Another Season, Another Mike Rowe Victory

Could there be a more appropriate way to start a racing season at Oxford Plains Speedway
than to have Maine Racing Hall of Famer Mike Rowe win another race?

Opening night, which took place on a Tuesday due to multiple rainouts, saw Rowe’s familiar #24
go to victory lane in the Super Late Model division. It was Rowe’s 154 th career victory at Oxford.

Rowe, 74, kept a pair of the track’s most talented youngsters at bay to score the victory. Austin
Teras finished second and Evan Roy completed the podium. Ironically, Roy’s family owns Roy’s
All Steak Hamburgers, which has been one of Rowe’s most loyal sponsors in the past few
decades.

Then again, Rowe has had all kinds of sponsors throughout the decades. His first victory at
Oxford came back in 1969. He shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon either.

Modifieds Make a New Home at Wiscasset

Tour-type Modified racing has had quite a history throughout the state of Maine, but it had been
a few years since it had a weekly racing home. The division had once been the weekly
headliner at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, but that was 35 years ago. Those popular racecars,
with more budget friendly crate engines, are back this season though as Wiscasset Speedway
has added the division to their weekly racing rotation.

There is quite a bit of interest in the division with a few familiar names already fielding entries.
Young John Ricci won the opening race for the division. John’s father Tony is well known for his
own Modified racing adventures – having raced at tracks throughout the Northeast and winning
multiple Modified Racing Series features. Other drivers in the division include PASS Modified
veteran Billy Dixon, Beech Ridge veteran Richard “Bubba” Pelton, third-generation racer Ethan
Guptill and Limited Late Model driver Ryan Phllips.

Donahue Family Continues Their Legacy

Those who follow the NASCAR Xfinity Series may know that the crew chief of the #48 Big
Machine Racing entry with driver Nick Sanchez is Scarborough native Patrick Donahue. In his
teen years, Donahue was a Mini Stock driver at Oxford Plains Speedway. During his time
racing, Donahue also was a crew member for the NASCAR Busch North Series team of
incoming Maine Racing Hall of Fame inductee Joe Bessey.

After graduating high school in 1993, Donahue packed up and moved down south. That is
where he joined the #24 Hendrick Motorsports team with then NASCAR Cup Series rookie Jeff
Gordon.

Donahue was mentored by NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Ray Evernham and eventually
served as a crew chief for the NASCAR Busch Series team that Evernham and Gordon co-
owner. He then was part of the start-up operation by Dodge upon their return to NASCAR Cup
Series racing in 2001 at Evernham Motorsports. His success in the sport has been extensive.

Now, there is a new Donahue making his mark in the sport. Patrick’s son Blaine made his
second start in the ARCA Menards East Series last month at Rockingham Speedway. Whether
by design or coincidence, Blaine Donahue drove the #9 entry in that event, which was the same
car number that Bessey drove when Patrick was a crew member. Blaine Donahue finished 16 th
at Rockingham.

Alexander Family Rebounds with Their Family Business

Another Maine racing family that has been keeping busy lately are the Alexanders of Ellsworth.
There have been three generations of Alexanders in racing – Bob, Brett and Wyatt. During the
week, the family operates K&B Automotive in their hometown.

Last year, the business suffered a devasting loss when there was a major fire at the garage.
The Alexanders don’t quit on the racetrack and they weren’t going to quit on the family business
either. They were back to work as quickly as possible and spent quite some time rebuilding the
operation totally. Earlier this month, they hosted the community as the ribbon was cut on their
newly renovated facility.

Busch and Butterbean Make Oxford SLM Plans

On the day after Memorial Day, Oxford Plains Speedway will play host to the inaugural
Memorial Day Clash 200 – a $10,000 to win Super Late Model race. In addition to the weekly
series stars of Oxford and the PASS North regulars, a few drivers from North Carolina will be in
attendance to chase victory.

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and two-time Oxford 250 winner Kyle Busch will
compete in the Memorial Day Clash along with Breden Butterbean Queen, who has won two
ARCA Menards Series events so far in 2025.

Queen recently told Landon Cassell and Parker Klingerman on their Money Lap podcast that he
had been using iRacing to prepare for his first trip to Oxford.

Windham native Derek Kneeland, who is the spotter for both Busch and Queen, will also be
competing in the event. Kneeland has been instrumental in planning the race, obtaining support
for it and bringing in both big name drivers from the upper levels of NASCAR.