Fortunately for Cole Butcher, racing isn’t a popularity contest.
The rising star from the Canadian Maritimes drove to victory Sunday night in the 50th Annual Spencer Group Paving Oxford 250, becoming the first Canadian to win the Oxford 250 twice and doing so in back-to-back years.
But Butcher’s path to the winner’s circle left a few drivers and even some fans less than thrilled with the outcome.
Max Cookson, the PASS North points leader, spent plenty of time at the front of the field in search of his first Oxford 250 win in only his second start. (STS/Jeff Brown)
The Porters Lake, Nova Scotia native has made the most of opportunities outside the Northeast this year, winning the ASA STARS National Tour Redbud 400 and claiming a few checkered flags at events at Hickory Motor Speedway. But the racing down south kept him from maintaining a presence up north.
Armed with the same car he drove to victory in last year’s Oxford 250, Butcher started outside the front row after winning his heat. But he found himself in a hole early, getting into leader Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. only seven laps in and earning a black flag for aggressive driving. Both Renfrew and Butcher found themselves at the tail of a 41-car field with 243 laps left to go.
Mike Hopkins inherited the lead, with Pro All Stars Series point leader Max Cookson settling into second. Ten laps later, Dave Farrington made contact with third-place Mike Rowe, spinning the three-time Oxford 250 winner and collecting Garrett Hall in the aftermath.
Cookson went to work on Hopkins on the restart, taking the lead on lap 23 with Farrington following through. The two former Oxford Plains Speedway track champions set a brisk pace, though Cookson was cautious working through lapped traffic. TJ Brackett had caught Farrington for second place when Jeff Taylor’s spin brought out the yellow flag on lap 61. Derek Griffith and Eddie MacDonald were among those who ducked onto pit road for early service.
Most of the leaders remained on track, though, and Cookson continued to rack up lap-leader money out front.
Trevor Sanborn’s lap-76 spin brought out another caution and another opportunity to pit, but the top five stayed out while D.J. Shaw, Bubba Pollard and Joe Pastore headed to the infield for tires and fuel. Sanborn lined up with the leaders and raced his way back onto the lead lap, before a spin for Andy Shaw collected a handful of cars in turn three on lap 81.
Cookson checked out on the restart, but 2017 winner Curtis Gerry came into the picture on a long green-flag run. Gerry, who won the last-chance qualifier just to make the lineup, picked his way through the top five as those on older tires began fading through the field. Gerry caught Cookson by halfway, working the outside on the youngster before taking the lead.
Joey Doiron was fortunate to take the green at all, starting shotgun on the field with a provisional. But he emerged in the lead with the checkered flag not too far off. (STS/Jeff Brown)
The race had eased into a long green-flag run, and as Gerry lapped traffic on fresher rubber, pit strategy began to loom large over those who had gambled and stayed on track. Cookson lost touch with the lead, losing second to T.J. Brackett and third to Renfrew with eighty laps left on the scoreboard.
But as Travis Buzzell slowed on the frontstretch, a timely yellow waved on lap 180, sparing a handful of drivers from the possibility of green-flag pit stops. Almost all the lead-lap cars came down pit road, with Brandon Barker cycling to the lead ahead of Joey Doiron, Ben Rowe, Griffith, and Cookson.
Barker’s turn at the front was brief, as two quick yellows had the field slowed again by lap 183. Barker ducked down pit road, leaving Doiron on the point for the restart. After taking a provisional just to start the race, Doiron found himself in position to score a long-anticipated Oxford 250 win.
Doiron distanced himself from Rowe on the start, while Johnny Clark made quick work of the top five. With sixty laps left, Doiron had a slim advantage on the seven-time PASS North titlist, with Cookson, D.J. Shaw and a resurgent Butcher rounding out the top five.
Behind them, Ben Rowe was fending off T.J. Brackett, a battle that ended with both drivers spinning down the frontstretch on lap 201. Dillon Moltz went around on the restart, collecting a number of cars in turn two to slow the pace once again. Doiron kept Clark at bay on the restart, but back in the pack, Andy Shaw spun Gerry to set off another multi-car incident that ended the night for Bubba Pollard and left Eddie MacDonald out of contention.
Doiron broke free on the drop of the green, and Butcher made his move from fifth, charging past Shaw and Clark to take second. As Butcher closed the gap to the lead, Barker and Taylor went spinning in turn three, collecting Austin Theriault and others to slow the race with 28 laps to go.
Butcher lined up to Doiron’s door for the restart, dogging the Maine veteran and pressuring him for the top spot. On lap 224, he finally nudged Doiron aside, skating past to take the lead.
Doiron’s best hope was to catch Butcher in traffic in the final laps, but Butcher was able to carve his way through the lapped cars, keeping a safe margin over Doiron with the white flag in sight.
In the end, Butcher crossed the finish line 1.348 seconds ahead of Doiron to win his second Oxford 250 in a row.
Butcher’s car shows the battle scars of 250 laps of competition around Oxford Plains Speedway. (STS/Jeff Brown)
Butcher’s big win was his fifth of the season, with wins in March’s PASS-sanctioned Easter Bunny 150s and a win in July’s CARS Pro Late Model Tour feature, all at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina. Butcher now has wins in his last four PASS National Championship starts and in three of his last four PASS North starts.
