OXFORD -- There is no other name more synonymous with success at Oxford Plains Speedway than Rowe.

Mike Rowe has won 150 career feature events, the most in history, and seven championships at the track. Three of those victories were in the TD Banknorth 250, the 34th installment of which gets underway with qualifying at 2 this afternoon.

Ben Rowe, his son, has had similar success, though he's taken his act on the road. In addition to a Late Model championship at Oxford in 1995, Ben has three PASS North Series titles and a championship in its predecessor, the now-defunct Northeast Pro Stock Association.

In addition, he's visited TD Banknorth 250 victory lane on two occasions.

They represent the only father-son tandem to win the event, though 16 other father-son combinations have raced in it. In 1995, Mike Rowe became the first and only driver to win the 250 after qualifying through the last-chance race.

The Turner drivers have won three of the last four 250s and four of the last 10. Mike, 56, has won one in each of the last three decades (1984, 1997, 2005), while Ben, 32, went back-to-back in 2003 and 2004. For both men, there is no race that compares to this one.

"It's still the Oxford 250, no matter how you look at it," Ben said. "Everybody who grew up watching that race, it's still the biggest race now. At the end of the day, people will realize that they're going to see a great race no matter what."

For the first time in the event's storied history, it will be run under Late Model rules. It's been a controversial move made by track owner Bill Ryan, one that produced nearly 200 entries for the event but has had a divisive influence in the Maine short-track ranks.

Some Super Late Model (also known as Pro Stock) drivers feel shunned; Late Model drivers welcome the opportunity to race on the big stage.

The Rowes, who drive for different owners, knew they would be a part of this year's event no matter what the rules -- making them something of an anomaly in the racing fraternity.

"Benji and I, we just thought it's such a prestigious race that we just want to be part of it," said Mike Rowe, who has qualified for a record 29 Oxford 250s and has attempted to run all but the first one in 1974. "They're going to have a lot of cars, and hopefully we draw a good number (for qualifying). We've won it three times, and we tested and hopefully we're going to have a good shot at it again."

"I see a lot of guys that say they'll never race a Late Model or ever do this or that," Ben Rowe said. "Maybe they feel like they're stepping back, but I don't. These guys in that (Late Model) deal, they're top of the line. There's no question, and you'll see that Sunday. You'll see 30 or 40 guys that can win that race, hands-down."

Ben Rowe, who twice finished second in the 250 and once ran out of gas while leading before ever winning the event, says he has just as much fun behind the wheel of the less powerful Late Model as he does a Super Late Model.

"I love racing the fast Pro Stocks. That's what I grew up watching and what I love racing," Ben Rowe said. "I see the $60,000 invested in those cars. But I ran these (Late Model) cars last year and it was the first real time I got into a Late Model and I had a lot of fun doing it.

"Everybody's got the same (rules package), so you get a lot more people and they're affordable. When you're sitting in these things driving them, you really can't tell. As far as the motor and the power thing, yeah, but it's a race car. They drive the same."

Travis Barrett -- 621-5648

tbarrett@centralmaine.com