Outside looking in

And they say there's no outside groove at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Reigning track champion Travis Adams would probably beg to differ. Adams started in the back of the field in the first of 2 40-lap features Saturday night and passed all but one car on the outside in his march to victory lane. He followed that up by passing more cars in the outside groove -- and not just back-markers, but true top-5 machines -- to finish second in the nightcap to Don Wentworth.

What's encouraging, especially with the Oxford 250 only a few weeks away now, was that Adams wasn't alone. Shawn Martin, Ricky Rolfe and Doug Coombs, among others, were all fast on the outside. It reminded me of the early to mid-1990s, when everyone seemed willing and able to work both inside and out.

Other feature winners Saturday at OPS included Jim Childs in the Mini Stocks and Glen Henderson going flag-to-flag in the Strictly Stock 100. The win of the night went to Jake Burns in the Sport Truck 20-lapper, as he rolled it 3-wide off turn four to lead for the first time all night at the checkered flag. Amazing, gutsy move.