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Scott
Robbins fulfills a dream by winning the True Value 250 (Lee Truman photo) |
Scott Robbins used a great pit strategy and a smooth racecar
to win the 29th Annual True Value 250 at Oxford Plains
Speedway. Robbins, from Dixfield,
Maine, won $36,900 and withstood a late rally from two-time race winner Mike
Rowe to put an exclamation point on “The Richest One Day Short Track Race in
America” and establish himself as one of the best Pro Stock drivers in the
northeast. Eighty-four (84) cars were
on-hand to try to capture the $25,000 first place prize and $100 per lap led
bonus, but Robbins proved to be the fastest car that was in the right place at
the right time.
Sunny skies greeted the eighty-four entrants who drew for
their starting spot in one of six heat races through a “luck-of-the-draw”
format that can make, or break, the entire day. Former Winston Cup car owner and Busch Grand National competitor
Joe Bessey drew position number one and drove to victory in the first heat race
to put himself on the pole position for the True Value 250. Scott Fraser dominated heat race number two
while Cassius Clark, defending True Value 250 Champion Gary Drew, Mike Maietta
Sr., and Jim Emerson also claimed heat race victories to put themselves in the
top six spots for the feature race. The
top four from each heat race actually qualified which sent sixty cars to the
three consolation races.
Henry Hudson, Scott Chubbuck, and American-Canadian Tour
(ACT) rookie Ryan Moore all claimed consolation victories to get themselves
into the field of 36 cars. Alan Wilson
earned the last qualifying position by winning the 50-lap Last Chance race (or
Hooligans Race). Ricky Morse, a regular
Late Model division competitor at Oxford Plains, started on the rear by virtue
of his victory the previous night in a special 50-lap event. The final five starting spots were reserved
for the highest Oxford Plains driver not qualified, Mike Maietta Jr., and the
former True Value 250 champions who did not qualify. Ralph Nason (three-time winner of the event), Jamie Aube (2-time
winner) and Chuck Bown (2-time winner) were all given spots on the grid to
bring the field to forty-three cars.
Forty-one cars went home.
Nason cited an undiscovered broken shock as his problem
during the qualifying races.
“We couldn’t find anything wrong with it all day until after
the Last Chance race,” explained Nason.
“We’ve got it fixed so hold onto your seats, we’re gonna give you a
show.” The crowded erupted into a mixed
chorus of cheers and boos!
The green flag waved on the historic event with Joe Bessey
leading the way until a first lap caution brought the field back together. Nova Scotia’s Scott Fraser’s Atlantic Cat
Monte Carlo took over the lead on the restart and would set a blistering pace
over the next 89 laps. Fraser only had
to deal with one caution period over that stretch but ran into trouble when his
fast pace took a toll. On lap 90,
Fraser blew out his right front tire while leading by 10 car lengths over Gary
Drew. A multitude of drivers chose to
pit at this time, including Scott Robbins, whose crew might have won him the
race just 90 laps into the event.
“I’ve been coming to this race for 20 years and studying
it,” explained Robbins. “By pitting
early and changing four tires in one stop we got out in front of everybody who
took two tires and then came back in for two more tires. My crew did a four-tire change on one
stop. THEY won me the race tonight.”
It wasn’t quite that easy as Robbins restarted just outside
the top ten and raced his way to fifth when a caution flew at lap 132 for Scott
Fraser’s blown motor. The early pitstop
paid dividends at this point as the top four cars, leader Larry Gelinas, Sam
Sessions, Ben Rowe, and Chuck LaChance all had to make their stop for tires and
gas. Robbins inherited the lead and
only needed to work traffic and deal with one restart the rest of the way….but
what an interesting restart it was!
Racin’ Ralph Nason, the three-time winner of the event, got
into the feature by virtue of a provisional and proceeded to go one lap down at
lap 36. Nason persevered, however, and
when Fraser’s tire blew out on lap 90, Nason got his lap back and hit the pits
with Robbins. Nason managed to follow
Robbins, Ryan Moore, and Drew to the front and was actually in second place
when the sixth, and final, caution flew on lap 167. It was quite a run for Nason, but he had nothing for Robbins who
quickly opened up a five car length advantage while Nason was now forced to
deal with Moore, Mike Rowe, Gelinas, and the sneaky-fast Alan Wilson.
Robbins built up a comfortable 1.7 second lead with just 20
laps remaining.
“I was getting a little annoyed with my brother,” joked Robbins. “He kept telling me ‘another ten laps led, another thousand
dollars’. I thought, ‘we’ve only been
ten laps since the last time? Did we
run a thousand laps out there?!?’”
