By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

OXFORD – When word got out that Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch were going to be part of last year’s TD Banknorth 250, the phones were ringing off the hook at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Owner Bill Ryan Jr. recalls taking ticket orders from people who didn’t even know when the race was or where the track was located.

“It was people from all over the state of Maine that were television race fans,” said Ryan. “There’s a lot of race fans that begin and end with the Nextel Cup. We got a lot of those kinds of fans to the race last year.”

The significant swell in interest has helped revitalize the 250 and produced the first sellout crowd in ages.

“I had the same kind of crowd last year that Bob Bahre had when he was there,” Ryan said of the former owner. “Bob said last year, What did you have?’ I said About 13,000.’ He said That’s as good as I ever did.’ So it’s as big as it’s ever been in terms of fan attendance.”

Prior to last year, the 250 had been drawing about 10,000. In the late 1990s, the attendance was even lower.

“At one point, it was down around 7,000,” said Ryan. “What we have now is almost double what it was.”

An obvious catalyst has been attracting names like Kenseth and Busch. Kenseth returns this year and Kyle Busch is racing in place of his brother. Ryan said last year the interest was so great that people had to be turned away.

Ryan expects a similar crowd Sunday. Ticket sales remained brisk Saturday and could help push Sunday’s gate closer to another sellout. Remaining tickets go on sale at the Speedway at 10 a.m. Primarily, only seats in the first 10 rows, the $30 tickets, remain.

“The TD Banknorth 250 has always been a huge race, but we’ve taken it up a couple of notches last year and this year,” said Ryan. “We kind of went back to its roots, where you have these invaders’ come in from the top series and race with the local stars. That’s kind of got it back to where it was in the late 80s and before that. People want to see how their favorite drivers from the Nextel Cup series fare against their favorite drivers from New England.”

Getting the message

Kyle Busch left his fellow Nextel Cup driver a message Saturday.

Busch was at OPS for practice, but Matt Kenseth won’t arrive until Sunday. So Busch scribbled a greeting on the top of the white No. 17 AAA Insurance Chevrolet that Kenseth will drive Sunday.

He wrote “Hi!” and then signed his name in black marker.

Busch, who tested his SP2 Motorsports Lux Enterprises Chevrolet Monte Carlo on Tuesday, got another try at the track Saturday.

He used Tuesday’s test runs determine what adjustments he wanted to make during Saturday’s practice runs.

“We want to be able to have the car turn with the front and when you step on the gas, you want to have it biting with the rear,” said Busch. “We’re trying to get that all situated out.”

This time he had traffic and was able to follow the car of teammate Mike Rowe around the track. Though Rowe’s car had some kinks to be worked out, Busch got increasingly more comfortable with his car and the track.

“We’re definitely making headway and making progress,” said Busch. “We’ve been running some pretty decent lap times. I’m not sure how the rest of the field stacks up to us, but from what I hear, we’re pretty stout, and we’re looking pretty good.”

Kenseth’s car also got a workout Saturday. Jeremie Whorff pulled double duty, testing his own wheels and doing some practice runs in Kenseth’s car.

“We took it out yesterday and it went real good,” said Whorff, who along with his father, Bill Whorff Jr., tested the car. “It was pretty competitive with the rest of the cars.”

Racin’ again

After skipping last year’s 250, three-time champion Ralph Nason hopes to make a return. Nason, who runs the track in Unity and St. Pierre-Montmagny, Quebec, says he was just too busy to race last year.

“I just didn’t have any time to get a car ready,” said Nason. “Last year, I absolutely had no time.”

Nason was ninth in his last 250 in 2002 and was third in 2003. Nason is the only driver to win the 250 three straight years, 1998-2000. Nason also has the most career earnings in the race, accumulating $187,715.

He admits he didn’t really miss not participating in the race last year.

“I just didn’t have the time to think about it,” he said. “But this year, the boys wanted to go.”

Nason will be driving a Hight Chevrolet. He said he’s driven it nearly half a dozen times this year and battled some engine trouble. Knowing how difficult it is to maneuver on the Oxford oval, Nason is anxious to see how the race unfolds Sunday.

“My car’s pretty good,” he said. “We’re probably not the fastest car on the planet, but we can step on the gas, we can turn it and can run reasonably quick.”

Take it to the Banknorth

An estimate 75 drivers will make up the field hoping to qualify Sunday.

While he had a provisional spot in last year’s race, neither Kenseth nor Kyle Busch have guarantees at this point.

The only provisionals go to Travis Adams, last weekend’s Late Model Stock winner; Ben Rowe, the recent 250 champ, and the current points leader for the OPS Weekly Racing Series.

“But I also don’t want to get burned in effigy,” said Ryan. “So you might see them (Busch and Kenseth) in the race.”