Brandon Varney parks the No. 12 Super Late Model car lent to him by Dennis Spencer Jr. in Oxford Plains Speedway’s victory lane after winning the feature race Saturday. Oriana Lovell photo

It would have been an easy understatement to say that Brandon Varney had an outside shot at winning Saturday’s Super Late Model Feature at Oxford Plains Speedway.

The Auburn native, who is a multi-time track champion in Oxford Plains’ various support divisions, was making just his second career start in SLMs — in a borrowed car, no less.

Dennis Spencer Jr. gave Varney an opportunity to drive his No. 12 car for two weeks, and Varney kept the car clean on his way to a seventh-place finish in his SLM debut the week before.

In his second go-around Saturday, Varney earned the outside pole through heat-race qualifying and he quickly jumped to the top spot on the first of 50 laps in the feature. He then proceeded to lead the other 49, as well, holding off current SLM points leader and defending champion Max Cookson for the win.

Varney said “what a ride it’s been” to be given the chance by Spencer and then to win in his only his second start. He added that dueling with Cookson at the end was “honestly the best part of the whole deal. …Knew I couldn’t make a mistake. He’s the guy right now at Oxford.”

The two racers have a shared history. They both competed in the Pro All Stars Series Mods division in 2021, when Varney was a series rookie and Cookson earned the championship in his second year. Varney said he and Cookson always seem to find each other on the track, and though they’ve had a run-in or two, they’ve always figured it out in the end.

Cookson wrote in a post on his Max Cookson Racing Facebook page that what Varney and his team accomplished Saturday night was “pretty freaking awesome.”

Cookson also said in the post that he had a good night at the track, going from 18th to second. He then followed that performance up with a win in Hudson Speedway’s Gate City Classic 100 on Sunday.

Varney now turns his attention back to racing for this year’s PASS Mods championship, as he is the current points leader and the winner of the division’s most recent race at Oxford Plains on Aug. 6 — one day after his SLM debut. He said he is forever thankful to Spencer for the opportunity to drive the SLM, and he was glad he was able to do well for Spencer and his team.

Spencer and Varney will be back in their own respective cars in two weeks for Oxford 250 weekend. Spencer will be trying to win the 50th running of the 250 on Sunday, Aug. 27, with his family’s Spencer Group Paving company as the headlining sponsor, while Varney will attempt to go back-to-back at Oxford Plains in the PASS Mods in a 40-lap feature on Saturday, Aug. 26.

MONEY LAPS

Sunday was a day to take a breath at Oxford Plains Speedway, for a couple reasons. One was to take a break after Saturday’s stacked racing slate that included both the Oxford Championship Series Divisions, as well as the Oxford Acceleration Series divisions that got rained out Thursday night.

The other reason was that Oxford Plains and PASS officials sold the last of the 250 lap sponsors for the Oxford 250 lap-leaders program. The program started in 1981, originally with $50 going to the leader of each lap, and that doubled to $100 per lap three years later.

This year’s program gives sponsors the option to pay $150 per lap, with $100 going to the driver in the lead, $30 to the driver in second and $20 to the car in third.

CAPTURE THE FLAG

Varney wasn’t the only racer celebrating with a checkered flag in victory lane Saturday night.

Other feature winners included: Nate Leavitt (Limiteds), Billy Childs Jr. (Street Stocks), Derek McKeen (Mad Bombers), Charlie Hall (Thunder Stocks), Tyler Connolly (Rookies), Amara Parker (Ladies), Ryan Farrar (Trucks), JC White (Outlaws), Cody Childs (Rebels) and William Barker (Cruisers).

WISCASSET WINNERS

The racing slate at Wiscasset Speedway was also bigger than normal Saturday night, with a double feature for the Thunder 4 Minis, visits from the Senior Tour Auto Racers’ Sportsman and Modified divisions, and the Ward & Sons Construction 100 race for the Super Streets division.

Wiscasset’s own James Osmond captured the 100-lap feature, while New Vineyard’s Shane Webber and Livermore Falls’ Derek Cook were each victorious in a Thunder 4 Mini feature. Kevin Douglass won the 40-lap Pro Stocks race, and Hartford’s Ben Burgess crossed the finish line first for the 4-Cylinder Pros in other Group 1 action.

Scott Clemence won the STAR Tour Sportsman feature and Doug Piccard finished first in the Modifieds race.