”

The entertained crowd was treated to thirteen restarts. Not a favorite of drivers but fans love them. The spread-out field tightens up and the corners become very interesting to navigate.

Cassius Clark got his first lead on Lap 177. There would be six restarts after that. On this cool (60’s) evening, Cassius, on the inside, was the quickest on the restarts.

A hint of what was coming today was a race two weeks ago in which Cassius won a PASS 150 event at OPS.

“That was my first race since last year’s 250,” said Cassius. “The car had been taken back to Canada last year and they worked on it from our mistakes and made this thing awesome.”

Before today’s race, Cassius was actually confident about winning. “We thought today we were going to have a bit of a cakewalk, but they definitely made us earn it.”

Cassius bumped with Eddie MacDonald (6^th) battling for the lead and ended up with a nice dent on the right side of his car.

Derek Griffith (3^rd) started twenty-ninth and got to the front, even holding the lead on Lap 222.

“We were good,” said Derek afterwards. “We came up through and we led some laps. The last set of tires we burned up a little bit on the outside. However, we’ll take what we got.”

Derek was second in the 250 two years ago.

Joey Doiron (4^th) was third last year. This year he was in contention again.

“We tried to maintain with Curtis (Gerry) in the first run,” said Joey after the race. “We did lead a few laps.”

“After our pit stop there was a huge wreck,” added Joey, “and we ended up having to hop the curb. I don’t know if we bent something on our left or right front. The car wasn’t quite the same afterwards. We didn’t have enough at the end, but we did hold on, though.”

The most disappointed driver post-race was probably Curtis Gerry. Curtis started the race in fourth and was in the lead or near the lead all race long. Curtis led from laps 6-108.

“It was frustrating to come so close,” said Curtis afterwards. “I was definitely faster than him (Cassius Clark) on the bottom, but I don’t know if I had anything on the outside for him.”

“We had a really good car in the first run,” said Curtis. “We got a little too free at the end of the race. When we pitted and took tires, they were a little too snug for the outside but very good on the bottom.”

If it had been the Oxford 251? “I think I would have gotten him in one more lap,” said Curtis. “Once I was under him, it would have been over.”

Curtis will get a sizable check for the many laps he led. They’re worth $100 each.

Johnny Clark (5^th) told me afterwards that he almost didn’t race.

Johnny Clark (5th) talks to his crew before the race

“You wouldn’t believe what we were making for changes and how bad we were,” said last year’s winner.

“We certainly didn’t have a fifth-place car at noontime today,” said Johnny. “We were thinking we should just pack up and go home.”

But they did stay, and despite starting thirty-first, were able to get fifth.

“The track was rubbing up so much,” he added. “I’ve never seen it like this before. It made things so tight. But we came home fifth and that’s nothing to hang our heads about.”

Cassius Clark knew his car was good. “I knew that my car was super-fast,” he said, “so if I stayed on the bottom, they were going to have a hard time getting by me.”

“Curtis (Gerry) was really fast,” added Cassius, “and he was on me there. He definitely made me work for it.”

Derek Griffith: “Every time we’d gain a little bit, he (Cassius Clark) would just gain it right back. I feel as if I used the car up a little bit on the outside of him on those restarts. I wish I had been restarting from the bottom.”

Cassius Clark: “I’ll have to ask my buddy Johnny (Clark) how long it takes for this win to settle in. The atmosphere here was awesome.”

Bubba Pollard (10^th) started last (43^rd). The driver from Georgia came north in 2018 and won the 250 on his first try.

Billy Clark (Cassius’ dad) was in the OPS 250 six times in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Notably missing from the race were frequent OPS 250 driver Jeff Taylor and highly-touted Florida driver Stephen Nasse. Neither did well enough in the heats to qualify.

The win by Cassius Clark was the first for anyone from Maine’s Franklin County.

Teenager Kate Re was the lone female entrant. She finished twenty-seventh.

The temperatures in the 60’s were certainly a big surprise for late August. The coolness had to make the upper parts of the track more workable.

TJ Bracket (39^th) and DJ Shaw (42^nd) started in the front but the race didn’t go well for either of them.

