Two For One: Midseason Shakeup Gives Cassius Clark, Trevor Sanborn Best Oxford 250 Chances Yet

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Though they’ve both been part of the region’s Super Late Model scene for the better part of the last decade, Cassius Clark and Trevor Sanborn have never been more closely tied together than they are heading into Sunday’s AIM Recycling USA Oxford 250.

clark hight image81

Cassius Clark drove the Hight Motorsports No. 77 for several years before being replaced by Trevor Sanborn this season. Photo courtesy of Brenda Meserve/Image81

Thanks to changes made at Hight Motorsports in July, both Clark and Sanborn enter the weekend at Oxford Plains Speedway with arguably their best chance to win the season’s biggest event. In fact, when asked independently if they felt this was their best chance at finding the Oxford 250’s victory lane Sunday night, both gave the same answer.

“Absolutely.”

After winning the 2013 Pro All Stars Series championship, Hight and Clark split ways following the Southern Maine Chrysler Dodge Jeep 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on July 11. Two weeks later, Sanborn — who was competing weekly this season at Beech Ridge — was named to replace Clark in the seat of the No. 77.

Clark, meanwhile, joined the King Racing team owned by Rollie MacDonald out of Nova Scotia, a team he first began racing part-time for back in 2012 when his PASS commitments with Hight Motorsports allowed.

Three weeks ago, in just his second race with the team this season, Clark won the Atlantic CAT 250 at Scotia Speedworld in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was Clark’s third win with the team since 2012 — all of them in 250-lap events — and he sees no reason why he won’t have a shot at a fourth on Sunday in Oxford.

clark vl canada“With the way everything’s lined up, it’s as good a shot as I’ve ever had,” said Clark, of Farmington, Maine. “We’ve got good team chemistry, a good car, and I’m really, really looking forward to it. I’ve always had good equipment, but with the things we’ve all learned over last few years, you’ve got to take that into consideration, too.”

The King Racing No. 13 is a new 2015 LFR chassis, the same company that’s created a buzz in Modified racing circles this year. Clark, who won six races in parts of five seasons with Hight Motorsports, has been keeping a close eye on two-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby’s season.

“Obviously, they’ve been really good on that side of things, too,” Clark said.

Clark is rightly optimistic about the Oxford 250. He had a shot to win each of the last two years, particularly last summer when he was leading with less than 40 laps to go — by a comfortable margin — before a late caution flag allowed teams on fresher tires to catch him.

His goal this year, new team or not, is to win.

“I don’t ever go to a race just wanting to be part of the show, that’ s not who I am,” he said. “That’s all that really needs to be said, I guess.”

For Sanborn, though, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to even be a part of the show just over a month ago. Now, though, the East Parsonsfield, Maine, driver finds himself in a car that’s been consistently in contention to win this race in very recent history.

It might have been a little surreal on Friday to pull into the Oxford Plains pit area, not only with a car, but with a car he knows can win. Out of more than 70 cars on hand for the first day of Oxford 250 practice, Sanborn posted the fastest time in the three-hour practice session.

“I think it’s a little bit of me, and it’s a little bit of luck. I’m close with (crew chief Brian Burgess),” Sanborn said. “I don’t know sanborn victory lanehow to put it all into words. It’s just a good feeling. I feel really, really confident with the car and the team and the track going into this race.

“I really feel like I’ve paid all my dues. I’ve driven a lot of cars, worked on a lot of people’s cars, worked on cars I’ve driven. How can you go wrong (in this situation)? It’s the best ride in New England. I really feel that way.”

Sanborn’s first race with the Hight team was the HP Hood 150 at Oxford Plains on Aug. 2, and it did’t exactly set the world on fire. But more recently, the team tested at the track again and made significant gains, Sanborn said.

For Sanborn, Burgess and team owner Corey Hight, winning the Oxford 250 has become more than just a dream — it’s a tangible goal.

“Corey wants to win this race, I want to win this race, everybody wants to win it,” Sanborn said. “Corey put it all out there, spent what he had to to get this car where it needs to be. I’m really thankful for that.

“It’s just prestige. The Oxford 250 has been around forever. There’s so many names attached to it — the money means nothing to me. I just want the damn trophy. It’s an old race that has had a ton of faces over the years, and I can remember coming up here when I was really young — (Larry) Gelinas, (Ralph) Nason, Mike Rowe winning the 250s. When you’re into racing, you always want to win the biggest race, and this is the biggest, baddest race to me — this is it. It’s got a lot of competition, it pays the most money. It’s ‘The Race.’”

“It feels like Oxford is everybody’s home track, really,” Clark said. “I grew up with my dad racing here, and this is the biggest race of the year. It’s pretty easy to label it that way. We’ve been coming here with a lot of different people, and it’s been a big part of my family. We’ve come up short every time — my dad’s come up short, I’ve come up short.

“We want to stop coming up short.”

On Sunday, both Clark and Sanborn will have their best chance to win the Oxford 250 — and the intersection of their respective seasons had everything to do with it.

Comments

  1. Best of luck Larry Gelinas for the old guys

  2. Any word on his 2016 plans. It would be cool to see him run the Maritime Pro Stock Tour full time.

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