The Magic Number was Zero

Jeremine Whorff, #00, beats Bill Whorf, #0 and Sam Sessions, #0 to win the Banknorth 250

Pictures Below Recap

Jeremie Whorff heads back out to practice on Sunday just hours before the biggest win of his racing career.

Results of the 2006 TD Banknorth Oxford 250

1 Jeremie Whorff

2 Bill Whorff Jr.

3 Sam Sessions

4 Scott Mulkern

5 Travis Benjamin

6 Trevor Sanborn

7 Dave Dion

8 Gary Smith

9 Corey Williams

10 Curtis Gerry

11 Scott Alexander (Canada)

12 Richie Dearborn

13 Gary Drew

14 Tim Brackett

15 Kevin Kimball

16 Chuck LaChance

17 Dale Shaw (Pole)

18 Ryan Deane

19 Tommy Tompkins

20 Scott Alexander (Maine)

21 Patrick Laperle

22 Kyle Busch

23 Bub Bilodeau

24 Richard Pelton

25 Shawn Martin

26 Jeff Taylor

27 Ricky Rolfe

28 Scott Chubbuck

29 J.J. Yeley

30 J.R. Baril

31 Mike Rowe

32 Ricky Craven

33 Dan McKeage

34 Paul White

35 Cassius Clark

36 Denny Hamlin

37 Matt Lee

38 Scott Robbins

39 Ben Rowe

40 Corey Morgan

July 30, 2006 – Oxford, Me

It was an unexpected scene at the 33^rd Annual TD Banknorth 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway as a son and father dominated the final 75 laps and their last name was not Rowe. Jeremie Whorff of West Bath, Maine pulled off one of the greatest upsets in the history of the event and pulled out to a three second victory over his father Bill Whorff to claim a winner’s check of $36,600. The younger Whorff, who had never qualified for the event before this year, had one of the fastest cars all night and simply let the competition fall around him. He hung around the leaders for most of the first half of the race and when Kyle Busch’s engine expired on lap 158, there was nobody left to challenge the 22 year-old upstart from Oxford’s premiere weekly division.

“I don’t know what to say,” said a tired Whorff. “I never dreamed this was possible and I would have just been happy to make the Last Chance qualifying race before tonight! We got a good draw, won our heat, and started outside pole. That set the tone for us.”

In a race that touted the return of Ricky Craven and Kyle Busch to the event and the first appearances of Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley, the current and former Nextel Cup stars struggled with the unique qualifying procedures of the Oxford 250. Craven, Yeley, and Hamlin all needed promoter’s provisional spots to get into the field while Busch brought the crowd to its feet with a wild charge from twentieth starting spot in a consolation race to win the race. The luck of the draw and the heat races were unkind to the stars, but as the great equalizer, a local racer like Whorff took advantage of a good draw to win the second heat race. The pole winner, by virtue of winning the first heat race, was Dale Shaw. The heat races were hotly contested 20 lap affairs and top drivers Johnny Clark, Travis Khiel, and Alan Wilson failed their technical inspections after the heats. None of the three would qualify for the feature.

The green flag flew at 8:00 PM and Dale Shaw, always a top competitor at Oxford, jumped out to an early lead. With every lap being worth $100 to the leader, it didn’t take long for the top cars to chase him down. Ben Rowe, one of the fastest cars all weekend on the stopwatch, showed that his racing program with Richard Moody Racing is improving every week by easily driving around Shaw on lap 10 for the lead. Rowe was the rabbit of this field as he steadily moved away from Shaw and Cassius Clark over the next 12 laps. Unfortunately, he was so fast that he was approaching lapped traffic at a furious pace and J.J. Yeley, in danger of going a lap down, roughed up the car of Matt Lee right in front of the leader. Scott Robbins got turned in the fray and Rowe, with no place to go, violently jumped the car of Robbins and settled off the track, battered and done for the night.

Jeremie Whorff would hold the lead briefly, but on the restart Shaw got the better of him and set off on his own torrid pace. Cassius Clark had his engine expire on lap 44 as the confusion with engines in the region showed some ugly side effects during the event. With no less than four engine choices and various weight penalties for those choices, teams in the northeast have been stretching their budgets to meet any possible rules in PASS or at Oxford. Clark’s departure was a sign of things to come.

