OXFORD – Veteran short-track ace Mike Short took the lead from Jon Brill on lap 26 and cruised home to win the Sunoco Race Fuels 100 for the Strictly Stock division Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.

The Auburn driver held off former champion Jim Duguay in a wide-open trophy dash slowed by only one caution. Duguay gave it his all as the laps wound down, but settled for second, coming from 11th on the 12-car grid. Zach Emerson ran near the front all night and came home third, while Jeff Merrill and Larry Emerson completed the top five.

Dottie Patria, David Childs, Kenny Robertson, Justin Karkos and Travis Adams were also feature winners Saturday night.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been in Victory Lane with Jimmy,” Short said. “He ran me clean the whole race, and I’m glad we had enough car to hold him off. This was a pretty wild night, I’m glad things got settled down before our feature. This feels great to win another 100-lap battle.”

In earlier feature action, Patria made a thrilling last-lap pass on Vannah Brackett to claim the 20-lap Ladies division tilt. The defending champion from Turner started fifth and used the outside groove to her advantage in the caution-free affair. Brackett hung on for second, while Cathy Manchester was third. Debbie Marston led the first nine circuits but faded to fourth at the finish ahead of Deanna Robertson.

Childs won a caution-filled battle in the Outlaw division. The Oxford driver took the lead from Addison Bowie on lap seven, then survived a late restart to earn top honors. Turner’s Guy Childs drove from fifth on the 28-car grid to claim second, while Steve Brill was third. Bowie faded to fourth in the closing laps, while Kevin Lawrence completed the top five.

Robertson captured the 15-lap feature for the Vintage Race Car Association. The Machias native held off 14 other restored and original racing machines that tour the Northeast, keeping memories of racing days gone by alive.

Karkos drove underneath Darrell Moore going through turns 1 and 2 on lap 20 and pulled away to claim a wild Mini Stock feature. The driver from Jay became the third different leader after Bill Irving and Moore set the pace early on.

Moore hung on for second at the line, while Jake Burns finished third. A crash on the backstretch made tough work for the scorers, yet eventually Jake Burns was awared third place, followed by defending champion Ashley Marshall and Kevin Bishop.

“That was a wreck-fest and a half,” Karkos said. “For the first five laps, I was dodging wrecks all over the place. But they got settled down after a while, and we had a great car again this week. It feels good to win again, I hope we can keep up this pace all year.”

Adams made an exciting late-race charge in the Late Model feature and picked up his second victory in three weeks. The defending champion from Canton powered out around the outside of Ben Ashline on lap 35 and pulled away from there.

Ashline, who skipped his graduation at Gardiner High School to race Saturday, finished a career-best second, while Oxford veteran Donnie Wentworth came from seventh on the grid to claim third. Former champion Shawn Martin kept his nose clean and came home fourth, while Auburn’s Travis Stearns completed the top five.

Before the 2009 season got under way, Adams stated his plans were to cut back and only race long-distance events.

“I was just telling somebody before the race that we’ll keep running as long as we run good,” Adams said. “Obviously, the car is hooked up great right now, so we’ll keep going. I have to thank my family and crew, as always, they keep making this possible and I get to enjoy it. We’re on a roll again and I sure hope it continues.”