Patience is always required to win the TD Banknorth Oxford 250. It may be even more important than ever this year.

And it isn’t always easy to come by.

In order to just qualify for the race, a driver has to finish in the top three in one of eight heat races. Numbers are drawn for starting spots in the heat races so a driver could start 20th in a 20-lap heat race.

Those who don’t qualify in the heat races get two more chances.

There are four 20-lap consolation races and, again, the top three finishers earn spots in the grid for the 250. Then, if a driver still hasn’t qualified, he has an opportunity in one of four 20-lap last-chance races. But only the four winners qualify from those.

There used to be one 50-lap last-chance race but it has been expanded to four due to the number of entrants, which currently stands at 181 according to Oxford Plains Speedway media coordinator Kalle Oakes.

Adding to the need for patience is the fact Sunday’s 34th annual TD Banknorth Oxford 250 will be a Late Model race for the first time after being a Pro Stock event.

The tires will be narrower, eight inches compared to the 10 inches on a Pro Stock car, and the economical engines won’t have the horsepower of an expensive Pro Stock engine.

“You’ve got to have a lot of patience,” said three-time Oxford 250 winner Mike Rowe of Turner, who took the checkered flag in 1984, 1997 and 2005. “A guy that tries to get out there and go gung-ho right off is going to be in trouble. I don’t think you can hang back too much but you’ve got to be cautious.”

He added that “In Pro Stocks, you’ve got the motor to pull you up through the pack [which you don’t have in Late Models]. You don’t want to be pitting after 100 laps. Track position is going to mean a lot more than usual.”

He also said Late Model racing is “all about momentum. You can’t lose your momentum. If you back off, a couple of guys will go by you.

“It’s going to be survival,” added Rowe.

Two-time winner (1987, ’89) Jamie Aube of Bow, N.H. agreed.

“In Late Model cars, you can’t just jump out and pass cars,” said Aube. “You have to wait for someone to make a little bit of a mistake and take advantage. You don’t need much brake here. You don’t need to do anything radical here. Just keep a nice, smooth momentum going. When you slow down too much, they don’t respond like Pro Stocks or high-powered cars so you’ve got to keep it moving.”

Rowe and Aube are two of six former winners in the field. The others will be Turner’s Ben Rowe (2003, 2004), Dixfield’s Scott Robbins (2002), Dave Whitlock (1995) of Wyoming, Ontario and defending champ Jeremie Whorff of Bath.

In addition, two-time Nextel Cup points champ Terry Labonte (1984, ’96) and veteran Nextel Cup driver Kevin Lepage are also included in the field.

Marc Curtis Jr. of Spencer, Mass., said the rules that accompany Late Model cars “make them so even, you simply can’t outclass the rest of the field [with a faster car]. It’ll take you two or three laps to pass a car that is much slower than yours.”

Curtis also noted that you have to be smart, even if you draw a poor number for the heat race.

He said you have to realize that you probably aren’t going to finish in the top three in the heat race to earn a spot in the 250 so “you fight to get a good spot in the [consolation race]. Otherwise, you could get in over your head and destroy your car trying to be a hero.”

Ben Rowe said he has a “gut feeling the guy who wins it will be a guy you’ve never heard about before.

“If you start up front and stay out of trouble, you’ve got a pretty good shot at it,” said Ben Rowe.

Ben Rowe and dad Mike have a potential dilemma.

Both will be in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, for Saturday night’s IWK 250 Pro All-Stars Series Super Late Model North division race. If it rains out and is pushed back to Sunday, the Rowes could be hard-pressed to get to Oxford.

“I wish they weren’t on the same weekend but that’s how they did it,” said Ben Rowe who listed the IWK 250 as his top priority.

“I’m leading the [PASS North] points so I’m putting all my eggs in that basket,” said Ben Rowe.

Farmington native Jeff Taylor, owner of Distance Racing Products in Fairfield, would drive Ben Rowe’s Richard Moody Racing Monte Carlo in the Oxford 250 if Rowe can’t make it.

Mike Rowe said he will “wait to see what happens” before making a decision.

Strong’s Tracy Gordon is ready to drive Rowe’s car in the Oxford 250 if he can’t make it.

The winner will pocket $25,000 with the second place winner earning $12,500 and the third place driver taking home $7,500. In addition, drivers will receive $100 for every green flag lap they lead.

The four last-chance qualifiers will have the option of pocketing $1,500 if they decide not to run the 250. Last year’s 40th place finisher took home $1,125.

The heat races will begin at 2 p.m. with the 250 tentatively scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start.

Oxford 250

PAST CHAMPIONS

Year, Driver, Earnings

1974 – Joey Kourafas, $4,500

1975 – Dave Dion, $4,500

1976 – Butch Lindley, $6,375

1977 – Don Biederman, $6,000

1978 – Bob Pressley, $7,050

1979 – Tom Rosati, $10,000

1980 – Geoff Bodine, $11,200

1981 – Geoff Bodine, $21,400

1982 – Mike Barry, $16,000

1983 – Tommy Ellis, $21,150

1984 – Mike Rowe, $26,475

1985 – Dave Dion $26,600

1986 – Chuck Bown, $28,950

1987 – Jamie Aube, $31,100

1988 – Dick McCabe, $34,100

1989 – Jamie Aube, $35,075

1990 – Chuck Bown, $51,872

1991 – Ricky Craven, $50,025

1992 – Dave Dion, $37,150

1993 – Junior Hanley, $40,475

1994 – Derek Lynch, $33,975

1995 – Dave Whitlock, $52,150

1996 – Larry Gelinas, $50,000

1997 – Mike Rowe, $39,800

1998 – Ralph Nason, $46,400

1999 – Ralph Nason, $42,700

2000 – Ralph Nason, $31,900

2001 – Gary Drew, $35,400

2002 – Scott Robbins, $36,900

2003 – Ben Rowe, $34,700

2004 – Ben Rowe, $29,700

2005 – Mike Rowe, $26,000

2006 – Jeremie Whorff, $36,600