Ralph Nason

Competitor, Promoter, Track Owner
CLASS OF 2013

Ralph Nason is an icon in the history of Maine motorsports history. The Newburgh, ME native started out in the 1960’s, but it was when he bought, built and competed in the first Chrysler Kit Car from Richard Petty Enterprises in 1974 that he became a household name in the northeast, winning an amazing 23 races that season.

His aggressive driving style was something you either loved or hated. Nason and 7-time Oxford Plains Speedway champion Mike Rowe had a legendary, and at times intense, rivalry during their careers.

Nason won the Oxford 250 three times (1998-2000), and is the only driver in the event’s history to do so in consecutive years. He has six Top 5 finishes and nine Top 10’s in 18 career starts. His career earnings of $187,715 is also an Oxford 250 record.

He was a major force in the old New England Pro Stock Association (NEPSA), earning the series championship in 1996 and 1997, the latter season in which he won 7 of the 14 races he started including 6 in a row. In 6 year existence of NEPSA from 1996-2001, Nason won a record 20 races in 43 starts.

Over his career he made starts on the ACT, NASCAR North Tour, NASCAR Busch North Series, IPSC, PASS and NEPSA circuits. He won on the NASCAR North Tour in 1980 at Thunder Road. He also won a Busch North Series race at Unity Raceway in 1987. Other tracks where he vistied victory lane include Beech Ridge Speedway and Airborne Speedway in NY.

Ralph and his wife Nancy bought Unity Raceway in 1980 and owned it until it closed after 2018. He also briefly owned Spud Speedway in Caribou, ME and the Autodrome Montmagny (Quebec) for a decade before selling it in 2010. Ralph was inducted into the Unity Raceway Hall of Fame in 1982.