OXFORD – Doomsayers point to a slightly diminished car count, dearth of out-of-state drivers and lack of a sanctioning body and make the unconvincing case that the True Value 250 has lost some its luster.

Not that Oxford Plains Speedway owner and promoter Bill Ryan needs an attorney (heck, he was one before contracting this racing disease in the prime of life), but allow this defender to open his case by pointing out what the 30th annual short track gem did have going for it.

A deserving champion. Knock the competition all you want. If it were possible to put every 250 winner on the track in their prime with equally prepared cars at their disposal, however, Ben Rowe wouldn’t appear out of place with fellow champions Butch Lindley, Bob Pressley, Tommy Ellis, Chuck Bown, Dave Dion, Dick McCabe, et al.

He is the premier Pro Stock driver in the region right now. Put the 28-year-old Rowe in a competitive (that being a pivotal word) Busch or Busch North car and there is no doubt in my mind that he’d succeed.

Almost every well-financed, nationally known car owner is looking for The Next Big Thing in a talent pool where the drivers aren’t old enough to drink the victory champagne. As he inches closer to the big three-oh-no, the likelihood decreases of Rowe receiving that call to make racing his career.

That said, he must be considered a threat to shatter every conceivable True Value 250 record. Rowe is five years younger than was his father, Mike, when he scored the first of his two checkered flags in 1984. Only next year will he be half the age of Ralph Nason when the Sultan of Slaw started his streak of three straight titles in 1998 at 58.

Were it not for the aforementioned Nason in 1999 and 2000 and the gulp of fuel his car didn’t have in ’96, Rowe already would be a record-smashing four-time 250 champion.

The short version: He’s good, and he’s only getting better.

An incredible longshot. Well, kinda.

This wasn’t Steve Knowlton’s welcome-to-OPS party. The Massachusetts man qualified for eight previous 250s and is approaching the top 30 on the all-time earnings list. He won two Pro Stock open competition races here 15 years ago and had an apparent 225-lap victory in ’98 taken away following a post-race inspection.

He was fast and smooth all weekend, belying the fact that the 250 was his first race of the entire 2003 season. Knowlton relied almost exclusively on the kindness of friends to get to Oxford. He borrowed a motor from Gardiner and June Leavitt of Kezar Falls. Even the trailer he used to haul his second-hand, generic-brand red Chevrolet up the interstate was a loaner.

Knowlton missed out on a colossal upset by about six feet. He was a fender ahead of Rowe coming out of the final turn and believes he would have won the race if not for a right-side tire that was nearly down to its rim.

Tall, thin and far younger-looking than his 39 years, Knowlton entered the post-race press conference with a peculiar proclamation.

“I would rather drive 250 more laps than talk to you guys,” he said, sheepishly adding, “I’m not good at this stuff.”

Asked if he was heartbroken by the miniscule margin of defeat, Knowlton, who won $12,300, took a deep breath and smiled.

“No, I feel good,” he said. “This was a good day.”

Bad restart, great restart. While track officials did their usual commendable job adjudicating a race with 78 entrants and an equal number of colorful personalities, there was one particularly public lapse.

Second-place Rowe was allowed to leave behind leader Gary Drew by a half-straightaway on a lap 209 restart. Showing the field a token green flag was understandable in order to avoid a possible pile-up, but a yellow flag on the next lap would have been appropriate.

To his credit, Drew responded like a champion. He caught Rowe and had an opportunity to exact his own justice with a fender, but didn’t. Later, given a microphone and a captive audience of about 12,000 spectators after the race, he essentially bit his tongue.

Don’t call it a tainted victory for Rowe, though. That’s the strange thing about the True Value 250. Controversy actually enhances the mystique.

Plus, in the all’s-well-that-ends-well department, OPS did everything in its power to comb a slippery track after a crash on lap 247 to give seven contending drivers and the aforementioned crowd a finish they’ll never forget.

The heats. All you need to know is that Pete Fecteau, driving an ACT Dodge Tour late model with precious few modifications, qualified for the race, and eight-time OPS champion Jeff Taylor and modified ace Ted Christopher didn’t. Glen Luce and Scott Moore solidly made the show, while OPS point leader Andy Shaw and 1996 race winner Larry Gelinas relied on provisional starting spots. Note to Ryan: Make all the changes you want to this race as the sport evolves in the coming years, but PLEASE don’t dream of tinkering with the format.

Depth. Yeah, I know. The million-dollar men are coming to Loudon, N.H., this weekend. If I’ve got $50 in my pocket, though, give me a short track race with Mike and Ben Rowe, Tracy Gordon, Scott Fraser, Joe Bessey and Dale Shaw any day of the week. Sorry, Bob Bahre, but you were the one who brainstormed this race in the first place.

Seventy-eight entries were a perfectly sized field, also. The same number of drivers who started the main event went home early.

There isn’t a race in the world that has it all, but Sunday’s True Value 250 packed plenty into an eight-hour bonanza.

Whaddya say we do it again next year?

Sports editor Kalle Oakes has covered every True Value 250 since 1990. He can be reached by e-mail at koakes@sunjournal.com

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