Sunday was day of waiting 18 drivers qualified Saturday

OXFORD – Twenty-four hours after getting into the True Value Oxford 250, Derek Lynch was hanging around his pit area wearing a casual shirt and blue jeans.

It was not patented racing attire, to be sure. But considering Lynch did not have to climb into his car for another five hours, he was trying to relax.

A handful of drivers were trying to relax Sunday, the second day of qualifying for Sunday night’s 21st annual True Value Oxford 250.

Try as he might, though, even Lynch admitted he was getting a bit anxious.

After finishing second in Saturday’s Run for the Pole – good enough for a starting spot on the outside of row one next to defending champion Junior Hanley – Lynch was forced to sit around for much of the day on Sunday, checking and rechecking his car.

“It gets you really antsy,” the 23-year-old Norwood, Ontario, admitted as half the field tried to qualify for Sunday night’s big show. “You get too much to think about. You wonder what might break or what you haven’t checked yet. You have way too much time to think about things.”

Such was the case for 18 drivers who qualified for Sunday night’s feature race on Saturday. Day two of the American Canadian Tour’s new Oxford 250 qualifying schedule left many drivers just hanging around the pits or watching other races.

“We’ll just hang around, talk with our friends, watch some races, or whatever,” said Ralph Nason of Unity, who sat 15th on the starting grid.

Sunday proved a nice day of rest for Nason who wrecked his first car in Saturday’s practice session.

The two-day qualifying schedule, new to Oxford 250, was met with mixed reviews by most drivers who had to sit around on Sunday.

“It’s not a good position to be in, but that’s the way it is,” said Nason. “If you qualify one day, you’ve got to sit around and wait.”

While the drivers had to sit around all day without racing, at least their cars were not getting damaged from the remaining heat races.

Directly across from Lynch’s pit area, Beaver Dragon of Milton, Vt., was trying to repair his car that was severely torn up during his qualifying effort.

“That’s the thing,” Lynch said, standing next to his undamaged Chevrolet Lumina. “You get a guy like Beaver who had a really fast time, but he’s been through hell and back just trying to get into the show. All of that is an advantage to us.”

Dragon, second in the ACT standings, was awarded a provisional starting spot and started 39th.

Tracy Gordon and his crew had been over his car at least five times before Sunday’s feature.

“We keep finding little things here and there,” said Gordon. “It’s a help because you don’t have to worry about (the car) getting stove up and you know you’re going to be in the race. But it’s hard because everybody is going to be dialing in their car more going into the race.”

With Hanley on the pole, most of the drivers were glad to have qualified on Saturday because it also meant they would start up front.

“With Junior on the pole, he’ll be lapping some cars early,” Gordon said. “We’ve got some fast cars up front this year.”

In Lynch’s case, part of Sunday was spent mulling over pre-race strategy.

“It’s the Oxford 250 and it’s a lot of money, but you’ve got to remember it’s just another race,” he said. “Our goal is to be there on lap 200. If we’re still up front then, I think we have the car to run with anybody.”

One of Lynch’s decisions was whether he should try to get the jump on Hanley and go after some lap money.

“We’re looking for the win,” Lynch said. “If we can lead a lap, we’re not going to shy away from it, but we’re in it to win, not to take home a bunch of money.”