DJ Shaw ready to chase after Oxford 250 victory

When a fan-favorite driver continues to chase a specific race but comes up short year after year, it begins to make you wonder, when will they finally get it done?

DJ Shaw has been chasing after the Oxford 250 for nearly two-decades, with his first attempt coming in 2007. Since then, Shaw has become a multi-time champion on the Pro All-Star Series (PASS), winning championships in both PASS National and PASS North competition.

Drivers and races that come to mind in the short-track world include Jeff Taylor finally winning the Oxford 250 in 2024 and Stephen Nasse winning the Snowball Derby on his 15th attempt. They are just a couple of the success stories from the last few years.

One thing is for certain: Shaw wants to win an Oxford 250. After winning the PASS 400 last October and then the Celebration of America 300 this July, both at Oxford, Shaw is feeling the mounting pressure to finally close the deal on an Oxford 250 victory.

“It’s definitely our crown jewel up here, it’s the one everybody wants to win, and we’ve been pretty fortunate to have won the last two big ones at Oxford,” Shaw told Short Track Scene on Wednesday. “I just hate that we kind of lost our momentum here in the last PASS race going into this one. I still feel like we’re in a decent spot. There’s so much pressure and emphasis put on this one weekend that it’s hard to pull it off, and hopefully we can figure out the right recipe for that finally.”

Shaw has had plenty of success at Oxford, especially over the last few years. He has finished third in the last three Oxford 250 races, with a total of five third-place finishes and eight top-10 finishes in the last 10 years.

“It’s a testament to our consistency, but the frustrating part of it is, there have been years that we had a third-place car,” Shaw explained. “There have been years that we maybe had a car that should have contended for the win, and there’s a year that we really kind of stumbled into that third,” Shaw explained. “I don’t know, mixed emotions with the recent finishes there, but all in all, a proud statistic nonetheless. It just means we were in the hunt three years in a row. So, we’re doing something right. We’re just not doing it the best that day.”

When it comes to preparing for the Oxford 250, Shaw is dialing in his Dale Shaw Racecars in the weeks leading up to the event. He does this by running a weekly show on a Saturday night or racing in one of the Oxford 250 qualifier races, a race he won last August. This year, Shaw isn’t sure which car will be his primary car on Sunday.

“I’m still kind of on the fence here,” Shaw said. “We’re going to have all our cars ready to go, and all have a little bit different setups in them. Friday night, we’re going to run our car that was new this year that we haven’t run at Oxford yet and just see where and how that goes and just go from there. Just kind of going into it open-minded and feel like the car we’ve been running at Oxford is a safe fallback plan, but I don’t necessarily know if it’s going to be the winning move. It’s a safe and solid move. We’re going to keep the door open to try to hit on something a little better, and if we can’t do that on Friday, then anything’s on the table.”

Shaw most recently raced in an Oxford 250 qualifying race, a 100-lap event with the weekly Super Late Model division at Oxford. Shaw finished second behind the winningest Super Late Model driver at Oxford, Mike Rowe, who currently leads the weekly championship standings and recently turned 76 years old.

“It just shows how good he really is, he’s been a winner at Oxford since long before I was born, and my career is longer than most in the field now,” Shaw said “It’s just a testament to his abilities, I would say, after last weekend. He would be on my radar as one of the top five cars going into the 250 weekend. We weren’t even close to him. He’s definitely right up there with the short list of guys that I think have the best speed for a format like this. Definitely impressive to see. I’ve probably thought he was too old to still win for however many years, then you’re saying, ‘Oh, is this the year he finally starts to decline a little bit?’ And then he picks right back up and kicks your butt again. He’s definitely ageless. It seems like a race car driver could only dream they’d have that kind of ability into their 70s.”

With the Oxford 250 weekend approaching, Shaw knows the race attracts the best drivers from around New England, as well as some of the best short-track racers along the East Coast. This year, Bubba Pollard, Caden Kvapil, and Corey Hall are among those making the trip to Maine.

“It shows that this is one of the crown jewels considered around the country,” Shaw explained. “It’s definitely the biggest thing we have up here, and it shows that they’re willing to come from far and wide to support this deal. It’s good for us, it’s good for the race fans. It makes it so if you win this race, you truly beat one of the best from every corner of at least the East Coast and Canada. It legitimizes the field, in my opinion. You want to beat the best competition if you win. It makes it that much more of a proud moment, and if you get beat by them, then they were better than you.”

Shaw knows that with names like Pollard and Kvapil entered into the Oxford 250 weekend, it’s going to make the race that much more challenging to win.

“Kvapil is the top dog on the CARS Tour right now, He’s got an ASA National win,” Shaw said. “Bubba could win any race, any week, anywhere, and the same with Corey Hall. He wins anytime he’s in a car. He’s a threat to win. Seeing the guys travel like that, you know, I think it shows the level of competition this race brings, and hopefully we can battle with them in the end.”

For the North Conway, New Hampshire, driver, Shaw’s ultimate goal at the end of the weekend is to be the Oxford 250 winner.

“It would be my biggest win for sure, it would definitely take the top spot,” a humble Shaw said. “Maybe retirement’s not on the table, but it would feel like it would be the thing that completes everything I’m trying to do. You know what I mean? Like, I’ve won a couple big races at Oxford now, and they may have paid more, but they’re not the Oxford 250, and you would trade the paycheck for the Oxford 250 anytime.”

As Shaw is not just a racer, he also builds racecars for other Super Late Model drivers and teams across New England. Shaw would be proud to see a Dale Shaw Racecar win the Oxford 250 in the current format.

“It would be huge for us as a company, really,” Shaw said. “We’ve had some close shots, really, and it’s just never materialized. Joey’s got a few podiums, and Garrett has had strong runs. Gabe has had strong runs. We’ve always had a capable clientele up at the front that just never materialized for any of us other than the Kyle Busch deal in 2011. We want to win one as a Pro Late Model format, and obviously I’d like to be the one, but any one of them is going to be good for business on Monday.”

This year, like any other year, Shaw is ready for another Oxford 250. He knows that he and everyone on the team just need to do their jobs to have a chance at winning it all on Sunday.

“Just no mistakes, really,” Shaw said. “The draw is what it is, and it is going to be what it is no matter how much pressure you put on that. But if we can minimize our mistakes all weekend and make positive adjustments, positive gains, and not get lost, I feel like we have a solid baseline. I don’t want to spend two days going down a rabbit hole that’s just straight up the wrong direction, and that’s easy to do at Oxford, especially with all the track time. Just need to try to be on task and make the right adjustments, and not too many, and just survive the day. The whole team has to do their job on multiple pit stops, and I have to do my job of not tearing it up in between those, from the start to the final run. Just everybody has to be on their game all weekend, and hopefully we can get a couple spots better than we have these last few years.”

Shaw and the Pro All-Star Series kick off Oxford 250 weekend Friday night, August 28, with the PASS 150. The series will then have 90 minutes of practice on Saturday before Sunday’s heat race draw and qualifying heats set the lineup for the Oxford 250 later that afternoon.