Qualifying races increase for Oxford 250

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One of the most exciting qualifying races leading up to the TD Banknorth Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway is the last-chance race.

Drivers who don’t qualify by finishing in the top three in the heat races or the consolation races have one more shot to make the field by winning the last-chance race. Only the winner qualifies.

So drivers will do whatever they can to get to the front of the pack, making for a wild and entertaining race.

At this year’s 34th annual TD Banknorth Oxford 250, there will be four last-chance races.

“We have 173 entered right now meaning we’ll have more guys trying to qualify than ever before. So we needed to revamp our qualifying,” OPS owner Bill Ryan said. “This is what we came up with. We think it will work out great. It’ll definitely be exciting.”

The last-chance race used to be a 50-lapper, but because there are four this year, they will each be 20-lappers.

Mike Rowe of Turner won the last-chance race two years ago and went on to capture his third TD Banknorth Oxford 250.

Ryan has been pleased by the number of entries and noted that the “geographic diversity is huge.”

The entrants include drivers from 10 states and three Canadian provinces.

Ryan added that it “wouldn’t surprise me if we hit 200 entries,” and he said if they do, he might have to tweak the qualifying process even more.

“But it wouldn’t be anything major,” said Ryan. “We could handle it.”

The list of entrants includes two-time Nextel Cup points champion Terry Labonte (1984, ’96) and Kevin Lepage, who is the only current Nextel Cup driver from New England (Shelburne, Vt.).

“Fans love to see how these guys run against the local guys,” said Ryan, who chose to move the date of the 250 to a weekend without a Nextel Cup race four years ago. That has paved the way for him being able to land Cup champions Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch along with Cup regulars Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and J.J. Yeley for a 250 or two.

Ryan said they are compiling a list of points championships captured by the 173 entrants, and he said they have won so many of them it’s ridiculous.

“This will definitely be the strongest list of competitors we’ve ever had,” said Ryan.

Several of the entrants will get a tuneup on Saturday night when the Time Warner Cable 100 American-Canadian Tour race will be held at OPS.

There was an earlier ACT race at OPS, the New England Dodge Dealers 150, in April and it attracted 55 entrants.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we had 55 on Saturday,” said Ryan.

The TD Banknorth Oxford 250 will be a Late Model race for the first time since Ryan got rid of the Pro Stock class after last season.

“The whole point of our change was to get on the same page and have the same rules package as the ACT as well as the Canadian version of the ACT and tracks like the Waterford Speedbowl (Conn.), Thunder Road (Vt.), Lee [USA] Speedway [N.H.], and White Mountain Motorsports Park [N.H.],” said Ryan.

He said his weekly Late Model class has been doing very well.

“I think the fewest cars we’ve had was 24,” said Ryan. “It’s been nice. You never know how things are going to go in a transition year.”

Busch East benefits from fire sale

The Nextel Cup series will go full time to the Cars of Tomorrow next season but don’t expect Busch East to alter its body or engine requirements.

Busch East director Lee Roy said that, due to the COTs, “There is going to be a fire sale that has actually already started with the [No.] 110 chassis and bodies.”

That means drivers in lower divisions such as Busch East will be able to purchase the soon-to-be-outlawed Nextel Cup bodies and chassis from the Cup teams for very reasonable prices.

“So you won’t see us make anything mandatory for another number of years. We’ll continue to let the guys pick and choose what they like,” said Roy.

Drivers can use the cheaper spec engines and composite bodies now, but they don’t have to.

Racing plate full this weekend

There is plenty of racing going on at the state’s five stock car tracks this weekend.

It starts tonight at Unity Raceway at 7:30.

The 75-lap Hight Chevrolet Super Street Open will headline a full race card with the winner pocketing $800.

There will also be a fireworks show at 9.

On Saturday, the other four tracks will have racing.

In addition to the Time Warner Cable 100 ACT feature, the weekly classes will also race at OPS.

Speedway 95 in Hermon will feature the half-scale Mini-Cup cars and a 35-lap Sport Four series race on a full slate of racing beginning at 7, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough will have a full card beginning at 6:30, and Wiscasset Raceway will have a 6 p.m. start with a full schedule, including the NELCAR Legends cars.

There will also be racing Saturday and Sunday at Winterport Dragway as part of its 40th anniversary celebration.

That will include the Gassah Guys Reunion race for cars built before 1974 with the old flag starts instead of the current electronic starts.