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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Oxford 250

Oxford Plains Speedway is a 3/8 mile racetrack located in Oxford, Maine.

History

Established in 1950, the track was originally a half mile before being shortened to a 3/8 mile track. With 14,000 seats, the speedway has the largest seating capacity of any sporting venue in Maine. The main race held there is the Bar Harbor Bank & Trust Oxford 250, which has run under various sanctions over the years; in the early 1990s, the race was a combination race between the NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Busch North Series, but it later became an American Canadian Tour Late Model race, and now a Pro All Star Series Super Late Model race. The 250 green flag lap race has often featured stars from NASCAR's three national series, even when it was not an Xfinity championship race in the early 1990s, as it is currently held during the NASCAR late-summer off week. Among the NASCAR stars who have raced the annual Oxford 250 are 17 drivers who have won NASCAR Cup Series majors, with eleven of them Sprint Cup Series champions, and five of those are now NASCAR Hall of Fame members.

The track is well known for its wide-open turns.

The track also hosted 3 NASCAR Cup Series races between 1966 and 1968, with 2 of them won by Bobby Allison and the other by Richard Petty.

The speedway is also known around Maine for yearly hosting several Pro All Star Series races during the season, and for its motor mayhem events that include smokey doughnut shows, spectator drags, jack and jill races, enduros, and formally had the ramp jump that has been discontinued for safety reasons. The track offers racing twice weekly during the season. The Wednesday night Oxford Acceleration Series offers five divisions including Outlaws, Rebels, Sport Trucks, Cruisers and Ladies divisions. Saturday night Oxford Championship Series divisions include the headlining Super Late Models with Street Stocks, Bandits, Figure 8s as well as regional divisions that include Legends, North East Classic Lites, the Wicked Good Vintage Racing Association and the Pro All Star Series Modifieds.

The stadium held The Monsters of Rock Festival, featuring Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica and Kingdom Come on June 25, 1988. A show scheduled for the previous day was cancelled. The show brought in an estimated 40,000 people to the racetrack and caused traffic jams along Maine Route 26 to the Maine Turnpike.

The following week, the Grateful Dead performed, on two consecutive nights, at the racetrack on July 2–3, 1988, with Little Feat as their opening act, bringing in an estimated 140,000 people. Following traffic and crowd issues with the two concerts, the town of Oxford voted create a town ordinance to restrict crowd sizes at events in town to a maximum of 25,000 people.

In late 2012 the owner Bill Ryan sold the speedway to current owner Tom Mayberry. Since then there has been a change in the direction of the speedway, it no longer sanctions ACT-type Late Models as a weekly division, instead turning to Tom Mayberry's PASS (Pro All Star Series) Super Late Models which now serve as the weekly headliner. The Pro All Stars Series Super Late Model and Modified tours also make several stops at Oxford Plains during the racing season. The Oxford 250 is now a PASS Super Late Model race, with drivers across the continent who participate in Super Late Models under PASS, NASCAR, Champion Racing Association, Spears Southwest Tour, and other top Super Late Model series to use the same car they use in their home series, as most tracks with Super Late Models use a single set of rules for car specification.

In 2018, the American Canadian Tour made its return to Oxford Plains after an absence in 2017 with Eddie MacDonald sweeping both the events. ACT will return in 2019 with the Pro All Star Series and Oxford Plains season opener in May along with the Saturday night race before Oxford 250 Sunday in August. The Oxford 250 night before event will also feature Modified stock car racing from the Tri Track Modified Series.

Super Late Model Track Championship

Year Name Number Points
2013 T.J. Brackett 61 637
2014 T.J. Brackett 61 730
2015 Tim Brackett 60 822
2016 Tim Brackett 60 898
2017 Alan Tardiff 9T 830
2018 Gabe Brown 47 774
2019 Curtis Gerry 7G 835
2020 David Farrington Jr. 23 507

Annual Oxford 250 Champions

Year Name Hometown Winnings
1974 Joey Kourafas Sharon, MA $4,500
1975 Dave Dion Hudson, NH $4,500
1976 Butch Lindley Greenville, SC $6,375
1977 Don Biederman Oakville, ON $6,000
1978 Bob Pressley Asheville, NC $7,050
1979 Tom Rosati Agawam, MA $10,000
1980 Geoff Bodine Chemung, NY $11,200
1981 Geoff Bodine (2) Chemung, NY $21,400
1982 Mike Barry Bolton, VT $16,000
1983 Tommy Ellis Richmond, VA $21,150
1984 Mike Rowe Turner, ME $26,475
1985 Dave Dion (2) Hudson, NH $26,600
1986 Chuck Bown Portland, OR $28,950
1987 Jamie Aube N. Ferrisburg, VT $31,100
1988 Dick McCabe Kennebunkport, ME $34,100
1989 Jamie Aube (2) N. Ferrisburg, VT $35,075
1990 Chuck Bown (2) Portland, OR $51,872
1991 Ricky Craven Newburgh, ME $50,025
1992 Dave Dion (3) Hudson, NH $37,150
1993 Junior Hanley Campbellville, ON $40,475
1994 Derek Lynch Norwood, ON $33,975
1995 Dave Whitlock Petrolia, ON $52,150
1996 Larry Gelinas Scarborough, ME $50,000
1997 Mike Rowe (2) Turner, ME $39,800
1998 Ralph Nason Unity, ME $46,400
1999 Ralph Nason (2) Unity, ME $42,700
2000 Ralph Nason (3) Unity, ME $31,900
2001 Gary Drew Windham, ME $35,400
2002 Scott Robins Dixfield, ME $36,900
2003 Ben Rowe Turner, ME $34,700
2004 Ben Rowe(2) Turner, ME $29,700
2005 Mike Rowe (3) Turner, ME $26,000
2006 Jeremie Whorff Bath, ME $36,600
2007 Roger Brown Lancaster, NH $35,800
2008 Kevin Harvick Bakersfield, CA $37,300
2009 Eddie MacDonald Rowley, MA $35,300
2010 Eddie MacDonald (2) Rowley, MA $29,800
2011 Kyle Busch Las Vegas, NV $31,800
2012 Joey Polewarczyk Jr. Hudson, NH $45,500
2013 Travis Benjamin Morrill, ME $33,500
2014 Travis Benjamin (2) Morrill, ME $25,000
2015 Glen Luce Turner, ME $30,100
2016 Wayne Helliwell Jr. Dover, NH $30,000
2017 Curtis Gerry Waterboro, ME $35,200
2018 Andrew (Bubba) Pollard Senoia, GA $28,300
2019 Travis Benjamin (3) Morrill, ME $29,000
2020 Johnny Clark Farmingdale, ME $25,000
2021 Cassius Clark Farmington, ME $25,000
2022 Cole Butcher Porter's Lake, NS $25,000
2023 Cole Butcher (2) Porter's Lake, NS $25,000
2024 Jeff Taylor Farmington, ME $25,000

References

  1. ^ Wheeler, Dan (June 25, 1988). "Deputies ready for rockin' weekend". The Lewiston Daily Sun. p. 21. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  2. ^ Delamater, Mary (October 29, 1988). "Oxford sets crowd limits". The Lewiston Journal. Retrieved October 22, 2024.

44°9′13.70″N 70°29′4.45″W / 44.1538056°N 70.4845694°W / 44.1538056; -70.4845694