Most short track racers would quit after nine winless seasons in the sport. Whoever’s left would turn in their tools and close the shop after back-to-back engine failures to start that 10th anniversary campaign.

Matt Moore is the first to confess that he’s some combination of crazy, determined and poor.

Oh, and you can also finally call him a winner.

Moore added his name to the elite list of drivers who have carried the checkered flag in Oxford Plains Speedway’s 60-year history, winning the 30-lap Mini Stock feature last Saturday night.

“That made it all worthwhile,” Moore said. “My family is there every week to watch me whether it’s 100 degrees on 250 weekend or a cold, rainy day in September. To be able to finally give them something to cheer about was nice.”

The 27-year-old from Newry and his devoted followers might have settled for merely finishing a race.

Moore didn’t make it to the starting grid on opening day. As motor problems persisted, he was credited with last-place finishes each of the next two weeks, the latter in a borrowed car.

Pardon the driver if he started dating his checks with an ’09, because everything about the start of the 2010 campaign felt like a harrowing sequel.

“Last year was pretty much a miserable year all the way around,” said Moore. “I think our best finish was fourth or fifth on (TD Bank) 250 weekend. We had a bunch of motor problems and couldn’t get it fixed. We started doing a lot more of our own work on it this winter than we ever had in the past.”

If there was a silver lining to Moore’s struggles in May and early June, it was his place as the caboose in the Mini Stock points parade. Like most tracks, Oxford’s handicap system inverts the field to put the top-ranked drivers at the rear of the lineup each week.

Moore took advantage of that situation by winning his 10-lap heat Saturday and drawing the pole position for the main event.

From there, the only discomfort for Moore’s extended family was divided loyalty. Matt’s cousin Darrell Moore — one of the top drivers in the division the last two years — shared the front row and shadowed the leader early in the race.

Darrell’s early season had been a disaster, too.

‘That was fun racing against him,” Matt Moore said. “He kind of knew he’d be starting up front with me because he’d also had motor problems. He told me if I finally did win one that he’d probably finish second, and I said ‘that sounds like a plan to me.’ ”

Matt’s No. 14 and Darrell’s No. 12 ran one-two from start to finish, in that order. Or at least as best as Matt can remember.

“There might have been a couple laps where Darrell had me at the line when we were racing side-by-side,” he said. “You don’t think about it. You just have one goal at that point and that’s keep it on the bottom and try not to let them go around you.”

Moore raced in four different divisions at OPS before achieving his breakthrough victory.

He dabbled with a Sport Truck and concentrated on a Runnin’ Rebel — the four-cylinder, Wednesday night Acceleration Series sibling of a Mini Stock — for four years.

That led to three summers of Saturday nights in a Strictly Stock and another tale without a happy ending.

“I actually had a really nice Strictly car, but then I destroyed it in a 100-lap race,” Moore said. “We had a new one just about done and a guy (Jeff Prindall) wanted to trade his Mini for it. I decided that it was time to try something different. We’re a Ford family, and it was a Ford Mini and a Chevy Strictly, so it seemed right.”

Moore’s first year in the Mini yielded a shelf full of trophies (one second, three thirds) prior to the ‘09 sophomore jinx.

Even with the recreational budget stretched to its limit — West Paris Metals is the lone sponsor outside the family pocketbook — Moore has a racer’s faith.

Perhaps the win is a sign that his luck has changed for good. And there’s an old motorsports maxim that when a driver presses on as long as Moore did to get his first win, the second and third are usually right around the corner.

He’ll have the benefit of that plum starting spot for a while, also. Only not this week. The previous winner always gets relegated to the rear.

“It’s actually going to be exciting starting back there,” Moore said. “Now that we’ve rebuilt the engine, it seems like it went pretty good, or at least good enough to hold them off last week. If we keep working hard, who knows? Maybe we can make it two in a row.”

Freedom of choice

No regional racing enthusiast has been able to avoid the Pro Stock versus Late Model debate, one that became even more contentious when Oxford switched from the former to the latter as its headline class after the 2006 season.

Whether you’re a loyalist of one or the other or you appreciate the merits of each, you won’t have to stray far from home to enjoy yourself this weekend.

OPS welcomes the American-Canadian Tour to town for the second time this season Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in a final long-distance tune-up for the TD Bank 250. The 37th annual summer classic is now only five weeks away. Defending 250 champion Eddie MacDonald edged current Oxford point leader Tommy Ricker in the May ACT opener.

Sunday’s showcase is the traditional Father’s Day event at Unity Raceway for the Pro All Stars Series. Four-time PASS champion Johnny Clark is on a roll after victories at Beech Ridge and Speedway 660 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and he’s a multi-time winner at Unity. Qualifying begins at 3 p.m.

Tire tracks

* Matt Dufault was the man to beat in Wednesday’s opening round of the Oxford Acceleration Series. Dufault was a double feature winner in Runnin’ Rebel and Outlaw. Dufault’s teammaate Troy Jordan captured the other Rebel feature. Also victorious were Chris Burgess and Josh Childs (Outlaw), Vanna Brackett (Ladies), Corey Williams (Sport Truck) and Bill Grover (Renegade).

* Mike Rowe of Turner won the NASCAR Pro Series 100 at Beech Ridge last Saturday night. Rowe is tied with Jeremie Whorff and Dan McKeage for the division point lead. OPS veteran David Vaughn also notched a 50-lap Wildcat victory on the card.

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