Doiron DQ Leads To Teras Triumph At Oxford

As Joey Doiron and his team silently pushed their race car to the hauler after Sunday’s Pro All Stars Series North PASS SLM 150, the celebratory vigor that had surrounded the team on the Oxford Plains Speedway frontstretch was long gone.

Runner-up Austin Teras, who earned his first series win a month ago at PASS’ home track, was now two-for-two at the historic Maine oval.

A tech-shed infraction had relegated Doiron to last place in the 31-car field.

Max Cookson and Austin Teras flank Joey Doiron in victory lane. (STS/Jeff Brown)

The victory is a boost for Teras, who reversed years of promising runs and subpar finishes with back-to-back victories in a part-time schedule. But it was a blow to Doiron, a driver who steers clear from controversy and whose pairing with Petit Motorsports had, at last, lived up to lofty expectations.

The Berwick, Me. veteran rolled off seventh for the evening feature, with DJ Shaw and Kyle DeSouza leading the field to the green flag. Shaw, who had finished sixth in the American-Canadian Tour Pine Tree State 125 moments before, showed the way early, but DeSouza kept pace with the five-time champion as Doiron picked his way through the field.

By lap 30, DeSouza was more than keeping pace with Shaw, testing the high groove to poke his nose out front. Shaw battled back on the inside, but the war waged out front allowed Doiron to close the distance to the leaders. When DeSouza finally took the point, Doiron slipped by Shaw with little struggle, then made his move on DeSouza to take the lead on lap 45.

Fifty laps later, Doiron had built a straightaway lead over Shaw and DeSouza, with TJ Brackett and rookie Garrett Lamb stout within the top five.

DJ Shaw (#60) and Kyle DeSouza battle for the lead early, with Doiron closing in on the battle. (STS/Jeff Brown)

Doiron was well in control when Matt Dow’s spin down the frontstretch brought out the first caution flag of the evening on lap 118. Four lapped cars lined up between Doiron and Shaw for the restart, giving the leader a solid buffer over his competition.

But a series of restart incidents, and the free passes that resulted, whittled down Doiron’s cushion. Brackett snuck around Shaw and DeSouza in traffic to nab second, while Max Cookson found his way into the top five for the first time.

Doiron got away from Brackett on a lap-123 restart. As the field battled in their mirrors, Garrett Lamb was turned entering turn three, stacking up the pack and collecting Shaw, Jeremie Whorff, Mike Rowe and a host of others to bring out another caution with 25 laps to go. Rowe and Alan Tardiff were done for the night, while Shaw and Lamb were among those who pitted for repairs to salvage their evenings.

A pileup with 25 laps to go ended a promising performance for rookie Garrett Lamb (#38) and consigned early leader DJ Shaw to a finish outside the top ten. (STS/Jeff Brown)

Cookson dodged calamity and lined up third for the restart, in a bid for his second win of the season. And Teras, who also avoided the incident, cracked the top five for the first time.

Doiron put on a dominant performance, but post-race inspection relegated him to a 31st-place finish. (STS/Jeff Brown)

With no lapped cars to protect his lead, Doiron went to work, leaving the pack behind as Cookson made a bid for second. Teras followed in Cookson’s tire tracks, climbing to third before challenging Cookson.

But neither driver had an answer for Doiron.

After a season in which both owner and driver had yet to reap the results they expected, Doiron crossed the finish line well ahead of the field, taking the checkered flag while Teras outdueled Cookson for second.

Then came the tech shed.

Doiron’s car was disqualified in post-race inspection, handing the win to Teras. PASS does not typically disclose the reason for post-race disqualifications. Two other drivers, Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. and Ben Rowe, have been issued post-race disqualifications this year so far.

Austin Teras (#29T) battles Max Cookson for second place late in the race. It would later prove to be the pass for the win. (STS/Jeff Brown)

Teras, who spoke to Doiron after the race, shrugged off the suggestion that Doiron had an unfair advantage. And while he appreciated the victory, he wished it could have come under different circumstances.

“Second place on the race track is not how you want to win races,” he said. “I guess it makes us two for two in PASS races here, kind of, not really. I wanted to race Joey. Joey had a really good car. I wished we could have raced him.”

Max Cookson extended his points lead with his third runner-up finish of 2023. (STS/Jeff Brown)

Cookson was scored second, his third runner-up finish of the season. TJ Brackett ended the evening in third, matching his best career PASS North finish.

DeSouza’s strong night closed with a fourth-place result. Ben Rowe, in his first PASS start since his May disqualification, finished fifth despite nose damage from the late-race pileup.

Brandon Barker was sixth in the final rundown, while Gabe Brown came back from a lap down to finish seventh in a brand new car. Garrett Hall, Corey Bubar and Scott McDaniel rounded out the top ten. Early race leader Shaw battled back from the lap-125 carnage to finish 11th.

After seven races, Cookson sits atop the championship standings, leading over veterans Trevor Sanborn and Johnny Clark. Doiron’s tough season leaves him mired seventh in points, with the bulk of the schedule still looming ahead. It bears considering that eventual 2022 champion Ryan Kuhn found himself in an early-season deficit last year, finding consistency at last after a win at Seekonk Speedway.

Kyle DeSouza (#1) put on a thrilling battle with DJ Shaw all race long, but prevailed in the long run to finish fourth. (STS/Jeff Brown)

However, the title race will take a back seat in the coming weeks to August’s Oxford 250. Races at WMMP Friday night and Seekonk in two weeks lead into an August 6th date at Oxford, one last official tune-up before the 50th running of the speedway’s signature event. The presence of heavy hitters like Cassius Clark and Travis Benjamin in Sunday’s race is a reminder that the big dance is not too far away.

But those who have been fine-tuning their cars for the last several weeks cannot be overlooked. Max Cookson will be a threat in his second-ever Oxford 250. Despite the disqualification, Joey Doiron served notice that he cannot be counted out.

And with two Oxford wins in his back pocket, Austin Teras will find himself among August’s favorites as well.

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

1. (29T) Austin Teras
2. (39) Max Cookson
3. (61) TJ Brackett
4. (1) Kyle DeSouza
5. (5) Ben Rowe
6. (88) Brandon Barker
7. (47) Gabe Brown
8. (94) Garrett Hall
9. (12X) Corey Bubar
10. (14) Scott McDaniel
11. (60) DJ Shaw
12. (44) Trevor Sanborn
13. (54) Johnny Clark
14. (25) Shawn Knight
15. (38) Garrett Lamb
16. (01) Steve Chicoine
17. (BV52) Colby Benjamin
18. (18S) Michael Scorzelli
19. (00) Jeremie Whorff
20. (84) Matt Dow
21. (50) Andy Shaw
22. (13) Cassius Clark
23. (24) Mike Rowe
24. (9T) Alan Tardiff
25. (36) Ryan Robbins
26. (7B) Travis Benjamin
27. (12) Dennis Spencer, Jr.
28. (9) JT Thurlow
29. (60B) Tim Brackett
30. (99) Charlie Buxton
DQ (73D) Joey Doiron

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