NEW ENGLAND MOTORSPORTS NORTH 01-10-2014
By Lou Modestino
Oxford Plains Speedway President, Tom Mayberry, is pleased to announce the signing of Budweiser and Federal Distributors from Lewiston, Maine as a major supporter of racing here at Oxford Plains Speedway in 2014. This will be a first time partnership between the two organizations.
“We are very proud to have Budweiser and Federal Distributors on board with us for the 2014 racing season here at OPS. Mayberry explains, Budweiser will become the Official beer of Oxford Plains Speedway, as well as becoming the Oxford Championship Series sponsor, and the Pro Late Model division sponsor weekly here at the Speedway. We are looking forward to building a long, and strong relationship with the fine folks from Budweiser and Federal Distributors.”
Mike Klemanski, Director of Marketing for Federal Distributors is also very excited about the new partnership. “Oxford Plains Speedway is a great place for us to partner up with here in the State of Maine. It is a first class operation, and we are looking forward to being part of the success story. Being the Official beer of the Speedway, as well as being a major supporter of the Pro Late Models and the Oxford Championship Series, we feel this is a great mix for our company! By the looks of their schedule of events, it is going to be an exciting 2014 for Oxford Plains Speedway, Federal Distributors and Budweiser products.
The 2014 racing season kicks into high gear, as Oxford Plains Speedway, and PASS North team up to display their wares at the 26th Annual Northeast Motorsports Expo at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Maine, January 10-12.
Granite State Pro Stock Series Stats. The Granite State Pro Stock Series has been in existence for 2 years. In that time frame, there have been 17 races run at 8 different tracks with 12 different winners. In 2013 alone, there were 65 drivers that attempted to qualify for the 11 races held. Here’s a closer look at the numbers.
-Mike Parks is the driver with the most starts, and the only driver to start all 17 races. Tied for second are Barry Gray and Josh King with 16 starts each.
-Matt Frahm has earned the most wins on the tour with 3. He has done so in 12 races, giving him a 25% winning percentage. Compare that to this NASCAR’s driver with the most wins this year, Matt Kenseth, who won 7 races in 36 attempts, for a 19.4% average.
-The Granite State Pro Stock Series is so competitive that 12 drivers have won in the series, out of 17 races. Only 4 drivers have multiple wins: Frahm (3), Mike O’Sullivan (2), Gray (2), and Bobby Baillargeon (2).
-Mike O’Sullivan owns the most top 3’s in the series with 7. There are two drivers tied for second with 5 top 3’s, Frahm and Baillargeon. Larry Gelinas sits one behind the pair with 4.
-O’Sullivan also shares the lead in top 5’s with 8 with Barry Gray. O’Sullivan has done that in 13 races, meaning he finishes in the top 5 over 61% of the time.
-2012 champ Bobby Cabral owns the best single-season average finish, with a 3.83 average in 6 races. O’Sullivan had a 5.73 average feature finish in 2013 en route to his championship. In the entire Series’ life, Cabral’s average still stands on top at 3.83, O’Sullivan’s drops to 5.08, and Larry Gelinas sits third with a 6.67 average feature finish.
-O’Sullivan’s worst finish in 2013 was 15th, which was tied for the best “worst finish” out of the top ten, along with Jay Sands. In 2012, Cabral’s worst finish was 7th, proving what a phenomenal season he really had.
-Two drivers showed up for one race in 2013 and picked up the victory. Joey Polewarczyk, JR accomplished that task at Canaan, while DJ Shaw grabbed victory at Star.
-In three races at Canaan, Jeremy Davis is the king. His average feature finish of 3rd including one victory is best by far, with Mike Parks second in three races with a 8.33 average.
-Mike O’Sullivan is top dog at Thompson International Speedway. The 2013 champ has two second place finishes there, tops in the series. Jim Banfield has the second best average finish of 4.5.
-The GSPSS has been to Hudson for 4 races, and only five drivers have completed all 4. Bobby Baillargeon has two wins there, but a 15th in the 2013 Gate City Classic brings his average feature finish to 5th. Close behind, Jay Sands has an average feature finish of 5.25, and Mike Parks having an average feature finish of 6th.
-Modnadnock is another competitive track for the GSPSS. Seven drivers have competed in the 2 races there, with Larry Gelinas holding the best average feature finish of 6th, Fran Colson second with a 6.5 average, and Phil Meany with an average of 7th.
-Matt Frahm has enjoyed the most success at the two races at Star. Out of the 10 drivers that have attempted to qualify for both events, Frahm’s average feature finish of 2.5 is the best. Bobby Baillargeon is not far off with an average of 4.5, and Babe Branscombe is third with an average feature finish of 8th.
