OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY
Route 26, Oxford, ME 
Phone: (207) 539-8865 
E-mail: ops@oxfordplains.com

33RD ANNUAL TD BANKNORTH 250
STORY, RESULTS & PHOTO GALLERY

Whorff won his heat and dominated the second half of the event, leading 116 of the final 119 laps. He took over the top spot for good when the NASCAR Nextel Cup star Kyle Busch's car expired as he crossed the stripe to complete lap 158.

Sweetening the victory for Whorff  was the second-place finish by his father, 44-year-oild Bill Whorff Jr. With the final 90 laps contested under green flag conditions in an otherwise caution-filled race, Jeremie's margin of victory over Bill was nearly three seconds.

First prize including lap-leader bonus money was $36,600, more than double Whorff's career earnings as a Weekly Racing Series competitor at Oxford.

Sam Sessions emerged from semi-retirement to finish third, followed by Scott Mulkern, who was the final driver on the lead lap. Travis Benjamin ran fifth.

All the pre-race favorites were taken out of the race early, several of them in bizarre fashion. Ben Rowe crashed on lap 22 while leading. Mike Rowe spuin while battling Scott Chubbuck and Jeremie Whorff for the top spot.

Chubbuck, Busch, Patrick Laperle and Cassius Clark all dropped from contention early with mechanical issues. Jeff Taylor and Ricky Rolfe crashed out of the top five in a scary incident on lap 145. NASCAR personalities Ricky Craven, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley were never a factor. 

Eighty-seven cars filed an entry blank, with 83 drawing a number to start the heat races. Forty took the green flag in the main event.

Whorff joins other notable long shots Don Biederman (1977) and Larry Gelinas (1986) as a TD Banknorth 250 champion. When asked after the race what he thought were his realistic chances of winning the race at the start of the day, Whorff flatly replied: "Slim to none, honestly."

But he also added, "We had the perfect draw, the perfect pit stop, the perfect race, the perfect day."

"I couldn't be prouder of him," said Bill Whorff Jr., who runs both Whorff Motorsports and Bill Whorff and Sons Excavating. "But he's got a job to do, and I expect him to be there in the morning."

He wasn't smiling. Jeremie was, however.

"You might think I look all fresh and relaxed, but there's no place I would rather be than in the Lazy-Boy right now," the son said. "I don't know how these old guys go 250 laps like this."

One of those elder statesmen, Sessions, saw his crew stay up most of Saturday night to rebuild a motor after a failure in practice on the eve of the race.

"This is the only race on our schedule for the year," Sessions said. "I was lucky to get all the same guys to come back with me for this one race. There isn't anybody on this team that had to be asked to do anything."

Billed as the nation's richest single-day short track race, the TD Banknorth 250 played out before an estimated crowd of 15,000.

The only previous drivers to win the TD Banknorth 250 in their first successful qualifying attempt were Joey Kourafas (1974), Butch Lindley (1976) and Geoff Bodine (1980). Whorff is the third-youngest winner of the race.

Whorff, Shaw, the Rowes, Corey Williams and Ryan Deane were heat winners. Busch, Gary Smith and Chuck LaChance captured consolation races, and three-time TD Banknorth 250 champion Dave Dion ruled the last chance race ahead of Chris Kennison.

In supporting feature action, Terry Merrill went to Limited Sportsman victory lane, Larry Emerson and Jeff Merrill took Allen's Coffee Brandy Strictly Stock honors, and Allen's Mini point leader Jim Childs also triumphed.

