The 33rd annual TD Banknorth Oxford 250 was another success and Oxford Plains Speedway owner Bill Ryan will be poised by the phone when the 2007 Nextel Cup schedule is released in the fall.

Once it is released, he’ll set the date for the TD Banknorth 250 and begin trying to attract more Cup drivers for it.

When the Nextel Cup schedule included an off-weekend in July 2004, Ryan decided to schedule the 250 for that weekend in hopes of attracting a Nextel Cup driver or two.

He landed Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch, the points champions in 2003 and 2004, respectively, for the 2004 race.

Last year, Kenseth returned with Kyle Busch, Kurt’s younger brother. Kurt Busch had a previous commitment.

Last weekend, Kyle Busch made his way back to OPS with former 250 winner Ricky Craven, who was making his first appearance since 1992, and first-timers Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley.

“All the fans were entertained by Kyle. He did a great job. J.J., Denny and Ricky enjoyed themselves and showed flashes of brilliance and flashes that weren’t so brilliant,” said Ryan. “I’m assuming Nextel Cup will have another off-weekend somewhere between the beginning of July to mid-August and that’s when we’ll schedule the race.”

Busch blew an engine while trying to pass eventual winner Jeremie Whorff of West Bath for the lead and finished 22nd.

Yeley finished 29th, Craven 32nd and Hamlin 36th. None of them qualified in the heat races so they were given provisionals. They were all involved in wrecks either in the heat races or feature.

Bill Whorff Jr. of Harpswell finished second to his son, marking the first time a son and a father have claimed the top two spots.

The father-son tandem of Mike and Ben Rowe of Turner have combined to win five Oxford 250s but they have never finished one-two.

The TD Banknorth Oxford 250 drew another crowd in the vicinity of 13,000, which is capacity at Oxford Plains Speedway.

“I was real happy with how it went. It ran later than it has under my tenure but you get those nights [once in a while]. Most of the lateness was due to the heat races,” said Ryan, who has owned the track for eight years.

The TD Banknorth Oxford 250 usually starts between 6:30 and 7 p.m. but there were several wrecks in the nine heat races (including the consolation races and last-chance race) so the green flag didn’t drop until around 8:15. There also were some OPS weekly racing features interspersed among the Oxford 250 heat races.

Jeremie Whorff took the checkered flag around 10 p.m.

Ryan said the Nextel Cup drivers don’t receive appearance fees to run in the 250.

“They come up because they enjoy coming up. I help out in making their arrangements and in hooking them up with teams,” said Ryan.

Merritt keeps them guessing

When drivers take the track for Wacky Wednesday racing at Hermon’s Speedway 95, they aren’t sure whether the race is going to be run counter-clockwise, which is the norm, or clockwise.

Speedway 95 co-owner Del Merritt said he doesn’t tell them until just before the race to prevent them from cheating.

He polls fans to see which way they would like the race to be run.

“We want to make sure they’re legal. If they’re legal, they should be able to run either way. We want them driving a straight-up car,” said Merritt. “We want them to be able to run either way in an inexpensive car. We want it to be fun and exciting. That’s what it’s designed for.

“You’ve got to keep in mind that a lot of the people who build these cars are mechanics or work at garages so they know how to push the rules,” added Merritt.

He said he won’t have them drive clockwise after the track’s lights are turned on because the lights shine in the drivers’ eyes.

Cars set up to run one particular way won’t run well the opposite way.

“You can pick out the people [who doctored their cars] real quick,” said Merritt.

He said they are allowed a small wheel tilt and can buff [smooth over] their street-legal tires.

“But I think we’re going to remove those [allowances] next year,” said Merritt.

In other Speedway 95 news, Merritt said the cost reduction for the Saturday night races for the last five weeks has been highly successful.

Fans have to pay just $5 for Saturday night racing, the same as Wacky Wednesday, instead of the $10 they used to have to pay.

“Attendance has gone way up, 50 to 60 percent,” said Merritt.

Wiscasset race cancelled

Saturday night’s race program at Wiscasset Raceway has been cancelled due to the death of Wayne St. Clair, brother of track owner Dave St. Clair.

The St. Clair family has owned the track for 17 years and Wayne St. Clair volunteered at the track.

Cherryfield’s Andy Santerre, the four-time defending Busch North points champion, was scheduled to run in Saturday night’s Late Model Sportsman race at the raceway.