Top 50 Drivers in Oxford 250 History - No. 10 - 6

Every year since 1974, Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine has hosted the Oxford 250. The event has seen many different forms, cars, drivers and sanctioning bodies over the years, but it has also seen plenty of star power during that time.

In celebration of the 50th Annual Oxford 250 taking place on August 25-27, 2023, Racing America has assembled a ranking of the top 50 drivers in the history of the event. We will unveil them in installments leading up to the big weekend in August, where you can watch the Oxford 250 here on Racing America if you are unable to attend the golden anniversary event in person.

This week, we break into the top 10 as we close in on the end of our Top 50 countdown.

Top 50 Drivers in Oxford 250 History: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11

10 – Butch Lindley

From the first time Butch Lindley competed in the Oxford 250 in 1976, Butch Lindley was a threat every time he made the trip from South Carolina to Maine. The two-time NASCAR Late Model Sportsman National Champion led 172 laps en route to winning the race in 1976.

All told, Lindley had six podium finishes in the race, with his only finish outside the top three coming in 1983, when he retired after 76 laps. He came within a lap of winning the 1980 edition of the event, but ran of fuel on the final circuit to turn the victory over to Geoff Bodine.

9 – Jamie Aube

The first two-time winner on our countdown, Jamie Aube went to victory lane in the Oxford 250 in 1987 and 1989.

In the first of those two wins, Aube took the lead with 29 laps to go as Billy Clark pitted for fuel. Clark, one of the local standouts in the field, had started on the pole for the race, but Aube finished in the top spot.

Aube led more than 100 laps in the race two years later en route to his second Oxford 250 win, finishing ahead of Dick McCabe and Bruce Haley. Aube’s resume in the 250 is also an example of how tough it can be to run well in the event year after year. Even with his two wins in the race, he only had four top-10 finishes in 15 starts.

8 – Chuck Bown

Chuck Bown’s resume includes a little bit of everything. The Oregon native won the 1976 Winston West Series championship before “moving east,” winning races with the NASCAR North Tour and NASCAR Busch North Series before eventually winning the 1990 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series title.

Along the way, Bown picked up two wins in the Oxford 250. The first came in 1986, as he led 72 laps and took the checkered flag ahead of Robbie Crouch and Dave Dion. In 1990, Bown led 255 of the race’s 306 scored laps for his second Oxford 250 win, one of his six Busch Grand National wins in 1990 as part of his championship season.

7 – Ben Rowe

Last year, Ben Rowe made his 25th Oxford 250 start, continuing the long history of the Rowe family in the Oxford 250. The four-time PASS North champion has led more than 350 laps during those 25 races and collected 11 top-10 finishes.

Rowe is also one of five drivers to win back-to-back Oxford 250s, just like his father Mike did before him. In 2003, the younger Rowe won from the pole, leading 98 laps in a race that featured 11 lead changes among seven drivers and a close finish with Steve Knowlton and Gary Drew. In 2004, Rowe took the lead from Alan Wilson with 11 laps to go for the win.

6 – Eddie MacDonald

Another driver with back-to-back Oxford 250 wins is Eddie MacDonald, who accomplished the feat in 2009 and 2010. He also nearly joined the three-time winners club last year, finishing second to Cole Butcher.

Between 2008 and 2012, “Eddie Mac” finished five straight aces in the top 10, including his two wins and a fourth-place finish in 2011. He enters this year’s race with top-10 finishes in the last two runnings, with a sixth-place effort in 2021 before last year’s runner-up.

-Featured photo credit: Leif Tillotson