OXFORD — Whether drivers are from Maine or out of state, several of them said the same thing about the Oxford 250 — it is all about mastering a vexing track.
They also said that challenge keeps them coming back as nearly a dozen drivers gathered on the track at Oxford Plains Speedway for Oxford 250 Media Day on Thursday afternoon.
“This is a very tough race,” driver Ryan Kuhn of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, said. “This is going to make or break your season, in my opinion. I’ve been here about six or seven times and we struggled here almost every time. The last two times have been pretty good.”
The 3/8-mile oval is a track that has foiled many a drivers.
“It is just a completely different track …” Kuhn, who races at Seekonk Speedway in Fall River, Massachusetts, said. “It is so flat, so slick. The walls are so far from like the actual racing line. You look at this track and there is no way the top works here, but it does. Surprisingly enough, it works. It is different — no traction. No traction.
“I don’t know about everyone else, (but) I love tracks with zero grip. Everyone is close to you here. Their weekly guys are insanely good and it is tough to beat them. If you can compete with them on a weekly basis, you are going to have a good shot at the 250.”
Cassius Clark, who won last year’s 250 and continues to race for King Racing out of Nova Scotia, would not mind winning it again.
“I haven’t raced since last year’s (250),” he said. “The same car and everything, so hopefully it will be good again. Home track — so any time I can get to the race track is pretty awesome. Right in your backyard is the way to be.”
Max Cookson, 19, who is an Oxford Plains Super Late Model newbie from Pittsfield, said the track keeps drivers on their toes.
“(The track) changes a lot, so you really got to keep up with it,” Cookson said. “But we have got a pretty good program going, and just keep up with it all. I am just excited to get going. I kind of like it. It’s a good track.
“We’ve been doing pretty good here. We’ve been able to pick up two wins, I think nine top-fives, so it has been going pretty good so far.”
Bubba Pollard of Georgia, won the 2018 race, his Oxford 250 debut, and ever since has made an effort to juggle his schedule to be in Maine the final weekend of each August.
“We’ve always heard talk about the 250,” Pollard said. “I really didn’t know what the caliber of the event it was. Then once we came up here and saw for ourselves — it is one of those prestigious races that we try to make every year.”
Pollard said the race tracks in his part of the country have a lot banking and grip.
“Totally different from what I am accustomed to and what I am used to,” Pollard said. “This place you come to is a challenge. There are multiple lanes you can race on. That’s what makes it fun to race. That’s what keeps us coming back.”
Turner’s Ben Rowe, with support from his father, Mike, will be back in the mix in this year’s 250.
“This is one of the biggest races in the country,” Ben Rowe, a two-time Oxford 250 winner, said. “Soon as you hear the Oxford 250, it is one of the elite four or five, I’d say. It is right in my own backyard, so it is pretty cool. To have all this, the campers, the people, everything here for the whole weekend is pretty cool.”
Mike Rowe, a three-time winner, is sitting out this year’s race due to health issues, so his car will be driven by Ben.
“It was a no-brainer to put (Ben in the car), where he was available,” Mike Rowe said. “I just got to take it a little bit easier a little bit longer and hopefully we are going to have a good run (with Ben).”
Eddie MacDonald, of Rowley, Massachusetts, another two-time winner, in 2009 and 2010, estimates he has competed in at least 10 250s.
“It is the best race round here,” he said. “It is the biggest race for us. Everyone looks forward to this race every year. There is probably a few races that you want to win every year. This is at the top of the list.
“It is a tough race to win, so we are trying to work on the car and make it perfect and just make sure you are there at the end of the race. It is a tricky track, but you just work hard. The guys do a great job of keeping after it.”
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