Drivers ready to do more laps for more money at Celebration of America 300

OXFORD — Racing fans in Maine and New England welcome another big race to the calendar this week with the inaugural Celebration of America 300 at Oxford Plains Speedway.

The 300-lap race is sponsored by All That’s Metal and run by the Pro All Star Series, which is owned by the same owner as Oxford Plains Speedway. The main event is part of Wednesday’s schedule, and Tuesday’s action included qualifying and a 75-lap Limited race and a Mad Bomber race.

The race is 50 laps longer than the famed Oxford 250, and Wednesday’s $40,000 prize money is $15,000 more than the annual race in late August.

The race has attracted NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup champion and winner of the 2011 Oxford 250, and Daniel Hemric, ranked 30th in the Cup standings. Bubba Pollard, one of the nation’s top short-track drivers who has competed in every 250 since winning in 2018, also returns to Maine this week.

Max Cookson, a New Hampshire native who won the last two Super Late Model championships at Oxford Plains, said the Celebration of America 300 will be a different challenge than the Oxford 250.

“It’s very similar to the 250, you have to manage a lot of tires,” Cookson said. “So with all that extra preparation, it’s the pit stop race. This race, it’s going to be a real beast. The qualifying race (and) the race situation will be very different and have a different feel. I feel like in the 250, you have to have a strategy in that race, but it’s pretty cut and dried.”

Cookson added that the length of Wednesday’s race allows drivers and their pit crews to be more creative in their strategy about when to stop, when to attack and pass and when to hang back and rely on endurance. He also said trying to start fast and stay out front isn’t always a winning strategy because a car’s tires need to last the entire race.

The qualifying process will also be different. Instead of 20 laps with 15 cars at a time, qualifying will last 75 laps and feature 25 cars.

“They’re all going to be crushed there, so it’s going to be a different feeling,” Cookson said. “So who knows how it’s going to work because there’s so many cars in the running. You could have a qualifying race with absolutely all the good cars.”

The top 15 from each of Tuesday’s first two qualifiers advance to Wednesday’s final.

DJ Shaw has finished in the top five in several races this season, including five second-place finishes. But he’s still chasing his first win.

“We’re racing for a championship here, but we’re racing for wins,” Shaw said. “You’re never completely satisfied with second place. It’s never a bad day, but that’s not why we come here. Obviously, if we can take that one step further, that’s the ultimate goal.”

In terms of strategy, Shaw said the 300 shares the same characteristics as the Oxford 250, it’s just longer. The prize money adds to the competition and incentive to win.

“It’s never a bad thing to race for that kind of money,” Shaw said. “It should be a good event for everyone, and hopefully the fans will be happy and the drivers will put on a show for them.”

Tom Mayberry and his son, Mike Mayberry, own the Pro All Stars Series, Oxford Plains Speedway, the Oxford 250 and this week’s 300 race.

Mike Mayberry said the Celebration of America race was launched this week with the aim of trying “something a little unique for this year” and giving regular Oxford 250 riders another event to compete in.

“I mean, the 250, it’s a special one-of-a-kind event that over the last 50 years has gained some notoriety as the greatest one-day short track race in America, and really the greatest short track race in America,” Mike Mayberry said. “So trying to build that race over the next couple of years is certainly a goal, but, I mean, building something to rival the 250, I don’t know if it really makes sense because of the history and everything that surrounds that event.”

Johnny Clark is another driver who knows Oxford Plains Speedway well. While he knows the track, Clark said with a laugh, “We’re good everywhere else, but at Oxford, we’re terrible.” He won the Oxford 250 race in 2020, but said he’s struggled to compete at the track since then.

Clark said Tuesday afternoon’s racing was a little slower, quieter and “almost awkward” compared to the hype surrounding the 250. He said that was likely because the date was close to July 4 and the race was midweek.

“The Oxford 250 is in a class of its own, and it always will be; and it doesn’t matter what the money is, it’s just the prestige,” Clark said. “If you go back, I mean, we’ve had Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, all those guys have raced the Oxford 250. Obviously, Kyle Busch has been here before and won the race, but it’s really cool that the Mayberrys did this and put that money on the line and took the risk.”

“I just hope people come tomorrow night. It’s the day before the Fourth of July, so I hope people come and we have a good crowd.”

Derek Griffith, another Oxford Plains veteran, said he has raced a lot this season, but not in 300-metre races. He said the hardest part Wednesday will be for the pit crew to “manage the chaos out there,” because the lanes could be three or four cars wide when drivers stop to change tyres.

Griffith said it was cool to race against some big names in NASCAR this week, especially for the local racers because of the experience it provides.

“I think it only helps the local drivers because these guys turn up and they’re really fit and they’re really good racing drivers,” Griffith said. “But then there’s a guy who pulls his car out of a shed and goes and races with them and races with them. It shows how tough the locals are here. It’s a really, really tough track to master.”

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