OXFORD – He has celebrated with his crewmates in Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway four times. Other Victory Lane celebrations have come at renowned tracks like Michigan, Martinsville and Atlanta.

He hopes to someday add Daytona and the famed Brickyard at Indianapolis to that illustrious list.

But despite all that Harrison native Scott St. John has achieved in NASCAR’s premier division, the failure to be part of the winning team at a race on a small oval close to his boyhood home still gnaws at his soul.

Ever since he first worked the concession stands at Oxford Plains Speedway as a youth, St. John has dreamed of winning what is now known as the Banknorth 250.

“The 250 was one race that we never shined in,” St. John said last month while visiting the Oxford speedway. “It always stuck with me.”

When he departed for NASCAR’s greener pastures seven years ago, St. John thought the dream was over. But the lure of the 250 never left.

As the longest-serving member of Nextel Cup driver Kurt Busch’s team, St. John loved to tell them tales about his favorite race back home and the endless parade of NASCAR’s top drivers who swapped paint with Maine’s best racers.

St. John, Busch’s business manager, was startled when he first looked at the 2004 Nextel Cup schedule. For the first time since he went to work in NASCAR, no race was scheduled the same weekend as the 250.

“When I realized that the schedule opened up for us to have the weekend off, I said Let’s go try that.’ And Kurt said he would,” St. John said.

The decision was an easy one for Busch. He had met Tim Brackett and rest of St. John’s former team several times. Busch, 25, warmly remembers his early days in the sport and loves every opportunity he can get to return to his roots.

“I’ve heard a lot about this event over the years,” said Busch. “Scott knew people in the area to get us a good car. It all just came together. We’re going to go have some fun.”

“Scott called me in January,” said Brackett. “He said, Ever since we ran the 250 I always wanted to do this again.’ He said Kurt would really get a charge out of how serious we took this race.

“It’s really going to be a fun deal for him.”

St. John was born in Harrison and attended school in Lisbon. His second home, though, was Oxford Plains Speedway. He worked at a popcorn stand, he swept the race track and later worked security as a member of the Oxford police force. He eventually hooked up with Brackett and joined his pit crew.

“He was always ready to go,” Brackett recalled. “Always ready to go to the next race and put in the time it took to get it ready. He’s a real good guy.”

After several seasons with Brackett, St. John decided to seek a full-time job in auto racing and moved to Charlotte, N.C. He was hired by Ricky Craven and worked a couple of years with the Maine driver.

After Craven switched teams, St. John joined the No. 97 car, driven at the time by Chad Little. But with Little struggling, team owner Jack Roush replaced him with Busch, who drove the final six races in 2000 before taking over the ride full time in 2001. St. John is the lone holdover from Little’s tenure.

His role now as business manager has him juggling many tasks for his boss. The majority of his time is spent selling Busch’s face to sponsors.

“I’m the last line of defense for people trying to get part of Kurt Busch,” he said. “I negotiate his fees, I work his schedule, approve his contracts.

“We have a great relationship. He counts on me a lot for advice. He knows I shoot him straight and trusts my input. I try to keep things professional and moving forward and keeping him focused.”

Focused enough to perhaps give St. John that elusive trip to Victory Lane in Maine’s premier race.