OXFORD — Ben Rowe is used to winning at Oxford Plains Speedway and in the Pro All Stars Series, but a runner-up finish on Sunday was “like a win.” Nick Sweet was “happy with third.”
The two drivers battled for second-best on the final lap, but neither could challenge Curtis Gerry, who has been the cream of the crop in Super Late Model cars at Oxford this season.
Gerry, of Waterboro, expanded on his success at the track by winning the PASS 150 – the final PASS race at Oxford before the Oxford 250 in late August.
“Curtis is just in a league of his own,” Rowe said.
Gerry, the 2017 Oxford 250 champion, followed up his victory in a 100-lap PASS race a week earlier and also has won three 50-lap Saturday night features. He didn’t have the best car early in Sunday’s race, but he slowly picked his way to the front.
“Those guys had a heck of a pace at the beginning of the race. I had all I could to do to keep up with the top five there. We were just pacing ourselves, hoping they’d back up to us, slow down, and they did,” Gerry said. “I was able to pick them off in lapped traffic. But I had my hands full.”
Rowe, of Turner, started on the pole after winning his heat race. He paced the field until Ben Ashline of Pittston overtook him on Lap 18. Sweet, of Barre, Vermont, soon entered the mix and closed in on Ashline, but Rowe eventually moved back to the front and led again briefly again before Gerry took over.
Eddie MacDonald of Rowley, Massachusetts, finished fourth, while Reid Lanpher of Manchester was fifth. Ashline fell back to sixth.
n Calvin Rose Jr. took the lead away from Timmy Brackett a quarter of the way through the 50-lap Super Late Model, then stayed in front of fast-closing Curtis Gerry to win a caution-free main event Saturday night.
Billy Childs Jr. took the 30-lap Street Stock race, holding off Matt Dufault’s challenge. Dustin Salley got his fifth win of the year in the Bandit division, and Brady Childs raced to his fifth victory in Rookie competition.
INDYCAR: Simon Pagenaud got his third win of the season, and Alexander Rossi tightened the championship race with a third-place finish on the streets of Toronto.
Pagenaud had to save fuel in the waning laps to hold off reigning series champion Scott Dixon. But Pagenaud’s Penske teammate, Will Power, caused a caution on the final lap and Pagenaud was able to coast to the finish in his Chevrolet.
Rossi finished one spot ahead of points leader Newgarden and cut his deficit to four points.
FORMULA ONE: Lewis Hamilton won a record sixth British Grand Prix in Silverstone, England, after jumping ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas by taking advantage of the safety car being deployed.
In front of his home fans, Hamilton made the decisive move to the front on the 20th of 52 laps by pitting to get new tires. With the safety car still out after Antonio Giovinazzi spun off in his Alfa Romeo, Hamilton rejoined ahead of pole-sitter Bottas.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.