The 2014 season is just three months away with the Icebreaker at Thompson International Speedway on April 5th and 6th. Contact the Granite State Pro Stock Series by calling 1-802-558-8954 or e-mail Mike
Oxford Plains Speedway will be well represented at the Northeast Motorsports Expo being held this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, January 10th through 12th at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Maine. Gunnar Rowe, Scott Alexander, Corey Morgan, Alex Lacognata, Johnny Clark, Jeff Coolidge, and several others are expected to be on hand in our combined OPS and PASS North booth. The show looks like it will be filled with entertainment as Show coordinator Steve Perry, appears to have the place solidly booked. There will be the coveted Pit Stop Challenge, Auctions, numerous seminars, and awards presentations. The building will be full of racing displays, featuring racecars, schedules, and information about the upcoming season. There will also be numerous vendors taking part in the show. Should be a lot of fun, and I personally, will be looking forward to meeting many you racers and fans at the Oxford Plains Booth for the first time.
The Oxford Championship Series banquet is set to wrap up the 2013 racing season on Saturday night, January 18th at the Fireside Inn and Suites located in Auburn, Maine. The sold out event will honor the numerous Track champions for the Series including TJ Brackett in the Pro Late Models, Ryan Robbins in the Street Stocks, Corey Morgan in the Outlaws, and Justin Larsen in the Mini-Stocks. Also being honored will be top point getters in 2013, and some specialty awards.
PASS NORTH BANQUET ALL SET FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 17TH
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2014
SEASONS EVENT & CONFERENCE CENTER (formerly Verillo’s)
155 Riverside St, Portland, ME
(Exit 48 off the Maine Turnpike)
SOCIAL HOUR 6 – 7 PM
DINNER 7 – 8 PM
AWARDS 8 – 9 PM
DANCING to DJ JESSE BUTLER – 9 – 11:30 PM
TICKETS: $40 PER PERSON.
Tickets must be ordered and paid by
January 10, 2014. No tickets may
be purchased at the door.
Oxford 250 lap sponsorships are now on sale. You or your business may sponsor a lap and be recognized all season long on our website, and on the special 250 lap sponsorship board that will hang in the track walkway all season. The price for an individual lap is just $100. This is a great, affordable way to support your favorite driver, or advertise your business.
Another big name from Northeast racing has thrown his hat into the ring, and will become a regular Oxford Plains Speedway Pro Late Model driver in 2014. The multi time White Mountain Motorsports Park Late Model champion, Quinney Welch will make Friday nights his home in 2014. Welch’s car will be housed at the Crazy Horse Racing shop in South Paris, Maine, and Welch will make the trek from his Lancaster, New Hampshire home every week. Welch is also planning on competing in selected PASS North Super Late Model events. Welch has won numerous big events throughout the Northeast at tracks such as Canaan USA Speedway, Riverside Speedway, WMMP and more. Welch is very much looking forward to racing at OPS, and is excited about the new challenge.
Watch for a huge announcement to be announced sometime within the next few days. This is going to be very exciting as OPS and PASS head into the future. What is it? You’ll just have to wait and see. Stay tuned here for the gigantic announcement!!
The glory days are back for Super Late Models in the Northeast, as another Southern Maine track has upped their purses for the premiere division in 2014. This now means that Super Late Models will be racing for some of the biggest weekly purses in New England, and beyond. Oxford Plains Speedway President, Tom Mayberry is pleased and excited to announce that the Budweiser Pro Late Models that compete weekly in the Budweiser Championship Series on Friday night’s will be receiving a healthy purse increase in 2014.
“After a solid transition year in 2013, we feel that to get to the next level we have to return the weekly purse back to where it was when Pro Stocks, (Now known as Super Late Models) were the top division at Oxford, stated Mayberry. This brand of racecar is starting to see some significant growth, and is drawing a ton of interest around the Northeast. We feel that they deserve the boost in pay after the valiant effort that our Pro Late Model teams put forward in 2013 at Oxford. This division is headed in a very positive direction, and as this class significantly grows, so won’t the PASS Super Late Models, and the Oxford 250 as we head into the future. Not only are we upping the winners share to $1,500 weekly for Oxford Pro Late Model division licensed drivers, tenth position will pay a solid $300, and we are also increasing the purse for the balance of the top fifteen finishing positions. Non-licensed drivers will be racing for last year’s weekly purse. This is some great news for our racers and I am sure that they are going to be as ecstatic as I am. I have a feeling that with this new weekly purse, some of the headline names from years gone by will be looking seriously at returning to Oxford Plains Speedway on a weekly basis.”
The 2014 Oxford Plains Speedway season kicks off on Saturday, April 12th with the first PASS event of the season featuring PASS Super Late Models, PASS Sportsman, PASS Mods and Legends cars. The first event on the calendar for the Budweiser Pro Late Models to take advantage of the $1,500 to win and nicely expanded purse, will be on Friday night, May 2nd at 7:30pm. Joining the Pro Late Models will be the Street Stocks, Outlaw Sportsman and Mini-Cup Cars.
2014 PRO LATE MODEL PURSE:
1st $1,500,
2nd $750,
3rd $600,
4th $500,
5th $450,
6th $400,
7th $375,
8th $350,
9th $325,
10th $300,
11th $200,
12th $150,
13th $125,
14th $120,
15th $110,
16th on back $100.