Adams can become a track champion

Travis Adams is a 2-time Late Model champion at Oxford Plains Speedway, but he has an opportunity on Saturday night to truly call himself a track champion for the 1st time.

Saturday is Oxford's final points night of the season. It marks the end to the 1st year at the track with the Late Model division as its headliner. That ought to be all the motivation Adams needs to hold onto his 36-point lead over Ricky Rolfe this weekend, and he'll have to survive 2 40-lap features to do it.

The term "track champion" gets thrown around quite a bit, and we in the media are as guilty as anyone. We refer to drivers all the time as "track champions" in stories -- whether it's a Pro Stock division at Wiscasset Raceway or a Mini Stock at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway. In many ways, we've all lost sight of what a track champion really is.

For the record, a true track champion is the season's champion in its premier division -- whatever division the track claims as its top one. At Oxford, it's the Late Models. At Thompson, it's the SK Modifieds. At Unity Raceway, it's the Super Streets.

Maurice Young is a 5-time champion at Wiscasset and he's looking to claim his track-record 6th title in just a few short weeks. But Young is not about to be crowned a 6-time track champion -- only 1 of his titles came in what was considered Wiscasset's top circuit.

This year's title will be No. 5 in a Strictly Street. That's not to say what he's done isn't amazing and worthy of an immense amount of respect, because it is. It's just that it's an important distinction to make. There are championships at a track, and then there are track championships.

There are regular season division winners in Major League Baseball, and there are World Series champions.

On Saturday, if Travis Adams stays within 18 total positions of Ricky Rolfe in the 2 features (not including the 1 qualifying heat he'll run), he'll have 3 Late Model titles on his resume. But Adams will be a track champion for the 1st time, after winning his 1st 2 titles when Oxford ran Pro Stocks as its premier division.

Yeah, Adams has been here before. But, in a sense, he's never been in this position at all.