A rainy forecast plagued most of Maine’s short tracks on Saturday night, but Oxford Plains Speedway rolled the dice and went racing with their weekly Oxford Acceleration Series.
The night consisted of 5 exciting racing divisions and it all kicked off with two 10-lap qualifying heats for the Bandits division.
Mike McKinney ran away with the first heat victory in the Bandits and Kurt Hewins was on a roll from the beginning in the second heat, taking home the victory in his #54 machine.
Mark Turner pulled away with the early lead in the first Street Stock heat, but Tyler King was quickly making his way to the front of the pack. King landed himself in the runner-up position in the early laps while Matt Dufault put on a show behind him, powering into the third position on lap 4. Although King and Dufault proved strong in the heat, Turner ran away with the victory.
As Zach Bowie powered away with the lead in the second Street Stock heat, the #12 of John White slowly fell to the back of the pack. Richard Spaulding was on the move, making his way from the tail of the field to the third position on lap 6 after battling it out with the #33 of Andrew Breton for a couple of laps. Zac Bowie held off the competition, taking home the second heat victory.
Defending track champion, Alan Tardiff, started on the pole in the first Super Late Model heat. The #72 of Scott Robbins started on the outside pole. As Robbins fell back in the early laps, Tardiff sped away with the lead. TJ Brackett made some gutsy moves in the early laps of the heat, working the outside line to make his way up to the fourth spot on lap 5. By lap 9, there was a 2-car breakaway at the front of the field. Tardiff held off his competitors, taking home the heat victory.
Tim Brackett and young gun, Ivan Kaffel, started on the front row for the second Super Late Model heat. This heat included 3 heavy-hitters from Beech Ridge, who all decided to pack up and head to Oxford after Beech Ridge’s NASCAR Nite was cancelled. These 3 drivers were Curt Gerry, Dan McKeage and last week’s Pro Series winner at Beech Ridge, Bill Rodgers.
Brackett pulled away with the early lead as Dan “Naughty 40” McKeage quickly made his way into the runner-up spot. Curt Gerry, who started in the tail of the field, powered his way into the top five on lap 4. He continued to make his way through the field in the closing laps of the heat, finding his way up to third place by lap 7. Brackett continued his dominance, holding off Dan McKeage and Curt Gerry for the heat victory.
Thomas Brackett and Brady Heath took to the track next for their 15-lap feature in the Rookies division. Heath held onto the lead until he nearly took a spin in lap 6, sending Thomas Brackett into the top spot. Brackett then got loose three laps later in turn 2, which brought Brady Heath back to his door. The two drivers were bumpin’ and bangin’ through turn 4, resulting in an incident that left Heath heading to the pits.
Brackett rode around for a few laps under caution as Heath’s team tended to the car. Heath returned to the track a few minutes later, back and ready for action. Thomas Brackett pulled away on the restart and Heath held onto it, but nearly lost it on lap 11 in turn 1, saving his car before it took another spin. Heath lost ground after the save, propelling Thomas Brackett into the feature victory.
There was a stacked field of cars for the Bandits 20-lap feature, with Mike McKinney and Kurt Hewins starting on the front row. The leaders were on a roll, lapping cars at the tail-end of the field by lap 9. Adam Sanborn was on the move from the beginning of the feature, making his way into the top 5 on lap 12. McKinney sailed into victory, but was later disqualified from the competition. Runner-up Chad Wills was then awarded with the victory. Kyle Hewins, Adam Sanborn and Kurt Hewins followed, rounding out the top five.
The Figure-8 division followed, which is always a fun event for fans and drivers alike. The #2 of Dale Lawrence pulled off the victory in the 20-lap feature, upgrading from his runner-up finish in the previous week of competition.
Mark Turner pulled away with the early lead in the 30-lap Street Stock feature. The #33 of Andrew Breton faced troubles early on, going hard into the dirt in turn 4 on lap 11. This led to an extended caution, with the tow truck getting stuck in the dirt and having to be pulled out by safety crews.
Zach Bowie was on a mission, stealing the lead on the restart and pulling away from the rest of the field. After leading a good chunk of the race, Mark Turner took a slide through the dirt on lap 12. He saved the car after the wild moment on the track, but later got into the #12 of John White on lap 17. This move sent White into the dirt in turn 4, leading to the second caution of the feature.
As Bowie pulled away with the lead once more, Tyler King began making his voyage to the front of the field, powering into the third position on lap 18. Matt Dufault took up the outside line, using the line to his advantage as he powered his way up to the runner-up spot on lap 22. By lap 25, he was at Bowie’s door, challenging him for the top spot.
After battling for position in the closing laps with the #54, Mark Turner took another spin on lap 29 in turn 4. The race remained green as Bowie slid into his first victory of the season. Matt Dufault, Rick Spaulding, Tyler King and Jordan Russell followed, rounding out the top five.
Alan Tardiff and Tim Brackett started on the front row for the 50-lap Super Late Model feature. Gabe Brown faced troubles before the race began, having to be pushed by the push truck to get his engine fired, which took nearly one whole lap before igniting.
Tardiff pulled away with the early lead, but the #36 of Ryan Robbins was right on his heels. As the leaders took off, drivers were battling 3-wide for position further back in the field.
After starting dead last in the feature, Gabe Brown broke into the top 10 just 10 laps into the race. Ryan Robbins stayed on Alan Tardiff through the early laps, finally challenging him for the top spot on lap 15. After battling it out for a couple of laps, Robbins passed Tardiff using the outside line to his advantage on lap 18. Andy Saunders took a wild slide through the grass in turn 3 on lap 24, bringing out the first caution of the feature.
Ryan Robbins and Scott Robbins started on the front row, getting the opportunity to battle it out among relatives. Young Austin Teras was on the move, powering into the top 3 on the restart.
After falling back a couple of positions before the caution, Curt Gerry began making his way back through the field, powering into 7th place on lap 32. The late-race laps brought heartache for Alan Tardiff, who took a spin on lap 33 after running at the front of the field all day.
Austin Teras made it a wild battle for the runner-up spot on the restart, stealing the position away from the #72 of Scott Robbins. By lap 42, Ryan Robbins had run away with a full straightaway lead. Curt Gerry was still chipping away further on back in the field, making his way to the inside of Ryan Deane for the fourth spot on lap 43. He made it a 3-way battle for the runner-up spot the following lap, battling it out with Austin Teras and Gabe Brown, who pulled off an incredible comeback after his early-race struggles.
Ryan Robbins sailed into victory as Gabe Brown held off Curt Gerry and Austin Teras for the runner-up spot. Dan McKeage followed, rounding out the top five.
Robbins managed to snap Curt Gerry’s winning streak at Oxford, with Gerry having won 4 of his last 4 races at Oxford.
It was an exciting night for Robbins and Gabe Brown, who prevailed through troubles and wound up with a wild runner-up finish.
Oxford didn’t disappoint on Saturday night, providing intense racing action in all 5 divisions.
The Oxford Acceleration Series will return next Saturday, June 2nd, with the addition of the Pro All Star Series Modifieds division. Hope to see you there!
