Column By: STEPHEN DURHAM / RPW – OXFORD, ME – Eddie Macdonald is off to a strong start in 2022, capturing his fourth consecutive top 10 on the season after finishing 9th.
Eddie leads the way in the Pro All Star Series North standings. Shaw rebounded after tough days at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Stafford.
It was a tough day in the previous Oxford race in early May for the Richard Moody cars both for Pole and Rowe.
Johnny Clark found his way into finishing 2nd and first top 5 of 2022.
1. Eddie Macdonald (previous rank:1):
It was another consistent day for the current Pro All Star Series points leader. Macdonald finished the day at Oxford in 9th, his fourth top 10 of the season. Eddie Mac will want to keep the strong start to the 2022 campaign rolling into the White Mountains this weekend as they head to White Mountain Motorsports Park on Sunday. Macdonald finished 18th last May here.
2. DJ Shaw (previous rank: 3):
Shaw has had a rollercoaster of a start to the 2022 campaign. A strong podium finish in third at Oxford was a surprise to Shaw, as he said it was not a track he’d expect to have a strong finish at regularly. Shaw does show great speed and consistency at White Mountain though. Shaw won the most recent trip in September of 2021 and 3rd last May. If you include 2020’s stats, you can add an additional four top 5s to his credit, finishing runner up 3 times in 2020.
3. Joey Polewarczyk (Previous Rank: 2):
For Pole and the Richard Moody racing team, it was not the day they set out for. Pole did win his heat race, setting him up for a good starting spot for the 150 lapper. Pole showed he could hang up in the top ten early, but the car handling would fade. Pole has shown success at White Mountain before, winning last May in his Pole Automotive 97, but struggled in September. He will be eager to try and find victory lane with the Richard Moody 4 machine.
4. Johnny Clark (Previous Rank: 4):
Clark was surprised with a runner-up at Oxford, his first podium finish and top 5 on the season. As the PASS tour heads to White Mountain, it could be said that it is a favorite for Clark, finishing 5th last May and 3rd this past September. In 2020, Clark had an additional four top 10s to his credit at White Mountain.
5. Gabe Brown (Previous Rank: 6):
It was another stout and strong run from Brown at Oxford, coming home in 7th. It is Brown’s third top 10 of the early season. Brown struggled last May, but don’t let it fool you, he had four top 5s and a top 10 to his credit in 2020, including a second place finish in July.
6. Brandon Barker (Previous Rank: 7):
It was another steady and consistent race for Barker, picking up his second top 5 in the early season, coming home in 5th. Barker finds himself 3rd in the PASS North points early on this season. White Mountain has not been all that friendly for Barker in the past with tough luck there.
7. Austin Macdonald (Previous Rank: 5):
Macdonald wasn’t on the entry list or at Oxford Plains Speedway this past weekend.
8. Ryan Kuhn (Previous Rank: 10):
It wasn’t Kuhn’s best day at Oxford Plains this past weekend. Kuhn started in 9th and struggled to find forward momentum. Kuhn would end the day in 17th. Kuhn does have history at White Mountain with the PASS tour, finishing 5th in June of 2020.
9. Jake Matheson (Previous Rank: 8):
Matheson wasn’t on the entry list at Oxford as he is mostly following the Pro All Star Series National standings. Matheson did have a strong run at White Mountain in September this past fall, coming home in 6th.
10. Garrett Hall (Previous Rank: Unranked):
It wasn’t the greatest of days for Hall, winning the consolation race to make his way into the main event. Hall would start the 150 lapper in 29th and battle his way to finish in 16th. Hall’s last visits was in 2020 to White Mountain, bringing home two top 10s.
On the Radar:
Ben Rowe: It wasn’t a day to write home about for Rowe, coming home in 27th at the end of the day. Where they head next though, has always been a track favored by Rowe. Rowe’s last win came at White Mountain Motorsports Park in September of 2018. Since then, Rowe has put up strong runs, finishing 4th last May, but 16th this past September. Before that, Rowe had 2 top 10s in 2020 and a 3rd place finish.
Dan Winter: It wasn’t the easiest of days for Winter at Oxford, making it into the main event through the consolation race. Winter would avoid two early wrecks and fight his way to a 26th place finish. Winter is on my radar because he had a strong run at White Mountain both times in 2021, coming home 6th last May, and 14th in September.
Kate Re: For Re, she took the week off from the PASS tour, as she comes off a strong run at Stafford, finishing in 8th. Re had strong runs at White Mountain in 2021, finishing in 8th in May and 12th in September.