Rowe was now the man in pursuit while the rest of the top
ten tried to figure out how to pass the slowly fading car of Nason. Positions four through nine changed a half
dozen times over the final 20 laps as worn tires and competitive spirits rose
to the occasion. Outside of Fraser’s
blown engine, the heartbreak of the night belonged to Sessions. The 2001 PASS champion found himself passing
Mike Rowe for third place on lap 197 when a right front tire suddenly went
flat. Sessions was relegated to a 15th
place finish.
Robbins was on cruise control as Rowe attempted to reel him
in through lapped traffic but there just wasn’t enough time as Robbins had
built up enough of a cushion.
“You really don’t want to get into a late restart with a
Mike Rowe or a Ralph Nason because anything can happen. We tried to put as much distance on them as
we could.”
“My brother (crew chief Spencer Robbins) was telling me that
we were okay and not to slow down through the lapped cars, but press the
issue,” commented Robbins. “Mike might
have had fresher tires, I think, and he’s going to chase you down. I mean, it’s Mike Rowe! If he’s in second place you know he’s going
to come hard and chase you down.”
However, on this night, there was no chasing down the
RoweAuburn.com Ford Taurus as Robbins took the checkered flag four car lengths
ahead of Rowe who was that far ahead of the 18 year-old Moore.
“I’ve got to thank
my sponsors,” said an excited Robbins in victory lane. “Obviously, Race Basics (chassis builder)
helps us out a ton and RoweAuburn.com has stuck behind us for four years now. Race Basics built this car with this goal in
mind and I’ll tell you, the car never changed.
We were a bit tight on the first set (of tires) so we short pitted. We thought we might have to pit again but
the car just took off. This car is
unbelievable.”
Rowe’s explanation of why he didn’t catch Robbins was the
most concise and accurate response in racing that more people should try
accepting.
”He was going too fast,” said the veteran of twenty-six True
Value 250’s (he won in 1984 and 1997).
“I have to congratulate Scott.
He’s a good kid and he did a heck of a job. He’s a talented driver and I’m happy for him. I want to thank True Value for this great
race and I’ll be back next year as long as they sponsor the race.”
Mike Rowe’s Monte Carlo is sponsored by Turner True Value
and LUX Enterprises.
Every True Value 250 has at least one driver who comes out
of nowhere with the run of his career.
This year that title belongs to Ryan Moore who, at age 18, is on a
fast-track to higher levels of stock car racing. Moore, whose father Kelly was a fixture In the True Value 250 in
the 80’s and holds every significant Busch North Series record, was excited
about his first ‘250’ start.
”Coming to this track after watching my father race and
dreaming about being in this race…I mean, to race my first True Value 250 and
have a performance like that…I can’t explain the feeling,” said Moore. “The car was real good, but I might have
used it up a bit getting through traffic.”
The significance of a good finish in the northeast’s most
exciting event wasn’t lost on Moore.
“It’s a real special night.
To be running side-by-side with Mike Rowe and Ralph Nason…as great they
have been at this track, it means a lot and it’s very special. I want to thank NAPA and all of their
Autocare centers. John Main and Main
Lubrication, my dad, and my whole
family. We’re going to win some races
together. I don’t think I could have
done it without my father. He really
coached me along. He’s the best teacher
anyone could have.”
Race Notes:
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6 cautions
-
4 lead changes among 5 drivers
-
Leaders: Bessey (grid-1), Fraser (2-90), Ben Rowe (91-106),
Gelinas (107-131), Robbins (132-250)
Other Notes
- Bessey spun in the late stages and lost two laps, finishing 21st.
- Ben Rowe led for 17 laps. He took tires at lap 132 and could only manage to get back to 6th.
- Louie Mechalides took tires at lap 167 and couldn’t quite get back to the front, finishing 7th.
- Defending Champion Gary Drew finished 12th, the last car on the lead lap.
- Robbins has qualified all 4 times he attempted finishing 15th, 6th, 2nd, and now 1st.
- Robbins led for 119 laps, pocketing $11,900 in lap leader money!
- Scott Fraser raced several ASA races over the last two years and was the first driver to file an entry for this race.
- Despite not finishing, Fraser racked up $8,900 in lap leader money.
- Alan Wilson got into the show by winning the Hooligans Race, starting 37th, and finished 4th!
- Nason ended up in 9th place.
- Jeff Taylor, a seven-time Oxford track champion, finished in 10th place.
- Busch North drivers Tracy Gordon and Bill Penfold qualified for the event and finished 41st and 25th.
-
Bown, the former Winston Cup and Craftsmen Truck Series
driver, retired early and finished 42nd in a car that just wasn’t
competitive.
29th Annual
Oxford 250 Pictures
Peter Taylor Photo (I think!)