Who means more -- Labonte or Lepage?

Terry Labonte is a 2-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, one who has presumably been paid a handsome fee just to appear at the TD Banknorth 250 this weekend.

Kevin Lepage is -- outside of New England, at least -- a fair to middling driver struggling to piece together rides at any and all of NASCAR's top 3 levels, a driver who sought out the TD Banknorth 250 and not the other way around.

Which driver, then, means more to Sunday's 34th running of Oxford Plains Speedway's showcase event?

I'm giving my vote to Lepage.

Certainly, for sheer star factor, Labonte trumps Lepage 10-fold, even here in the northeast, where the casual new fan targeted by today's NASCAR probably still don't know Lepage from their lats. Labonte has won at the highest levels, was part of a 1-2-3 Hendrick Motorsports finish at the Daytona 500, has his 2 titles and boasts Maine ties.

When it comes to selling tickets to this race, it's Labonte in a romp over Lepage.

But when it comes to the race itself, it's Lepage, pulling away in the stretch in a way that would have made Barbaro proud.

Lepage is here to race, and he's taken a hands-on approach to the preparation of the Archie St. Hilaire-owned car he'll drive. He tested days before the race, something most Cup drivers have chosen not to do in the past. He also made the trip to TD Banknorth 250 media day this week -- a small accomplishment, but one he did during his vacation this week and, it should be pointed out, something no other Cup driver had done in the 3 years before.

Lepage talks about the setup of his car like he's at Pocono or Michigan or any one of the dozens of stops the Cup Series makes each season. Simply put, Kevin Lepage is here to compete. He's not here hoping he won't embarrass himself on the way to cashing a sizeable appearance check.

Lepage is here because it's the Oxford 250 -- and not one of a hundred other "big races" around the country each season. He gets what this race is all about, and that counts for a ton in my book.

By the time the race ends sometime late Sunday night, it will be Lepage who will have meant a lot more to the thousands of people in the stands during the week, during the weekend and during race day. Guys like that are what the Oxford 250 is all about.