Sylas Ripley Looking for Big Year at Oxford Plains and Beyond

Sylas Ripley made a splash in his rookie Super Late Model season in 2024. This year, he hopes to build on that and establish himself as a contender in the Northeast and beyond.

Ripley won as a rookie in Oxford Plains Speedway’s Super Late Model division last year, going to victory lane at just 14 years old.

Oxford Plains opens its 2025 season with a Super Late Model doubleheader, including the Oxford Championship Series and the Pro All Stars Series on Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27.

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Ripley hopes to carry some of that momentum from last year into opening weekend.

“I think we’re going to have a really good piece for this weekend,” Ripley told Racing America.”It’s opening weekend, which is always a good thing in Maine since we have such a long offseason. I’m looking forward to it.”

A trio of marquee races on Oxford Plains’ schedule for 2025 in the newly-formed Oxford Crown Jewel Triple Crown. The inaugural Memorial Day Clash 200 joins the Celebration of America 300 and Oxford 250 for the Triple Crown.

He also hopes to continue traveling south and broadening his racing horizons. Ripley made his debut in the Allen Turner Snowflake 100 last year and finished in the top five in this year’s Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway.

“I’m doing some weekly stuff leading up to the Oxford 250 and the other prestigious races there,” said Ripley. “All of the PASS races except for a few. We’re going to go down south and race some races down there with some different teams.”

Those travels south have helped develop Ripley’s skill set, tackling a variety of tracks and learning how to attack them.

“It helped me a lot because going back to Oxford, you want a different driving style from all these other tracks. I wanted to diagnose the car better. Working with so many different setups now, rather than just one.”

Of course, few tracks are as challenging as his home track of Oxford Plains. The 3/8-mile oval can vary wildly based on weather, and requires constant focus with its short, wide straights and long, sweeping corners that almost make it a circle.

“The track’s really weather-dependent,” said Ripley. “Your team has to be on their game at all times just to be ready for any sort of change. One cloud can change the whole week. It’s a really unique track, because it’s got zero bank down the straightaways. Towards the top of the track down the straight, it’s got negative banking. It’s really a unique track. You don’t see any other tracks like that in the country.”

Ripley garnered attention with a top-five finish in the Oxford 250 last year. Making his first attempt in the prestigious event, he entered with measured expectations but proved he could compete with some of the best short track racers in the country.

“It was a really great feeling,” said Ripley. “That was my rookie season in the Super Late Models. We were really just hoping to make the show. We’ve seen Stephen Nasse come up and not even make the show.

“We’ve seen Bubba Pollard come up here and struggle there. We knew we had our work cut out just to get in the show and get a top-15 or something. We had a really good heat race run. I felt we had a car that could get a top five. The rain really helped us. We had a really good pit strategy to wait until after the rain so our tires didn’t harden up.”

Ripley has lofty goals for the 2025 season. He wants to add to his win collection, including a first PASS win as well as winning away from home.

“I want to win a few PASS races and win a race or two down south. I want to show we belong to be up front in these races.”

However, he also has sights set on the Oxford Crown Jewel Triple Crown, hoping to impress in that trio of events.

“I really think we’re going to have a shot at this Triple Crown series,” said Ripley. “That’s my main goal, to focus on these three races coming up, the Clash, the Celebration of America and the Oxford 250. Those are the three races I’m focused on for Oxford. Everything else is leading up to those races.

“The Oxford 250 is one of the biggest races in the country. Nobody gives it as much notice, but I think this year it will get more notice with these Triple Crown races.

“A lot more stuff’s going on up there. The facility’s improving. It’s just a really good facility. Tom and everyone does a really good job of promoting and stuff. I think the Triple Crown Series is going to be a big deal for us northern guys and some guys who are going to travel up here, and travel down from Canada.”

Fans can watch both the Oxford Championship Series on Saturday and the PASS Super Late Models on Sunday on RacingAmerica.TV. Click here to subscribe today.

-Photo credit: Will Bellamy