33RD ANNUAL TD BANKNORTH 250
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed, winnings
1. (2) #00 Jeremie Whorff, West Bath, 352, $36,600
2. (21) #0 Bill Whorff Jr., Topsham, 352, $12,300
3. (28) #0x Sam Sessions, South Paris, 352, $7,500
4. (16) #84 Scott Mulkern, Falmouth, 352, $6,000
5. (7) #17B Travis Benjamin, Morrill, 351, $5,000
6. (8) #41 Trevor Sanborn, East Parsonsfield, 351, $4,000
7. (34) #29 Dave Dion, Hudson, N.H., 350, $3,500
8. (25) #75 Gary Smith, Bangor, 350, $3,000
9. (4) #47 Corey Williams, Boothbay, 349, $2,500
10. (15) #7 Curtis Gerry, Waterboro, 349, $2,400
11. (10) #15 Scott Alexander, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, 349, $2,300
12. (32) #33 Richie Dearborn, Hollis, 348, $2,200
13. (18) #71 Gary Drew, Otisfield, 348, $2,100
14. (36) #60 Tim Brackett, Buckfield, 348, $2,050
15. (13) #07 Kevin Kimball, South Portland, 347, $2,000
16. (27) #38 Chuck LaChance, Cushing, 344, $1,850
17. (1) #60x Dale Shaw, Center Conway, N.H., 341, $8,550
18. (5) #54 Ryan Deane, Winterport, 338, $1,700
19. (23) #113 Tommy Tompkins, Mexico, 336, $1,650
20. (14) #17A Scott Alexander, Glenburn, 314, $1,600
21. (11) #91 Patrick Laperle, St. Denis, Quebec, 285, $1,550
22. (26) #5 Kyle Busch, Las Vegas, Nev., 253, $2,725
23. (19) #9 Bub Bilodeau, Standish, 229, $1,500
24. (29) #27 Richard Pelton, Scarborough, 229, $1,450
25. (35) #94 Shawn Martin, Turner, 228, $1,425
26. (12) #88T Jeff Taylor, Norridgewock, 221, $1,800
27. (31) #51 Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township, 221, $1,375
28. (20) #29x Scott Chubbuck, Brunswick, 208, $1,350
29. (40) #17 J.J. Yeley, Phoenix, Ariz., 182, $1,325
30. (17) #58 J.R. Baril, Haverhill, Mass., 178, $1,300
31. (6) #24 Mike Rowe, Turner, 162, $4,175
32. (39) #25 Ricky Craven, Greenville, 146, $1,250
33. (24) #40x Dan McKeage, Gorham, 100, $1,225
34. (33) #15M Paul White, Corinna, 80, $1,200
35. (9) #8 Cassius Clark, Farmington, 62, $1,150
36. (38) #11 Denny Hamlin, Chesterfield, Va., 40, $1,125
37. (30) #20 Matt Lee, Albion, 34, $1,125
38. (37) #72 Scott Robbins, Dixfield, 33, $1,125
39. (3) #4 Ben Rowe, Turner, 33, $2,425
40. (22) #26 Corey Morgan, Lewiston, 8, $1,125.
Lap leaders: Shaw 1-9, B. Rowe 10-22, Shaw 23-81, M. Rowe 82-110; Chubbuck 111-115; B. Whorff 116-118; Busch 119-127, Taylor 128-131; J. Whorff 132-155, Busch 156-158, J. Whorff 159-250.
Cautions: 11 (laps 6, 22, 44, 45, 78, 111, 115, 127, 143, 147, 160)
Red flags: 1 (lap 145)
Total laps completed: 352
Margin of victory: 2.967 seconds
Heat winners: Shaw, J. Whorff, B. Rowe, Williams, Deane, M. Rowe
Consolation winners: Smith, Busch, Lachance
Last chance winner: Dion

HEAT #1 (20 laps, top 4 qualify)
1. Dale Shaw
2. Travis Benjamin
3. Kevin Kimball
4. Bub Bilodeau
5. J.J. Yeley
6. Rollie MacDonald
7. Matt Eaton
8. Andy Shaw
9. John Higgins
10. Ricky Rolfe
11. Chris Kennison
12. Stan Meserve
13. Tony Ricci
DQ - Johnny Clark

HEAT #2 (20 laps, top 4 qualify)
1. Jeremie Whorff
2. Trevor Sanborn
3. Scott Alexander (Maine)
4. Scott Chubbuck
5. Gary Smith
6. Sam Sessions
7. Chuck Colby
8. Jeff White
9. Shawn Martin
10. Walt Pugsley
11. Dave Dion
12. John Phippen
13. Dennis Spencer Jr.
14. Ricky Craven

HEAT #3 (20 laps, top 4 qualify)
1. Ben Rowe
2. Cassius Clark
3. Curtis Gerry
4. Bill Whorff Jr.
5. John Flemming
6. Richie Dearborn
7. Tim Brackett
8. Alan Tardiff
9. Kelly Moore
10. Steve Carrier
11. Mike Maietta Sr.
12. Charlie Colby
13. Brad Hammond
14. Joe Turner

HEAT #4 (20 laps, top 4 qualify)
1. Corey Williams
2. Scott Alexander (Canada)
3. Scott Mulkern
4. Corey Morgan
5. Leon Heckbert
6. Richard Pelton
7. Chris Staples
8. Scott Moore
9. T.J. Brackett
10. Brent Wiggins
11. Al Hammond
12. Ricky Morse
13. T.J. Watson
14. Kyle Busch

