Son, father finish 1st, 2nd in race NASCAR drivers struggle

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OXFORD – They dropped like flies.

The pre-race favorites in the 33rd annual TD Banknorth Oxford 250 fell victim to the three-eighths oval known as Oxford Plains Speedway Sunday night.

But when the dust finally settled and the fiberglass was cleaned up, it was 22-year-old Jeremie Whorff of Topsham who survived the wreckfest to take the checkered flag.

It was the first time Whorff had qualified for the race as he failed to make the field in three previous attempts.

Making the win even sweeter: his father, Bill Whorff Jr., finished second.

Jeremie Whorff was trying to hold off the challenge of 21-year-old Nextel Cup phenom Kyle Busch on lap 156 when Busch’s car blew an engine on the front stretch.

Busch is currently running fourth in points in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings and had a fast car throughout the race.

Whorff led the rest of the way and his dad finished 15 car-lengths behind.

Denny Hamlin, currently eighth in the Nextel Cup points standings thanks to two wins at Pocono Raceway (Pa.), had his debut spoiled by a one-lap penalty for passing the pace car and a reported sway bar problem that parked his car early. He wound up 36th.

Newburgh’s Ricky Craven, the former Nextel Cup driver who has been taking this year off while mulling his future, had car troubles all night and his car finally broke down for good on lap 99. Craven was 32nd.

J.J. Yeley, the other Nextel Cup driver in the race, also struggled throughout the night and was never a factor. He was 29th.

Sam Sessions of South Paris, running his only race of the season due to financial concerns and time constraints, wound up third with Falmouth’s Scott Mulkern coming across the finish line fourth. They were the only four cars on the lead lap and just 19 of the 40 were still running at the end.

Morrill’s Travis Benjamin was fifth.

Rounding out the top 10 were Trevor Sanborn of East Parsonsfield, Dave Dion of Hudson, N.H., Bangor’s Gary Smith, Boothbay’s Corey Williams and Waterboro’s Curtis Gerry.

Jeremie Whorff pocketed $36,600 for the victory.

“We just had a perfect day. The team was perfect. There was a perfect draw. We had perfect racing. I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” said the winner who started the race on the outside pole after winning the second heat race. He drew the pole for the first heat race.

Whorff made just one pit stop, approximately midway through the race, and his crew put on four tires.

“The crew was phenomenal. They got me right back out there and I wasn’t a lap down,” said Whorff who had never previously made it to the last-chance 50-lap race to determine the final qualifier to the race.

“We always had some unfortunate accidents in the heats or the [consolation races] and, this year, we just ended up getting lucky and bringing it home,” said Whorff.

He said winning the race was a “phenomenal feeling especially knowing that my father was behind me, too. It seems like a dream.”

He acknowledged that when Busch’s car dropped out, his chances of winning the race improved significantly.

“He was in contention to win this race. I believed it more than anybody. I knew I had a lot better chance after his engine blew, unfortunately,” said Whorff. “I wish I could have done a little bit more racing with him because he was excellent to race with.”

He said he was “extremely confident once I knew I was starting up front.

“The guys gave me an excellent car today,” said Whorff. “I was confident in them. They pretty much told me what to do and I did it and they brought me to victory lane. I thought my car was the best here all day long.”

A proud Bill Whorff Jr. said it was a “great feeling” to finish second behind his son.

“We just didn’t have enough to catch the kid. That’s all,” said Whorff Jr. “His car was much better than mine. My right front tire had blisters on it. It was shaking the last 25 laps.”

He said he was “real pleased” with the outcome.

“The Whorff Motorsports organization and [sponsor] AAA have done a lot for us to let us do what we can do. To help us get our cars the way they are.

“But I’m real proud of Jeremie. For a kid who has tried to qualify for three years and not even gotten in it, and he gets in one and ends up winning it, it’s pretty special.”

Sessions said he and his crew had to build an engine Saturday night after blowing one earlier in the day.

“We pulled an all-nighter,” said Sessions who was understandably happy to finish third.

“The race was awesome. The car was really great all night,” said Sessions. “I only wanted to make one pit stop so I planned on taking it easy on my tires the whole race and that’s what I did. That’s why we still had a decent car at the end.”

Sessions said it will be his one and only race this season due to financial and time constraints.

There was an early omen of things to come when, on lap 22, two-time Oxford 250 winner Ben Rowe of Turner was collected in a wreck while leading the race.

He had started third. He finished 39th.

Farmington’s Cassius Clark, who has won four Pro All-Stars Series races this season, was running in the top five when his engine blew on lap 44 resulting in a 35th-place finish.

Pole-sitter Dale Shaw had to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 82 and never contended after that. He came home 17th.

Three-time winner and defending champ Mike Rowe of Turner was involved in an accident on lap 108 and stalled his car coming out of the pits. That ended his hopes. He finished 31st.

Jeff Taylor of Farmington, who is leading the pro stock points at OPS, got tangled up in a multi-car wreck on the front stretch on lap 145 that ended his evening and that of Ricky Rolfe. Taylor was running second at the time and Rolfe was fourth.

Taylor took home a 26th-place finish and Rolfe was 27th.

Scott Chubbuck spent most of the night running in the top 10 only to blow his engine on lap 140.

Shaw captures pole

Shaw of Center Center Conway, N.H. captured the pole for the 250 by winning the first heat.

“It feels good to make the 250. When I came here this year, I figured it was probably my last 250. My son (D.J.) will probably take over after this year,” said Shaw.

Shaw used to be a prominent Busch North racer and he isn’t racing much these days, preferring to focus on his son’s race career.

“D.J. races up to White Mountain [Motorsports Park, N.H.]. He just turned 16 and got his first trophy last night. He finished third. That’s pretty good, going from go-karts to Late Models,” said Shaw.

The 42-year-old Shaw qualified for his 18th TD Banknorth Oxford 250 with his best finish coming in 1992 when he was second.

He had three top-10 finishes entering Sunday’s race.

Dion wins last-chance race

Three-time winner Dave Dion of Hudson, N.H. won the last-chance race to make the starting grid for the first time since 2001, when he finished 16th after starting 40th.

There were several notables who failed to qualify including Hallowell’s Johnny Clark, who was disqualified after finishing second in the first 20-lap heat race.

Clark, last year’s runnerup, failed to qualify in the consolation race and was fourth to Dion in the last-chance race.

Only the winner of the 50-lap last-chance race qualifies.

Turner’s Mike Rowe won the last-chance race last year and went on to win the race.

There were five drivers disqualified for various infractions after heat races.