Five Drivers Who Could Be the Next First Time Winner at the Oxford 250

Last year, Jeff Taylor finally etched his name into the record books as an Oxford 250 winner. With the victory, Jeff Taylor became the 37th winner in 51 runnings of the event.

Will there be another first-time winner in 2025? Here are five drivers we have an eye on who are searching for that first Oxford 250 victory.

Garrett Hall

He’s the only guy who can say he beat Joey Doiron recently in a head-to-head match up at Oxford. Hall is riding the success of his Celebration of American 300 win and he hopes that transfers to the 250.

Hall sat on the pole and led 166 laps at the Oxford 250 in 2018, and he came home fourth. Since then, he’s had a tough go in the 250, but this momentum has him on an upward swing. He was fourth in the most recent August race, right in the thick of it.

Sylas Ripley

2025 has been the same story for Ripley about making laps on the PASS tour. He has three podium runs including one at Oxford. A year ago, in his first 250 start, Ripley came away with a fourth-place finish.

Ripley has completed every lap he’s run there since last July and perhaps just being there will be enough for this year’s 250.

Austin Teras

A year ago on Oxford 250 weekend Austin Teras won the 200-lap race on Friday night before the big show on Sunday. Teras then finished fifth on Sunday in the 250. He won the June 8th race before a tech infraction cost him his victory.

To show there was no slowing things down, Teras returned and finished second to DJ Shaw at the last PASS race on August 10. Despite the setbacks, this youngster should be in the mix this weekend.

DJ Shaw

The Shaw family is due. After we saw Jeff Taylor win in 2024, the only logical thing would be for DJ Shaw to win the Oxford 250.

It’s worth noting that Shaw won both the PASS race and the 100-lap race after Oxford a few weeks back. He is winning is more at Oxford than we have seen in a past that is full of solid finishes.

Shaw has been third each of the last two years at the Oxford 250. In the last nine years, he’s been third a total of four times. He has some trophies from 250 Sunday, but now he wants the big one and the big check.

Joey Doiron

Leading the most laps in 2024 was a precursor to this season for Joey Doiron. After finishing second twice at the 250 and last year’s performance, it has laid the foundation for what has come next.

Doiron passed the most cars at Oxford that fall and won the PASS 400 with the best overall finish. He followed that up by winning the Memorial Day Clash 200 at Oxford

Topping that off was a runner-up finish in the Fourth of July Celebration of America 300 at Oxford.

Earlier this month Doiron went to Michigan to race at Berlin Raceway in another 250-lap race. On a track he’d never seen, he went from 27th to the lead and finished strong in his first start at the facility. Doiron will be a contender.

-Story by: Elgin Traylor
-Photo credit: Will Bellamy/Racing America