Gabe Brown’s title defense season has not gone quite how he imagined.
But a trip “home” and a second win might have him back on track.
The reigning Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour titlist put on a clinic to win Friday night’s Yvon Bedard 109, kicking off a busy three-day stretch building up to Sunday’s All That’s Metal Oxford 250.
Friday’s feature, part of a somewhat last-minute doubleheader at Oxford Plains Speedway with the hosting Pro All Stars Series, was effectively a makeup race for July’s Yvon Bedard 149 at Circuit Riverside Speedway Ste-Croix. The ill-fated return to the Quebec oval, thwarted by rain in July and by local officials earlier this month, left a schedule gap for a third Oxford appearance for the ACT faithful, also closing out the three-race Quebec Challenge Series.
Brown launched his championship defense in April with a win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Since then, the Center Conway, N.H. phenom had finished sixth or better in all but three of the year’s eight races. But with chief title rival Raphaël Lessard perfect in the top-ten department with two wins, Brown entered the weekend a distant fourth in the standings.
However, in returning to Oxford, Brown returned to the site of his 2018 track championship, his first career PASS Super Late Model win in 2022, and his first Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour win in 2023.
Brown wasted little time establishing himself at the front, leading from the pole with series sophomore Cole Littlewood in tow. Littlewood’s fairy tale run ended quickly as he dipped off the track on a lap-16 restart, moving Erick Sands into second. Sands and Brown swapped the lead for a bit, but Brown battled back to the point with Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. and Derek Gluchacki in pursuit.
D.J. Shaw’s second spin of the night froze the field on lap 56, with Jesse Switser and points leader Lessard working past Renfrew for third and fourth on the restart. Brown held the lead through another yellow, then again when Jeff Côté, racing Brown’s second car for the night, went for his own spin on lap 74.
Trouble for Kaiden Fisher and Geoff Rollins brought out another yellow on lap 83, with Renfrew and Switser ditching Gluchacki for second on the restart. However, when the two made contact on a later restart, Gluchacki took the runner-up slot back, hoping to run down Brown for his second win of the season.
But Brown would not be denied, hanging on for his second ACT victory of 2025 and his second ACT win at Oxford.
Brown became the season’s second repeat winner, three weeks after Lessard managed the feat at White Mountain Motorsports Park. Indeed, it is the first time in Brown’s career that he has recorded multiple ACT wins in a single season.
Gluchacki, who won ACT’s Oxford 250 preamble in 2022 and 2024, finished second with Renfrew holding on for third. Sands, who dominated last year’s Oxford 125 before coming up short, was fourth at the line.
Reigning Oxford Super Late Model champion and PASS veteran Trevor Sanborn finished fifth in his ACT debut, taking the wheel of the CSV Motorsports entry formerly driven by Kasey Beattie.
Jonathan Bouvrette was best in class among the race’s Quebec contingent in sixth, with former Oxford winner Switser falling to seventh in the closing laps. Jeremy Sorel finished eighth in his first ACT race since April’s Northeast Classic. Maine racer Colby Meserve was ninth with William Larue rounding out the top ten.
Championship challenger Shaw struggled to a 16th-place finish, while Lessard limped home to 17th, his first finish outside the top ten all season. Thirty-three cars started the feature, with Sébastien Couture and Bryan Mason not making the cut after trouble in qualifying.
Côté finished 15th in his first ACT outing in the United States despite his late spin. With his misfortunes, Brown’s victory unofficially earned him the $5,000 Quebec Challenge Series crown. Thirteen Quebec competitors were on hand to challenge for the win, a high mark for a race in the United States.
Yvon Bedard, the race’s namesake, was among the baker’s dozen of Canadian challengers, though a mid-race spin consigned the Laval, Que. racer and his trademark No. 9 to a 30th-place finish.
With poor outings for both Shaw and Lessard, Brown should gain ground in the ACT points race with the season just past halfway.
Brown’s weekend has started on a high note, but the young racer has a long weekend still ahead of him. In addition to Saturday’s ACT-sanctioned Oxford 125, Brown is making a run at the Oxford 250 in a car owned by Star Speedway operator Bobby Webber, Jr. Brown also had to quickly regroup for the PASS Sunoco 150, the other half of Friday evening’s racing card, in which he finished ninth.
But Brown and his crew are home. They are prepared.
All that’s left is to execute.
Unofficial Results
Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour | Yvon Bedard 109
Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Me.
1. (47NH) Gabe Brown
2. (03MA) Derek Gluchacki
3. (00NH) Jimmy Renfrew, Jr.
4. (36NH) Erick Sands
5. (45NH) Trevor Sanborn
6. (41QC) Jonathan Bouvrette
7. (25NH) Jesse Switser
8. (7MA) Jeremy Sorel
9. (92ME) Colby Meserve
10. (45QC) William Larue
11. (28NH) Ricky Bly
12. (31CT) Alexendre Tardif
13. (5ME) Troy Patterson
14. (27NH) Cam Huntress
15. (47QC) Jeff Côté
16. (60BH) D.J. Shaw
17. (48QC) Raphaël Lessard
18. (21VT) Reilly Lanphear
19. (33QC) Rémi Perreault
20. (98MA) Ryan Flood
21. (73MA) Cole Littlewood
22. (72QC) Louis-Philippe Lauzier
23. (15QC) Christopher Bedard
24. (02MA) Geoff Rollins
25. (18VT) Kaiden Fisher
26. (31X) Joey Lemay
27. (11QC) Claude Leclerc
28. (16QC) Jimmy Lehoux
29. (77AZ) Brandon Lambert
30. (9MX) Yvon Bedard
31. (53NH) Jeremy Davis
32. (47MA) Justin Storace
33. (78QC) Michaël Lavoie
DNS (03QC) Sébastien Couture
DNS (10NH) Bryan Mason
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