OXFORD – Hard to believe that seven straight True Value 250 weekends have unfolded without the influence of promoter Tom Curley.

Vermont-based Curley was race director of the midseason gem during its NASCAR heyday of the early 1980s, then became a spectator following an acrimonious split with the sanctioning body.

He returned with his American-Canadian Tour in 1993, bringing local and regional Pro Stock drivers back into the mix and essentially saving the race from extinction. That coincided with a three-year run as Oxford Plains Speedway promoter.

Then came another messy divorce, this time from then-OPS owner Michael Liberty.

Fans and drivers in the Green Mountain State soon saw Curley reinvent himself once more, as he resurrected ACT as a lower-cost, highly competitive Late Model Sportsman division known as the ACT Dodge Tour.

After two previous return engagements at OPS and an expansion into southern New England, Curley and ACT again are poised to share the largest short track racing stage in the region.

Curley’s not a factor in Sunday’s high-profile event, but his ACT Dodge Tour is the centerpiece of Saturday’s supporting race program. Qualifying begins at 6 p.m.

“Anybody who loves New England short track racing is going to see a double whammy this weekend, really,” said OPS owner Bill Ryan. “It’s really a growing tour and an added attraction to the weekend that stands on its own as an event.”

Ryan already has scheduled ACT for a follow-up appearance on Saturday, August 2.

Adding flavor to this week’s 100-lap showdown is one of the same story lines that make the True Value 250 so intriguing: invaders vs. local favorites.

With a few modifications to their cars, Oxford’s Late Model Stock drivers are permitted to challenge the barnstormers. In recent confrontations, challenge, they have.

Both previous ACT Dodge Tour races at OPS went to the eventual Oxford track champion. Ryan Moore won the event in 2001 before spending one year with ACT, and he’s now in the top five in NASCAR Busch North Series points. Ricky Rolfe outdueled tour standout Phil Scott to win the 2002 encounter.

“Ricky is now in the top three in points in our Pro Stock division,” Ryan said.

With Rolfe racing for the top prize in Sunday night’s main event, OPS turns to Ron Henry, Travis Adams, Jerry Harrison, Shawn Martin and David Raymond as its top challengers. Chris Bowie finished fourth in last summer’s race, and Buddy Leavitt already has a 100-lap win on his resume this season.

There’s also a driver with allegiances on both sides of the mountains. John Donahue makes the eight-hour round trip weekly from Graniteville, Vt., to race at Oxford. The former ACT Dodge Tour campaigner is seventh in weekly points with three top-five finishes.

“I’m looking forward to that race,” said Donahue. “There a lot of great memories for me over there.”

Donahue, who gained valuable long-race experience by racing with Oxford’s Strictly Stock class for two seasons, finished second in a Memorial Day weekend ACT Dodge Tour event at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt., last year.

Adding to the urgency for ACT Dodge Tour regulars in this seventh event of the season is the $5,000 share of the midseason point fund ticketed for the series leader at the end of the night. Brent Dragon leads Scott Dragon by six points in the standings, and Brent brings a two-race winning streak into the proceedings.

Jean-Paul Cyr also has a pair of 2003 victories, with Scott Dragon and Pete Fecteau claiming one apiece.

The winner’s share for the race itself is $2,000.

Curley’s concept of a no-frills, low-budget Late Model division is gaining momentum throughout New England as several prominent tracks have adopted similar rules for their weekly LMS or Limited class.

This won’t be first ACT Dodge Tour event on True Value weekend at OPS. Curley made his upstart division the primary support race on the eve of the 250 in 1995. Gary Caron claimed an unpopular victory after a late-race skirmish with local standout Doug Averill.

Curley’s departure from OPS didn’t cost the local Late Models their platform. Liberty and then Ryan maintained the tradition of an LMS special on 250 weekend, with the winner earning a provisional starting spot in Sunday’s main event.

This year that berth, contingent upon the driver making every available attempt to qualify on his own merit in the heat races, will go to the top-finishing OPS regular in the 100.

“That’s a great tradition. It’s a tradition that some of the Pro Stock drivers might like to kill me for, but it’s one that will continue,” Ryan said.

Frank Snow and Dennis Spencer Jr. each parlayed the LMS provisional into a top-20 finish in the 250. Rolfe, Henry Hudson III, Mark Verrill and Ricky Morse also have transferred from past LMS preliminaries.

[email protected]