OXFORD — Jeff White’s night ended in sputtering and muttering.

And as Jeff Taylor drove past him on the way to a gift-wrapped victory Saturday night in the American-Canadian Tour Q97.9 150, the nine-time Oxford Plains Speedway champion from Farmington could only ask himself one thing.

How come that didn’t happen to Kyle Busch a month ago?

Taylor came within 25 laps of snagging an elusive victory in the TD Bank 250, the showcase race at the track he’s dominated for two decades. But his tires lost their grip and his car slid back to a sixth-place finish while the NASCAR star took the champagne bath.

Yeah, you win some and you lose some, but some admittedly mean more than others.

“I don’t know if anything makes up for that,” Taylor said. “That’s the one thing at this place we would like to get our hands on at least once. We were close, and we couldn’t close the deal.”

White knows the feeling.

The convincing winner in June when ACT last visited the speedway, White took the lead from Ricky Rolfe on lap 50 and seemed destined for an encore victory.

Even after Taylor took over the runner-up spot near the halfway point, White, who will try to wrap up his first Oxford season championship next weekend, didn’t look to be in any danger.

“It seemed like we pretty much needed to be in the same tire tracks (to keep pace),” Taylor said. “Whenever I tried the outside, it would just get worse. I don’t think we had anything for him.”

As Taylor made his likely final foray to that outer lane on lap 142, White’s car went from a throaty roar to a capella in a heartbeat — he was out of gas.

Contending cars and backmarkers alike zoomed by White as he coasted down helplessly down the backstretch and through one more corner, eventually stopping just past the entrance to pit road.

That evasive action saved the field from a caution flag. Taylor inherited a half-straightaway lead and it stood up until the checkers.

Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, who started on the pole with Taylor to his outside, wound up second in the late exchange.

Theriault, 17, finished third in the TD Bank 250 and second in last week’s ACT All-Star Challenge at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“You’ve got to hand it to (Taylor). They’re really had things going the last few weeks,” Theriault said. “We’re getting close to winning one of these races.”

Taylor became only the second repeat winner in nine ACT races this season. He prevailed at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough on July 30.

The win is the 65th overall at Oxford for Taylor.

Brian Hoar of Williston, Vt., a seven-time ACT champion and a race winner four times this season, was third. Eddie MacDonald raced from 32nd to fourth. Turner’s Glen Luce rounded out the top five.

T.J. Brackett of Buckfield (sixth), Dave Farrington Jr. of Jay (eighth), Tim Brackett of Buckfield (11th) and Corey Morgan of Lewiston (13th) also finished among the leaders. Morgan was the last driver to complete all 150 laps.

Seven cautions slowed the event, including five by lap 27.

Rolfe set the pace from lap 14 until White took over. He also fell off the pace and finished a lap behind Taylor in 15th.

Racing was delayed 35 minutes by a late afternoon shower that forced practice past the designated 6:30 p.m. start time. Chain lightning on the horizon provided a frightening backdrop throughout the qualifying races.

In other action, Josh Childs of Oxford clinched the Acceleration Series Saturday Showdown title in the Outlaw division by prevailing in a virtual match race with his great-uncle, Guy. The two were tied for the point lead entering the evening.

Another member of the family, Billy Childs Jr., took the victory in the Outlaw ‘B’ feature. Matt Dufault was runner-up.

Pete McCollett became only the third repeat winner in the Mini Stock division, topping Calvin Rose Jr. in a caution-free 30-lap event. Ashley Marshall moved up to third after original runner-up Adam Polvinen failed the post-race inspection.

Strictly Stock point leader Kurt Hewins padded his lead with a week remaining, dominating that division’s 30-lap tangle. His closest pursuer in the point race, Skip Tripp, stayed in touch by finishing second. Matt Williams won a three-car battle for third.

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OXFORD — Top feature finishers Saturday from Q97.9 Night at Oxford Plains Speedway:

ACT (150 laps): 1. Jeff Taylor, Farmington, 150 laps; 2. Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, 150; 3. Brian Hoar, Williston, Vt., 150; 4. Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass., 150; 5. Glen Luce, Turner, 150; 6. T.J. Brackett, Buckfield, 150; 7. Wayne Helliwell Jr., Derry, N.H., 150; 8. Dave Farrington Jr., Jay, 150; 9. Joey Polewarczyk Jr., Hudson, N.H., 150; 10. Randy Potter, Groveton, N.H., 150; 11. Tim Brackett, Buckfield, 150; 12. Nick Sweet, Barre, Vt., 150; 13. Corey Morgan, Lewiston, 150; 14. John Donahue, Graniteville, Vt., 149; 15. Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township, 150; 16. Shawn Martin, Turner, 149; 17. Brent Dragon, Milton, Vt., 149; 18. Ben Ashline, Pittston, 149; 19. Travis Stearns, Auburn, 148; 20. Matt Sanborn, West Baldwin, 148; 21. Sam Sessions, South Paris, 147; 22. James Linardy, Somerville, Mass., 147; 23. J.R. Baril, Haverhill, Mass., 146; 24. Jeff White, Winthrop, 142; 25. Pete Yetman, Peru, Mass., 132; 26. Mark Lamberton, Mooers Forks, N.Y.;, 117; 27. Doug Coombs, Livermore, 117; 28. Tommy Ricker, Poland, 109; 29. Ray Parent, Tiverton, R.I., 92; 30. Jean-Paul Cyr,. Milton, Vt., 81; 31. Dave Wilcox, Fairfield, Vt., 76; 32. Rowland Robinson Jr., Birch Harbor, 51; 33. Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier, Vt., 45; 34. Gary Chiasson, Peru, 29; 35. Jimmy Childs, Leeds, 28; 36. Chris Smith. Windham, 1.

STRICTLY STOCK (30 laps): 1. Kurt Hewins, Leeds; 2. Skip Tripp, Poland; 3. Matt Williams, Brownfield; 4. Ryan Hewins, Leeds; 5. Zach Emerson, Durham.

MINI STOCK (30 laps): 1. Pete McCollett, Manchester; 2. Calvin Rose Jr., Turner; 3. Ashley Marshall, Jay; 4. Dan Morris, Auburn; 5. Darrell Moore, Mechanic Falls.

OUTLAW #1 (20 laps): 1. Billy Childs Jr., Leeds; 2. Matt Dufault, Turner; 3. Missy Morgan, Lewiston; 4. Scott Hethcoat, Auburn; 5. Scott Veinott, Greene.

OUTLAW #2 (20 laps): 1. Josh Childs, Oxford; 2. Guy Childs, Turner; 3. Dan Brown, Peru; 4. Mike Haynes. Livermore Falls; 5. John Patria, Turner.

WICKED GOOD VINTAGE RACERS #1 (15 laps): 1. Neil Martin, Freeport; 2. Wally Henderson, Litchfield.

WICKED GOOD VINTAGE RACERS #2 (15 laps): 1. Tim Huston, Lisbon; 2. Don Mehuren, Searsmont.