OXFORD — There was no controversy in victory lane at the end of a rain-soaked Oxford 250 on Sunday night.

No anger for aggressive driving. No bumping of drivers off the track.

Aside from the disappointment of not winning, drivers showed only respect to longtime driver Jeff Taylor, the nine-time Oxford Plains Speedway champion, who finally won a 250.

“To come back and run second to (Taylor), that’s awesome,” said Bubba Pollard, the 2018 Oxford 250 champion, who finished second. “He’s been doing it a long time, (has been) a track champion. He had a good car, and I enjoyed racing with him. I have a lot of respect for him, and I raced him how I wanted to be raced. We showed that you can race with respect around here.”

“He comes out once a year, and he got it done this year,” said Pro All Star Series (PASS) points leader D.J. Shaw, who finished third. “It gives me hope. He’s attempted more of these than anybody and he’s lost it in every way you could. He could never seal the deal. He’s living proof of how hard this race is to win. We’re competitors on and off the track, but it’s super awesome (that he won).”

The feel-good attitude was a change of pace from the previous two Oxford 250s. Canadian driver Cole Butcher won the event in 2022 and 2023, both under a cloud of controversy, as competitors criticized him for overly aggressive driving. Butcher’s style caught up with him in March, when he was handed a ban from PASS after knocking driver Mike Hopkins off the track during the St. Patrick’s Day 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina.

There was no controversy in Taylor’s win. The Farmington driver passed Shaw on Lap 224 and managed to hold off a late push from Pollard.

“I didn’t want to rough him up,” Pollard said. “I wanted to race it out like two grown men and professional race car drivers. … I have a lot of respect for him, and when you’ve got respect for people, you don’t want to race them like that.”

Taylor’s win was 31 years in the making. First qualifying for the event in 1993, Taylor has long showed a mastery of Oxford Plains Speedway, winning five consecutive track titles from 1993-97, three straight from 2000-02 and another in 2006. Despite that success, he could never capture a 250.

That all changed Sunday night.

“It just doesn’t seem real because you’ve tried so hard for so many years, and you never could do it,” Taylor said. “I don’t even know how to explain it. I’ve had cars that could’ve won and probably should’ve won, but they just didn’t. Today, everything just went our way, even with the rain.”

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Sylas Ripley had never raced in an Oxford 250 until Sunday. His lone goal for the day was to simply qualify.

The young driver — he turned 15 on Aug. 22 — not only qualified, he finished fourth in a talented field that included several former 250 champions.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Ripley said. “Our plan was just to try to get into the show. This is our first attempt running the 250. After our heat race, I thought we had a little more (in the car). We just played it safe; my crew chief (eventually) said it was time (to make a move).”

Ripley is 33rd this season in the PASS points standings (384 points). His biggest battle Sunday while making his way around the Oxford Plains track was staying calm.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” Ripley said. “It was the biggest race of my life. Once we got in the clear, I was starting to feel pretty comfortable. Just started to chase down the leaders.

After the race, Ripley was surrounded in the pit area by his crew, family and friends, still trying to take in the moment.

“I grew up coming to the races to watch Jeff (Taylor) and Bubba Pollard, D.J. Shaw, those guys that were running up front,” Ripley said. “It was awesome to run with them and run consistent.”

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Shaw has found consistency at the Oxford 250, but not in a position he appreciates.

The Center Conway, New Hampshire driver finished third for the second consecutive year and the fourth time since 2016.

“All in all, I think it was the most laps we led in the 250, and another podium,” Shaw said. “Another third in the 250. It seems like that’s the peak for me. We’ll go to work and try to get better. But it was pretty relieving to turn the car around.”

Considering Shaw’s fortune earlier in the race, a third-place finish was a best-case scenario. His car lost power and stalled on Lap 123, shortly after the race restarted from a 3-hour weather delay. Shaw’s crew was able to restart the power and get him back on the track in the lead lap. He passed Derek Griffith on turn one of Lap 155 for the lead, holding it until Taylor passed him on lap 224.

“We just came up short on fuel, we just ran out of gas there,” Shaw said. “I was just fortunate to have someone like Trevor (Sanborn) behind me (on the track). I kind of put him in a bad spot behind me and he did the best he could with me. He kept me from getting right in the middle of the pack. I don’t know if that was luck or skill, but I don’t care, it was super lucky for me.

“We charged and charged, and I thought I had a big enough lead there,” Shaw added. “It’s a fine line of saving a big enough lead and doing all that you can to get out there. (The car) just felt a little tight, and Jeff and Bubba were able to chase us down.”

Shaw’s performance should bode well for his lead in the PASS points standings. He entered the day with a 153-point lead over Hallowell driver Johnny Clark at the top of the standings. Clark, who had trouble with his car during the race, finished 39th. Dennis Spencer Jr., who is third in the standings, finished 34th.