Ben Rowe Returns To PASS Winner’s Circle At Oxford

Even without rain in the forecast for Sunday’s racing at Oxford Plains Speedway, fans got to talk about the end of a dry spell.

Ben Rowe picked up his first Pro All Stars Series North victory since 2018 in Sunday’s PASS SLM 150, the last race of the season before the 50th running of the Oxford 250.

And with only one brief tune-up remaining before the biggest Super Late Model race in New England, Rowe can count himself among those with momentum on their side.

The Turner, Me. veteran and four-time PASS North champion made headlines last summer with his departure from Richard Moody Racing after nearly two decades together. Stepping back from full-time touring, Rowe climbed behind the wheel of his father Mike’s familiar No. 24 for the Oxford 250, running strong before fuel issues forced him to the infield.

With Mike taking a ride elsewhere for 2023, Ben remained in the family mount, renumbered and wrapped to commemorate one of Mike’s winning rides from years past. A limited schedule was in store for the season, but a strong fifth-place finish at Oxford in July foreshadowed this Sunday’s performance.

Rowe came to life in the final fifty laps, taking the lead and cruising to his 42nd career PASS victory.

PASS North points leader Max Cookson diced through traffic in the final run, climbing as high as second but unable to chase Rowe down for the checkered flag.

DJ Shaw, still hunting for his first PASS win of the year, finished third.

Veteran Travis Benjamin, atop the Granite State Pro Stock Series standings by a strong margin, finished fourth as he sets his sights on a fourth Oxford 250 victory. Garrett Hall, winner of the GSPSS’ last outing at Maine’s Speedway 95, was fifth.

Sixth went to Curtis Gerry, who made his first start of the season in strong fashion. Andy Shaw was seventh in his strongest run of a challenging season. New Hampshire Motor Speedway winner Eddie MacDonald was eighth in his first series race since his April win at the “Magic Mile.” Wiscasset Speedway standout Josh St. Clair was ninth, with Rowe’s father Mike rounding out the top ten.

Mike Rowe’s tenth-place performance followed his feature win in Saturday’s weekly show at Oxford, the Maine hall-of-famer’s 193rd documented win at the oval. (Photo courtesy Oriana Lovell/O.L. Photos)

The elder Rowe’s top-ten paled in comparison to his drive the prior evening. Days away from his 73rd birthday, the Maine racing legend and 2015 PASS North champion earned his first feature win at Oxford since 2018, his 193rd documented victory at the historic oval.

Saturday’s showdown served as one last full-distance tuneup before the Oxford 250, and many of the hopefuls fell short of expectations. Two-time PASS winner Austin Teras, saving laps and risk on his primary mount, wheeled his backup car to 12th. Reigning PASS North champ Ryan Kuhn was 17th. Trevor Sanborn, who replaced Ben Rowe at Richard Moody Racing, was a lap down in 21st, while Johnny Clark and Joey Doiron were even deeper in the field. Though given the importance of the Oxford 250, whether teams had alternative agendas in using the feature as a test session is hard to gauge.

Sentimental successes at Oxford have been the story over the past two weeks. Kate Re started the streak with her first career feature Super Late Model win, joining Vanna Brackett as the only two women to post SLM victories at Oxford. Saturday night’s win for Mike Rowe certainly fit the bill.

And Sunday’s win marked the end of a challenging stretch for Ben Rowe, a stretch in which he won an American-Canadian Tour championship but struggled to find speed in Richard Moody’s fleet of PASS cars despite crew chief and chassis changes.

Both car owner and driver have found success on their own terms since last summer’s split. Moody and Sanborn won at Thompson Speedway in Connecticut and have added a number of long-distance races to their schedule while chasing PASS points. Rowe, with his father reunited with Caruso-Fowler Racing for the season, has been quick in the family ride and now has a win of his own.

How that speed translates with pit stops and long-distance strategy, though, remains to be seen.

Unofficial Results
Pro All Stars Series North PASS SLM 150
Oxford Plains Speedway

1. (5) Ben Rowe
2. (39) Max Cookson
3. (60) DJ Shaw
4. (7B) Travis Benjamin
5. (94) Garrett Hall
6. (7G) Curtis Gerry
7. (50) Andy Shaw
8. (17MA) Eddie MacDonald
9. (14S) Josh St. Clair
10. (24) Mike Rowe
11. (12X) Corey Bubar
12. (29) Austin Teras
13. (14) Scott McDaniel
14. (47) Gabe Brown
15. (8) Angelo Belsito
16. (23) Dave Farrington, Jr.
17. (72X) Ryan Kuhn
18. (60B) Tim Brackett
19. (36) Ryan Robbins
20. (15) Travis Stearns
21. (44) Trevor Sanborn
22. (88) Brandon Barker
23. (54) Johnny Clark
24. (73D) Joey Doiron
25. (84) Matt Dow
26. (18S) Michael Scorzelli
27. (41) Logan Melcher
28. (9T) Alan Tardiff
29. (12) Dennis Spencer, Jr.
30. (32) Nick Jenkins

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