Category Archives: Oxford Plains Speedway

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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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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Tagged as Derek McKeen, Mad Bombers Division

August 9, 2023 · 9:34 pm

Nate Barth wins second Mad Bombers feature

Nate Barth wins his second Mad Bombers feature

(Oxford ME) It had been a long time.

Three-and-a-half months.

But Saturday night Nate Barth got that elusive second Mad Bombers victory after nine unsuccessful tries.

“We had a good car,” Nate said afterwards. “The thing has been pretty fast all year and finally we had some good luck and pulled it off.”

That “good luck” part had to do with avoiding accidents and gaining ground when they happened….and there were several of them.

Nate started 13^th in the twenty-lap feature.

“I was running 7^th or 8^th for the first half of the race,” he recalled. “There was a wreck on Turn #3 that I avoided and pulled off some spots and got to 5^th. On the next restart, I got the lead and hung on through a couple of wild restarts for the win.”

Corey Morgan came in second. Corey has won four times and has been in the hunt on almost all of the Mad Bombers eleven features this season.

I continue to find the Mad Bombers very entertaining to watch. You put twenty race cars on a small track and require them to sort things out in just twenty laps you’re almost certain to see a good show.

There will be contact. Accidents will happen. Three wide is normal. Hard feelings can be stirred.

“There certainly is a lot of beating and banging in this division,” said Nate. “It’s an entry level division. Everyone is just trying to get their feet wet so that they can move forward.”

Nate gets the lead followed by Nick Wilson

Today’s race did end in controversy. Nate thought he had won and then found out that he hadn’t.

“We went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows,” recalled Nate. Apparently, there was a problem during one of the cautions. But that was resolved, and Nate was reinstalled as the winner.

Nate in the lead followed by Tony Gibbons and Corey Morgan

Tony Gibbons gets the lead with Corey Morgan 2nd and Nate 3rd

Nate back in front with Tony Gibbons 2nd and Corey Morgan 3rd

Final lap with Nate leading and Corey Morgan 2nd

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Tagged as Corey Morgan, Mad Bombers, Nate Barth, Oxford Plains Speedway

July 31, 2023 · 8:54 pm

Cody Macomber Wins Mad Bombers Feature

Cody Macomber (4) finishes ahead of Cam Richards (37R) and Corey Morgan (26)

(Oxford ME) There’s nothing quite like the first time.

“It was awesome,” was how young Cody Macomber summed up his first win in the Mad Bombers Division tonight.

Cody Macomber with his first trophy in the Mad Bombers Division

Cody was in the Rookie Division last year and had been successful there.

“I had plenty of podiums,” he recalled.

This year Cody moved up to the Mad Bombers where the drivers are more experienced, and the field is crowded.

Through the first nine races before tonight it has been tough. Seventh place finishes in May and June were as good as it got.

That’s probably why tonight’s win was so surprising and so sweet for Cody.

I asked Cody what was different that would explain the startling win. “I started up front (behind pole-setter Tony Gibbons) and the car was good.”

Cody starts behind pole-setter Tony Gibbons

Cody stayed low on the track for most of the 20-lap feature and it paid off. Once he had the lead, he kept the inside and forced challengers to try outside passes.

Cody’s last challenger (Corey Morgan) ventured up to the “Angels’ Highway” on the track hoping to get by the young leader but couldn’t get it done.

Cody in the lead with Maddy Herrick (95) second

Corey Morgan (26) ventures onto the Angels’ Highway

Asked about future races in the division, Cody said with a smile, “We’re going to drive to the front and do it again.”

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Tagged as Cody Macomber, Mad Bombers Division, Oxford Plains Speedway

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

July 30, 2022 · 2:19 pm

Breeanna Spaulding wins Ladies Feature

Breeanna Spaulding wins the Ladies Feature

(Oxford) Breeanna Spaulding has won a lot of Ladies Features at Oxford Plains Speedway.

This season the 28-year-old picked up where she left off winning three of the first four races.

But suddenly things changed, and Breeanna hadn’t won in over a month.

However, last night the also-rans ended, and it was time for that long-awaited victory lap.

“I was driving a different car tonight,” said Breeanna after the race. “The other one had been running badly, and we finally found out why. In the hold in the fuel tank there was plastic still in it.”

The different car made last night’s race a pleasant one.

Maddy Herrick and Amara Parker follow Breeanna Spaulding

“It was kind of nice watching them in the mirror,” said Breeanna with a laugh afterwards.

The “them” she referenced were two 15-year-olds, Maddy Herrick and Amara Parker.

In eight weeks of racing, the winner has been either Breeanna (4), Maddy (2), or Amara (2).

Kasie Kolbe won the Ladies 8-lap heat last night and was off to a good start in the 20-lap feature before the front tire blew several laps into the feature.

Kasie shares the car with her cousin Skip Tripp. Ironically, Skip had a flat in the July 8^th Outlaws feature on the same side and it cost him dearly in that race.

