Spencer Davis Makes History in Oxford 250
Georgian Becomes Youngest-Ever Qualifier, Finishes 10th
The trip from Dawsonville, Georgia to Oxford, Maine for the 40th Annual TD Bank 250 didn’t start off very well for 14-year old Spencer Davis and his race team. By the end of the weekend, Davis recovered and made history in one of the most prestigious short track events in the country.
Davis and his team left their Georgia shop Tuesday with hopes of getting to Maine early enough to relax and enjoy their time in the “Pine Tree State,” Davis and his team were delayed twice while en route to Maine.
Despite the delays traveling to the track, being at
an unfamiliar race track, and having misfortune
in a qualifying heat race, Davis was able to not
only make history as the youngest-ever qualifier
for the Oxford 250, but was also the race’s
10th-place finisher.
“We left on Tuesday morning and were planning
on getting up here in time to hangout and have
some fun before practice started,” Davis said.
“Brakes fell off on the truck, that put us back
four hours. Then we got pulled over in South
Carolina. We got here with two hours of practice
left the first day.”
Prior to Friday, Davis had never even seen pictures of the three-eighths-mile oval that he would be racing at for the first time. During the beginning of the practice session on Friday, the 14-year old admitted that they were “pretty bad,” but were able to make progress throughout the session.
Davis and his team continued to improve throughout Saturday’s practice sessions and were able to find enough speed to crack the top-ten on the speed chart with 15 minutes remaining in the final session.
“We made some runs and we were off pretty bad. We got better as we went, but we were still missing a lot,” Davis said following the conclusion of the race weekend. “We came into Saturday knowing we needed to get better and we did. We hit on something right at the end with 15 minutes to go and jumped up to ninth on the board.”
The Dawsonville, Georgia driver started his day on Sunday by drawing pill number 26 in the pre-qualifying draw. This would start him third in the third qualifying heat race. Davis was able to hang onto the third position for most of the 25 lap qualifier before being involved in an incident with fellow PASS South driver Jay Fogleman.
Contact made by the drivers got the better of Davis and forced him to have to qualify for the TD Bank 250 through the consolation race.
“Fogleman and I were half a track ahead of the guy who needed the transfer spot,” Davis said. “Patience is a virtue and he didn't have it. He decided to dump us for third. We went and raced the consi and made it in through the last spot."
Finishing third in the second consolation race would start Davis in the 30th spot for the 40th Annual TD Bank 250. Davis was able to work his way through the field and get as high as seventh before settling into the 10th position at the conclusion of the race.
"We were going two and three wide all night. Up high, down low, and in the middle. We were up to seventh during that long 100 lap run, but we fell back on the pit cycle,” Davis said after the race.
“We came all the way back up to sixth and were about to make a pass for fifth, but the people who had new tires got us."
By qualifying for Sunday’s race, Davis became the youngest driver to qualify for the Oxford 250 in the 40-year history of the race. The 14-year old was pleased with the top-ten finish and is excited to travel north once again next year for the 41st running of the Oxford 250.
“I think I exceeded my expectations, “Davis stated. “We were able to get all the way up there from the back of the field and ran a real good race.
“We’re definitely coming back next year.”
For more information on Spencer Davis, contact Matt Kentfield at 51 Sports, matt@51sports.net. Follow Spencer Davis on Twitter, @SpencerDavis_29 and like his Facebook page by searching Spencer Davis Racing.
Spencer Davis became the youngest Oxford 250 qualifier in history. (Speed51.com Photo)
