Rain and wrecks have made it tough for Late Model drivers at Oxford Plains Speedway to develop much that resembles momentum.

Shawn Martin can smile. He’s not one to set the asphalt ablaze in May and June, anyhow.

Which makes it all the more significant that Martin enters the fourth 40-lap feature of the season Saturday night as the most recent OPS feature winner.

“For whatever reason we’ve never been really strong out of the box,“ Martin said. “By the time of the (TD Bank) 250 we’re starting to peak. July’s usually our time.”

Spring had its high points for the 33-year-old racer from Turner.

Coupled with a third-place finish in the speedway’s weekly opener, the June 16 victory placed Martin fourth in the point standings of the top division, 30 markers behind Auburn’s Travis Stearns.

It was Martin’s 14th career victory, and few have been more furiously fought. He emerged from a terrific tussle with sophomore Late Model racer Chris Coolidge, swapping the lead five times in an 11-lap span before taking command for good.

“Chris and I ran side-by-side almost the whole time,“ Martin said. “As a driver, as much as you’d love to dominate and go out and win by half a lap, when you win one that way it’s definitely satisfying.”

The only blemish in Martin’s pursuit of a second speedway championship was a crash in the second Saturday night race.

With an all-time high of 28 cars in the average starting grid to date, involvement in incidents and failures to finish could prove costly as the season progresses. There have been a total of 11 caution flags in three races.

“It seems like it’s a different group of drivers this year. We’re tearing up way too much stuff,“ Martin said. “It’s hard to say (the cause). A lot of guys have really fast cars and maybe they’re being really aggressive trying to get what they can for as competitive as it is. And then some other guys don’t have their car going right yet.”

Martin’s made his ride “new” this season by refurbishing an old car. Team 94 updated a 2006 mount from Jeff Taylor’s Distance Racing with a modern rear clip.

“Jeff’s got us pointed in the right direction,” he said.

In two other outings that may be a better barometer of Martin’s readiness for the July 22 TD Bank 250, Martin finished 11th and 17th in American-Canadian Tour races at Lee USA Speedway and Oxford, respectively.

Each long-distance event gave Martin something to grow on. He rallied from losing a lap early in the Granite State season-opener. At Oxford, the middle-of-the-pack result signaled a terrific recovery after Martin required a provisional starting spot, last in the 33-car field.

“The face of late model racing has changed so much,“ Martin said. “The competition is so good that you’re really going to have to be on top of your game to have a shot in the 250.”

Martin and his fellow Late Model weekly drivers have four events scheduled between now and the biggest race of the season.

To a driver such as Martin with the experience and talent to contend for both the OPS championship and the 250 win, that small window demands divided loyalties and a strategic plan.

“The key is keeping the fenders on the car so we can spend our time making it faster instead of repairing it,” Martin said.

FINDING FAST REFUGE

The domino effect of Wiscasset Raceway remaining dark and on the real estate market for the second straight summer has impacted the OPS Mini Stock division.

Two of the coastal track’s longtime four-cylinder stars, Rob Greenleaf of West Bath and Pete McCollett of Readfield, are first and second in the Oxford point standings.

Greenleaf leads McCollett by 24 points. Each owns a victory, and the pair ran one-two in the most recent 30-lap event, with McCollett claiming the checkers.

Darrell Moore leads the OPS veteran delegation in third.

DEPTH PERCEPTION

Thinking that the Pro All Stars Series is still the exclusive domain of Johnny Clark and Ben Rowe? Think again.

Five races into the PASS North campaign, the circuit is enjoying its most competitive season ever. Four different racers have won an event. Ten are poised within 72 points of the lead.

Travis Benjamin of Morrill padded his modest point lead with a victory at L’Autodrome Chaudiere in Quebec on Saturday. Massachusetts driver Derek Ramstrom, 20, and Joey Doiron of Berwick, 21, completed a new-look top three.

Doiron broke through with a victory at his home track, Beech Ridge, earlier this season. Farmington’s Cassius Clark also has visited the winner’s circle since returning to the series full-time after a multi-year absence.

“Between (Benjamin and Clark), they have so much experience running these types of cars. I’m learning a lot just running with those guys every week,” Doiron said in his team’s weekly news release. “If you want to beat the best, first you have to prove that you can run with them. I think we’re definitely proving that this year.”

Clark, the perennial PASS champion, is second in points and the lone repeat winner. D.J. Shaw, son of Dale, strengthens the youth movement, running fourth in the standings.

PASS is at Canaan Fair Speedway in New Hampshire on Saturday. It’s the first of three races in a 12-day stretch, followed by visits to Beech Ridge and Thompson, Conn.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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