OXFORD — The turn of the century ushered in a life change for Scott Luce of Strong.

As it does for many local drivers who reach their 30s and begin building families and careers, racing took a backseat. Or in Luce’s case, an exit sign.

“I had to stay away from it completely,” Luce said. “If I went to the track at all, I would have wanted to be a part of it. I think that’s why my stepbrother Tracy (Gordon) stays away now. It’s too hard.”

Seven years into Luce’s retirement, another Franklin County native with racing fuel lying dormant in his veins made a fateful — OK, some racing addicts would say costly — decision.

John Stinchfield was returning to the area after four decades of building his life and business in southern Maine. He bought a ticket at Oxford Plains Speedway on a bittersweet night in September 2006.

“We went over to see the final Pro Stock race at Oxford,” Stinchfield said. “I drove a street stock a few times many years ago and in the back of my mind I thought about getting involved in racing again. But my wife wanted a ‘shiny car.’ That was over my budget a little bit.”

When Stinchfield learned that Vermont’s Phil Scott had a late model for sale, though, it turned out that the price was right.

The next step, any shrewd businessman with a thirst for winning could tell you, was to lure the best available driver.

“I knew exactly who I wanted,” he said. “The first time I’d ever met Scotty, we talked racing.”

It might have taken Luce a day or two to dust off his trophies at that point, but they were too bright and numerous to be ignored. The biggest one in Luce’s possession symbolized the 1996 Late Model championship at OPS.

Stinchfield and Luce’s paths crossed many times through work and community activities. One phone call, and Sandy River Racing was born.

“This is all because of him. His wallet is what brought me back,” Luce said with a laugh.

Nobody else is laughing now.

After two seasons of shaking off the rust, fighting with a dated car and running a limited schedule, Luce is back in mid-1990s form.

He enters Sunday’s TD Bank 250 ranked third in Oxford’s weekly point standings and suddenly is one of the local favorites to win the lucrative event.

“We weren’t planning to race for points, but now we are,” Luce said. “I think when you race every week it helps you stay on top of track conditions.”

In the team’s only previous 250 start, Luce won a non-qualifiers’ race and finished 23rd in 2008 after destroying the car in a heat race crash.

That disastrous luck was followed by a gift from the heavens — heavy rain that delayed the second round of qualifying until the next day.

“We were the last ones to leave Sunday night and some of the first ones back Monday morning,” Luce said. “If it hadn’t been rained out, we never would have made it back.”

Luce’s name doesn’t roll off the tongue when casual fans discuss the 250 favorites among the weekly contingent, in part due to the lengthy layoff.

Fellow track champions Ricky Rolfe, Tim Brackett, Dennis Spencer Jr., Shawn Martin and current point leader Tommy Ricker are more quickly recognized.

Based on his performance in the most recent long-distance race at Oxford, however, Luce belongs in the discussion.

He was running third with less than five laps to go and challenging Eddie MacDonald and Rolfe for the American-Canadian Tour 150 win on June 19 when his No. 07 machine drifted off the asphalt.

“Everyone else was dropping off (in speed) and my car seemed to be staying the same. We were going really great out there in the third groove, maybe even higher than that,” Luce said. “But the problem with that is if you get out there in that loose stuff, you have nowhere to go. I lost it. I didn’t spin, but by the time I got back up to speed, 17 cars had gone by us. I didn’t sleep that night. I wanted to puke.”

The car — all new for the 2010 season — didn’t sustain any damage. Even if it had, Stinchfield wouldn’t second-guess his driver’s decision.

“In a race like (the 250), nobody’s going to remember if you finished second or third or 19th,” the car owner said. “You go for the win.”

“He always tells me to drive the car like it’s my own,” Luce added.

The driver’s extended family tradition both at Oxford and in its crown jewel races is extensive.

His late father, Glen, finished 17th in 1968 at the final Maine 300, a three-year stop on what is now the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

Gordon, the 1991 OPS Pro Stock champion, posted three podium finishes in the 250 (third in 1995, second in ’97 and ’98).

Luce’s brother, also named Glen, was runner-up to Kevin Harvick in 2008.

“Oxford is pretty hallowed ground to me,” Stinchfield said. “You’re standing with a lot of history.”

And perhaps making some of their own Sunday night.

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