OXFORD — When Jeffrey Earnhardt heard the number called after his draw Sunday afternoon, he looked around a little puzzled.

He had no idea what the number meant or where his spot in the qualifying heat was. He soon learned from those in the know that he had the third spot in the fourth heat.

“That’s a big relief,” Earnhardt said. “I didn’t know at first. They told me it was a pretty good draw. I took their word for it. “

Of course, that draw didn’t turn into an easy spot in the TD Bank 250 on Sunday. Earnhardt failed to qualify and was never a factor in the heats he raced.

He started his heat race third, but quickly fell toward the back. He didn’t fare much better in his consolation race. He started in the back and stayed there, getting spun out at one point.

Three provisionals were awarded — Dennis Spencer (OPS points leader), Roger Brown (past 250 champion) and Brad Keselowski (a promotional option). Because Earnhardt’s appearance was of his own doing and not arranged through OPS, he wasn’t afforded a provisional.

It was a disappointing finish for Earnhardt, who flew in Sunday morning to compete.  He was driving for Go Green Racing, a team owned by Archie St. Hilaire of Old Orchard Beach.

“They put a good car together,” he said prior to qualifying. “I wouldn’t have imagined that we’d come out and run as fast as we did. We had it dialed in pretty close. Everybody said we were running right there with the fast guys.”

Earnhardt was trying it all this weekend. He was at Gateway International Speedway in Madison, Ill., competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday. He finished 30th, completing 79 laps before an accident ended his day.

“They were a lot easier than I thought, but they’re tough to run with, making them go fast, especially when they’re tight.” Earnhardt said of his truck racing debut. “You don’t have much power.”

He was supposed to race Friday night, but a power outage pushed it back a day. That nixed his hopes of getting some practice runs at OPS on Saturday.

“I was a little worried at first,” Earnhardt said. “It came right around after the first couple runs. It was pretty intense the first couple of runs. It was just different from what I’m used to.”

As foreign as the trucks were for Earnhardt, so was driving a Late Model car.

“I’ve never run this style Late Model,” he said. “The last time I ran one was three years ago. It’s another race car. You get in and you drive.”

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