OXFORD – Turner’s Mike Rowe needed to win the last-chance 50-lap hooligan race to earn a spot in the Oxford TD Banknorth 250. He started 37th.

But Rowe maneuvered his way to the front, passed Farmingdale’s Johnny Clark with 10 laps left remaining and comfortably held off the challenges of Clark and New Sharon’s Nick Nichols to win his 150th career race at Oxford Plains Speedway in the 32nd annual TD Banknorth 250.

Rowe won his third Oxford TD Banknorth 250 by eight car-lengths over Clark. Nichols finished third followed by Hollis’ Richie Dearborn and Scott Robbins of Dixfield.

Kyle Busch, who leads the Nextel Cup rookies in points, was sixth after starting 28th. Rounding out the top 10 were Alan Wilson of Hebron, pole-sitter Stan Meserve of Mooresville, N.C., Jeff Taylor of Norridgwock and Andy Shaw of Center Conway, N.H.

Matt Kenseth, the 2003 Nextel Cup points champ, finished 16th after starting 32nd and defending two-time champ Ben Rowe finished 28th after completing just 196 laps.

The race boiled down to a 26-lap sprint to the finish.

Anson’s Scott Moore spun on the back stretch and that created the caution that led to a lap 224 caution.

Hallowell’s Clark was the leader on the restart followed by Nichols and Rowe.

Rowe slipped past Nichols on the faster inside groove to take second on lap 238 and, two laps later, he did the same thing to pass Clark, who slid up the track slightly.

“I knew there would be a caution at the end and I did not want it,” said Clark. “I bounced off the curb coming off turn four and when you hit the curb, it shoots you to the outside of the track. It was enough to throw me down into the marbles under the flag stand.

“I was in no man’s land at that point and that was enough to get Mike to my rear bumper and as soon as he got to my rear bumper, it knew it was over. I tried to catch back up to him and see if I could get back under him but I could barely even hang with him,” said Clark.

“[Clark] kind of got up there a little bit and opened the door for me and I just filled the hole real quick,” said the 54-year-old Rowe, who credited crew chief Seth Holbrook for a making a pivotal decision to have him pit for four new tires with 59 laps remaining.

“That was the key,” said Rowe. “We started around 18th or 19th and I just had to drive the tires right off the car then.

“We got around the lapped traffic. I knew Johnny and Nichols were going good. So I had to pace myself so hopefully I could catch them. That yellow helped me at the end. I don’t know as I would have caught Johnny [without it].”

“I knew Mike had better tires,” said Clark, who made his only tire change on lap 80. “I wanted to pit but the guys [in my crew] didn’t want me to pit. I’m glad we didn’t. If it just hadn’t been for that caution at the end.”

Rowe said this was the “hardest” Oxford 250 he has won because he had to win the hooligan race after failing to qualify in the 20-lap heat race and 20-lap consolation race.

“I probably put on more laps than anybody today,” said Rowe.

Clark had started 24th, one place behind Nichols.

Nichols said he knew he wouldn’t be able to catch Rowe after Rowe passed him.

“Mike definitely had the fastest car. Mike has had the fastest car all weekend. He’s the class of the field. They said he was coming, he had the tires and stuff. Hey, I’m happy with third,” said Nichols. “I couldn’t get around Johnny and he couldn’t pull away from me. We were pretty even.

Nichols has been in the U.S. Coast Guard for 15 years and is currently stationed in Boothbay Harbor.

“Our car was fast. Scott Fraser built us an awesome car. He’s the man,” said Nichols, who had run a few other Oxford 250s but had never finished one.

He was running his first race of the season.

Twenty-year-old Busch, who leads all rookies in the Nextel Cup points race, finished sixth after starting 28th.

He was leading with 59 laps to go but pitted and had to come into the pits a second time. He didn’t have enough time to get back to the front.

Busch maneuvered his way brilliantly through the field to take the lead for the first time on lap 77. He primarily used the faster inside groove but also proved he could pass on the outside.

He pitted for the first time on a lap-80 caution and went on to pick off one car after another. Several other contenders pitted on lap 109 after Travis Benjamin’s car caught on fire.

Busch was second on the restart and, two cautions later, he sailed inside Hallowell’s Johnny Clark to capture the lead again.

He pulled away from Clark and the rest of the field before pitting on lap 191.

?This was the hardest 250 I?ve ever won,? said Rowe in Victory Lane right after the race.

Defending two-time champ Ben Rowe had car trouble and dropped out at lap 196.