Mike Rowe was the man on the move after a lap 78 restart and went by Shaw on lap 82. Shaw, whose tires were fading badly, was forced to pit under green for a tire change and lost several laps to put him out of contention. At lap 100, it was Rowe, Jeremie Whorff, PASS point leader Scott Chubbuck, Scott Mulkern, and Billy Whorff comprising the top five. A furious battle began amongst the top three. Chubbuck was on rails at this point and wanted to earn some of that lap leader bonus money for car owner Jay Cushman. Chubbuck got the lead from Rowe on lap 110 but then things got dicey. The two leaders gradually gained on Chuck LaChance who was battling to stay on the lead lap. As Chubbuck negotiated around the lapped car with Rowe to the high side, Whorff compromised the pair by peeking down low. This sent Chubbuck up the track just enough to force Rowe over the turn 3 bank. His car appeared to suffer minimal damage, but he was unable to continue. Jeremie Whorff made his lone stop on the night and took on four new tires. This would prove to be an important stop for track position later in the event. Chubbuck maintained the point on the restart, but the man on the move was Kyle Busch.

Busch had a similar run to the front in last years Banknorth 250. This year, he was obviously among the faster cars and after the lap 111 restart, he set his car to the outside groove and drove by Mulkern and Chubbuck for the lead. Busch checked out on Chubbuck until a lap 127 yellow for fender bender between Gary Drew and Dave Dion. This allowed the Nextel Cup star to get his four tires and things seemed to be setup just right for a charge to the front. That charge would happen, but the results were not what he hoped. The next 20 laps saw Jeremie Whorff inherit the lead one more time with Jeff Taylor now providing a challenge in the high groove. Taylor, the eight-time track champion at Oxford and owner of Distance Racing Chassis, briefly took the lead in the outside groove but could not get down in front of Whorff. Whorff battled in the low groove and came back at pre-race favorite Taylor showing everyone that he would not be intimidated on this night. Whorff regained the lead on lap 132.

Scott Chubbuck succumbed to engine gremlins on lap 140 which eventually brought out a yellow for fluid on the track at lap 143. This bottled the field up and put the lapped car of young Trevor Sanborn amongst the lead lap cars of Whorff, Taylor, the surprising Sam Sessions, Ricky Rolfe, and Busch. The restart saw Taylor make a run on Whorff, but he could not make the move work in the outside groove this time around. When Taylor cleared the lapped Sanborn, the 19 year-old talented, but inexperienced, racer inexplicably gave Taylor an unnecessary nudge that sent him up the track. Rolfe, an innocent victim, struck the front stretch wall violently bringing out a red flag. Both Rolfe and Taylor were done for the night. This setup a front row of Jeremie Whorff and Kyle Busch, one a 22 year-old local standout with five Oxford feature wins versus a 20 year-old Nextel Cup standout who came north again this year for one reason: to win the Banknorth 250. It was a clean restart with Busch trying to make his relentless charge to the inside of Whorff. He couldn’t dislodge Whorff from the low groove.

““Kyle was banging on me and waiting for me to make a mistake,” Whorff would say later. “The guys just kept telling me on the radio to keep my line and keep my cool. I’m one of those drivers that can keep cool under the pressure while somebody is trying to work you out of the groove. If somebody can get beside you and make the pass then they deserve it. I don’t think he (Kyle) had a good enough car to do it.”

Busch could not make the pass low as Whorff showed some experience beyond his racing years in fighting off the big-league talent. Busch was forced to try to the high side and actually nosed his LUX Enterprises Chevrolet to the front on lap 156. Whorff didn’t give up and battled his way back under Busch, keeping him up high and forcing him to wind his engine. The battle came to an eerily silent ending when Busch was forced to shut down his #5 out of turn 4 on lap 158, his engine expired.

“He (Busch) couldn’t do it and that makes me feel pretty good,” Whorff stated. “We had a car out there today that couldn’t be beat.”

