Sports are all about emotions. Good storylines and personable characters stir those
emotions and capture the hearts of fans.

One of the best storylines in sports comes when a seemingly endless wait concludes
with a major victory. The Boston Red Sox winning the 2004 World Series after an 86-
year drought, Dale Earnhardt winning the 1998 Daytona 500 in his 20 th attempt and the
New York Islanders hoisting the Stanley Cup and ending rivals’ toxic chants of “1940!”
after over half a century passed between titles are all great examples of this type of
storyline.

In Maine racing, we had a great history making moment take place in late August. That
was when 57-year-old Fairfield resident Jeff Taylor broke through after 28 attempts to
win the Oxford 250. Taylor had finished second in the prestigious race on three
occasions (in 1995, 2012 and 2020) and earned nine track championships at Oxford
over his career.

Yet capturing the checkered flag in the 250 has eluded Taylor as a driver forever…until
the 51 st version of the event. Taylor had scored victories in the race as a car builder.
His creations under the Distance Racing Products banner are no stranger to success in
the 250, at Oxford or on the Pro All Star Series tour.

Making the victory even sweeter for Taylor, and even more dramatic for homestate fans,
was the fact that he had to hold off one of the hottest short track drivers in the country
during the closing laps of the race to win it. Georgia’s Bubba Pollard is the 2018 winner
of the 250 and has countless other Super Late Model victories on his resume. He made
his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut earlier this season for car owners Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
and his sister Kelley Earnhardt-Miller. Pollard is a bona fide racing superstar.

Yet that was no match for an Oxford legend such as Taylor, who towed to the track in an
aged but immaculate GM Dually pickup truck and average sized trailer. Making Taylor’s
victory even more impressive was his lack of practice leading up to the race. Taylor has
not driven competitively since last year’s 250 and he filed a late entry to this year’s race.

After the victory, Taylor admitted to Short Track Scene’s Jeff Brown, that there may not
be a next year’s 250 when it comes to putting on a driver’s suit.

“Today’s answer is no,” Taylor told Brown. “That’s it for me.”

The Oxford 250 is an event that has had some great stories take place over its history.
But a walk off victory by a legend could be the biggest one of them all.