Thanks, from me, to the OPS owners for giving me a chance to take pictures and get interviews for this entry.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Addie McDaniel waits for the Runnin Rebels race

Cassius Clark explains how the race was won

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Filed under Oxford 250, Oxford Plains Speedway

Tagged as Cassius Clark, Curtis Gerry, Derek Griffith, Joey Doiron, Johnny Clark

August 28, 2021 · 5:17 pm

Alex Mowatt wins sixth Bandits feature

(Oxford ME) Talk about dominating a division.

The Mowatts (Alex and Luke) have certainly done that.

Alex Mowatt (11) chased by his brother Luke (22) in the Bandits feature

Alex took first in the 17^th Bandits feature tonight. It’s his sixth win.

Alex Mowatt with the Bandits feature trophy (photo from Mowatt Brothers site)

In the Bandits seventeen features this season, Alex and Luke have thirteen wins between them. Jeff Libby has two of the remaining four wins.

Jeremy Farrar and Luke Mowatt side by side in the staging area

September 11^th is the final Bandits race of the year. I am going to guess that older brother Alex will be highly motivated to collect a win and tie the win score with his younger brother in that one.

Tonight’s feature was quickly a dogfight between Nick Wilson (he has a win this year), who started on the pole, and Alex Mowatt.

A big difference tonight was the weather. It was much cooler than it has been. That meant that the upper levels of the track would be in play.

“The weather was good,” said Alex Mowatt afterwards. “It cooled down so that the outside groove was workable.”

For almost half of the twenty-lap feature, it was Nick Wilson holding the lead on the inside and Alex Mowatt holding his own on the outside.

Nick Wilson leads early in the race but Alex is coming up on the outside

Alex, however, was persistent and eventually got his #11 ahead of Nick’s #53 just before newcomer Erin Aiken caused a caution on Lap 11.

“I was working on Nick every lap,” said Alex, “and I managed to be ahead of him before the caution.”

On the restart, Alex had the pole position, and on this evening, he wasn’t giving the inside lead up.

Luke told me that he figured early that he wouldn’t be adding to his win total tonight.

“He (Alex) had me tonight,” he said. “I think that I could have had him early on but as the race went on it got harder and harder.”

Nick Wilson came down from the outside after the restart and tangled with Jeremy Farrar. That did in Nick as he ended up seventh. Jeremy, on the other hand, hung in there and ended up third. It was Jeremy’s best finish of the season.

With Nick Wilson moved back, it was Luke Mowatt’s turn to move up.

Another caution put the two Mowatts side-by-side on the restart with seven laps left. That setup had the makings of an exciting end to the race.

But Alex was off very quickly on the restart.

“I missed a shift on that last caution,” said Luke. “It set me back enough to stay out of it.”

Rather quickly there was a problem when Luke chose to leave the outside.

“I may have come down on Jeff (Libby),” recalled Luke. “I didn’t see him until it was a little too late. I gathered it up once I realized he was there, but it was too late. Once you get sideways it’s hard to come back out of it.”

Jeff Libby took the worst of it and finished sixth.

Luke went after his brother but never could get into the side-by-side position he had on the restart. Luke settled for second.

Remarkably, Luke has come in either first or second in each of the last thirteen Bandits features.

Yet Alex leads in the points standings. How is that possible? It all goes back to May 1^st.

“I got wrecked in the heat race (on May 1^st) so I didn’t get any points in that feature,” recalled Luke. “Without that I might be leading the division or be right near the lead.” Alex has not missed any of the seventeen features.

It was a cool night with lots of racing and restarts. The Bandits feature started 2 ½ hours after the racing began.

My two cents: If there’s a darker and more dangerous area than the OPS pits when the sun goes down, I’d like to know where it is. The race cars have no headlights, and the OPS lighting is VERY limited. Drivers come off the track in a hurry for repairs and they try to get back on the track fast. This is all being done in the limited light! Many folks are walking around in the pit area at the same time. Something bad waiting to happen?

Jeremy Farrar (1) and Nick Wilson (53) in the first heat

I wanted to interview Jeremy Farrar after the Bandits feature. Finding him was an adventure in the dark. The best I could find was his car!

Trying to take a picture of Alex Mowatt and his first-place trophy? Another darkness fiasco. (I have since added a picture from the Mowatt Brothers website. They, at least, had someone capable of taking a picture in a dark setting!)

Clearly, the Bandits division is down cars from last year. A year ago, in the OPS 250 weekend Bandits feature, twenty drivers finished. Luke Mowatt got his first win in that feature. Only ten drivers finished tonight’s race.

