OXFORD -- Kevin Lepage stood in the grandstands overlooking the Oxford Plains Speedway backstretch on Thursday, awaiting the arrival of the car he will enter in the 34th annual TD Banknorth 250. As other cars tested under cloudy skies in advance of Sunday's race and Lepage looked on, it looked like the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver was a lot farther from Daytona Beach than 1,500 miles.

Of course, Lepage reasoned, that's exactly what makes stock-car racing so unique.

"The one thing I think that people don't realize is that it doesn't make a difference if you're racing here or racing down there, you're racing for the fans," said Lepage, who will be joined in Sunday's field by two-time Cup champion Terry Labonte. "If there's no fans in the grandstand, there's no use going to the racetrack. That's what these guys are doing here -- they want to win, but they also want to put a good show on for the fans.

"That's what we all do, whether we're here for the Daytona 500 or the Oxford 250."

Lepage will drive for owner Archie St. Hilaire of Old Orchard Beach. He last raced at Oxford Plains in 1993, his fourth Oxford 250 start, and finished 14th.

Other Nextel Cup drivers to have competed in the Oxford 250 since 2004 include Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Ricky Craven and J.J. Yeley.

Driving to Thursday's test, the memories started flooding back for Lepage, a veteran of more than 200 career Nextel Cup starts with two career Busch Series wins. In his New England heyday, Lepage, 45, won 11 races between the old NASCAR North Series and American-Canadian Tour.

"This was always our Daytona 500 when I raced up north, because of how many cars came, how big the race purse was, how big the race was," Lepage said. "There was just a lot of prestige here. Even before I started driving, we used to come over and watch, watching guys like Butch Lindley and Geoff Bodine. It was always a great race to come to. To come back some 12, 14, 15 years later and try and get into the Oxford 250 is just a really neat deal for me."

Lepage left New England in 1994 to move south and join the Busch Series.

"Kevin Lepage is one of those drivers like Ricky Craven and Joe Bessey who took the gamble of leaving his fans and his comfort zone up here in New England and making a name for himself at the highest level," Oxford Plains owner Bill Ryan said. "I've always respected him for that.

"Most of the fans in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Canada probably haven't had a chance to watch Kevin race on a short track in about 14 years."

Labonte also has roots in Maine racing. His father, Bob, is a native of the state and Terry will team up with two-time Oxford 250 winner Ben Rowe out of the Richard Moody Racing stable this weekend.

"I'm excited to get back to Oxford and be part of that great tradition," said Labonte, named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers in 1998 and a three-time 250 entrant. "My family has roots in the Rumford area, and I've always been fortunate to have a lot of friends and fans up there. It's a race I've always wanted to win."

Though Lepage said he never gets the chance to run short-track events as he pieces together Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck rides, he sounded like a driver who's been following the Late Model scene pretty closely of late.

Before even hopping in the car -- which was delayed in leaving the Scarborough shop Thursday morning -- Lepage had an idea of what it would take to compete Sunday. He wanted to run the outside groove to avoid the traffic provided in heat races, and he wanted to keep his momentum up so as not to rely on the car's low-horsepower crate engine.

"I'm a racer, I've always been a racer," said Lepage, who could just as easily have been talking about preparation of a car for a Cup race at Michigan or Talladega as a Late Model race in Maine.

"The concrete pit pads are there, the tower where we draw (starting positions) is still here. There's just so many things that bring back memories, so I'm just looking forward to the weekend."

Travis Barrett -- 621-5648

tbarrett@centralmaine.com