A caution was thrown on lap 160 for a tangle between Mulkern and Dion who were both near the top five and two of the last seven cars on the lead lap. The race was becoming a battle of attrition. While the total number of cautions wasn’t staggering (there were 11 total) the amount of damage was terminal for almost everyone caught up in a wreck. By the time the field took the green on lap 161, there were just 22 cars still running. With fewer cars on the track, the drivers were finally able to keep the fenders off each other and the race would go caution-free over the final 90 laps.

The battle for the win between father and son never really materialized as Jeremie Whorff got out to a two second lead by the time Billy Whorff was passing Sam Sessions for second place. While the elder Whorff would bite into the lead a little bit, eventually, he had to back off to maintain his second spot in the standings.

“I tried to catch him and I thought I had something for him,” said Bill Whorff, “but I started to burn the right front tire so I backed off to make sure I finished second. I don’t know if the right front was blistered but it must have been because it was shaking the last 25 laps.”

There was very little drama left as Jeremie Whorff pulled away steadily and had open track ahead of him to take the victory and earn the $25,000 first prize plus $11,600 for leading 116 laps. A total payday of $36,600! That is more than twice what he had earned in his entire racing career to that point.

“I did start thinking about it (the win) with five laps to go,” said Whorff. “I’ll be honest. But I also know that there is a right front tire that could blow coming out of turn four on the last lap. So coming out of turn four on that final lap I started celebrating. It was a phenomenal feeling but I knew anything could happen until that checkered flag. My crew got me here. I just steer the car. They did and excellent job and I can’t thank them enough. I have to thank AAA Insurance and my crew. The pit strategy by Mark Green was awesome and the crew put a great car under me. I don’t know what to say! I don’t know how those old guys can run 250 laps. I’m exhausted.”

Is it possible to have a monumental victory like that sink in so quickly?

“It’s sinking in a little bit now. Tell the old man I’m taking tomorrow off!” Jeremie works for Bill’s company, Whorff & Son Excavating.

Bill Whorff held on to second place by a large margin and was all smiles in the post race ceremonies.

“We were a little tight at the end and I probably used my tires up,” explained Whorff. “I wanted to pit earlier then I did, somewhere around lap 70 something. And then when I did pit I kind of screwed up. Pit road was closed so they put me at the tail end of the lead lap so that hurt me a little bit. My crew got me out with a great pit stop and the tires were a great match.”

As a racer he was satisfied, but as a father and team owner, he was very happy for everyone associated with Whorff Motorsports..

“I’m really proud of Jeremie. For a kid that has tried to qualify for so many years and he hasn’t even got to run the last chance race, it is pretty special. I never really imagined this could happen. It’s been such a struggle in the past and we didn’t even get in last year. We had good cars we just didn’t have any breaks. The best of the best are here and it’s nice to beat them.”

While spending time over the last few years hosting a Nextel Cup star, the Whorff’s were shut out of the feature last year but made up for the loss by claiming the top two spots this time around.

“AAA Insurance has been a terrific sponsor and have helped us with our two cars and making the cars available for Matt Kenseth and J.J. Yeley. We have lots of good friends and our crew is amazing. My hat’s off to them.” And what about Jeremie not showing up for work? “He’ll be there. He better be,” he said with a smile.

Trying not get lost under the great story of a son-father first and second place finish, was multi-time Banknorth 250 qualifier and 2001 PASS Champion, Sam Sessions from South Paris, Maine, making it an all Maine sweep of the top three. Sessions, attempting his only race of the year, had to overcome some incredible odds just to put a car on the track for the heat races.

“We worked all night last night building a motor that we’ve had sitting around for two years in the corner of the garage,” said an ecstatic Sessions. “We bought some bearings this week and last night the boys built the entire motor. We got the engine back together and I had to go back through tech. That makes it that much more rewarding. It’s one of those things that if we got into the race it would have been a complete night. Everything else is gravy.”

Sessions had a plan for the final long run on the night, but the car wasn’t quite up to the challenge of the top two cars.

