Today’s 49th Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway in western Maine is the most important race of the year for Pro Stock/Super Late Model drivers from New England. One of them is East Bridgewater’s Ryan Kuhn who’s 21 years old.
The winner is guaranteed $25,000. Then there’s lap money given to the leader on every lap the driver leads. If all of the laps are sold to sponsors at $100 each, the winner could go home with $50,000 if he leads the entire race!
“With 68 cars pre-entered, the first four qualifying heats are key to getting an upfront spot in the main event and the ability of going into the 250-lap feature with the race car being in good shape,” said crew chief and Ryan’s dad Jimmy Kuhn, Jr.
He went on, “That’s the first obstacle. Then there’s the pit stops. We’re allowed the four tires already on the car and then six more to use during the pit stops. We’re shooting for just one pit stop. Anything other than that would be trouble for us. Any mistakes in this race can and will keep you from winning.”
Former PASS Champions such as DJ Shaw, Derek Griffith, Mike Hopkins and Joey Doiron will also take part in the Oxford 250.
Shaw leads Joey Polewarczyk and Eddie MacDonald in the PASS National Championship standings. Meanwhile Ryan Kuhn leads MacDonald and Gabe Brown for the PASS North Super Late Model title. The Oxford 250 also counts towards both points battles. So, this could be a pivot race in those championship hunts.
Back in 1974 Joey Kourafas of Randoph won the first Oxford 200 which resulted in adding an extra 50 laps to insure a pitstop. That change added more suspense to the event by the late Bob Bahre who owned the track back then.
