Oxford regulars defend home turf

Chalk one up for the Oxford Plains regulars.

After having their hats handed to them by American-Canadian Tour regulars in the 4 previous extra-distance Late Model races at the track, including the prestigious TD Banknorth 250 won by Roger Brown, the local guys got the job done on Saturday.

Travis Adams, a 3-time track Late Model champion and winner of 6 weekly features in 2007, won the ACT season-ending New England Dodge Dealers 150 over Brown and Donald Theetge. And fellow OPS competitor Doug Coombs had as much to do with Adams' win as Adams himself.

Adams wrestled the lead from pole-sitter Scott Dragon on lap 95, and he held that lead until lap 123, when Dragon reeled him in and went back by. It appeared Dragon, a 3-time ACT winner in his career, was going to crack victory lane for the 1st time since he won at Oxford back in 2003.

Only, it wasn't going to be that easy.

On lap 141, Coombs spun onto the pit road entrance in turn 4. His car never stopped, and he looped it back around trying to get it straightened out and back on the track.

Only problem was that the leaders were coming. Dragon never saw him.

"He came right out of nowhere," said Dragon, who finished 29th. "I couldn't even believe it. He came wheeling right back onto the track and right in front of me. He probably didn't see me. I'm sure he didn't. It was just one of those deals."

Coombs was genuinely hurt -- inside and out.

"I just kept hearing, 'Go, go, go,' (on the radio) and then it was, 'Don't go!' " he said before heading to the hospital to have his hand and wrist checked out following the hard hit. "I feel terrible for the other guy. I heard, 'Go on and get back out there,' and then I heard, 'Don't go!' It was too late."

Adams said he had one more move left for Dragon, but he never got the chance to show it.

"Oh, absolutely," Adams said. "It was looking really good... I had something for him. It's too bad he got caught up in that wreck."

After seeing the likes of Brown, Randy Potter, John Donahue and Eddie MacDonald take the money and the trophies in Late Model races earlier this year, Adams felt good about being the 1st Maine driver to win one of the Oxford Late Model Challenge Series events.

He felt even better about being an Oxford regular.

"That means a lot. It's a fact I didn't even know," Adams said. "I'm really glad that I could support Oxford -- an Oxford regular won this race today. That's probably what makes me most proud. If I couldn't have won, I definitely wanted Ricky Rolfe to have won. I just feel glad that an Oxford car won, more so than a Maine driver."

Fortunately for Adams -- though not so fortunately for Dragon -- an Oxford driver saw to that in more ways than one.