Missing this year, are drivers showing up week after week. In the Bandits division a three-week rolling average is used to place drivers in the feature. Regulars are placed in the front spots. The further back you finished in the previous weeks, the closer to the front you were placed in next week’s feature. Therefore, you could count on inexperienced, regular drivers being in front on starts and the points-leading type of drivers having to maneuver around them to get the top spots. Certainly added some suspense to the features! Now with few regulars, the points leaders are much closer to the front. Race outcomes are sorted out much earlier than last year.

Alex (11), Jeff (44), and Luke (22) in second heat

It was nice to have a crowd watching races at OPS on Friday night. I think/hope that the crowd will be one of the best they’ve ever had for Sunday’s OPS 250.

Nick (the announcer) was very good with the descriptions of what was happening on the track on Friday night. However, I’ll wild guess that he hasn’t been to OPS before. Why? He kept referring to Wednesday night racing at OPS. He also wondered out loud if the “Mow-ATTS” were brothers. When two guys win 13 of the 17 Bandits races, you would have that Mowatt family figured out if you’ve been on hand!

(All of the pictures will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

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Tagged as Alex Mowatt, Jeremy Farrar, Luke Mowatt, Nick Wilson, Oxford Plains Speedway

August 24, 2021 · 10:15 pm

Media Day at the Oxford Plains Speedway

Interview with Johnny Clark today (photo Norm Marx)

(Oxford Maine) The empty house at the Oxford Plains Speedway on Tuesday was misleading because I know that’s going to change.

It was Media Day leading up to the 48^th Oxford 250 on Sunday.

Be certain that the noise will be coming and the excitement as well.

Today, however, was quiet. There were only two race cars, Kate Re’s #10 and Johnny Clark’s #54, plus several drivers on the track.

I had the opportunity to interview several of the drivers (Johnny Clark, Dave Farrington, Eddie MacDonald).

Johnny Clark was last year’s winner. It was unexpected. Johnny hadn’t won a race at OPS since 2006 and in his most recent race there he finished 26^th.

But there he was on Victory Lane last August.

“I remember hearing the track announcer say that ‘Johnny Clark has been rubbing the lucky lamp all night,” recalled Johnny.

“It wasn’t like our win was a fluke,” he added. “We led 101 laps which was more than anyone else. We turned in the fastest lap of the race.”

“We had the car to do it and we were able to get the luck we needed to go to Victory Lane,” said Johnny.

Dave Farrington is in his twenties and very intent on winning the 250 for the first time. Dave took fourth last year and wasn’t very happy about it.

He felt that the numerous cautions and lapped cars made it difficult to make a good run.

“I saw the scoreboard with twenty-five laps left and we were second,” recalled Dave. “For several laps we were side-by-side with Johnny.”

“We were in good position but call it what you will, luck or circumstances, but they took over,” said Dave. “It always seems that there’s that one lingering caution before the end of the race.”

Eddie MacDonald has won the OPS 250 twice. The wins were back-to-back in 2009 and 2010.

In both of those victories, Eddie drove up on the track and no one could keep up with him.

“Our car was really good in those wins,” explained Eddie. “There is so much that goes into winning this race. Pit strategy is important.”

It looked like the beginning of a long string of top finishes for Eddie but that’s not how it’s been.

“I don’t know if the track has changed but we aren’t able to get to the outside,” said Eddie.

“In the last five years, I haven’t been able to come off the bottom of the track here,” Eddie added.

Eddie was optimistic about Sunday’s race: “We came here a couple of weeks ago with a totally different setup and it seems a little bit better.”

“For the most part you can make your own luck if the car is good,” said Eddie. “You try to put yourself in a good position and not burn it up.”

Dave Farrington was expecting a big race from Johnny Clark on Sunday. “We know that Johnny is going to come back with just as good a piece as last year.”

Dave added, “We’ve been maintaining all year. We have a very good piece. Whether we have the fastest car or not, we still need a perfect day for things to fall our way.”

One advantage that Dave Farrington has over other drivers is his familiarity with Oxford Plains Speedway. He has led in points for two straight years.

“We’ve been racing here week after week,” said Dave. “We’ve dealt with any weather/track condition that could come up. We have a notebook with the information we’ve gathered and hopefully it will help us to be there at the end.”

