OXFORD — It may have been one of the shortest seasons in years, but the record book will still show him as a champion.

After a 27-year career in various divisions, Winthrop’s Jeff White locked up the 2011 Late Model championship with a sixth-place finish in the Time Warner Cable Trophy Dash Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Gerard Cote, Missy Morgan, Corey Williams, Derek Cook, Gerry Richard and Dan Brown were also feature winners on a humid, but rain-free night at the 3/8-mile paved oval.  

Nine-time Oxford track champion Jeff Taylor claimed the final points feature by winning the 150-lap American-Canadian Tour (ACT) race the previous week. Buckfield’s T.J. Brackett fought tooth-and-nail with Taylor in the closing laps, but settled for second, while 2004 class champion Shawn Martin came home third.
Oxford veteran Doug Coombs and 2010 Late Model champion Timmy Brackett completed the top five.

“This was a team effort from start to finish,” White said after climbing from his car in sixth place. “It takes a lot of work during the week to run as consistently as we have this year, and I sure couldn’t keep up with it all alone. I said after my last victory that I have the best team out here, and they’ve proved it tonight with a championship.

“It feels awesome after all these years here to finally win a title, I just have to thank everybody who has helped me make this incredible season a reality.”

Taylor has without question figured out the hot setup on Late Models after a stellar career in the Pro Stock. He recorded his first ACT victory last month at Beech Ridge, then backed that up with his second ACT win last Saturday.

And when it was time to go Saturday night, the veteran from Farmington moved to the outside and really set sail.

“The car has been pretty fast these last few weeks,” Taylor said. “We’ve got it to where it doesn’t fall off much in lap times as the race progresses, which is what it takes to win races with these cars. My team has been tireless all summer, we’ve had major repairs to deal with and other challenges, as well. But overall, I’d have to say we’ve had a pretty solid season.”  

Finishing seventh through 10th in the season’s final Late Model feature was Tommy Ricker, Shane Green, Gary Chiasson and Don Wentworth. Only two cautions slowed the pace, neither for serious incident.

In earlier feature action, Cote locked up the 2011 Renegade championship with a victory. In the final Ladies division contest of the season, Morgan jumped out to an early lead and pulled steadily away to victory. Deanna Bisbee secured her first championship with a solid second-place finish, nearly beating Morgan to the stripe.

In the final 20-lap tilt for the Sport Trucks, Williams held off Ross Spurling to take the win. Spurling made a big late-race charge up the outside lane and almost stole the victory. Ryan Farrar of Oxford claimed the 2011 class title with a solid top-five finish.

Cook claimed the 20-lap Runnin’ Rebel feature by holding off a hard-charging Kyle Hewins. Going into the final points race, Scott Farrington, Mike Ward and Craig Bartlett were all tied atop the standings. With his fifth-place finish in the feature, Farrington narrowly claimed the 2011 class championship.

In the first of two Outlaw features, Richard survived a wild, caution-filled ordeal to claim the win. Brown drove to victory in the second Outlaw feature, with Billy Childs second. Childs wrapped up the 2011 championship with his runner-up finish and promptly celebrated by doing some impressive donuts in the infield.

Rose went wire-to-wire in the final Mini Stock feature of the season. The veteran from Turner started fifth on the 10-car grid, avoided a first-lap fracas up front and came out with the lead.

From there, his familiar No. 8 machine was untouchable. Former champion Danny Morris finished second, yet it wasn’t enough to overtake Darrell Moore for the class title.

Moore brought his machine home in fourth to secure the division crown. Lewiston’s Jeff Beaule completed the top five in the caution-free affair.

Morgan picked up his first Strictly Stock victory with an impressive performance while driving defending champion Skip Tripp’s car. The Late Model regular from Lewiston powered his way underneath Rick Spaulding on lap 21, fought off a late-race challenge by rookie hotshoe Ryan Hewins for top honors. Matt Williams and Vanna Brackett completed the top five.