Maybe Scott Robbins’ victory in Sunday night’s Oxford True Value 250 has sunk in. Maybe it hasn’t. He isn’t sure.

“I don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like,” said the 29-year-old Dixfield native Monday, 21 hours after crossing the finish line ahead of veteran two-time Oxford 250 winner Mike Rowe of Turner, 18-year-old first-time entrant Ryan Moore of Scarborough and 40 other drivers.

What he does know is that his late father-in-law, D.B. Child, who died last winter, is “sitting somewhere with a big smile on his face.”

Robbins said Child has been his inspiration. Child was in the United States Air Force and became paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident 17 years ago this past Saturday. He eventually died of complications from the injury.

Robbins was dating Child’s daughter, Jessica, now his wife, when he began his racing career 11 years ago.

“D.B. never once gave up on me. There were times when I didn’t belong out there my first three years. I was just in the way. I wanted to tell him that he shouldn’t spend any more money on me. But it always seemed to work out. He told me someday I’d be racing Mike Rowe and Ralph Nason at the Oxford 250. When I started to become successful, he did anything he could to make sure I had the best of everything,” said Robbins.

“He gave me this opportunity and I took advantage of it,” said the 1994 University of Maine-Farmington graduate, possessor of a degree in community health.

Robbins also had support from his side of the family.

“My grandfather, Tiger White, used to race in the late 1960s. He raced at Oxford and at Bangor [Hermon’s Speedway 95]. I never saw him race but he used to take me to the races at Oxford every Saturday night,” recalled Robbins. “It was a lifelong goal of mine, ever since I was eight, to compete in the Oxford 250.”

He began racing in 1992 in the 6-cylinder charger class at Oxford.

“I just wanted to try it. From the grandstands, it looked fairly easy. I found out it wasn’t,” said Robbins, who works for Coulthard’s Pools Inc.

He bought a race car from Glen Luce and had to go to Mike Rowe’s house to pick it up.

“It was a big thrill just going to Mike Rowe’s house,” said Robbins, who idolized Rowe, Unity’s Ralph Nason and other prominent drivers who had success at the Oxford True Value 250.

Nason is a three-time winner.

He actually wound up racing his younger brother Spencer for the Late Model Sportsman points title in 1997. He won “by around 20 points.”

Two years later, Spencer became his crew chief.

“I had a little better financial backing than he did. It was getting to the point where we couldn’t keep two cars going. He liked the idea,” said Robbins, who credited his brother and his crew for playing a significant role in Sunday’s triumph.

Their father, Randy, and several cousins and friends also work on Scott’s car, which is a 2002 Ford Taurus built by David Smith of Race Basics in Andover.

His car is sponsored by Rowe Ford in Auburn along with Caribbean Shipping Services (Fla.) and D.B Child Motorsports.

Robbins has had unusual success at the Oxford True Value 250. He was 15th in his first Oxford 250 in 1999, sixth in 2000 and second to Otisfield’s Gary Drew a year ago.

“I felt we ready to do it this year,” said Robbins, who much prefers longer races to the 35-lappers he runs every Saturday night in the Pro Stock class at Oxford Plains Speedway. “When we finished sixth, I was so ecstatic. I knew what we needed to do to win this race. I finished second to Gary last year. I had to make an extra pit stop.”

He said he picked up a strategy lesson from Drew which saw him take on four tires during a lap 90 restart to gain track position while other drivers came in twice to take right side tires on one stop and left side tires on the other stop.

Robbins never pitted again and took the lead for good on lap 132 as the other drivers had pit stops on another caution.

Robbins pulled away from Nason on the restart and had clear sailing. Nason, Rowe and Moore were among those racing each other behind him, which helped Robbins.

Robbins took home a check of $36,900 for his win.

“It’s incredible to be able to race at the level we’re at and win a race like that,” said Robbins, who indicated he may spend part of his check finishing up a car so brother Spencer can race it.

He will continue to race at Oxford but said he may enter some Pro All-Stars Series races when they don’t conflict with the Oxford schedule.