The old-fashioned Maine winter has created some minor inconveniences and an alteration or two for owners of the state’s six stock car racing tracks.

But they are taking things in stride.

Andy Cusack, owner of Scarborough’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, said the snowy and uncompromisingly long winter is a drop in the bucket compared to the frustration he experienced last summer when rain at inopportune times significantly cut into attendance.

“It was absolutely the worst summer, weather-wise, we’ve had in the 21 years we’ve operated the speedway,” said Cusack. “It was terrible. There might have been [only] three or four events when we had a nice day all day. I spent most of my time looking at the Weather Channel radar on computer to see if we could get the event in.

“Conventional wisdom of Mainers would say we got most of our precipitation this winter so, if all goes well, we’ll have a decent, dry, enjoyable summer for a change,” added the optimistic Cusack.

Cusack has his first practice scheduled for Saturday, April 14, but that is up in the air. He said he will make a decision next Thursday.

“We’re waiting to see what God is doing for work the next few days,” added Cusack, whose first scheduled racing date is Sunday, April 22.

Another practice date is scheduled April 21.

“I’m pretty confident. We should be in good shape by then. Winter can’t last much longer,” said Cusack.

Bobby Walker, media director at Oxford Plains Speedway, said they have rescheduled one of their Dodge Dealers races, a 100-lapper, from April 29 to June 3. It is the first of a three-race series that includes the True Value Oxford 250.

“The snow cover has the potential to move the dates of several other [significant] races in New England,” said Walker, adding they would like to avoid going head-to-head against some of those rescheduled races.

“June 3rd seems to be a wide-open weekend for everybody,” said Walker.

The first weekly race card at Oxford Plains is planned for April 22.

If it isn’t feasible, April 29 would be available.

Wiscasset Raceway was scheduled to open for racing Saturday but the snow has pushed it back a week to the following Saturday, April 14.

“The snow has been melting off really good and we’re supposed to get several more nice days and some rain,” said Wiscasset general manager Sandra St. Clair. “There shouldn’t be any problem [opening on the 14th].”

Unity Raceway general manager Brent Hutchins said the snow has prevented him from completing his schedule.

“We might be a week or two late. But there’s no frost in the ground so once the snow starts going, it’s going to disperse [quickly],” said Hutchins.

Hutchins is planning to open “the middle to the end of May.”

Del Merritt, the co-owner of Hermon’s Speedway 95, said, “We still have three feet of snow out there but we’ve been using a big snowblower on the back of my tractor and a backhoe on it the last couple of days to open things up and it’s running real good out there today. It’s running like a river.”

Merritt has testing and tuning scheduled for April 28 and the first race card is slated for May 6.

He is optimistic about testing and tuning “but I’m more concerned about whether or not the parking lot will be dry on May 6.”

The parking lot at Speedway 95 isn’t paved.

Ralph Nason, who owns Unity Raceway, Spud Speedway in Caribou and Autodrome Montmagny in Quebec said Spud Speedway’s status is up in the air.

“We’ve got two or three people who have expressed interest in renting it,” said Nason.

In other news, Morrill’s Travis Benjamin has gained a sponsor.

Irving Oil Corporation will sponsor the No. 93 Irving Oil Ford Taurus in at least eight Busch North races this season.

He will run three Busch North races at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, three more at Beech Ridge and one apiece at Lee USA Speedway (N.H.) and Thunder Road International Speedway (Vt.).