HEAT #5 (20 laps, top 4 qualify)
1. Ryan Deane
2. Patrick Laperle
3. J.R. Baril
4. Tommy Tompkins
5. Chuck LaChance
6. Mike Maietta Jr.
7. Matt Lee
8. Kirk Thibeau
9. Doug Coombs
10. Bobby MacArthur
11. Mike Parks
12. Rob Stevens
13. Lloyd Garnett

HEAT #6 (20 laps, top 4 qualify)
1. Mike Rowe
2. Jeff Taylor
3. Gary Drew
4. Dan McKeage
5. Russ Hersey
6. Mark Starbird
7. Denny Hamlin
8. Paul White
9. Scott Robbins
10. Gary Bellefleur
11. Joey Porciello
DQ - Travis Khiel
Forfeit - Rick Martin

CONSI #1 (20 laps, top 3 qualify)
1. Gary Smith
2. Sam Sessions
3. Ricky Rolfe
4. Dave Dion
5. Jeff White
6. Chris Kennison
7. Johnny Clark
8. Dennis Spencer Jr.
9. Ricky Craven
10. Matt Eaton
11. Rollie MacDonald
12. Andy Shaw
13. John Higgins
14. Shawn Martin
15. John Phippen
16. Stan Meserve
17. J.J. Yeley
18. Chuck Colby

CONSI #2 (20 laps, top 3 qualify)
1. Kyle Busch
2. Richard Pelton
3. Richie Dearborn
4. Kelly Moore
5. T.J. Brackett
6. Scott Moore
7. Alan Tardiff
8. Mike Maietta Sr.
9. Al Hammond
10. Chris Staples
11. Charlie Colby
12. Steve Carrier
13. Ricky Morse
14. Brent Wiggins
15. T.J. Watson
16. Leon Heckbert
17. John Flemming
18. Tim Brackett
19. Brad Hammond
20. Joe Turner

CONSI #3 (20 laps, top 3 qualify)
1. Chuck LaChance
2. Matt Lee
3. Paul White
4. Travis Khiel
5. Joey Porciello
6. Kirk Thibeau
7. Russ Hersey
8. Alan Wilson
9. Denny Hamlin
10. Mike Maietta Jr.
11. Mike Parks
12. Scott Robbins
13. Bobby MacArthur
14. Doug Coombs
15. Rob Stevens
16. Gary Bellefleur
17. Lloyd Garnett

LAST CHANCE RACE (50 laps, winner qualifies)
1. Dave Dion
2. Chris Kennison
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Johnny Clark
5. Joey Porciello
6. Dennis Spencer Jr.
7. Kelly Moore
8. Alan Wilson
9. Al Hammond
10. Russ Hersey
11. Scott Moore
12. Mike Maietta Jr.
13. Gary Bellefleur
14. Jeff White
15. Kirk Thibeau
16. Scott Robbins
17. Ricky Morse
18. Chris Staples
19. Mike Parks
20. Doug Coombs
21. Mike Maietta Sr.
22. Ricky Craven
23. Matt Eaton
24. Rob Stevens
25. Tim Brackett
26. Stan Meserve
27. T.J. Brackett
28. John Higgins
29. Shawn Martin
30. Travis Khiel
31. J.J. Yeley

LIMITED SPORTSMAN (35 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (8) #36 Terry Merrill, Saco, 35
2. (7) #0 Shane Green, South Paris, 35
3. (1) #63 David Vaughn, Naples, 35
4. (5) #8 David Tripp, Oxford, 35
5. (9) #18 Carey Martin, Denmark, 35
6. (10) #85 Kenny Harrison, Pownal, 35
7. (2) #44 Neil Martin, Freeport, 35
8. (4) #61 Matt Williams, Brownfield, 35
9. (11) #26 Jeff Cannell, Sebago, 35
10. (3) #28 Todd Bisbee, South Paris, 35
11. (6) #1 Tommy Ricker, Poland, 34
12. (15) #33 Mark Golding, Durham, 33
13. (18) #47 Nate Weston, Madison, 30
14. (13) #16 Jeff Clewley, Winterport, 23
15. (19) #71 Reggie Leeman, Windham, 19
16. (14) #67 Joey Doyon, Winterport, 9
17. (17) #40 Mike Landry, Oakland, 5
18. (16) #21 Tom Young, Durham, 5
19. (20) #47x Darryl Cook, Sabattus, 2
DQ (12) #19 Brian McClure, Buxton
Lap leaders: Vaughn 1-5, Tripp 6-16, Merrill 17-35
Cautions: 2 (laps 5, 23)
Time of race: 16 minutes, 8.511 seconds
Margin of victory: 3.704 seconds
Fast lap: Brian McClure, 17.236 seconds

