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Saturday, July 30, 2005
COLUMN: Steve Solloway
Big names but really, who wins?
Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||
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What happens if one of NASCAR's two ringers wins Sunday's TD Banknorth 250? What's the payoff if Matt Kenseth or Kyle Busch add their names to the long list of men who conquered Maine's most famous stock car race? The thousands of race fans who crowd into Oxford Plains Speedway win. It's not every day that two bona fide stars play in your backyard. Bill Ryan wins. The owner of Oxford Plains and the race promoter has heard the phones ring in the speedway office. People who never sat in his grandstand are calling for tickets. And driving directions. Where exactly are you located? The Maine owners of the two cars Kenseth and Busch will drive win. The local sponsors whose names are lettered on the cars win. The exposure from this deal is a marketing bonanza. Can there be any losers if Kenseth or Busch win? You bet. The local guy who just saw his financial salvation go up in the smoke of the winner's spinning tires. Sunday's winner gets $25,000 plus $100 for each lap they lead the race. That's pocket money for Nextel Cup stars. They can get that from the owner of a car dealership just by sitting in a showroom and signing autographs for an hour or so. Ask Ben Rowe or his father, Mike Rowe, what $25,000 buys. Or Scott Robbins or Ralph Nason or Gary Drew or Dick McCabe or any of the others who had real jobs to pay the rent and race because that's what they love. Winning the race more commonly known as the Oxford 250 pays the tire bills and can freshen an over-raced motor. It pays for the motel bills and the gas. It pays for the hamburgers flipped on the grill when the volunteers who are the crew put down their tools. The $25,000 becomes a sponsor that never committed when the car owner made his phone calls last winter. Since 1971, when Bob Bahre promoted his first Oxford 250, ringers have entered the race. Bobby and Davey Allison. Dale Jarrett. Ernie Irvan. Terry Labonte. Rusty Wallace. Darrell Waltrip. None were running for the lead when the race ended. Their purpose wasn't to win but to create a little buzz among the fans and the media. Their talent was wasted in inferior cars. If you listen to this year's pre-race drumbeat, that's not true. "That's a car that can win," said Mike Rowe, watching Busch race laps during a test session Tuesday. Kenseth started at the rear of last year's race and finished third. It was an impressive performance, considering he had never raced on one of New England's more notorious bull-ring tracks. Once upon a time, the stars of our favorite sports walked among us. Eddie Griffin, the late South Portland promoter and bar owner, used to invite Jo Jo White, Dave Cowens, Don Nelson and other Boston Celtics to Maine to play on his teams in summer tournaments. Barnstorming, as it was called, used to be an American ritual. Bruce Livingston, a lawyer living in Hallowell, dug out a baseball with the autographs of Wes Westrum, Jimmy Piersall, Walt Dropo, Spec Shea, Johnny Pesky and other major-league baseball players on it. Nearly 50 years ago, they played the Presque Isle Air Force Base All-Stars in Houlton. Livingston, about 10 years old at the time, was there. Can you imagine any of today's Red Sox or Yankees playing the Twilight League all-stars? Or how about Michelle Wie teeing off at the Women's Maine State Golf Association championship? The Southern Maine Raging Bulls could use Tom Brady to run their offense for a quarter or a half. Just once. That would pump up their crowd. Think you'll see it? No chance. Cheer Bill Ryan for bringing two of NASCAR's stars to your backyard. Problem is he can't call it an exhibition, not with so much at stake for all the other drivers. The TD Banknorth 250 pays the bills at Oxford Plains Speedway for the entire season. An overflow grandstand helps Ryan pay the drivers who race there weekly. An American president once called that the trickle-down effect. You may remember how much went into your pocket. There will be a race Sunday. See who wins. Staff Writer Steve Solloway can be contacted at 791-6412 or at:
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