Invading short tracks

The NASCAR Nextel Cup schedule is so brutally long -- 36 races, plus two All-Star exhibitions, over nine months -- it's a wonder drivers have time enough to shave and get to the racetrack each week. But get there they do, and many of the 40 most celebrated stock car drivers in the country find time to stop off at a local track from time to time for a little extra-curricular activity.

For the third straight year, the TD Banknorth 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway will feature Cup drivers both old and new. After bringing in a pair of high-profile drivers for each of the last two runnings of Maine's biggest racing day of the year, four will be in the show Sunday night.

Kyle Busch, a winner recently at New Hampshire International Speedway, will be joined by Cup rookies Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley. State icon Ricky Craven will also be there.

Unlike other sports, Cup stars descend to the lower levels every week across the country. David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox doesn't join a local men's league for a game when he's in California, but Ken Schrader will hop in a car and run a 30-lap feature at Wiscasset Raceway. Two weeks ago, Cup driver Carl Edwards, who narrowly missed out on the Nextel Cup title in '05, ran in a dirt Late Model race in Middletown, N.Y., and two days later competed in the Whelen Modified Tour New England 100.

It was all part of a typical Cup weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway. Edwards said it meant a lot to him during his days as a short-track ace to see Cup drivers race at his home speedway, and now he enjoys doing the same.

"I know when I raced my local dirt track and someone like Kenny Schrader or (sprint car driver) Danny Lasoski or one of those guys would come and run with us, it meant a lot," Edwards said. "It got me excited and it got the fans excited.

"It was exciting to get to try to race against them. It was really exciting when I beat them, and it was a great excuse when they beat me. They were professionals. It was a win-win deal. It got more people out to the track and got the fans excited, and that was cool."

Some drivers, however few, choose not to extend themselves. Edwards believes it may have as much to do with simply not craving the competition the way others might.

"If I don't think I'm going to have a good time, I'm not going to go do it," Edwards said, careful not to speak for others. "Racing's just too much fun for that.

"It's probably just time. Every person has things they like to do and don't like to do. Heck, man, if I don't feel like doing any local races next year, I don't want anyone to complain -- it's just if I feel like doing something, I like to go do it."

Every year, though, it seems these high-salary Cup drivers find themselves under the microscope for competing in racecars outside of the regular employment. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was injured in a fiery crash during a sports car race at Infineon Raceway in 2004. Just this year, reigning Cup champion Tony Stewart injured his shoulder during a Busch Series race in Charlotte.

Still, those inside the racing game say drivers should be able to compete elsewhere, regardless of the inherent risk.

"Tony likes getting in the Modifieds and getting in the dirt cars," said Stewart's crew chief, Greg Zipadelli. "That's no different than I like going hunting, and I wouldn't expect (car owner Joe Gibbs) to tell me that I can't take a day and go fishing or hunting in the fall. That's my hobby and that's what I enjoy doing.

"He enjoys to race. I enjoy to race, too, but it's harder for me to go and help somebody work on their car than it is for him to just go get a ride in anything he wants anywhere."

For some drivers, their bosses do tell them they are not allowed to go race anywhere they please.

Travis Kvapil, a former Craftsman Truck Series champion now in the No. 32 Tide Fords at the Cup level, made his name on the touted Wisconsin Late Model circuit. He'd love the chance to race in short-track events on his off days, but Tide forbids it.

"I've had opportunities to (race elsewhere), but the sponsor won't let me, basically," Kvapil said. "I can't complain about them being a bad sponsor at all, but there are 30 other guys out there doing it for a reason. They're not doing it just because they're bored. They're doing it to get better."

If sponsors are afraid of losing their drivers to injury, Zipadelli cautions that people can be hurt doing just about anything these days.

"I mean, I could fall out of a tree while hunting and get hurt," Zipadelli said. "So I just believe if it's your time and something's going to happen, it's going to happen -- whether you break an arm or you break a leg, or whether you're driving to the race shop in your car and somebody runs a red light. Obviously, you put yourself in a position for a little more risk (by racing a car), but you've got to enjoy your life while you're here. It's too short."

The last two Oxford 250s have been standing-room-only, and Sunday's race is expected to run before a capacity crowd, too.

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