Dave realizes that the weekly OPS races and the 250 are different. “We’ve certainly got just as many laps on this track as anyone else this season. However, we haven’t seen an OPS 250 winner from the weekly Oxford competitors in a while. We’re hoping to break that.”

Dave expected to be busy on Sunday morning. “A lot of teams are practicing this week in their shops,” he explained, “like almost a live, hot pit stop. We’ve got a crew that is scattered throughout the state of Maine. We really don’t get together that often. Our first practice could be on Sunday morning.”

One thing I like about Media Days is that you can ask questions you would never think of doing after an event. So I came prepared.

I asked the drivers to explain how they chose the number they have on their cars.

“My whole racing I’ve been #17,” said Eddie MacDonald. “It was my hockey number in high school (Triton Regional – Byfield MA). It’s one of the only numbers I could have in hockey and racing.”

Johnny Clark (#54) and Dave Farrington (#23) traced their number back to the one their dads used when they raced.

“My dad was born in ‘54,” said Johnny. “He was my hero behind the wheel.”

Kate Re also told me that her #10 came from her dad’s racing number.

How about the car’s colors?

One of the cars you can’t visually miss is Dave Farrington’s. It is bright orange.

“That color helps our spotters find us quicker than all the black cars,” said Dave. “I am also a 2009 graduate of Jay High School where our colors were orange and black.”

Eddie MacDonald has used a variety of colors. “We’ve used orange, red, and black,” said Eddie. “We leave it up to the car owner and the sponsors to decide.”

Johnny Clark’s car for Sunday’s race is not the same one as last year.

“We debuted this car at Loudon in April, and we were actually thrashing to finish it,” said Johnny. “The lettering is what we got at the track. We kept things as they were after we won that race.”

“Back in the early 2000’s I had a white car,” Johnny said. “It had red accents and a red roof and hood. Everyone had a white car so then I decided to go black in 2007. I’m not saying I started a trend, but you look now and there are a lot of black cars out there.”

I asked the drivers about their recollections of the first time they raced at OPS.

Eddie MacDonald: “It was in the late ‘90’s. We had just bought a car and wanted to try it out. I had been running at Lee and the setup at OPS was very different. I got out there and I thought I was going fast but all the locals went flying by.”

Dave Farrington: “It was in 2010-11. I was just getting my feet wet in racing. We’ve come a long way since.”

Johnny Clark: “It was 1997 and the race was the Oxford 250. I was seventeen at the time. We drew #2 out of the bucket for the heat race. Steve Knowlton, Jeff Taylor, Timmy Bracket, and Kenny Wright were all in the heat. They all tangled up about halfway through and we held on to get second and qualified seventh.”

As for the race itself?

All three drivers have provisional qualifications but each of them hopes that they will improve their positioning in the 250 with good runs in the heats on Sunday.

“The provisional qualification would start us about 38^th,” said Dave.

“Oxford is definitely not my best racetrack,” said Johnny. “I have, however, made some progress over the last several years figuring out what I need to do here. We’ve won before and we know we can do it again.”

Thanks to the drivers for their cooperation.

I also interviewed teenager Kate Re but unfortunately my digital recorder wasn’t functioning. Maybe I’ll get a chance to talk to her on Victory Lane after the race on Sunday.

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Tagged as Dave Farrington, Eddie MacDonald, Johnny Clark, Kate Re, Oxford Plains Speedway

August 30, 2020 · 10:22 pm

Johnny Clark wins the 47th Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway

Johnny Clark is all smiles after winning the 47th Oxford 250

Johnny Clark moments after winning the Oxford 250

(Oxford ME) Please don’t tell me that you had Johnny Clark winning the 47th Oxford 250 on Sunday.

The 41-year-old from Farmingdale (ME) hadn’t won a race at Oxford Plains Speedway since 2005.

Johnny was also the guy on July 18^th at OPS who finished 26^th, three laps behind the winner Curtis Gerry.

But there Johnny was on Sunday night under the Victory Lane banner.

I think that it is fair to say that to win the Oxford 250 you must be lucky. And likewise, your closest competitors must be unlucky.

Everyone in the top five had the car to win but four of the top five recalled, post-race, things that happened that cost them the top spot.

Jeff Taylor came in second

Whether it was confusion in the pits (Jeff Taylor), missing a shift on a new car (Joey Doiron), frustrations with the nine cautions (Dave Farrington Jr) or getting behind a stalled car before pit road (Mike Hopkins), all of them would have won but….

