Former NASCAR driver Austin Theriault will race in the Oxford 250

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Austin Theriault poses with his trophy after winning a race during the ARCA Series in 2017. The Fort Kent native returns to Maine next week to race in the Pro All Star North Spud 150 Series at his old track, Spud Speedway in Caribou. (Courtesy of Jay Alley @alleygroup)

Austin Theriault poses with his trophy after winning a race during the ARCA Series in 2017. The Fort Kent native returns to Maine next week to race in the Pro All Star North Spud 150 Series at his old track, Spud Speedway in Caribou. (Courtesy of Jay Alley @alleygroup)

Fort Kent native and former NASCAR racer Austin Theriault is gearing up to return to the racetrack in late August. Theriault, through a partnership with the Travis Mills Foundation and Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, will race the 50th annual Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway on August 27.

FORT KENT, Maine — Fort Kent native and former NASCAR racer Austin Theriault is gearing up to return to the racetrack in late August.

Theriault, through a partnership with the Travis Mills Foundation and Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, will race the 50th annual Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway on August 27.

The upcoming race marks Thériault’s first time on the track since 2019 when he competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. With a seating capacity of 14,000, Oxford is the largest spectator facility in the state.

Thériault took time off after his last race at Talladega Speedway for a NASCAR Cup in 2019, when he was injured.

He said he also suffered a serious back injury in 2015 in an accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. At the time, he said the course had no SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers. He said the damage to his back in 2015 was likely compounded following the 2019 crash.

“Running is an inherently dangerous sport,” he said. “We can never guarantee that we are not going to put ourselves in danger. But it sure is exciting.

And now he’s excited to get back behind the wheel and help support the Travis Mills Foundation.

Travis Mills lost all four limbs in 2012 while serving in Afghanistan. But a year later, Mills started the nonprofit foundation with his wife Kelsey to help veterans who served after Sept. 11, 2001, and who were injured while on active duty or as a result of their service.

“We are thrilled to once again partner with Austin and his team as he highlights the incredible work our foundation is doing to help recalibrated veterans and their families,” Mills said in the press release.

And while Theriault has no long-term plans to return to racing, he said he would like to continue working with Mills through his AT Racing Development organization. Thanks to this organization, Thériault consults and supervises young runners.

“As these up-and-coming drivers move up the ranks and become more popular, if we can promote Travis, we definitely will,” he said. “It’s a conversation I’ve had with them before. We just have to figure out how to make the timing work.
Thériault made his track debut as a teenager at Spud’s Speedway in Caribou. From there, he quickly rose through the ranks to race on some of NASCAR’s biggest tracks. Thériault currently works as a sports business consultant. He is also the Maine State Representative for District 1.

Doors open at 9 a.m. on August 27 and racing begins at 1:30 p.m.

“We wish him well as he competes in Maine’s greatest race,” Mills said.