OXFORD AMERICAN RACER THREE STARS

American-Canadian-TourWaterbury, VTThe American Racer Three Star program will continue in 2016. The program is designed to recognize three teams in no particular order of performance that had outstanding races at ACT US Tour events. There are no specific criteria for deciding who might receive the award of a free American Racer Tire (value $125.00), but a special effort by a team, exceptional race, just plain old hard luck, or other accepted reason to give the award is used to decide the recipients.

 

The three stars are chosen by officials and winners will receive certificates for the use of a free American Racer tire at a future Tour race of their choosing during 2016.

 

The awarding of the stars does not allow for anybody in the top three to receive the recognition.

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Second Place ACT Finish for Eddie MacDonald at Oxford Plains Speedway

photo by Norm Marx

photo by Norm Marx

By: Dick Casey

Second Place ACT Finish for Eddie MacDonald at Oxford Plains Speedway

For the fourth time this season Eddie MacDonald has posted a second place finish, this time in the American Canadian Tour’s Dave’s Small Engines/Ferris Mowers 100 at Oxford Plains Speedway on Saturday, August 27. The action was relentless from green flag to checkered flag as Eddie Mac battled eventual winner Scott Payea and Brad Babb for much of the race.

The Exit Realty/Hancock Electric Chevy posted fast times in the three brief practices and scored a plus two for his second place run in the heat after starting fifth. Eddie Mac started in the sixth position for the 100 lap feature as part of the Oxford 250 weekend. It did not take the Rowley, Mass veteran long to move into contention when the green flag waved over the 26 car field. The Freddie Peterson owned ride jumped to third place as a result of some heads-up driving by the veteran shoe.

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Packard Rallies from Late Race Spin for An Eighth Place Finish in the ACT 100

Emily2016EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. – Frustrated with contact from a lapped car late in the race and being sent to the rear of the pack for the restart, Emily Packard was able to channel that frustration and drive her 9x Northstar Fireworks/Packard Fuels car back up through the field to finish in eighth place at Oxford Plains Speedway this weekend.  “We were just clearing a pack (of cars) and headed for the leaders,” said the 19-year old driver, “when a lapped car just drove right through us and spun us out.  Unfortunately, ACT didn’t punish see the need to punish him, but instead I was sent to the back for the restart.  Luckily there were enough laps for me to recover and get a top-10 finish.”

 

Earlier in the day, Packard and the team spent the morning preparing the car for practice, reviewing notes from their test and changing the car back from the New Hampshire Motor Speedway test.  It was obvious when she hit the track for the first practice that the team had made all the right changes as Packard was the 6th fastest car on the track.  “We were ok during practice, pretty quick actually” said Packard.  “We ran some very consistent laps, within a tenth of each other every lap, whereas other guys were going out and running a fast lap and then would drop right off.”  Packard would continue to get faster each practice, with her fastest lap in final practice when she went out to scuff in new tires.

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Wayne Helliwell, Jr. scores big H.P. Hood Oxford 250 victory

photo by Norm Marx

photo by Norm Marx

New Hampshire racer remains hottest PASS Super Late Model racer at Oxford Plains Speedway

 

Oxford, Maine – Wayne Helliwell, Jr. had suffered through more than his share of disappointment over the years in competition at Oxford Plains Speedway, but a turnaround in fortune for the Bernhardt Motorspots team came full circle Sunday night with victory in the 43rd Annual H.P. Hood Oxford 150, worth about $30,000.

 

“I can’t believe it, the way we’ve run at Oxford in the past, I can’t believe how this team has turned this around,” the winner exclaimed in victory lane.  Longtime Oxford Plains Speedway and Ford fans were ecstatic to see the orange 27 with the Dion Brother Racing throwback paint scheme in victory lane, especially with Roger Dion on hand helping Bernhardt Motorsports effort.

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Payea Takes Third Win of Season in Thriller at Oxford

American-Canadian-TourOxford, ME – Colchester, VT’s Scott Payea emerged as the victor in a heavyweight thriller at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway on Saturday, August 27, beating out Eddie MacDonald, Dillon Moltz, and Brad Babb for his third American-Canadian Tour (ACT) win of the season in the Dave’s Small Engines/Ferris Mowers 100.

 

Payea, Babb, and MacDonald had engaged in a three-way battle for more than half the race, with Payea and Babb swapping the lead numerous times while MacDonald lurked in the wings. Payea finally gained the edge for good shortly after a lap-79 caution for Emily Packard’s spin, sweeping around the outside of Babb for the event’s 13th lead change. The title contender then held on through two more restarts for his eighth career ACT Late Model Tour victory and first at Oxford.

 

Hinesburg, VT’s Bobby Therrien, the winner at Oxford in the ACT season opener, led the first five laps from the pole before Rich Dubeau got around him following a hard duel to lead his first laps ever in ACT competition. Babb followed Dubeau up the outside line, then swung to the outside himself to nab the point on lap 18.

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Griffith Likes His Oxford 250 Chances After Very Good Practice Session

PR- Eric LaFleche / Photo - John Miller

PR- Eric LaFleche / Photo – John Miller

Oxford 250 ‘Practice Saturday’ proves to give young New Hampshire driver more confidence for Sunday

 

(Oxford, ME) – When more than sixty Super Late Model teams head to Oxford Plains Speedway for the richest one-day asphalt short track race in the United States, the Oxford 250; the day before race-day is extremely important for race teams to get acclimated to the tricky 3/8th-mile oval.

Derek took the Hitman Industries/Provencher Insurance/Chuck Taylor No. 12 Toyota Camry out on four separate occasions during the three-hour practice session, Griffith steadily improved as the day practice went on. Early on, the Hudson, NH native peeled off a 15.814 second lap. The team decided to tweak the set-up to ensure the car would be very good on long green-flag runs, during the 250-lap main event on Sunday, August 28th.

“We planned on running a bunch of laps today to perfect the set-up said Griffith, we were 10th fastest for the entire 3-hours but our car didn’t drop off, there are cars that turned faster laps but seemed to slow, as the laps went on. Louie [Crew Chief Louie Mechalides] set us up with a car that is very consistent. It’s a neutral set-up, this is the most comfortable I’ve ever felt here, the car is great and we’re not changing a thing.” (more…)