But his last two years in PASS have not been without controversy. Last year’s Oxford 250 win came courtesy of contact with Johnny Clark that left the veteran racer fuming. In his heat race earlier in the day, Butcher did not hesitate to move cars aside to get ahead. The early-race contact with Renfrew and the lead battle with Doiron did little to change his perception.
As dissatisfied fans expressed their opinions from the grandstand, though, Butcher and his team were unfazed.
Curtis Gerry won the last-chance qualifier and led laps in the later stages, but was knocked around in the final laps and limped home 25th. (STS/Jeff Brown)
The same could not be said for Doiron, who came up 27 laps short of the biggest victory of his career. “It was a little rough,” he said of the ultimate pass for the lead.
“We’ve been so close in this race so many times that it’s getting frustrating. Sometimes, I wish we’d just finish tenth. But we get so close, and you know, it doesn’t work out at the end. Frustrating, but we had a good run.”
But just being there for the green flag was a victory in itself. Doiron finished third in his heat, seeminging locking him into the field, but his car was tossed in post-heat inspection. Starting shotgun on the field in his consi, Doiron struggled with an ill-handling ride and was forced to race in through the last-chance qualifier. Doiron raced his way to second in the 50-lap shootout. Only winner Curtis Gerry advanced to the race, but Doiron was granted a provisional as the only full-time PASS North competitor not already in the show.
“Hell, they were lining cars up and I was pushing my stuff in the trailer,” Doiron said. “Luckily we were able to get a provisional, and show how good our car was. I knew we had a good car. It’s just hard, you know. You’re in a consi with probably arguably one of the fastest cars here every time, the 7G, and he started third and I was starting ninth, and it was like, it was just gonna be hard to beat him in that. We ran second, and I felt like the two of us deserved to be in the race. We had the speed to be in the race.
“Fortunately, we were both able to get in, and we both ran pretty good.”
D.J. Shaw, fresh off a runner-up finish to Gabe Brown in Saturday’s American-Canadian Tour Oxford Plains 125, was third at the finish. Johnny Clark and ACT winner Gabe Brown rounded out the top five.
Cookson was sixth in his second-ever Oxford 250. Joe Pastore finished seventh, with Sanborn, Griffith, and two-time PASS North feature winner Austin Teras rounding out the top ten.
A number of former Oxford 250 winners were in attendance, including grand marshal “Dynamite” Dave Dion and active competitors Travis Benjamin, Eddie MacDonald, Curtis Gerry, Johnny Clark, Bubba Pollard, winner Butcher, Ben Rowe and father Mike Rowe. (STS/Jeff Brown)
Reigning PASS North champion Ryan Kuhn was 11th. Early leader Mike Hopkins finished 13th, while polesitter Renfrew ended up 14th. Bubba Pollard, who brokered a last-minute deal to race Cookson’s second car, was scored 32nd after the lap-207 incident.
Sixty cars attempted to make Sunday’s race, with 41 making the grid after a series of five heats, three consis, and the last-chance qualifier, with provisionals awarded to top teams in PASS and weekly competition at Oxford. Ryan Moore, 2021 winner Cassius Clark, 2006 winner Jeremie Whorff and multi-time Oxford track champion Tim Brackett were among those who missed the field.
PASS and Oxford Plains Speedway officials took great lengths to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the race, welcoming back former Oxford 250 winners and honoring three-time winner “Dynamite” Dave Dion as the grand marshal. True to 2023 form, a storm system rolled in as teams prepared to enter the infield, dampening the track but not the enthusiasm of fans and teams.
The race went green a couple hours later than expected, but fans got to see the show they paid to see.
Unofficial Results
Pro All Stars Series North Spencer Group Paving Oxford 250
Oxford Plains Speedway
1. (53) Cole Butcher
2. (73D) Joey Doiron
3. (60) D.J. Shaw
4. (54) Johnny Clark
5. (47) Gabe Brown
6. (39) Max Cookson
7. (20) Joe Pastore
8. (44) Trevor Sanborn
9. (12G) Derek Griffith
10. (29) Austin Teras
11. (72) Ryan Kuhn
12. (94) Garrett Hall
13. (15) Mike Hopkins
14. (00) Jimmy Renfrew, Jr.
15. (23) Dave Farrington, Jr.
16. (1) Kyle DeSouza
17. (88T) Jeff Taylor
18. (88) Brandon Barker
19. (5) Ben Rowe
20. (17MA) Eddie MacDonald
21. (50) Andy Shaw
22. (61) T.J. Brackett
23. (7B) Travis Benjamin
24. (38) Garrett Lamb
25. (7G) Curtis Gerry
26. (2) Nick Cusack
27. (10) Kate Re
28. (24) Mike Rowe
29. (18S) Michael Scorzelli
30. (12X) Corey Bubar
31. (45) Austin Theriault
32. (26) Bubba Pollard
33. (5M) Dillon Moltz
34. (3B) Travis Buzzell
35. (36) Ryan Robbins
36. (58VT) Jimmy Hebert
37. (03) Scott Moore
38. (12) Dennis Spencer, Jr.
39. (BV52) Colby Benjamin
40. (01) Steve Chicoine
41. (99ME) Ben Ashline
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