The caution on Lap 180 was the killer for both Jeff Taylor and Mike Hopkins.

Jeff (57), who has now come in second three times, went in for tires during that caution on that lap. He left the pits and, to the surprise of everyone, came back into the pits again.

“I thought that I had gone through a stop sign leaving the pits,” said Jeff, “so I penalized myself by coming back in. I don’t know if it was the right move or not, but that’s the one I made. Inevitably, it cost us our chance.”

When Jeff left the pits the second time, he was now in tenth place rather than 3^rd place right behind Johnny Clark.

Joey Doiron was third

Johnny would quickly take the lead from Alan Tardiff and never give up the front the rest of the way. Jeff rallied from 10^th to settle for second. But oh did that pit-road malfunction hurt him!

“If he hadn’t done that, he’d probably be here (Victory Lane) instead of me, wouldn’t he,” said Johnny Clark during the post-race interview.

Mike Hopkins grabbed the lead in Lap 98. “We had the car to win,” he said afterwards. “We went from 11^th to the lead and made everyone else look silly doing it.”

Mike would lose the front some thirty laps later but was still in the top five. His chance to get tires and challenge for the top spot went south as he attempted to get onto pit road on the Lap 180 caution.

“Car 51 (John Peters) stalled going into pit road and we were behind him,” said Mike. “By the time we got around him and got the tires we had lost probably ten spots.”

The top three finishers; Joey Doiron, Johnny Clark, and Jeff Taylor

Joey Doiron (Berwick ME) finished third despite having trouble earlier in the race. “I had only driven this car six or seven times,” explained Joey. “It’s a different chassis than I’m used to driving. On Lap 100 I was running second to Jeff (Taylor) and I missed a shift and I think I cut something down trying to get out of the way. I ended up with a flat right front tire. Luckily, we were able to get a timely yellow and do something about a tire with only 12 pounds of air in it. We were a lap down after that because we had lost all our track positioning. We did come back strong at the end.”

Mike Hopkins was fifth

When I thought pre-race about who I thought should be the favorite, my choice was Dave Farrington Jr. You talk about momentum going into a race!

“The month of August was incredible,” said Dave. “We won four straight here (OPS). A lot of momentum carried in here and a lot of people had high hopes for us.”

Dave had actually beaten Johnny Clark two weeks ago at OPS.

The nine cautions were the problem for Dave.

“We had more cautions in this 250 than a lot of other ones,” he said. “I don’t know why that was. Not enough patience. I’m not sure. We didn’t want cautions. We want to go long green-flag runs and they didn’t help us there.”

There were two cautions in the final twenty-seven laps. “I think that we would have caught Johnny if it had stayed green,” suggested Dave.

Jeff Taylor took the lead on Lap 24 (from Alan Tardiff) and had, at one point, a six-second lead over the rest of the field.

Johnny Clark

“We weren’t bad at the beginning of the race but Jeff (Taylor) was stellar,” added Johnny. “We had to go and just stay on the lead lap and let the guys in the pits do their jobs, and it’s up to you after that. That’s exactly how it worked out.”

Johnny got right tires on Lap 91 and four tires on Lap 180.

Johnny came into 2020 not having won a race since 2016. The restrictions of Covid-19 kept him close to home and helped turn things around. “We worked so hard right from March,” he said. “The fact that I was forced to slow down a ton has been huge benefit for my family and everything else.”

Disappointing that the grandstand “crowd” was limited to 200 people. That place holds 8,000. Don’t start me on Governor Mills (D)!

“I wish that I could have heard the roar of the crowd,” added Johnny. “It was awesome to win. Even better than I thought it would be.”

Saturday’s rainout turned Sunday into a morning/afternoon/evening racing event. It was almost 8 o’clock when the 250 started.

That fact had Dave Farrington wondering about being better prepared. “It’s way cooler than we’ve raced all year. Maybe we should have practiced in temperatures like this.”

All of the pictures will enlarge considerably if you click on them.

I am on Twitter (McClellandPeter) and Instagram (McClelland Miscellanea).

