Trevor Sanborn (44) pulls away from Joe Pastore (20) early in the Celebration of America 300 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford on July 3. Sanborn led for much of the first half of the race before falling out of contention and placing 10th. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

OXFORD — Trevor Sanborn was already thriving here this year. This season, his season at Oxford Plains Speedway got even more special.

The Cornish driver entered Tuesday evening’s Pierson Heating & Cooling 150 with three wins under his belt at OPS in 2024. That day he added his fourth, holding off D.J. Shaw and Gabe Brown for a victory in the Super Late Models feature.

“We’ve been pretty good at Oxford all year — we’re the points leader there for the Saturday night races — and we really performed (Tuesday night) from the get-go,” Sanborn said. “We started fourth, got out to second fairly quickly, held second until about Lap 21 and never looked back.”

It’s been that kind of year for Sanborn, who’s had a remarkable run on the 74-year-old track this racing season. Now, with the Oxford 250 set to descend on the track in a couple weeks, he’s hoping his success at Oxford Plains can translate in the biggest way possible.

Sanborn claimed his first win of 2024 at Oxford in the April 28 100-lap feature, then his second on June 8. His third came July 2 in the form of a 75-lap qualifier for the following day’s Celebration of America 300.

Sanborn and his No. 44 car also earned a PASS series victory, leading from start to finish in the July 21 Feed the County 150 at Spud Speedway in Caribou. That race was an Oxford 250 qualifier, and the win garners him a provisional spot in the Oxford 250 on Aug. 25.

The success has Sanborn optimistic about his chances to succeed in the 51st running of the 250.

“This is the best car I’ve ever had in all the years I’ve raced anywhere, honestly,” Sanborn said. “We have a great car, a great owner and a superb chief, Kyle DeSouza. He’s made the car what it is. We have a good race car — it’s a FURY from North Carolina — but it takes someone to set it up and make it go, and I’m thankful to have Kyle.”

Sanborn had also led 173 laps of the Celebration of America 300 before making the decision to pit early and ultimately finishing 10th. That choice, Sanborn now feels, cost him the chance at the win; had he waited until the others pitted Lap 221, he said, he would have had a better chance.

That decision still haunts Sanborn, but he admits that hindsight is 20-20. He still has a tune-up race in the Saturday night series this coming weekend, and then the Oxford 250 — a chance at redemption for falling out of contention after leading for much of the night on July 3.

“There’s always woulda-could-shoulda, but we’ve got to move on, and there’s still the 250 in front of us,” Sanborn said. “We’ve got another 100-lapper Saturday night. … It’s all meshing right now, and we’re pretty excited.”

• • •

Whereas Sanborn had a brilliant night at Oxford Plains Speedway on Tuesday, one of his fellow competitors was out of the running before his evening truly began.

Johnny Clark of Farmingdale wrecked on the opening lap of the Pierson Heating & Cooling 150.

That’s how the year has gone thus far for the seven-time PASS North champion.

“Racing luck just hasn’t been on our side lately, but that’s just how it goes sometimes,” Clark said. “We’re used to a few races a year, and there’s still some time in the season, so we just have to go back, keep working on the car and stay optimistic about it.”

A win at Oxford two weeks from now would suddenly paint a much different picture of 2024 — and of his Oxford 250 victory four years ago.

“I think it would show that 2020 wasn’t a fluke, which I think everybody already knows,” said Clark, whose win amidst the pandemic season came in front of a reduced-capacity crowd. “The Oxford 250 can make or break a season, for sure; it’s kind of like in the Daytona 500. We all fight to be competitive in that race.”

It’s not as if Clark has had a bad season. He ranks second in the PASS North point standings with 1,886 points. The only driver ahead of him, with 1,986 points, is D.J. Shaw of Conway, New Hampshire, whose five PASS North championships (2014, 2016, 2018-20) are second only to Clark’s seven (2004, 2006, 2008-11, 2021).

• • •

Shaw didn’t win a race in 2024 until late July, but he had vaulted to the top of the PASS North standings due to six runner-up finishes in the series. He finally made his way to victory lane at the July 27 Bay State Classic at Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts. He hopes Oxford is next.

“You hate to be discouraged with second, but it’s hard not to be when you do it so many times without a win, so that felt really good,” Shaw said. “Oxford is a tough track because nothing is ever guaranteed there, but hopefully, we can parlay these second-place finishes into another win.”