Racing History Minute - July 17, 1983

Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine has long been a staple of NASCAR racing. The Grand National division ran at the track in the 1960s as part of its Northern Tour. The Late Model Sportsman cars frequented the track as did the modifieds.

Many of NASCAR's Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series (later to become the Busch Grand National Series) drivers from the south headed north to Oxford Plains for the Budweiser Oxford 250 on July 17, 1983. They were joined by drivers who dropped down from Canada and New England-area drivers from the NASCAR North Stroh's Tour series. I believe the NASCAR North series was originally the Eastern Late Model Division and later became the Busch North Series. - From Motor Racing Programme Covers

To give some context, one of the hottest movies at the time was the Day Akyroyd and Eddie Murphy comedy Trading Places (which also featured a very funny and smokin' Jamie Lee Curtis).

Track promoters Dick and Bob Bahre posted a big purse for the race. Part of the money was tied to leaders of each lap. I remember this incentive being the norm for several years. I'd like to see NASCAR's three major touring series return to some form of this payout to perhaps create more lead changes.

Race preview. The race was billed as an "open" one with drivers coming from four corners to participate. In practice, "open" ended up meaning lack of clarity of rules for the cars and limited inspections - interpreted by some as an effort to give some of the local guys a bit of an advantage over the out-of-towners.

The field was set with a non-traditional format. Rather than have a fast lap, qualifying session, drivers drew for random starting positions in heat races. Finishes in the heat races determined who got in the show and who went home. Apparently EIGHTY-FOUR cars showed up to earn one of the 40 spots in the field.

Bobby Dragon won his heat, started from the pole, and led 37 laps of the race. Engine troubles doomed his day, however, and he ended up with a DNF 24th place finish.

Local driver, Dick McCabe, won his heat, started on the outside of the front row and led the most laps in his #0 Buick.The other heats were won by Bobby Randall, Bobby Babb, and Jim Gerry.

McCabe took the lead early from Dragon and settled into a rhythm - a profitable rhythm. By leading lap after lap - 125 of the first 185 - he pocketed $50 each time he came by the starter's stand.

But McCabe's focus on the pocket change cost him a shot at the big prize. His crew called him to the pits during a caution around lap 174. McCabe made the call to stay on the track, manage his fuel mileage, continue to pocket the lap leader money, and go for the win. The strategy didn't work.

During the yellow, most of the cars up front hit pit road for fuel and tires. McCabe raced on, but later reneged on his strategy. He pitted during another caution at lap 211 but was then buried behind the long line of cars who had pitted about 35 laps earlier.

With McCabe trapped in traffic, Terrible Tommy Ellis went to the front and stayed there the rest of the way to claim the prestigious win. Interestingly, Ellis almost didn't make the show. He didn't fare well in his heat and had to win a consolation race to transfer into the 250-lap feature. (Randy LaJoie won the other consolation race.)

Because of a mistake in McCabe's pit strategy, he lost out on the opportunity for the win. From a 'grocery money' perspective, however, he may have made the right call. His second place winnings and lap leader bonuses totaled a few hundred dollars MORE than what Ellis made for winning (though the pot would have been even larger had he won).

Though the race was billed as a 250-lap event, the cars actually ran 287 laps - presumably because caution laps didn't count. What I don't know is whether anyone got paid $50/lap for the laps under yellow.

Though Ellis was happy with one of the biggest wins of his career, he was still highly critical of the qualifying format and number of what he perceived as non-competitive cars on the track.

The race was featured in the November 1983 issue of Stock Car Racing magazine.

Tommy Ellis and Dick McCabe each had a great nickname.

Ellis constantly lived up to his "Terrible Tommy" moniker with fisticuffs, fines, NASCAR suspentions, as well as the bad impression he left on the Oxford Plains media. Tommy later served a Federal prison gig for creative bookkeeping.

I knew Tommy, but didn't know McCabe. The name sounds Irish and his racing nickname was "The Irish Angel."

I'll defer to somebody who knew Dick to weigh in on the angel part!

AND..... a note about one of my favorites - Fredericksburg, Va. driver Al Grinnan, former Virginia State Late Model Sportsman Champion, Wilson County (NC) Speedway dirt track Champion and in 1968 voted NASCAR Most Popular Modified Driver by his competitors...

from the official history of Oxford Plains:

1974 - History in the making
Al Grinnan leads the very first lap in Oxford 250 history.

