OXFORD — He’s known as a gentleman racer, but don’t let the nickname fool you. When he has a good car and circumstances are right, the man who operates a respected body shop in Rumford can get aggressive when the chance to win arises.

Veteran short track pilot Gary Chiasson notched his first-ever Late Model feature victory Saturday night, holding off young hotshoe Dave Farrington Jr. of Jay to claim the Local Edge Trophy Dash at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Craig Bartlett, Jimmy Childs and David Tripp also were feature winners on a hot, sultry night for racing in western Maine.

Rookie Thom Bell led a stellar 24-car field to green in the Late Model feature. The former Outlaw driver who jumped all the way up to Late Models in 2012 led the first five circuits before Chiasson made a power move around the outside.

With no cautions to impede his progress, Chiasson’s biggest challenge was to stay ahead of the 20-year-old Farrington, who has been on a roll of late.

“I knew David was coming fast, and I wasn’t going to let him have it,” Chiasson said. “We were going to fight all the way to the end if that’s what it took to win. I won 22 features in the Rebel class, then jumped right up to the Late Models. We’ve only had one top-five finish, although we did qualify for the 250 this year which was big. To finally win one feels absolutely awesome. I really appreciate all the help I’ve received to make this possible.”

Longtime Oxford veteran Tommy Ricker made an exciting late-race charge up to third in the closing laps, while 2010 Late Model champion Tim Brackett claimed fourth. Point leader Travis Stearns rounded out the top five with another solid performance.

Farrington finished sixth in this year’s TD Bank 250, then backed that up with a podium finish in the ACT 150 last Saturday night at the Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. His day in Victory Lane is just around the corner.

“Second place is getting kind of old,” Farrington said. “This was my third time in second place this season. We really need that win to prove we are capable. The car has been super-fast everywhere we go. Maybe we’ll get them next week.”

Finishing sixth through 10th were 2004 champion Shawn Martin, defending champion Jeff White, Shane Green, ACT veteran Glen Luce and sophomore sensation Chris Coolidge. Bell and Farrington won their respective qualifying heats.

In earlier feature action, Bartlett powered his way around the outside of Dustin Salley on lap seven and pulled away to claim a 20-lap tussle for the Runnin’ Rebel division. The driver from Denmark had been knocking on the door all season and sealed the deal Saturday night.

Salley settled for second, while Jonah Farrington finished a distant third. Brady Romano and Jeff Hebert completed the top five.

Childs notched his third victory of the season with a dominant performance in the 30-lap Mini Stock feature. The talented veteran from Leeds powered his way around the outside of Kevin Bishop on lap five and survived a late-race challenge from Rob Greenleaf.

After the event’s only caution came out at lap 27 for Calvin Rose Jr.’s spin, Childs had his work cut out to keep Greenleaf at bay. The finish was one of the closest this season, and it was career win No. 45 for Childs. With five more chances this year, Childs is hoping to surpass Cliff Libby’s mark of 46 Mini Stock wins on Oxford’s all-time list.

Former champion Danny Morris finished third, while Ashley Marshall and Matt Moore completed the top five. Before that lone caution waved with three laps remaining, Childs had built a half-track lead.

“I really didn’t want to see that caution at all,” Childs said. “This car really needs to breathe and get into clean air, so I had to get away from those guys. It was running so well those first 25 laps. I didn’t know how it would react on the restart. My tires got a little greasy, but it worked out in the end. I tried to give Rob enough room, he’s a great driver who’s headed for the championship and I respect him for that.”

Tripp saved the best for last, making a late-race move underneath Matt Williams and pulling away to claim a hotly-contested Strictly Stock feature. With three cautions to slow the pace, Tripp had to be on his toes on the ensuing restarts, especially with a guy like Williams to his outside.

Yet he managed to keep the division’s fastest man (at least in the outside groove) at bay on this night. Ryan Hewins finished a distant third, while Zach Bowie and Ryan Robbins completed the top five.