Kasie’s flat led to a caution and a restart with Breeanna on the pole and Maddy on the outside.

Breeanna resumed the lead right away with Maddy and Amara close by in Lap 4.

Both Maddy and Amara tried, during the final sixteen laps, to use the second groove to get past Breeanna. It didn’t work for either of them, in fact, they each gave up second when they attempted it.

“There was no second groove,” said Maddy Herrick who finished second afterwards. “The track was wicked slick. We’re still getting used to racing on hot days.”

Breeanna got a little wide on the final turn. “It was the last lap,” she said. “I was getting excited, and I gave up the bottom a little bit.”

Maddy has been first or second for the last four weeks. “We were there speed wise,” she said. “A few more laps and I probably could have got her. I’ll take second. She’s very good.”

“We think we have a winning car,” Maddy added. “We’ll learn from this and be better next week.”

Maddy is also the goalie on the Oxford Hills girls’ soccer team. I covered her game last year against Brunswick. “Soccer preseason starts soon,” she said. “It’s a lot of work but I like it.”

My intention was to cover the Outlaws, but their feature was moved to last. The Ladies were first.

Impressive run by Jake Dobson in the Outlaws’ heat. Skip Tripp passed everyone else, but Jake won his first heat by holding Skip off for the final four laps of the 8-lap race.

Jake Dobson holds the lead over Skip Tripp in the final lap of the 8-lap heat

Skip Tripp starts to move on the upper groove in the Outlaws heat

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Tagged as Amara Parker, Breeanna Spaulding, Ladies Feature, Maddy Herrick

July 9, 2022 · 6:06 pm

Drew Morse wins Outlaws Feature

Drew Morse gets the win and Will Dunphy finishes second

(Oxford) It looked like last week but then it didn’t.

Skip Tripp and Will Dunphy had finished 1-2 last week and there they were in the same order deep into Friday night’s 20-lap Outlaws feature.

A blown tire changed everything.

Skip Tripp suddenly lost speed with Will Dunphy close behind him.

This turn of events opened the door for Opening Day winner Drew Morse.

“I saw Dunphy and the 12 messing around,” recalled Drew. “I was like, ‘You know what, I’m gonna hang her out there and pray that I can get around them on the outside.’”

Get around he did, and Drew held the lead the rest of the way to gain his second win.

“I thought I had a chance,” said Will Dunphy afterwards. “I’m still happy with second, in fact I’m happy to be in the top five.”

Will has now finished second four straight weeks. He had a win before the run of seconds began.

Tonight, was the first night of three straight days of racing. There were fewer races tonight and that effected the track significantly.

“We had a way better track this time because we didn’t have all the Super Late Model rubber on the track,” explained Will.

The increased traction opened the upper grooves as options and there were plenty of Outlaws’ takers.

Running four wide is usually a direct route to trouble but not tonight. The feature had four-wide’s and they never led to cautions. It was a bit tight for those in the middle of it, however.

“I felt like a pinball out there!” said Drew laughing.

Drew wasn’t pleased with the way his car has been handling since he won the feature the end of May. “We’ve been struggling with the car being tight,” he said. “We were still tight tonight, but it was good enough to get the win.”

However, it wasn’t enough to get the win in the 8-lap heat for Drew. He ended up second to Betty Nelson.

“I just happened to be a little tighter than Betty and she got me,” added Drew.

Chris Foster finished third in the feature.

Serious accident in the Rebels’ feature tonight. The longer the medical people are on the track the more concerned I get. Can’t help it.

The prospect of injury is part of the reality that race-car drivers (and their families) face.

“It’s the chance you take every time you buckle in,” said Drew Morse.

The weather was just right.

Between the heats and the features, kids got rides in race cars.

Skip Tripp chases pole sitter Jake Dobson

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Tagged as Betty Nelson, Chris Foster, Drew Morse, Skip Tripp, Will Dunphy

July 3, 2022 · 3:25 pm

Skip Tripp wins third straight Outlaws feature at Oxford Plains Speedway

Skip Tripp takes a victory spin after winning his third straight Outlaws feature

(Oxford ME) They each did it their way and they each made it work.

Skip Tripp had the fast car and the ability to get around cars.

Skip Tripp (12) heads for the lead in the second lap of the Outlaws feature.

Will Dunphy envisioned chaos on the track and stayed back waiting for his chance.

Skip Tripp won his third straight Outlaws feature on Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Skip started in the back because of his successes in the previous weeks. It didn’t matter.

Within two laps, in both the 8-lap heat and the 20-lap feature, Skip had used the outside lane to pass the field. Once there, he didn’t look back.

“Everything went our way,” said Skip afterwards. “We were pretty hooked up. It was kind of easy tonight.”

Will Dunphy finished second.

Will also started in the back because of previous successes. Unlike Skip, however, Will was content to stay there for a while.

