OXFORD – Maine is where tourists flock to relax, refresh and recreate. So when Kevin Harvick had his pick for a vacation this weekend, he chose Vacationland.

The California native didn’t select Maine for its beaches, its camping or its scenery. He chose it for its racing. You see, Harvick’s idea of having fun while on break from his Sprint Cup schedule is to race.

“It’s got to be fun,” Harvick said. “It’s an off weekend from my normal job. That’s the first priority, to have fun. The second priority is to make sure that we’re at least competitive, but fun is the most important thing.”

Weather rained on that parade this weekend for Harvick. The Portland Sea Dogs game he hoped to attend Friday was washed out, and Sunday’s 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway was delayed because of rain.

“We’ve had some trouble with the weather,” said Harvick, whose practice session Friday was also interrupted by a thunderstorm.

As the Sunday morning practice sessions were rained out, Harvick and his team had nothing to do but be anxious like any other Maine summer visitor.

“Hurry up and wait,” said Harvick, just prior to drawing No. 65 during a meeting to determine starting positions. That put him third in his heat race.

The weather actually made things slightly quieter as the team waited for things to improve.

“That’s how it is up here in the summertime,” said Shane Wilson, Harvick’s crew chief from Vermont. “It made today a little easier. We thought today would be a little busier.”

When Harvick finally saw action Sunday, he qualified easily for the main attraction. Seeded third in the fifth heat, Harvick finished second behind Carey Martin. The two jumped out to an early lead, but a caution flag brought them back to the pack. From there, Harvick survived scrapes with Bill Whorff Jr. and Matt White. He then outraced Whorff and held on to second.

Harvick confirmed afterward that he would stick around for Monday’s race.

Harvick has been busy since his arrival in Maine on Thursday. His idea of fun is getting a race car ready and seeing what he can make it do against local competition. It’s a combination of sightseeing, touring and racing.

“Every year we try to go to race tracks we haven’t been to before, whether it’s a dirt track or this particular race track,” Harvick said. “That, for me, is neat to go see the different race tracks all around the country. You get to meet different people and different competitors and fans. For me, it’s not hard to talk me into going somewhere to race.”

If it sounds a lot like Harvick’s regular job on the local circuit, it is. The difference in this case is that he’s like a tourist, arriving with greater resources and hoping to blend in with the locals.

“The challenge is to just be competitive,” Harvick said. “Usually when you go to these local race tracks, when you have these guys that run it week after week, it’s hard to be competitive. When you do these things, that’s the hardest, to come and try to keep up with the guys that run here and run good on a week-to-week basis. That’s the biggest challenge.”

Harvick brought his own car, built exclusively for Sunday’s race. It’s a move that has paid off. He tested it last month and prepped with practice runs Friday and Saturday.

Some NASCAR drivers have arrived in Maine for the 250 with rides provided. In the past two years, both Terry Labonte and Denny Hamlin arrived on Sunday and only had Sunday morning to acclimate to their wheels.

“They’d have been in trouble today,” said Harvick after the morning practice sessions were washed out.

Previous NASCAR drivers who have appeared in the 250 have had mixed results. Kyle Busch was a contender both years he raced, finishing sixth his first year and challenging for the lead before a blown engine ended his second try. Matt Kenseth finished third. Others like Ricky Craven, Kevin LePage, Labonte, Hamlin and J.J. Yeley had car problems or couldn’t make much headway among the local traffic.

“Kenseth did pretty good, and Kyle Busch did pretty good,” Harvick said. “It all depends on how you approach it. Some of them show up and hope for the best. The guys that pay attention and want to do good usually do all right. But, it’s hard to go out there and win the race unless you’ve got it all together.”

That’s the obstacle that Harvick enjoys. It may seem like the usual racing routine, but for the driver ranked ninth in the latest Sprint Cup standings, it provides a change of pace.

“It’s just the challenge of trying to make the car work. When you come to a place like this there are a lot of local guys that really have it figured out. You’re trying to get up to speed real fast and be competitive. That’s always the hardest part.”

That’s also what makes it fun for Harvick.

Harvick says it is unlikely that he’ll return for the 250 next year, but a return sometime in the future might be possible.

“We might come back at some point, but I would say probably not next year,” he said.