Oxford, ME – Joey Doiron and the #73 Wild Willy’s Burgers/JBJ Machine team rolled into Oxford Plains Speedway for the fifth event of the Pro All Stars Series North season with the points lead and on a string of four straight top five finishes. Starting the day in the 23rd position after a rear end issue in the heat race while leading, Doiron was able to make his way through the field on one of the hardest tracks to pass on. At the conclusion of the race, the team crossed the finish line in fifth place.
“Having the rear end issue in the heat races was a setback for us but I’m proud of the team for working hard to bounce back from that issue,” Doiron explained after the race, “I think we could’ve gotten a little more there at the end but we had used our stuff up just getting to the front and the late restarts didn’t go well for us either.”
After multiple caution flags at the start of the event stalling Doiron’s progress, a long green flag run in the middle of the 150 lap race allowed Doiron to start picking off cars one at a time. Running hard on the bottom of the track, he was into the top ten by lap 50 and looking for more. Working his way into the top five on one the races final runs, incidents plagued the final few laps of the event. Doiron raced hard with Mike Rowe, Cassius Clark and Shawn Martin, and ended with the eventual fifth place finish.
With five races in the books, Doiron still holds on to the points lead over race winner Travis Benjamin. A strong start to the season gives Doiron a guaranteed spot into the biggest race of the season next weekend.
The best Super Late Model drivers in the world will be back at Oxford Plains Speedway for the first time since 2006 for the TD Bank 250. The richest payout in all of short track racing is doubled with the PASS National Series that Doiron sits fourth in after a win to start the season at Auburndale Speedway. Racing will start with the always entertaining heat races as drivers work to make their way into the field for the 40th Annual TD Bank 250 at 2:00 PM on Sunday, July 21st, with the grueling 250 lap main event to close out the evening.
For more information on Joey Doiron, find him on Facebook at Joey Doiron Racing, on Twitter @joeydoiron73 and online at joeydoiron.com.
Story by Evan Beaulieu
Photos by Norm Marx