"I think it will be great racing – a lot different from the Camping World East cars," Polewarczyk said, who also drove in the CWES at Thompson International Speedway in July for owner Barney McRae. "These (Late Model) cars are a lot more predictable. It’s better two-wide racing, so I’m really excited. The cars will be real fast because they’re lighter. There’s not as much power (as a CWES car), but they’ll keep their momentum a lot better."

The event won’t be an ACT points event, but it will have strong ACT influence. A 36-car field, racing for a total purse of more than $65,000, will feature 2009 ACT and Castrol Series race winners and points leaders.

But the event’s true drawing card will likely come from its inclusion of weekly racers. Points leaders at nine tracks throughout New England and Canada – Capital City and Kawartha in Ontario, as well as Lee USA, Oxford Plains, Seekonk Speedway, Thunder Road, Twin State, Waterford Speedbowl and White Mountain – will be invited to participate, provided they are in ACT-legal cars.

All of those tracks have ACT-legal Late Models as their top division.

"It’s our intention to give the best short-track teams in the region a chance to compete at the premier superspeedway in the northeast," NHMS general manager Jerry Gappens said. "In addition, it will also help to encourage more passionate short track race fans to visit our speedway during our mega-event NASCAR race weekends."

Canton driver Travis Adams, the four-time Oxford champion who until now has not used ACT rules for his car (opting not to use the crate engine package), said the opportunity to race at New England’s only superspeedway might be enough to entice him to go ACT-legal with his car.

"Oh, absolutely," Adams said. "That is a very cool deal. The way it is now, I was thinking about only running a couple points races, anyway, and then doing all of the big shows."

None would be bigger, it seems, than the shot to race on the 1.058-mile Loudon oval.

"If I’m eligible, I’m going to go," said Ricky Rolfe of Albany Township, who won six Oxford features in 2008. "I think it’s good. It’s exciting."

Winners of the ACT Governor’s Cup at Thunder Road, the open Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains and the Showdown at Chaudiere will also be guaranteed starting spots in the NHMS invitational.

Though the Cup weekend schedule at NHMS is typically a crowded one – with four NASCAR divisions already on the slate – track spokesman Fred Neergaard said Monday that the Late Model invitational will be "in addition to, and not replacing any" of the events during the Sept. 17-20 weekend.

Previously, the largest track to host an ACT Late Model event was Sanair Speedway, a 9/10-mile tri-oval resembling a miniature Pocono Raceway.

No decision has been made as to when the 50-lap Late Model event will be run, only that it definitely will be run during the Cup weekend. Polewarczyk promised it would be, at the very least, an entertaining race – one that more closely resembled the 100-lap events put on by the NASCAR Modifieds than the bulkier East Series machines.

"It’s a cool format. It’s definitely going to be the top drivers racing at this track," Polewarczyk said. "With the Late Models, the draft will come into play big. We don’t have as much money into body work and making sure everything’s perfect the way the East Series teams do.

"I think you’ll see a lot of different things, because it’s a lot different there from regular short track racing with these kind of cars. I think it’s going to be one of our most exciting races so far, because these cars have the raceability where you can have two cars that race side-by side. Even though they’re stock cars, they race more like Modifieds, where it’s all about momentum."

A tire-testing session, which could also test brakes and crate engine performance on the large track, is expected to be held at NHMS sometime prior to the September event.

Posted at 6:45 p.m. by TBarrett