"If he got by me, it was over," Knight said of Ricky Rolfe. He did, and it was over -- as Rolfe rode off into the sunset to take the 50-lap Late Model feature on Wednesday night at Oxford Plains Speedway. It was Rolfe's 4th consecutive win in Oxford Championship Series competition. A man in a blue windbreaker sitting on a bench just below the press box picked up his seat cushion and made his way for the exit. He knew exactly what everyone else knew, including Shawn Knight, driver of the No. 25 on the track.
"I won 2 in a row a couple of years ago, the first time I drove a Late Model before I started driving Pro Stocks," Rolfe said. "I saw Travis (Adams) win 3 in a row last year, and I never thought I'd do that.
"I knew that Travis was good last year. People said he must be cheating, and I told them, 'No, he's not cheating. He's just found a good setup that works for his car.' Some weeks we were just as fast as he was, but he had all the luck.
"Right now, I seem to be having the luck with a good car."
The rookie Knight held on for 2nd, and Tim Brackett, moonlighting in an Oxford Late Model to prep for the upcoming Oxford 250, was 3rd.
The race was put away on lap 31, after a spirited 7-lap battle set up by a lap 25 restart. Rolfe pulled out to the lead from the outside pole, but Knight kept coming -- and the 2 drivers traded the lead 4 times until Rolfe cleared Knight on lap 32.
That was about the time the man in the blue jacket started packing up and heading for home.
"I'll finish 2nd to Ricky Rolfe any day," Knight said. "He's been doing this a long time, and he's got years of experience behind him. When we've got that many years of experience, maybe we'll start finishing ahead of him then."
Rolfe said there wasn't any magic to the recent run -- only that he's found a new spring setup during his testing efforts with Race Basics, where he works building race cars. He's gladly sharing the information with anyone who will listen.
Problem is, not many people are listening.
"It's not exotic stuff," Rolfe said. "We just hit upon a spring combination that really works out here. I'm telling anyone who'll listen, but they don't believe me.
"It's a setup that feels a little funny in the car, but it really works."
There is good news for the competition, though. Even if Rolfe extends his streak to as many as 6 straight by winning the last two regularly-scheduled 40-lap events before the July 20th TD Banknorth 250, someone else will find victory lane.
Rolfe reiterated that he is not running for the points championship.
"Nope, I'm taking 2 weeks off right after the 250," he said. "I'm taking my wife and kids and we're driving across country."
No doubt with that spring setup in the car with them.
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