OXFORD — The Celebration of America 300, which debuted last year at Oxford Plains Speedway, has already become a marquee event on Maine’s auto racing calendar.

Part 2 of the Pro All Stars Series Super Late Model race, which is Wednesday, boasts a $20,000 first-place prize and draws a number of top drivers. This year’s field will again include two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who won the 2011 Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains.

“I think it really worked last year and I think it’s going to work again,” said Johnny Clark of Hallowell, one of the field’s 39 competitors. “The fact that you put someone like Kyle here and Fourth of July week, I think it’s going to bring people out. We’re hoping for good things and a good crowd.”

Joey Doiron of Berwick took the checkered flag in last year’s Celebration of America 300. Derek Griffith of Hudson, New Hampshire, was second and Cassius Clark of Farmington took third. Busch left the race after a wreck on Lap 271 and did not return.

That victory was a major breakthrough for Doiron after several top-five finishes, but no victories, in the Oxford 250. Doiron has had even more success at Oxford recently, leading nearly the entire race to win the inaugural Memorial Day Clash 200 in late May.

“I think Joey is probably the favorite right now, but he’s also kind of coming off a bad race his last time here,” said D.J. Shaw of Center Conway, New Hampshire, the sixth-place finisher last year. “Guys like Derek Griffiths, Mike Hopkins and these weekly guys here at Oxford are always tough. It’s really anybody’s ballgame.”

This year the Celebration of America is part of a new three-race Oxford Crown Jewel Triple Crown series that also includes the Memorial Day Clash and Oxford 250. The series features its own points battle with the top five finishers receiving awards at the PASS postseason banquet.

“It’s always good when they put up extra awards for us here, and you always want to be the one that wins everything you can,” Shaw said. “Anything they do for the racer is a good thing, and it’s good to see them trying to make this its own thing, and try to make it a bigger deal and a more annual event.”

DIFFERENT TYPE OF RACE

Wednesday’s race will include the top five drivers in the PASS North standings. Trevor Sanborn of Cornish, who leads with 1,064 points, led most of last year’s Celebration of America 300 from the pole position before pitting for tires on Lap 174. Shaw is second with 1,058 points, then Brandon Varney of Otisfield (1,045), Clark (1,043) and Ryan Kuhn of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts (1,026).

That makes for a competitive race, Clark said, that could go a number of ways.

“There’s 10 guys — probably even more — that if everything goes right, they can win this thing,” Clark said. “These 300-lappers, they bring out a different feel of the race. It’s not just 150 laps with the four tires you started on; there’s pit stops, you have strategy come out, and it just makes for a really good race.”

Shaw and Clark both said the key will be drivers positioning themselves for the end of the race. While surviving the early stages is important, the decisions that will separate contenders from also-rans will be the ones that come at critical moments.

“You can end your day on Lap 50 but when it comes to the move of the race, nobody is going to say you did it on Lap 50,” Clark said. “You’ve just got to keep your nose clean, have something to race for in the last 50 laps and try to position yourself to be successful in the end.”

The 300-lap race is the feature of a two-day event. Tuesday’s races include street stock and pass mod features, while Wednesday’s buildup to the Celebration of America 300 includes a 75-lap NESS feature with a $4,000 purse. The feature race is expected to begin about 8 p.m.