OXFORD – Scott Robbins of Dixfield felt like a celebrity Sunday afternoon as hordes of people filtered past his black No. 72 RoweAuburn.com Ford in the pit area at the TD Banknorth 250.
“I told my crew I should stand out here with my pen,” Robbins said with a laugh. “I don’t know that anyone will want me to sign anything, though.”
Robbins’ car was located one stall away from two of the four Nextel Cup drivers entered in the 250 on Sunday.
“The biggest thing is trying to get in here without hitting anybody,” Robbins said. “You feel like you’re going to run somebody over. This is the third year we’ve had the big guys here and every year, the last two years anyway, Kenseth has been right here, so we’re kind of used to it by now.”
Across the way, Ricky Craven, a Maine native and former full-time driver on NASCAR’s senior circuit, drew perhaps the biggest crowds during pre-race practice sessions. Next to him, Scott Chubbuck of Brunswick prepared his No. 29x Cushman Competition car.
“There’s been a lot of people filtering in and out,” Chubbuck said. “But, they’re paying their 50 bucks, so they should be able to see what they want to see.”
Chubbuck’s biggest concern had little to do with any intrusion the extra attention might cause, and more about the effect the big-name drivers might have on the makeup of the race.
“That’s how it helps, with the extra fans,” said Chubbuck, “but as long as they don’t take spots away from guys that come here and try to qualify, we’ll be all set.”
At the far end of the pit area, close to the track entrance, Denny Hamlin drove his No. 11 Paperchine into a stall next to 19-year-old T.J. Watson Jr. of Harpswell. Hamlin also had plenty of spectators following his every move, which meant some extra attention for Watson.
“It is getting pretty busy down here,” Watson said. “Sometimes it’s been hard to get into my own pit, but that’s O.K.”
Watson recognized, too, the opportunity having Hamlin, Craven, Kyle Busch and J.J. Yeley in the TD Banknorth 250.
“It’s great because everyone just comes together,” Watson said. “Where else am I going to get a chance to run with J.J. Yeley, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and all those guys, you know? (Saturday) night I got a chance to race with Ben Rowe and we battled all night. It’s just an an exciting weekend for me, racing against guys I grew up watching.”
Robbins agreed, saying that although it got a bit more hectic being around Yeley and Busch in the pits, the atmosphere fit the importance of the race.
“You almost feel like you’re racing in the Cup series or something,” Robbins said. “You look over, and people are getting autographs. It’s fun. It doesn’t disrupt us too much, and we don’t let it bother us. We’re here to win the race, and we try not to take away from that.”
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