Cole Butcher Goes Back-to-Back With Oxford 250 Wins

Nova Scotia’s Cole Butcher captured his second consecutive Oxford 250 championship on Sunday evening in dramatic fashion. Butcher blew an engine and broke a transmission on Saturday; his team changed both for Sunday. Starting 9th in the second heat race, he blazed through the field making big holes out of little ones, and won the race – earning the outside pole for the prestigious Oxford 250.

Clearly one of the cars to beat it seemed he may have a relatively easy day with one of the top starting spots but on lap seven, he made contact with the leader and was penalized for aggressive driving. Gone was the top starting spot, he was moved to the rear of the 41-car field for the restart.

Passing when he could and using pit strategy, he stayed on the lead lap and when it mattered – after lap 200 – he was a contender. With less than 20 to go he dove under leader Joey Doiron and moved to the point, holding on for the win and a winner’s cheque of over $20,000 (USD).

With the win Butcher joins a couple of elite clubs. He became the sixth driver in the 50-year history of the event to get back-to-back wins and in so doing is the first Canadian to ever accomplish that feat. He is the fifth Canadian driver to win the Oxford 250; others are Don Biederman (1977), Junior Hanley (1993), Derek Lynch (1994), and Dave Whitlock (1995).

While he calls Porter’s Lake home, Cole Butcher is racing out of North Carolina this year as he pursues the inaugural ASA National Tour series championship, running second with three races to go. All of his races in ’23 have been in the United States.