From the Oxford Plains (ME) Speedway website.

September 5, 2006

Oxford Late Model Challenge offers five-race series, $300K in prizes in '07

OXFORD, Maine – Oxford Plains Speedway today announced the Oxford Late Model Challenge, a series of races that will give the region’s Late Model competitors five premier events during the 2007 campaign. 

The series pays homage to the “Oxford Open Series” of the 1970s and ’80s, when competitors from around New England trekked to OPS to compete against the region’s other Late Model stars. 

“As Late Models take center stage here at Oxford and throughout the region, we wanted to give them an exciting first year as our premier division,” said Oxford Plains Speedway owner Bill Ryan. “This Late Model Challenge complements the other great Late Model races in the region, and we look forward to seeing competitors from throughout New England and Canada.” 

Ryan announced a five-race series that will include two events in conjunction with the American-Canadian Tour and three independent Oxford Opens. Each race will feature a significant purse with a substantial point fund to be paid to the top 30 cars in the point standings at season’s end. 

An estimated $300,000 will be up for grabs in the OPS Late Model Challenge. The centerpiece event is the 34th annual TD Banknorth 250, one of the nation’s richest and most prestigious short track events. It is scheduled for Sunday, July 22, 2007. 

ACT will open and close the ’07 campaign at Oxford, beginning with the New England Dodge Dealers 150 on Saturday, April 28, and concluding with the New England Dodge Dealers Fall Classic, also a 150-lap event, on Saturday, October 6. 

OPS also will host the Oxford 100 on Saturday, June 9 and the New England Dodge Dealers 100 on Saturday, August 11.

“We hope that the Challenge will ease the transition for our Pro Stock teams as they convert their cars into Late Models,” Ryan said. 

In addition to the races at Oxford, Late Models will have the ability to race in major American Canadian Tour events such as the Milk Bowl at Thunder Road. 

“Between the ACT schedule and the Oxford Late Model Challenge, we have put together a great package of events for the region’s Late Model drivers,” Ryan commented. “We believe that this Challenge will allow our Late Model teams a great opportunity to take center stage in 2007.” 

Ryan added that the point fund for Oxford’s five-race series is larger than what would be paid by most regional tours that require extensive travel. 

“I think running for the Challenge championship will be an easy decision to make for the teams that have competed at Oxford over the last few years,” he said.