The "H & E" hat worn in the Maine victory lane by winner, Tommy Ellis stands for Hoehns & Eanes Automotive , the famed Richmond, Virginia engine builders who also built the power plants for all of Sonny Hutchins' wins in the Emanuel Zervakis #01 Late Model Sportsman.

Vermont radio station owner and P.A. announcer, Ken Squier, along with his ownership / promoter status at Catamount Stadium and Thunder Road Speed Bowl, once had an ownership interest in the NASCAR North Series, just as Bob Barkheimer and Ken Clapp had an interest in Winston West and NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model. When Squier had a falling out with his NASCAR North chief, Tom Curley, Curley left to form the rival American Canadian Tour - ACT - to compete directly with Squier and NASCAR.

One of the more famous Hoehns & Eanes engines put Sonny Hutchins in the Emanuel Zervakis #01 on the Martinsville Cup front row beside Richard Petty, who lost the battle to turn 1 against Sonny!

Emanuel Zervakis brought his #01 Pontiac to Oxford Plains and put Mark Martin behind the wheel.

Paul Mauceri from Long Island also brought his #01 Pontiac. Though he ran nine NASCAR North Stroh's Tour races in 1983, he took himself out of the car at Oxford Plains. He turned the car over to Joe Millikan and painted an extra zero to the number.

Thanks to Chris Hussey for both photos.

Mark Martin also ran a #01 Cup car for Zervakis in 1983 at Charlotte's World 600. Note the 7-Eleven and Bullfrog Knits decals on the rocker panel:

Zervakis was also the winning car owner for the Oxford 250 in the consecutive years of 1980-1981 with Geoff(rey) Bodine wheeling his "White Tornado."

That's Bodine below in the #99 Zervakis White Tornado passing Butch Lindley in #16 enroute to the 1980 Oxford 250 win. Ironically, when Bodine went Cup racing, Lindley would take over the Zervakis ride for a while. Richmond, Va. built and based cars were extremely successful in the Oxford 250 races.

Zervakis had a fleet of #01 cars as seen in the photo taken at the Zervakis Southside Glass Shop in Richmond and posted by son, Butch:

Actually Dave, Curley and Squier were both part owners of Catamount and Thunder Road and ran the Nascar North Tour (also known as the "Beer Tours") Stroth's, Molson and Coors all took turns as the title sponsor. It was the law suits brought against Nascar by car owners over a couple disputes ( Lajoie/Crouch 85' championship and Bob Dragon's "illegal" carburetor) and how they were managed by Curley that finally brought on the split between Nascar and Curley/Squier. This led to the formation of the ACT Tour (American/Canadian Tour) which switched to ASA/ARTGO style bodies by 1987. In 86' Nascar returned to New England as the Busch Grand National North Series leading to a split of drivers, some loyal to Nascar and some loyal to Curley. It essentially killed Late Model Sportsman racing in New England, which IMO sits squarely on Tom Curley's shoulders.

I was at this race and remember the on track battle between McCabe and Ellis which led to to some lugnuts being thrown at McCabe as he left pit road by Ellis's crew. One lugnut made through the drivers net and hit McCabe in the nose which bloody it a little. Typical tough McCabe didn't let it bother him and charged onto the track ready to do battle to the finish. Those Beer Tour years were some of best racing I've every witnessed. The 250's were much like the Cardinal and Dogwood 500's, where you had the best short track racers from around the country compete for large purses. A true win/win situations for all involved, Bob and Dick Bahre were some of the best promoters in the country during this time.

Thanks, Mark. I did some Wrangler poster giveaways and race sponsorships with Squier at the Vermont tracks in the early 80s.

Wrangler 100 NASCAR North races at Catamount 1982 and 1983 and Wrangler Round-Up 100 in 1984.

Wrangler 100

NASCARGrand National Northrace
Catamount Stadium ,Milton,VT
May 22, 1982
100laps on 0.333 mile paved oval;33.333 miles

More than likely I attended those races.

Here is a personal photo from my collection. Notice the Wrangler sign on the backstretch fence.

Same car, here at Thunder Road.

Thanks. I did not attend those races and have never seen a photo. One of the best things to come out of that was every Christmas Ken Squier would send me a gallon container of pure maple syrup from one of his family businesses. The backstretch sign in the photo was adverising the 1982 Wrangler 100 at Catamount.

Mark, here's a poster currently adverised on ebay for one of my 1984 Wrangler jeans promotions at Catamount Stadium in Vermont and our NASCAR North race sponsorship there with Ken Squier.