“The whole race I wanted to do one pit stop and my plan was to drive smooth and not take anything that didn’t come easy. That’s what I did the whole race. That last run the car was loose on the new tires and that’s a good situation for a long run. The last run the car was about perfect. The car was comfortable. Getting back in it is just riding a bike, you never forget. I tried going to the outside (of Jeremie Whorff) but it wasn’t easy. I could have fought and probably got that spot, but at the end of the race I wouldn’t be sitting here (in third place). I was gonna take what’s easy or I wouldn’t have the tires. This is the race I want. Maybe if I just keep showing up for this race I’ll improve one spot each time.”

Notes:

- 83 cars attempted to qualify.

- Both Whorff cars are sponsored primarily by AAA Insurance.

- Bill Whorff earned $12,300 for second. Sessions earned $7,500 for third.

- Sessions thanked Eddie Martin who he said “made this race happen”. This is the only race on his schedule for this year.

- For numerical trivia buffs, the top three cars were numbered 00, 0, and 0. The Zero Heroes!

- Denny Hamlin retired just 22 laps into the event after being involved in the incident that took out Ben Rowe.

- Busch was the highest finishing “Cup” star in 22^nd position.

- “Dynamite” Dave Dion won the last chance qualifier, or Hooligan Race, and transferred to the feature. He had a great run and finished 7^th.

- Chris Kennison from Oxford was leading the first heat race until contact from Johnny Clark took him out. He finished second to Dion in the last chance race and took home $1,000 for a new award, the Joe Jacobs Memorial Award.

- 2002 Banknorth 250 champ Scott Robbins’ car caught on fire in his heat race. He used one of Bill Whorff’s backup cars for the feature. He finished 38^th.

- Patrick Laperle, the recent winner at Oxford in PASS competition, got caught in a wreck on lap 147 while running in 7^th.

- Regular PASS competitor Rick Martin did qualify and withdrew due to a personal family emergency.

Cautions: 11

Red Flag: 1

Lead Changes: 12

Leaders: Shaw grid-9, B. Rowe 10-21, J. Whorff 22, Shaw 23-81, M. Rowe 82-109, Chubbuck 110-115, B. Whorff 116-118, Busch 119-126, J. Whorff 127-128, Taylor 129-131, J. Whorff 132-155, Busch 156-157, J. Whorff 158-250.

Heat Race Winners (20 Laps)

Heat 1: Dale Shaw

Heat 2: Jeremie Whorff

Heat 3: Ben Rowe

Heat 4: Corey Williams

Heat 5: Ryan Deane

Heat 6: Mike Rowe

Consolation Winners (20 Laps)

Consi 1: Gary Smith

Consi 2: Kyle Busch

Consi 3: Chuck LaChance

Last Chance Race (50 Laps): Dave Dion

Provisionals:

High Point Oxford Pro Stock: Tim Brackett

Past TD Banknorth 250 Champion: Scott Robbins

Highest Oxford finishers, ACT race on Saturday night: Shawn Martin

Promoter’s Options: Ricky Craven, J.J. Yeley, Denny Hamlin

33rd Annual Oxford 250 Pictures

Jeremie Whorff (00) and Dale Shaw take the green flag. Whorff would take the checkers and $36,600 at the end of 250 laps.

Ben Rowe dominated early but a costly mistake by lapped cars ruined his chances.

Kyle Busch’s engine expired on lap 158 while battling for the lead with Jeremie Whorff. Busch’s charge from 20^th to 1^st in his consolation race was the stuff of legends.

Local campaigner Chris Kennison finished 2^nd in the Hooligan race and took home $1,000.

“Dynamite” Dave Dion won the Hooligan Race, started 34^th, and brought home his 18^th top ten finish! He ended up in 7^th place.

Sam Sessions got his career best third place finish in his only race of the 2006 season.

Maritime Carquest Tour champion Rollie MacDonald made the trip from Nova Scotia but did not qualify.

The tech shack was busy on Saturday morning. Kyle Busch, Ricky Craven and Mike Rowe (24) await their turns.

The lineup for the 33^rd annual TD Banknorth Oxford 250. What a sight!