OXFORD — Travis Benjamin has done it again.
A daring weave through lap traffic allowed Benjamin to open up a lead on Joey Doiron on lap 209 for the 2013 Oxford 250 title, and Sunday he pulled nearly the same maneuver to repeat as champion at Oxford Plains Speedway.
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“This place has been so good to me,” Benjamin told the crowd after the race. “…This is awesome. This is what it’s all about.”
The Morrill native started 27th in the field and spent the better part of the race trying to fight up for the lead. By the midway point he was beginning to challenge for the top spot with Fort Kent’s Austin Theriault, but Benjamin was forced to pit and dropped off the pace.
The fresh tires proved to be a smart decision though, as a caution on lap 217 prevented Cassius Clark from pulling away from the field and 10 laps later Benjamin took over the lead.
On lap 243 it once again came down to Benjamin and Theriault, but the defending champ managed to split two lapped cars to create the distance he needed to hold on for the win. Theriault finished second, Richie Dearborn — a provisional qualifier — took third, Cassius Clark was fourth and T.J. Brackett fifth.
Benjamin joins Ralph Nason, Ben Rowe, Geoff Bodine and Eddie MacDonald as the only repeat winner of the Oxford 250.
Early on it was Preston Peltier — fresh off a PASS South victory in the week prior to Sunday’s race — who took the pole and held onto the lead through the first few laps.
The first two of eight cautions for the race prevented Peltier from creating any distance early on as he was forced to jockey back-and-forth with Kelly Moore before both relinquished the lead to Doiron following a caution reset on lap 20.
From there Doiron held the lead for the next 66 laps until Theriault edged him at line on lap 87, and by the end of the next lap he had pulled ahead by a full car length.
The two then alternated the lead until the midpoint of the race, with Doiron jumping ahead on lap 110 and Theriault sneaking back in front on lap 115 just ahead of a caution that ended the days for Steve Park and Curtis Gerry.
Theriault maintained his advantage until a big crash along the home stretch involving Scott Mulkern, Alan Wilson, Glen Luce and Moore halted the action.
On the reset Theriault and Benjamin battled for the lead, but the 20-year-old managed to hold him off and build a lead. Theriault would ultimately relinquish that after heading to pit row — with Benjamin following closely behind — though, following a caution on a collision between Mike Rowe and Scott McDaniel.
Cassius Clark — who began the race in 22nd — was the new leader out of the reset on lap 184, and he began to open a sizable lead until the caution on lap 217 allowed the field — and Benjamin — to catch up.
Evan Crawley—621-5640
ecrawley@mainetoday.com
Twitter: Evan_Crawley
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