“I hung back because I knew things were going to happen,” explained Will. “I could tell the way drivers were acting at the get-go.”

“Some want to get to the top by Lap 2,” he added. “They need to calm down and realize that there are twenty laps.”

Corey Morgan got spun and his car was totaled early in the Outlaws feature.

“A car getting totaled takes the fun out of it for me,” said Will. “There were way too many cars wrecked tonight. There is no need for it. There are not enough of us out there for that to happen.”

The spin below in the feature gave Will (#4) his chance to move from the back to the front around the involved cars and he did:

Skip Tripp: “We’re just playing with this thing now until we get to Street Stocks for something else. We’re just getting back into rhythm. We’ve been out of it for so long. The car is for my cousin. I set it to her liking but it’s too loose now for her. We need to change it. We’ll tighten it up and hopefully she’ll have the same success.”

Will Dunphy: “Tripp’s car is definitely fast. It wasn’t that fast before but maybe a lot of experience has something to do with the way it’s now going for them. There was too much rubber on the track today from the Super Late Models. It was super icy. I couldn’t stay up there very long. This is my second year with the Outlaws. I was told to move up from the Cruiser Class. It’s been a fun venture so far.”

This was the fifth week of Outlaws’ racing.

Skip Tripp’s lowest finish so far has been third.

Skip Tripp working the outside in Lap 1 of the 8-lap heat

Will Dunphy has been either first or second during the past four weeks.

Matt Veinott earned third today. His highest previous finish had been fifth.

Combining two days of racing with fireworks brought out a good crowd. The weather was ideal too.

Yes, I gave the Bandits coverage last year. Their demise set me searching for another group to cover. The Outlaws have a small roster….less confusion initially for me. I’ll see what I can do over the next three months. There will be pictures and interviews.

(The pictures should enlarge if you click on them.)

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Filed under Outlaws, Oxford Plains Speedway

Tagged as Matthew Veinott, Outlaws, Oxford Plains Speedway, Skip Tripp, Will Dunphy

September 11, 2021 · 10:21 pm

Rookie Nick Wilson wins second Bandits feature

Nick Wilson with his crew after winning tonight’s Bandits’ feature

(Oxford ME) If your race car isn’t working the way you want, the usual remedy is to upgrade something.

Tonight’s Bandits winner Nick Wilson chose to go in the opposite direction…..he downgraded and got himself a victory.

“The car was awful in the heat,” said Nick. “We didn’t know what to do about it. We took the new left tire off and replaced it with an old one. I didn’t think it would work, but it surprised us.”

In the twenty-lap feature, Nick took the lead from pole-sitter Jeremy Farrar in Lap Three and never let go.

This was Nick’s second win in his rookie season with the Bandits.

On July 25^th,Nick won for the first time.

In that first win Nick led the entire race surviving one restart.

Nick Wilson in front (53) protecting the bottom

In both races, Nick did a remarkable job protecting the bottom.

“Nick was good,” said runner-up Luke Mowatt post-race tonight.

“They probably were faster than me,” said Nick of his challengers who never were far away. “I was protecting the bottom. It’s hard to go on the outside.”

Luke Mowatt confirmed that point: “The track was hot and still pretty greasy. I wouldn’t have stood a chance out there.”

With passing opportunities minimalized, the race came down to seeing if the leader (Nick Wilson) would make a mistake. In today’s twenty-lap feature it didn’t happen. The order of finish (Nick, Luke, Alex Mowatt, Jeff Libby, Jeremy Farrar) was established early and stayed in place lap after lap.

Jeff Libby gets the lead late in the heat

The Bandits eight-lap heat was a different story. Jeff Libby skillfully worked his way past both Jeremy Farrar and Nick Wilson late in the race to win.

Luke Mowatt had a remarkable run over the past fourteen races. He finished either first or second. Luke led the Bandits with seven wins.

Alex Mowatt won the points race for the second straight year. Alex was in the top three in every race but two of them.

“It would have been a lot closer in points if Luke didn’t have a bad start to the season,” admitted Alex.

Luke had his car get wrecked in a heat in May and didn’t make that feature as a result. He got no points on that occasion.

“It would have been pretty close in points if I hadn’t missed that one feature,” said Luke.

Alex Mowatt finished third but still led the Bandits in points this season

“Overall, we had a really good year,” said Alex. “The highlight was winning on 250 weekend. I hadn’t done that before.”

It sounded to me after the race as if the Mowatt brothers won’t be as active in the Bandits Division next year.

“I’m not going to race a full season in the Bandits,” said Luke. “It gets to be a lot every weekend. Maybe I’ll try something else.”

“I’m not really sure what division I’ll race in,” added Alex. “I might take some time off.”

Both of the Mowatts work for Bancroft Contracting Corporation.

Nick Wilson (senior at Oxford Hills) was named the top rookie in the Bandits Division. “I’d say I had a pretty good rookie season,” he said. Nick had two firsts and two seconds in 2021.