Joey Doiron, Johnny Clark, and Jeff Taylor with trophies

Johnny with daughter Alivia (left) and Miranda (right)

With hand raised, Johnny Clark crosses the finish line

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Tagged as Dave Farrington Jr, Jeff Taylor, Joey Doiron, Johnny Clark, Mike Hopkins

August 28, 2020 · 10:23 pm

Mowatt and Mowatt dominate Week 9 in Bandits Division at Oxford Plains Speedway

Luke Mowatt (18) wins the Bandits feature for the first time

Alex Mowatt (current Bandits points leader) finished second

Jeff Libby gets an elusive win

(Oxford ME) Racing was back.

At least the way I remember it.

The pits were crowded, and race cars were in places unused until today.

The parking lot was transformed into a campground. Fires were burning and, I suspect, stories of previous races were being shared.

Races were won and for the first time since June 27^th you could hear the winner’s support system erupt in cheers.

But all this was tempered by a look across the infield to the grandstand.

There the policies of Governor Mills (D) were on display. In an area ready and willing to hold thousands, there were several hundred spectators.

Infield dust kicked up in the heat race

The Oxford 250 is scheduled for Sunday (August 30^th). In the past, the noise of the cars warrants some sort of hearing protection.

The crowds make plenty of noise too. But not this year.

The race will end, and the primary excitement will come from the driver and his close associates.

But I digress!

This is a story about last night’s Bandit’s racing.

It was exciting.

Let me tell you why.

Chris Foster (71) gets turned in the feature

There were folks in the pit grandstand, and they came to root for specific drivers.

There were more cars in the race than usual. I counted at least twenty. The more cars, the more action on the corners.

With eight divisions racing in the heats and a large delay while some 250 drivers got some practice, the start of the feature was delayed into darkness.

Without headlights and running under streetlights, the visibility was limited. Another direct link to action on the corners.

The cautions were frequent in the Bandits 20-lap event. Cars went into the infield. Others went off the track high-side.

The placement in the feature is based on a rolling three-week average. That puts those who show up every week, but haven’t been very successful, in the front. The successful regulars face the task of getting by a collection of less-successful drivers to get where they have been ending up. I actually like the concept because it makes every feature interesting.

But I continue to digress.

Luke Mowatt wins his heat

The surprises for the Bandits were already in place even BEFORE the race itself.

Jeff Libby got a pole start in the first heat and actually won. I know that he has never won a feature at OPS. I’m guessing that the winless thing might also extend to heats as well.

I have interviewed Jeff after several of his near-wins and he has never made an excuse. He sees me coming and he says, “One of these times….” Tonight was that time!

Jeff had points leader Alex Mowatt chasing him at the end but on this evening, Jeff held off the challenger and had, what has been, the elusive win.

The other heat winner was young Luke Mowatt. Last week, in a heat shocker, Luke held off his older brother for the victory. That impressed me at the time. However, in the feature that followed, Luke could only get 6^th.

But there was Luke again tonight winning a heat.

Chad Wills (52) and Jeff Libby (44) off the track in the feature

Tonight, however, was only Luke’s fourth feature race of the season, all in the last few weeks. I didn’t think he had the experience yet to be a feature contender.

“I didn’t have a car,” Luke told me afterwards as to why he hadn’t raced earlier in the season.

Tonight, Luke started on the pole in the feature and won the biggest race of his life.

“It was his time to win tonight,” explained his brother Alex post-race.

Luke had the sweet starting spot and a car that could handle the numerous restarts.

Meanwhile, Alex the points leader with three wins, started back in the pack thanks to the 3-week rolling average. That was indeed where the action was.

Luke leads Caleb Proctor and his brother Alex in the feature

In recent weeks Alex has avoided most trouble by staying away from the inside. Not tonight. With 20+ cars in play, Alex went off the track early along with Chad Wills and his new car.

“I got a nice dent that I’ll have to fix,” said Alex.

But Alex stayed in the race, as did Chad, and thanks to cautions moved back in contention.

Luke, meanwhile, escaped the fender benders.

“I knew about them, but they were all behind me,“ he said.

Before too many laps were gone, Alex had recovered from his earlier mishap and was in 2^nd challenging his younger sibling. Having seen Alex for eight weeks show the ability to engineer comebacks, I was quite certain I knew what would happen next.

The Mowatt brothers with Eric Parlin spinning behind them

But I was wrong.

Luke held his own.

A caution put them side by side near the end but that didn’t matter. On this night, Luke did not wilt. He rode to his first feature win in only his 8^th race.