ALLEN'S STRICTLY STOCK 'A' (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (2) #00 Jeff Merrill, Roxbury, 20
2. (11) #19 Ben Tinker, Gray, 20
3. (7) #12 Skip Tripp, Sabattus, 20
4. (14) #113 Tommy Tompkins, Mexico, 20
5. (4) #56 Mike Short, Auburn, 20
6. (13) #0 Sumner Sessions, Norway, 20
7. (1) #37 Mark Bowie, Mechanic Falls, 20
8. (12) #23 Zach Emerson, Durham, 20
9. (10) #55 Kurt Hewins, Leeds, 20
10. (9) #81 B.J. Chapman, Naples, 20
11. (5) #9 Justin Karkos, Jay, 20
12. (16) #64x Jeff Moon, Gray, 20
13. (15) #67 Rusty Gaghan, Winthrop, 18
14. (6) #84 Chris Coolidge, Norway, 16
15. (8) #42 Kim Tripp, Oxford, 16
16. (3) #777 Mike St. Germain, Auburn
Lap leaders: Merrill 1-20
Cautions: 1 (lap 12)
Time of race: 10 minutes, 11.456 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.174 seconds
Fast lap: Ben Tinker 18.616 seconds

ALLEN'S STRICTLY STOCK 'B' (20 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (17) #24 Larry Emerson, Durham, 20
2. (18) #61 Roy Weymouth, Winthrop, 20
3. (6) #07 Rick Thompson, Naples, 20
4. (12) #43 Bob DiPompo, Jay, 20
5. (9) #39 Jerry Freve, Buckfield, 20
6. (15) #35 Phil Mitchell III, Buckfield, 20
7. (11) #76 Don Harvey, New Gloucester, 20
8. (10) #5 Jason Gaboury, Readfield, 20
9. (7) #77 Perry Tucker, Sumner, 20
10. (16) #36 Ron Charpentier Jr., Wales, 20
11. (19) #2 Derek Mingo, Lamoine, 20
12. (5) #6 Matt Moore, Harrison, 20
13. (4) #64 Randy Heath, Casco, 19
14. (3) #29 Chris Mosher, Litchfield, 18
15. (13) #57 Glen Henderson, Sabattus, 14
16. (8) #90 Dale Brackett, Oxford, 2
17. (14) #91 Danny Smart, Buxton, 2
18. (1) #53 Dick Damon, Livermore, 1
19. (2) #7 Scott Belskis, Mexico, 1
Lap leaders: Damon 1, Heath 2, Thompson 3-6, L. Emerson 7-20
Cautions: 1 (lap 2)
Red flags: 1 (lap 1)
Time of race: 19 minutes, 56.745 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.412 seconds

ALLEN'S MINI STOCK (30 laps)
Fin. (Start) No., Driver, hometown, laps completed
1. (17) #10 Jim Childs, Leeds, 30
2. (14) #73 Adam Polvinen, Oxford, 30
3. (16) #33 Dan Morris, Lisbon, 30
4. (11) #2 Butch Keene, Turner, 30
5. (3) #16 Don Frechette, Turner, 30
6. (12) #19 Dave Mooney, Wales, 30
7. (19) #57 Bill Thibeault, Oxford, 30
8. (18) #41 Larry Melcher, Jay, 30
9. (11) #91 Darick Barker, Jay, 30
10. (19) #01 Bill Childs Sr., Leeds, 30
11. (3) #44 Jim Robbins, Dixfield, 29
12. (2) #25 Wayne Parkin, Wales, 29
13. (6) #08 Kevin Bishop, South Paris, 29
14. (4) #90 Dale Durgin, Norway, 29
15. (10) #14 Jeff Prindall, Lisbon Falls, 11
16. (8) #48 Rob Baitler, Wales, 7
17. (13) #80 Don Mooney, Wales, 3
18. (9) #77 Ashley Marshall, Jay, 1
19. (5) #60 Scot Moore, Norway, 1
20. (1) #5 Steve Barker, Jay, 0
Lap leaders: Frechette 1-16, J. Childs 17-30
Cautions: 1 (lap 1)
Time of race: 11 minutes, 51.106 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.474 seconds
Fast lap: Jim Childs, 18.527 seconds

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Photos below by Trudy Marshall, Jarracing Photography
Phone: (207) 645-4571