OXFORD — He’s been one of the rising stars on the Maine Late Model scene the last couple of years, and now he’s a touring series winner.

Ben Ashline powered his way around the outside of Jeff White on lap 47, survived three restarts and pulled away to record his first American-Canadian Tour (ACT) feature victory in the Armed Forces Day 150 Sunday afternoon at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Ashline, of Pittston, started 13th on the 33-car grid and quickly moved up into contention. He had passed 10 cars to secure third by the time caution came out at lap 35, and he set a torrid pace the entire distance.

Joey Polewarczyk Jr. finished right where he started in second, while defending race winner and 2011 Oxford Late Model champion Jeff White finished third. Vermont veteran Brent Dragon and Fort Kent native Austin Theriault completed the top five.

“I can’t even describe how this feels right now,” Ashline said. “I have to confess, we just got this car completed at about 3 o’clock this morning, we’ve put a ton of time and effort into it and this makes it all worthwhile. This Distance chassis was awesome today, the thing was perfect the whole race.”

Polewarczyk set the ACT world on fire in late 2010, winning all the major events including the Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. While his 2011 season was less than stellar, it looks like he’s back on track in 2012.

“This was a really tough race,” Polewarczyk said. “The line to be in was definitely the outside, I got pinched down low for most of the race which made it difficult. There was really no bite up off the corner down low; every time I’d try to get a run on Jeff there’d be a lapped car there. But overall, it was a great points day. With Helliwell and Hoar having a bad day, it was a great time for me to land here on the podium.”

From the moment qualifying races began until late in the feature, White looked like he was as fast as he was last June when he won this event. Yet as the day wore on, his grip on the asphalt began to slip away.

“I owe quite a bit of my success at this place to Distance Racing,” White said. “He (owner Jeff Taylor) has got these cars to where they really perform. My crew made this strong finish happen today, as well. They worked on the car all day and made some good changes to it. They know what I need in the car to go fast and last 150 laps; they sure made it run well this afternoon.”

Finishing sixth through 10th were Randy Potter, T.J. Brackett, Tommy Ricker, Quinny Welch and Mark Lamberton. Just four cautions slowed the pace, with the feature completed in just over an hour. Seven of the 33 starters finished on the lead lap, with 25 still running at the conclusion. Heat winners were Ashline, White, Ben Rowe and Ricky Rolfe.

This event delivered a major shake-up in ACT points, as both the leader coming into this race (Helliwell) and second-place driver (Hoar) had rough days. Helliwell battled overheating issues and was forced to park his machine at lap 53. Hoar had tire issues and spun his car going into turn 1 on lap 101. He was able to recover fairly well, and soldiered on to a 23rd place finish.

Other drivers of note in the ACT 150 include two-time OPS champion Timmy Bracket (18th); two-time TD Bank 250 winner Ben Rowe of Turner (31st); and Auburn native Travis Stearns (28th). Oxford regulars had a solid day against the ACT drivers, with seven in the top 20.

Bill Grover (Renegades), Dottie Patria (Ladies), Corey Williams (Sport Trucks), Mike Ward (Runnin’ Rebels), Mike Blue (1st Outlaw feature), Josh Childs (2nd Outlaw feature), Darrell Moore (Mini Stock) and Skip Tripp (Strictly Stock) were also feature winners on opening day at the 3/8-mile speedway.

Oxford Plains Speedway returns to weekly action next Saturday evening, May 26, with a full card of championship racing. Post time is 6:30 p.m.