As a 7 year old kid growing up in Peconic, NY, Roger J Oxee, or RJ as he's known to his fans and friends, was a regular at Riverhead Raceway watching the action with his parents and getting hooked on what would become a lifetime commitment to racing.  His parents would take him because “basically they could not find a babysitter” as Oxee would put it.  He enjoyed the racing so much that at the age of 27 he found an old figure eight race car in a field one day and turned it into his first race car. "I thought I was hot stuff, but after my first race I quickly found out I was out of my league and decided it was not for me.", said Oxee recently as he sat back and relaxed, reminiscing one afternoon during another off season, his 32nd and possibly last. He has actively hinted that this could be his last season racing at Riverhead Raceway.     

      Oxee would give the racing thing another go, as he was hooked and would come to realize that racing was going to be a life calling.  He started his racing career in 1979 at the very track the he enjoyed attending as a youngster, Riverhead Raceway.  Though his racing would take him to tracks all over, Hudson in New Hampshire, Wall Stadium and Flemington Speedway in New Jersey, Thompson Speedway in Connecticut, Mountain Speedway in Pennsylvania, and Islip Speedway in Islip, he would call Riverhead his home track.  Who knew that the lack of babysitting services in the Peconic area around 1964 would lead to a 32 year career in racing that would see Oxee notch his 60^th win this past season and a track championship in 2005 in the Late Model division.  

Oxee, a father of 3, and soon to be 4, resides in both Carmel and Peconic, NY.  He  has long been known for his immaculately kept race car, and his tough but clean driving on the race track.  In recent years, he has become the voice of resurgence in his beloved Late Model division, as with the falling economy have come falling car counts and the threat of eliminating or reducing the division. This past season saw a surge in Late Model car counts, thanks in some part to Oxee encouraging many new and former drivers to get on the track.   Recently, I had the chance to sit down with Oxee and get a lifetime of perspective of one of the truly old school racers still left in the game.

Finnegan MeGhee: First Roger, congratulations on a tremendous career in racing.  So I have to ask, is this really the last season?

Roger J  Oxee: Perhaps I may have jumped the gun on that one.  I strongly doubt this will be my last season.  Being realistic about it, racing is such a huge part of my life that it is so hard to just walk away from it.  If however, I feel that I cannot be competitive and I feel I can no longer win, then I will let go.

FM: What are some of your other interest away from racing?

RJ: I enjoy both snow and water skiing and I also enjoy model trains.

FM: Who is/was your biggest competitor since you started racing at Riverhead?

RJ: Paul McElearney and Quinn Volgraff.  Paul was so good he could make a wheel barrel go fast.  Quinn was the toughest guy to try and pass that I ever have raced against.

FM: How did you choose your car number and paint color scheme?

RJ: I have raced many different colors but red is personally my favorite color so I always go back to that.  The number 39 is interesting because my original number was 35.  When the Cromarty's bought Riverhead, all the guys coming over from Islip Speedway had first dibs on numbers and a guy named Hank Kramer already had 35.  So I had an old high school football jersey with number 39 and I figured I would switch to that.

FM: Any future goals you want to achieve?

RJ: Of course another Riverhead championship would be nice. But besides that, I would love to win off the Island.  I have had strong runs at other tracks but I have never been able to bring home a checker flag.

FM: What is your favorite track to race outside of Riverhead?

RJ: Wall Stadium in New Jersey.  It is just a really fun track.

FM: Do you have a most memorable or favorite win?

RJ: Two.  The night I won, the day after we buried my mom.  She was and still is my biggest supporter.  I felt like she was riding with me that night.  When I crossed the finish line there were tears flowing down my face.  I took the lead on lap 31 and never looked back that night.  I really did not even want to do an interview in victory lane, as I did not think I could compose myself.  Basically, after I got out of the car, all I could say is “This is for my mom.”  The second was a personal thing for me because I always felt I wanted to win and lose by the rules.  One week, after a race, my integrity was brought into question when the rules official said my tires were too soft.  I know for a fact that those tires were not altered.  I took the penalty of $500 and being required to start from the rear and drove my you know what off to get to the front and won the race.  What most do not know is that immediately after the race, I had to be helped out of the car and taken to an ambulance.  They hooked me up to an IV as I had an irregular heart beat and strep throat.  The car was inspected and deemed completely legal.  

FM: Do you have any mentors or any other driver you looked up to?

RJ: Robin Vollmoeller is my hero (laughs).  I actually say that to him to this very day, every time I see him.  Growing up watching him race I was just in awe of how good he was.  Funny story though.  Before I started racing I actually stalked him (laughs again).  I found out where he worked and went there one day and asked him a whole bunch of questions about racing.  He probably thought I was nuts (and a final laugh).

FM: How will you want people to talk about you as a race driver?

RJ: First word that comes to my mind is “clean driver.”  I know there are times my crew would like me not to be, but I take pride in my driving and knowing that if I beat you, I did it fair and square.

As Oxee prepares his race car for another Late Model season at Riverhead Raceway, there are two things we can depend upon.  He will have one of the best looking race cars on the track, and if he is passing someone, we know he has done it very cleanly.

For comments, questions, and thoughts please email: Finmcghee@yahoo.com

(photo from Roger Oxee's Facebook page)