By Phil Whipple,Staff Writer

OXFORD – In the world of NASCAR stock car racing, most of the attention these days is focused on rising young stars. Yet, some of the old veterans occasionally show they still have what it takes to win.

Dave Dion is one such cagy veteran, and he proved on Saturday night he is still on top of his game. The three-time TD Banknorth 250 winner led 144 of 150 laps to dominate the Fisher Snow Plows 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway. It was his 18th career victory at the historic western Maine oval, and his 13th career Busch North series win.

Ryan Moore dogged the veteran in the closing stages but settled for second, while Matt Kobyluck finished third. Brian Hoar started on the outside of the front row and finished fourth, while point leader Andy Santerre came back from a mid-race pit stop to claim fifth. Finishing sixth through 10th in NASCAR’s first race at Oxford in 13 years was Mike Olsen, Bryon Chew, Mike Stefanik, Kip Stockwell and Bill Penfold. Fourteen of the 24 starters finished on the lead lap, while three drivers took a turn up front.

Six cautions slowed the pace, with a brief red flag period at lap 92 for cleanup of oil in Turn 1.

“This is a special win for me here tonight,” said an elated Dion in Victory Lane. “I spoke with so many great fans earlier who came out to see us. To have such a great car, and to have guys run me so clean, it just makes it a great victory.”

Dion took the lead from Mike Johnson on lap six, got passed by Moore for two circuits at laps 62, then recaptured the point for good on lap 64 and cruised home to victory. Moore, now part of the driver development program at Dale Earnhardt Inc., was frustrated with second place but felt the race went smoothly.

“Our R.C. Moore Transportation/Get Etched.com Chevy ran great all night, and I just didn’t have anything for Dave there at the end,” he said. “The bottom groove was the place to be, and he had it protected the whole race. He was driving like he needed to for a win, and I can’t blame him for that. We’ll take a second place finish and go get ready for New Hampshire.”

Kobyluck, who drives the Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet, won three of the first six Busch North races in 2005. The Connecticut driver had never even seen Oxford before Saturday, yet managed to adapt pretty quickly.

“We actually raced with the same setup we had when we started practice,” he explained. “We tried a few things to improve, but ended up coming back to where we started. I’m thrilled with how we ran, Dave obviously had a fast car and Ryan did, too. There are some great fans up here. I sure hope we come back here to Oxford in the future.”

Jeff Taylor, Jim Duguay, Jerry Harrison, Kim Tripp, Skip Tripp and Jim Childs were also feature winners on the night of NASCAR’s return to the famed 3/8 mile oval. This was the next to last points event of 2005 for Oxford’s weekly regulars.

In early action, Harrison powered around the outside of early leader Marty Emerson on lap eight and hung on to win his third Limited Sportsman feature of the season. Tommy Ricker came from eighth on the gris to finish second, while Dennis Spencer Jr. claimed third. Matt Williams and Tom Oliver completed the top five.

Duguay survived two restarts and held off a hard-charging Ron Charpentier to earn the Lee Auto Mall Late Model Stock feature victory. Steve Reny took over second place late in the going when Charpentier’s car slowed with mechanical failure. Buddy Leavitt of New Gloucester finished third, while Kurt Hewins was fourth and Dale Verrill was fifth.

Taylor drove around the outside of Scott Moore on lap 35 and easily hung onto record his 63rd career Oxford Networks Pro Stock victory at Oxford. Moore led for 30 laps and wound up second, while Timmy Brackett finished third. Steve Reny quickly jumped from his LMS car into his Pro Stock machine and notched fourth, while Winthrop’s Jeff White came all the way from 15h on the grid to finish fifth.

Childs drove to victory in a wild, action-packed Mini Stock feature. The Leeds native took command from Rob Baitler on lap seven and held off OPS veteran Dave Mooney at the finish. Bill Childs Sr. came from deep in the field to claim third, while Ted Audet of Greene and Oxford’s Bill Thibeault filled out the balance of the top five.

Kim Tripp outdueled Sabattus native Jim Davis Jr. to record the Strictly Stock B feature victory. Davis made a big charge in the late going but settled for second, while Jeff Moon finished third. Guy Childs and Jason Gaboury kept their momentum rolling the whole distance to claim fourth and fifth, respectively.

Skip Tripp notched a wire-to-wire victory in the Strictly Stock A feature, the final event before the NASCAR Busch North Series stars rolled out for their 150-lap contest. Rick Tompson outgunned David Vaughn for second while Ben Tinker of Gray and Winthrop’s Roy Weymouth filled out the top five.