Golfers and stock car drivers commonly use their expertise to design courses, but it’s usually a way of staying active in the sport they love after their competitive days are over. Few are able to enjoy the fruits of their labor in pursuit of a weighty trophy or big check.

Farmington’s Seth Wescott will have that opportunity, in part, at the Visa U.S. Snowboarding World Cup this week.

No, Sunday River in Newry technically isn’t Wescott’s home mountain. When he isn’t touring the globe and staying at the forefront of his intense, thrill-seeking vocation, he lives at the base of Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley.

Wescott isn’t listed as designer of the Rocking Chair course, either. That distinction belongs to Jeff Ihaksi of British Columbia.

Once the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, FIS World Cup and Ihaksi knew their world would converge upon Oxford County for three days in February 2009, however, there’s no mistaking who received the first phone call. That would be none other than Maine’s Olympic gold medalist, the men’s face and voice of a sport still in its youth.

“One of the things I’ve been doing in the offseasons is getting more involved with the USSA and helping them in their strategic planning for the U.S. stops,” Wescott said. “(Ihaksi) and I went and kind of designed the course and laid it all out, so I’ve got kind of a home turf advantage that way. He’s my favorite course builder in the world. I’ve always raced well on his stuff. I’m excited to have it in Maine and have all those things on my side.”

Sunday River is the only 2008-09 United States date for the World Cup snowboard loop, which runs from September (Cardrona, New Zealand) to late March (Valmalenco, Italy).

Competition begins Thursday in parallel giant slalom, where snowboarders sprint down the hill two-by-two, drag race style, until a winner is determined. Qualification rounds begin at 9 a.m. on the Monday Mourning course, with finals at 1 p.m.

Snowboardcross races pit four racers at a time. Qualifications commence at 9:30 a.m. Friday, with finals at 10 a.m. Saturday. Team snowboardcross kicks off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Wescott, 32, who won the inaugural Olympic SBX gold medal there years ago in Turin, Italy, won the World Cup race Dec. 20 in Switzerland. He finished third last week in Canada and returns to home terrain ranked No. 2 in SBX behind Markus Schairer of Austria and No. 3 overall.

“It’s very exciting. It’s nice. We have huge crowds in Europe, but usually at the U.S. stops other than the X Games there’s not a lot of turnout,” Wescott said. “It’s going to be nice to have it close to home and have friends there cheering for me. I think it is (an advantage), absolutely.”

Five Americans are ranked among the top nine in the current men’s SBX World cup standings. Jonathan Cheever, Nate Holland, Graham Watanabe and Nick Baumgartner join Wescott as contenders.

Holland is a four-time X Games gold medalist. He posted a World Cup podium finish last month in Austria.

Schairer and Canada’s Mike Robertson are the top international threats.

Wescott believes his comfort level with Ihaksi’s work will bolster his chances. Ihaksi designed the Turin SBX course as well as the track that will be used in the 2010 Games at Vancouver.

“It’s a big difference who designs. There’s some pretty bad builders out there, and there’s some good ones. You need to feel safe and be enjoying the courses to lay it out there,” said Wescott. “He’s the best one there is, and it’s perfect that we’ve got him building the course in Maine.”

Fans shouldn’t underestimate the importance of comfort or the danger. Wescott’s early season was slowed after he bruised his spine in a frightening September spill.

“It can be a hard deal to get yourself fired up to do it,” Wescott said of his sport. “There are deadly consequences if it goes wrong, and it can be a very stressful environment to function in. I love snowboarding. It is my life, but I have seen two friends die on the world tour and had a third rupture his aorta last week and luckily survive.”

Lindsey Jacobellis is Wescott’s counterpart on the women’s SBX scene. She is a three-time world champion, who fell while leading the Olympic final in 2006 and settled for a silver medal. Jacobellis is ranked No. 1 in her event with wins in Argentina and Austria this year.

Maine fans will have a rooting interest in the women’s race, as well. Juliette Bisson, a 16-year-old Carrabassett Valley Academy student, is a qualifier.

“She is flying back from a competition in Oregon (Tuesday), going to school Wednesday morning, training at Sunday River on Wednesday afternoon, back to school on Thursday and then time trials are on Friday,” said Rick Bisson, Juliette’s father and CVA spokesman.

Top competitors in parallel giant slalom include Siegfried Grabner of Austria, Simon Schach of Switzerland and Canada’s Matthew Morison among the men, and Doris Guenther of Austria, Tomoka Takeuchi of Japan and Amelia Kober of Germany for the women. Massachusetts native Tyler Jewell and Michelle Gorgone, currently ranked No. 7 in women’s PGS, lead the American contingent.