OXFORD — For local short track veterans Travis Adams and Shawn Martin, a chance to race at the famed New Hampshire Motor Speedway was a dream neither ever expected to come true.

Until now, that is.

This Saturday, both drivers and 34 of their colleagues from around the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada will participate in the inaugural American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Invitational. The 50-lap race is part of the speedway’s NASCAR weekend, highlighted by Sunday’s Sylvania 300, the first of 10 races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

While most of the attention will be focused on the 12 drivers vying for NASCAR’s top prize, Adams, Martin and those who follow short-track racing in this region are bubbling with excitement. Both drivers have impressive credentials. Adams, of Canton, clinched his fourth straight and fifth overall Late Model championship at Oxford Plains Speedway. Martin, of Turner, has two ACT wins to his credit and won the Late Model title at Oxford in 2004.

ACT president Tom Curley invited 53 of the region’s top Late Model teams to a two-day, open test session at Hew Hampshire last month. Martin took most of his day (drivers could choose one) to get up to speed, but clicked off some consistently-fast laps by late afternoon.

“I’m extremely excited about this weekend’s race,” Martin said in Oxford’s pit area last Saturday. “This is an incredibly valuable opportunity for all 36 drivers who earned a spot or were invited. All I’ve been doing the last week or two is looking at in-car camera footage from drivers who’ve done well at Loudon and studying the lines they run. I’ve been trying to get my mind focused for the race.”

Adams, on the other hand, never quite got his No. 03 machine dialed in on test day and was significantly off the pace set by most ACT regulars. Adams has been racing with a heavy heart this season after the passing of his father, Donald, last March.

“To have been able to come here to Oxford and run well enough to win another title is exactly what my father would have wanted,” Adams said. “When the ACT first announced the invitational at Loudon, that is something I wanted. I just really wanted to race there.”

Along with getting mentally prepared for his first superspeedway race, Martin has plans to improve his car’s performance after studying data absorbed from last month’s test session.  

“Now that we’ve had time to reflect, we are going to make a couple of subtle changes to the car,” Martin siad. “We were dragging the cross member a little, so we’re going to make the front suspension more rigid. That should get us through the corners better and help our lap times.”

Adams also spoke about his expectations for the race at New Hampshire, and hinted at his plans for the 2010 racing season.

“My level of enthusiasm about racing in Loudon is way up there,  probably up soaring with the Eagles where my dad is now,” he said. “We went home after the test and discovered what we needed to fix on the car for this week. All guns are loaded, and we’re ready to race.

“Next year, we’ll probably move on and run a part-time schedule with the ACT circuit,” Adams added. “Tom Curley has always been very supportive of our program, and has invited the champions from eight ACT-affiliated tracks to the invitational. Now I want to go and help support his tour at some events in 2010.” 

Joining Martin and Adams from Maine in the inaugural invitational are Ricky Rolfe (Albany Township), Glen Luce and Ben Rowe (Turner), Joey Doiron (Berwick) and T.J. Watson (Cundy’s Harbor).

Activities leading up to Sunday’s Sylvania 300 begin Thursday with qualifying for NASCAR’s Whelen Modified and Camping World East divisions. Friday’s card includes practice and qualifying for the Sprint Cup Series, while Saturday’s program includes a 200-lap tilt for NASCAR’s Truck Series, a 100-lap battle for the open-wheel modifieds and the ACT Invitational, which is slated to get the green flag at 5:30 p.m.

To be a part of this major race weekend in Loudon is almost surreal to a local short driver. Yet it’s also a chance to enjoy some well-deserved exposure on the big stage, a fact not lost on Martin.

“I think all of us who are lucky enough to be racing down there know what it’s all about.” Martin said. “It really isn’t about winning the race, although we’d love to do that. The big thing is we need a clean, exciting show for the fans to prove we can run there safely. I think this is a win-win deal for ACT, the 36 teams in the race and short-track racing in general.”