OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY
Route 26, Oxford, ME 
Phone: (207) 539-8865 

TD BANKNORTH 250

July 15, 2009

Joey Pole is the popular pick
as TD Banknorth 250 weekend nears 

PORTLAND, Maine - Wednesday was Pole Day for the TD Banknorth 250.

No, the qualifying format hasn’t changed. Sunday’s 36^th annual short track summer classic is still the richest and most prestigious one-day event for late models in the northeast corridor.

As for Media Day at Holiday Inn West, however, it belonged to young Joey Polewarczyk Jr. of Hudson. N.H.

When speedway owner Bill Ryan posed his annual conversation starter – “If you can’t win the race Sunday, who will?” – half the drivers in attendance proclaimed the 20-year-old “Joey Pole” their pick.

Those who sided with someone else probably would admit they were just trying to be different.
Polewarczyk dominated May’s New England Dodge Dealers ACT 150 at Oxford. He finished third behind Kevin Harvick and Glen Luce after running in the top five throughout the entire TD Banknorth 250 last summer.

And if being everyone’s pre-race darling is a jinx, well, Polewarczyk wasn’t running away from it. Consider him cautiously optimistic.

“It’s never a cakewalk,” Polewarczyk said. “We do have a lot of confidence and a lot of momentum at Oxford.”

On a notoriously rainy weekend that left racers with precious little rubber on the track for the delayed main event, Polewarczyk drew notice from Harvick and countless others last July for his fearless run in Oxford’s outer groove.

Again this spring, he was one of the few drivers willing and able to venture into no-man’s land. Even though it’s the longest route around the historic, 3/8-mile oval, Polewarczyk registered times faster than anyone along the rail on his way to victory.

If the competition was hoping for a few trade secrets to slip out Wednesday, they’ll be sorely disappointed.

“Oxford’s the kind of track where if your car isn’t running on the bottom, you can set it up to run another line and make it work,” Polewarczyk said. “And there’s nobody else out there.”

Other drivers mentioned as favorites: Ricky Rolfe, Brad Leighton and Oxford Networks Late Model champion Travis Adams.

Rolfe is preparing an entire fleet of cars for Sunday’s showcase, including his own ride and another for NASCAR Nationwide Series veteran Kenny Wallace.

“He’s in a car that’s actually better than mine. I’d like to see him win if I can’t,” Rolfe said. “It’s big for us. I’ve finished second before. It’s not one I’m going to take to my grave if I don’t win. But we all want to win.”

Polewarczyk and Rolfe attended the luncheon along with Glen Luce (last year’s runner-up), Shawn Martin, Al Hammond, Tim Brackett, Nick Brown, Ben Ashline and Georgia driver Michael Pope.

Pope is affiliated with a team owned by racing media personality Bob Dillner.

“The TD Banknorth 250 and the Snowball Derby are the two biggest short track races in the country,” Dillner said. “I grew up in the northeast and went to Oxford a few times, but never to this race. I heard all about it and it’s something I always wanted to be part of.”

For Brown and Ashline, both recent high school graduates and graduates of the JARRacing Photography Go Kart Series at Oxford, sharing the head table with some of Oxford’s most storied champions was admittedly awe-inspiring.

“I was fortunate to be part of Jeremie Whorff’s crew when we won (in 2006),” Brown said. “I never dreamed that I would be driving these cars or competing in this race. It would be amazing just to qualify.”

Kenny Wallace participated in the press conference via conference call. He will attempt to qualify for the race for the first time since 1992 along with his nephew, Steve.

“Dale Earnhardt taught me a long time ago that these are thousands of great race car drivers around the United States, so I know I’ve got my work cut out for me,” Wallace said. “But I’m in one of Rick Rolfe’s racecars, so I’ve got a good head start on it.”

Wallace ran in the top five in 1991, when the 250 was a Nationwide event. He fell out of contention wit ha flat tire.

“Ricky Craven and I became fast friends that year. He let me work on my car at his father-in-law’s shop, and I so jealous because Ricky won the race,” Wallace said. “The next week I won the Bud 300 at Loudon. We figured out we won $110,000 out of his little shop in two weeks. I realized then how big this race is.”

Kenny’s brother and Steve’s father, NASCAR legend Rusty, will be the grand marshal at Sunday’s race.

The Wallaces will fly into Maine late Saturday night after competing in the Nationwide race in Joliet, Ill.

Steve Wallace will be a teammate to ACT standout John Donahue, in a car owned by Kendall Roberts.

“Steven just got done running one of these cars Sunday at Hickory. He ran out of gas with three laps to go for $20,000 to win,” Kenny Wallace said. “I wish I could have tested Rick’s car (a practice was rained out June 26), because it takes a while to get the feel again. Steven probably will be more up to speed than I will. Let me tell you something: Do not take Steven Wallace lightly. He won the Snowball Derby a couple years ago. Steven grew up in those cars also.”