PHOTO: Will one of these 24 drivers win the TD Bank 250? (Eric LaFleche/VLFPhotos.com photos, Getty Images for NASCAR)
–by T.J. Ingerson
VMM Editor
Jeff Taylor. Brian Hoar. Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. Nick Sweet. Austin Theriault. Shawn Martin. Wayne Helliwell, Jr. Ben Ashline. Trevor Bayne. Ricky Rolfe. John Donahue. Eddie MacDonald. Travis Stearns. Jeff White. Tommy Ricker. Dave Pembroke. Brent Dragon. Ben Rowe. Patrick Laperle. Eric Williams. T.J. Brackett. Tim Brackett. Donald Theetge. Karl Allard.
Who will win the 39th Annual TD Bank 250? The answer is the list could go on and on and on.
We will know at approximately 9:00pm Sunday night, after a day filled with sighs of reliefs and crushed dreams. That is the TD Bank 250.
Can Jeff Taylor finally win? Can Nick Sweet finish one spot better? Can Trevor Bayne repeat the performances of fellow Sprint Cup drivers Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch? Can Eddie MacDonald win his third TD Bank 250 and join Dion, Nason, and Rowe as the only three time winners? Can Ben Rowe do the same? Can Austin Theriault finally win an important Late Model race? Can Shawn Martin, Travis Stearns, Jeff White, Tommy Ricker, T.J. Brackett, Tim Brackett, Shawn Knight, Don Wentworth, or Chris Coolidge defend their home turf? Can Brian Hoar win the one race that doesn’t complete his mantle?
Will a favorite win? Or will the winner be a surprise underdog?
There are so many questions, and they’ll all start being answered at 2:00pm on Sunday.
Taylor would cause the house to be torn down at Oxford if that green No. 88 can find its way to victory lane on Sunday. The race that has eluded Taylor may finally become his. Taylor won twice last year post-250: one week later on the American-Canadian Tour at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, and then again one month after the 250 at Oxford on the American-Canadian Tour.
Hoar has a 3.7 average finish in the TD Bank 250 since joining RPM Motorsports. Hoar rode the pole position to a runner-up finish in 2010, while fighting to a fifth place finish one year ago from a 25th starting position. Hoar finished fourth in his first appearance with Paya in 2009.
Polewarczyk finished third to Kevin Harvick and Glen Luce in 2008, but has struggled since. Sweet finished runner-up to Busch one year ago, and has two other top-ten finishes in his three other TD Bank 250 races. Theriault ran third to Busch and Sweet one year ago in his first TD Bank 250 start. Martin has raced in seven straight TD Bank 250s, and has posted a fourth place finish as his best.
The TD Bank 250 has not been kind to Helliwell, with a 16th place finish last year his best showing in four starts. Ashline started on the pole one year ago, but was plagued with a tire issue and finished seven laps down in 30th. Donahue has had success at Oxford, and finished third in 2009. The back-to-back two-time champ MacDonald was kept out of victory lane last year and finished fourth.
Stearns’ best 250 finish is tenth, which came in his first appearance. White appeared to be the car that would be in control last year before suffering tire issues. Ricker has competed in every TD Bank 250 in the Late Model era. Pembroke had a ninth place finish in 2010, and quietly had a 13th place showing one year ago. Dragon had four straight top ten finishes in the TD Bank 250 before missing the race last year.
Both Tim and T.J. Brackett are weekly front runners at Oxford, while Eric Williams is a previous ACT Oxford winner. Ricky Rolfe finished second in the TD Bank 250 in 2004. Patrick Laperle is a previous winner at Oxford, while Donald Theetge and Karl Allard are consistent ACT Castrol Series front runners.
Or will the TD Bank 250 champion not be one of these 24 racers? Will it be a surpise, come-out-of-no-where with no hype winner who shocks everyone, much like Roger Brown and Jeremie Whorff?
At approximately 9 o’clock Sunday night, we may have an answer. But the one thing we will know. The winner will add his name into TD Bank 250 history.
Forever.