TD Banknorth 250 Date Set for Sun., July 20, 2008
Oxford, ME — For the fifth consecutive year, Oxford Plains Speedway has announced that the richest single-day late model stock car race in the region will coincide with an off weekend for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
All qualifying heats, consolation events and the 250 green-flag laps of the main event will be contested on that Sunday.
“We’re excited to celebrate another milestone in the history of the TD Banknorth 250,” said OPS owner Bill Ryan. “Many short track races have come and gone since 1974, but all eyes have turned to Oxford in the month of July for 35 years. That’s an amazing tradition, and we’re thrilled to see more tradition being made in 2008.”
Ninety-seven drivers attempted to qualify for the 2006 edition of the TD Banknorth 250, with drivers converging from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Florida and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
Roger Brown of Lancaster, N.H., joined three-time champion Dave Dion as a winner from the Granite State, holding off OPS weekly competitor Dale Verrill of Paris, Maine, to prevail by less than a car length and take home over $35,000 in purse and lap leader bonus money.
“I came here with my dad to watch the race with my dad when I was a kid,” said Brown, “and I never imagined it was possible to put my name on that list of winners.”
It’s a roll call that includes Dion and fellow three-time champions Mike Rowe and Ralph Nason as well as two-time winners Geoff Bodine, Jamie Aube, Ben Rowe and Chuck Bown and nationally notable competitors such as Butch Lindley, Bob Pressley, Tommy Ellis, Dick McCabe, Ricky Craven, Junior Hanley.
Thanks to the open weekend on the NASCAR docket, multiple Nextel Cup drivers have competed in the TD Banknorth 250 each season since 2004. That delegation includes champions Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Terry Labonte and current Chase for the Championship drivers Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.
“That list of competitors speaks for itself,” said Ryan. “There has been a buzz in the Cup garage about our race ever since Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch entered in 2004. Every winter and spring, it’s exciting to answer the phone and hear who might be interested in giving it a shot.”
First prize in the TD Banknorth 250 remains a stout $25,000, with an additional $100 awarded for every green flag lap led.
TD Banknorth 250 Weekend Presented by New England Dodge Dealers is once again a three-day showcase, with full cards of racing scheduled for Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July 19.
Full details and the complete 2008 schedule are expected to be announced within a matter of weeks.
Sources: Oxford Plains Speedway PR