Jeff Taylor may be the busiest man in the state of Maine this week.

The Farmington native owns Distance Racing Products in Fairfield and he figures 30 of the 80-90 cars that will try to qualify for the race will have DRP bodies and chassis.

In addition to building and repairing cars, Taylor is preparing for Sunday’s 33rd annual TD Banknorth Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway and is considered one of the favorites.

He is leading the points in the weekly pro stock series at OPS thanks to two feature wins.

“This is the busiest week we have all year [at DRP],” said the 39-year-old Taylor, who added that teams with car problems seek an immediate resolution since the Oxford 250 is on the horizon.

“Everyone has to have it [solved] today. Not tomorrow. Everybody has a problem and we have to fix it or try to,” said Taylor.

He pointed out that the teams are also seeking specialized equipment for the race. Unlike the weekly racing series races, which rarely exceed 50 laps, the Oxford 250 has 250 green-flag laps which will require at least one pit stop.

“We’ll sell all our wheels [rims] and merchandise like gas cans. That’s stuff we never sell [much of] any other time of the year,” said Taylor.

Five Distance Racing Products have won the Oxford 250 over the last 12 years including four of the last five winners: Mike Rowe (2005), Ben Rowe (2003, 2004) and Gary Drew (2001). Derek Lynch drove a DRP car to victory lane in 1994.

Taylor said he hopes all 30 DRP cars qualify for the race Sunday “but the odds of that happening are pretty slim.”

Taylor will drive the same car he piloted to a ninth place finish last year, a 2005 Chevy Monte Carlo.

“It’s my own personal car,” said Taylor.

He figures he has entered 20 Oxford 250s and his best finish occurred in 1995 when he rode home second to Dave Whitlock of Petrolia, Ontario.

He is confident he can be a contender.

“The car has been running well. We’ve got to get it to run well for 250 laps. That’s the key for us. We haven’t run any long races like that. We’ll have a pit stop which is something we don’t do all year long. Hopefully, that will all work out right and we won’t run into anything,” said Taylor.

He will have virtually the same crew he has had since his first 250. His father, Conrad, will be his crew chief.

Taylor feels there are 10 favorites and another five or 10 who have an outside chance.

“It’s the same core group: Mike Rowe, Benji [Rowe], Cassius and Johnny Clark,” said Taylor. “Those guys will be ready. Then you have your Cup drivers. Kyle Busch was obviously good last year.”

Busch led 59 laps last season and appeared to be in position to win but a loose lug nut resulted in a sixth-place finish.

Nextel Cup drivers Busch, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley will be in the field Sunday along with former Cup driver Ricky Craven of Newburgh, the 1991 Oxford 250 winner.

Taylor was mentioned as one of the favorites at the media day on Wednesday but he downplayed it.

“I’ve been picked before and I haven’t won it yet. It doesn’t mean much,” said Taylor.

Cusack hoping for better weather

The auto racing business is dependent upon good weather.

Whereas other outdoor sports can be played in drizzle, you can’t race cars because they don’t have windshield wipers or tread on the racing slicks (tires).

Beech Ridge Motor Speedway owner Andy Cusack said the inclement weather has wiped out “seven or eight” of his various race cards including five NASCAR Saturday night programs.

He also has racing on some Thursday and Friday nights.

But the irritating part is that this is the third year in a row that weather has significantly impacted his track.

“This is pretty unusual in my 20-odd years doing this,” said Cusack. “We’ve seen some bad years but if you have a bad year you usually don’t have another one for five to 10 years.”

He said after a frustrating 2005 season, he figured “There’s no way we’ll have two back-to-back years like that. But it turns out you can. And crowds were off 30 percent in 2004.”

$1,000 to last-chance runner-up

The most disappointed driver at the TD Banknorth Oxford 250 is the one who finishes second in the 50-lap last chance race for those who didn’t qualify in a heat race or a consolation race.

Just the winner of the last-chance race qualifies.

But this year, the second-place finisher in the last-chance race will receive $1,000.

American Racer, the company that supplies tires for the race, is footing the bill in honor of Joe Jacobs, an executive at the company who died recently.

Taylor likes the idea.

“It’s an expensive week for everybody. If you buy 12-20 tires, that’s $2,500-$3,000. This way you’ll get a little back,” said Taylor.