Joey Polewarczyk Jr. hopes spending a weekend at Oxford Plains Speedway will jumpstart his season.

The 22-year-old Polewarczyk, who is known by racing fans as Joey Pole, has gotten off to a slow start on the American Canadian Tour, and he’s hoping for a strong performance in Sunday’s TD Bank 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway to turn his season around.

“This race could change everything,” Polewarczyk said. “We’re really focused on this weekend. It can make you forget every bad thing that has happened this year.”

Polewarczyk, who finished second to Brian Hoar in last season’s ACT points standings, currently ranks sixth in the Late Model standings, but he is disappointed.

“We’ve had a couple of good runs, but a lot of stuff has been out of our control,” he said “Mechanical problems. Brake lining failings. This past week in a PASS race, we led 105 laps and coming back to the field after a pit stop, a lapped car pulled out in front of us. Just a lot of bad luck.”

In six ACT starts this season, Polewarczyk, who is based in Hudson, N.H., hasn’t won a race and has finished outside the top 10 three times.

“Last year, we couldn’t do anything wrong at the end of the year,” he said. “We went on a good streak and won a lot of big races. When you go on a good streak like that, it makes you appreciate it every bit more because for every good day in racing, there’s five bad days.”

Polewarczyk’s weekend at Oxford Plains Speedway will start Saturday night with a 150-lap Pro All-Star Series for Super Late Models. It will be his sixth career start in a PASS race.

“We just to try to race every weekend, whether it’s Late Model or a Super Late Model,” he said. “Whenever there’s a rain date, we just race some place else.

“Pretty much every weekend since April, we’ve been at it.”

As many as five drivers will run in both the PASS race and the TD Bank 250.

Topping the list is Sprint Cup star Kyle Busch, who will make his third start in the 250 Sunday.

Brad Babb, who graduated from Windham High School last month, also will run in both races as will Hoar, the seven-time ACT champion from Williston, Vt., and Patrick Laperle, a former Serie ACT Castrol champion from St. Denis, Quebec.

TWO-TIME 250 WINNER Jamie Aube is hauling his new Late Model to OPS from North Ferrisburgh, Vt., to try to qualify for the TD Bank 250.

After retiring from the old NASCAR Busch North Series, Aube, who turns 57 next month, spent a couple of years as a crew chief for Dustin Delaney.

“I never really got out of the driver’s seat,” he said. “I did a lot of testing.”

This season, Aube, who won 250s in 1987 and 1989, has been back on the track full-time at Thunder Road Raceway in Barre, Vt.

“This year, we’ve been running every week at the Thunder Road and we’re really getting a good understanding of the car,” said Aube.

Eddie MacDonald, who has won the past two TD Bank 250s, is the only other former 250 winner who will try to qualify for Sunday’s race.

T.J. BRACKETT of Buckfield plans to have his car repaired in time for the 250 after wrecking it last Saturday night in the Late Model feature at the speedway. Brackett and his father, Tim, are expected to be the only father-and-son combination who will try to qualify for Sunday’s race.

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH

 

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