I have four siblings and I know how competitive things can get among us, so I tried the “sibling rivalry” angle with the Mowatt brothers but they wouldn’t take the bait.

“You weren’t just letting your brother go, were you?” I asked.

“No, I was actually trying to catch him,” Alex laughed. “With all that went on I was fortunate to be there to get second.

“I’m happy for Luke,” said Alex.

Caleb Proctor ended third in the car that Chad Wills borrowed (for a win) on August 15^th.

Track dispute in the feature

Tempers reached an elevated status after one of the multi-car spinouts. OPS security made sure that things didn’t get worse in the pits.

The weather turned cool as the evening wore on.

One of the most dangerous places you’ll ever be in would be the pits at night. The cars, coming and going, have no lights and there are no overhead lights in the pits. It truly can be “look, listen, and run for your life” in that area!

All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.

I am on Twitter (McClellandPeter) and Instagram (McClelland Miscellanea).

Luke Mowatt, Alex Mowatt, Caleb Proctor, and Chris Foster in the last lap of the feature

Luke Mowatt in front followed by his brother in the feature

Cars in the infield in the feature

Spin off the back in the feature

Brady Heath (91) and Luke Mowatt (22x) in front on a restart

Travis Verrill in the infield in the feature

Brady Heath between races

Doug Churchill (07) spinning in first heat

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Tagged as Alex Mowatt, Caleb Proctor, Luke Mowatt, Oxford 250

August 22, 2020 · 8:49 pm

Chloe Kiley wins 4th straight Ladies Division feature at Oxford Plains Speedway

Chloe Kiley gets the checkered flag and her 4th straight Ladies Division victory

Chloe Kiley

Betty Nelson

(Oxford ME) You don’t have to look very hard to find the weekly winner in the Ladies Division at Oxford Plains Speedway.

It’s going to be either Betty Nelson or Chloe Kiley.

At least that’s the way it has been through nine features this season.

Betty dominated July with three wins.

Since then? It’s been all Chloe.

Tonight, was Chloe’s fourth straight victory in August at OPS.

“It’s been nice,” said Chloe about the consecutive wins. “The car wasn’t so good today in practice but felt great in the race. The rain really loosened the rubber up.”

The start of the feature with Betty Nelson (8) on the pole

Betty started on the pole in both the heat and the feature. Chloe was in the second row in both races.

Betty lost the inside lane in both races and Chloe took advantage and went on to win.

“It was all about learning for me tonight,” explained Betty afterwards. “We didn’t race last week, and we have a new motor. This car has more power, so cornering was an adjustment. I need to get better getting into corners and off corners.”

In the feature, Betty held the lead into the sixth lap with Chloe close behind looking for an opening. On a corner in Lap Six the opening presented itself.

“I think she (Betty) got a little loose and went up and I had enough to fill the hole and took it from there,” said Chloe about getting the lead for good.

Chloe Kiley (16) gets inside of Betty Nelson (8) in the heat race

“She (Chloe) got by me because of my error,” recalled Betty. “I went up a little bit on the corner and it was all her lane. She took it. She’s a good driver.”

Chloe was able to expand her lead over the final fourteen laps.

In the closing laps, Addie McDaniels was able to get by Kasie Kolbe to reach third. At the end, Addie was pressuring Betty for second place.

I asked Chloe about winning four straight times: “I have a great car. I’d like to thank my dad, Johnny, and Michael Haynes for lending me this motor and everyone who helps out back.”

It will be interesting to see how Chloe and Betty match up in the races ahead as Betty gets more familiar with the new car. “We’re hoping over the next few weeks to get it all dialed in,” added Betty.

Chloe Kiley gains separation in the feature

Chloe has annually made steady progress in the points section of the Ladies Division and is the current leader. She was 4^th in 2017. Tied for 3^rd in 2018 and 2^nd in 2019. “I don’t really know how I’m different from 2017 which was my first year of driving,” said Chloe. “I have had a lot more seat time since then. Larry Emerson has been very helpful in teaching me how to drive this track.”

A little bit of rain before the races but dry once it started.

The Bandits weren’t scheduled for tonight so that gave me a chance to cover the Ladies Division. Bandits are scheduled to race on Friday with the 250 two days later.

I am on Twitter (McClellandPeter) and Instagram (McClellandMiscellanea).

All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.