As summer begins to wind down and those last few stock car events take place around the northeast, two local Late Model drivers are reflecting on an outstanding season while preparing their cars for an entirely different challenge.

Saturday afternoon, 2012 Oxford Plains Speedway champion Shawn Martin of Turner and runner-up Travis Stearns of Auburn will join 41 other short track stars in the fourth-annual ACT Invitational at the famed New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H.

The 50-lap non-points event is part of the speedway’s Sylvania 300 weekend, where NASCAR’s best will contest Round 2 in the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup on Sunday, Sept. 23.

“When we all went down there for the first time, it took a while to get used to the (aerodynamic) forces at work and how that affects corner speeds and the way you pass other cars,” Martin said. “Now that a few of us have put in some laps there, we’re better suited to it. It’s fast down there.”

Maine is well represented in this year’s Invitational.

Joining Martin and Stearns in this year’s event are fellow Oxford regulars T.J. Brackett of Buckfield and Dave Farrington Jr. of Jay; Glen Luce of Turner; Oxford and ACT veteran Ricky Rolfe of Albany Township; Ben Ashline of Pittston, winner of May’s ACT 150 at Oxford; Rowland Robinson Jr. of Steuben; rising star Austin Theriault of Fort Kent; and nine–time Oxford champion Jeff Taylor of Farmington.

Stearns’ 2012 season will be remembered as the one that got away. After leading the points throughout the summer, he got caught up in an on-track incident early in the Sept. 1 season finale that cost him the title.

Martin, on the other hand, started out a bit slowly but came on strong in the season’s second half. The gap was just 17 points as the two longtime friends headed into the finale, and few could have predicted how it would unfold.

“We had a few issues early on in the season,” Martin said. “But we rallied back and just kept chipping away at it. There were only three or four nights when we missed the top five. We would have loved to win a few more races, but when you start in the rear every week, it gets tough.”

With consistency like that and only one DNF (did not finish), it’s no wonder he was right there to capitalize when Stearns encountered trouble in the finale.

Martin didn’t back into this title. He earned it once again after claiming his first back in 2004. This time around, it took more than a little bad luck by his friend. It also required countless hours of hard work.

“We had a strong car count all season long in the Late Models,” Martin said. “The competition just keeps getting better every year, so you have to stay on top of your game. Thanks to a great team behind me and several highly-valued sponsors, I was able to earn a second championship and be guaranteed a spot in Loudon.”

When Stearns reflects upon the season, he does so with a positive attitude given the way it all shook out. He knows that for his first year back in a full-time effort since 2007, to win races and lead the points for such a long stretch was actually a pretty good year.

Just don’t think, ever, that he wasn’t crushed to lose the title. Even if it was to a man he considers a good friend.

“It was more like a state of disbelief than anything,” Stearns said. “I just couldn’t accept that that title slipped away. We really felt like we had the best car there every week, and it doesn’t seem possible we didn’t win the championship. It hurt then and it still hurts now, but it’s over with now. Maybe we can salvage something with a solid run on Saturday in Loudon.”

As the two drivers move past what happened at Oxford and get ready to compete on the infamous “Magic Mile,” both have to leave that short track mentality and focus on an entirely different type of race.

“We weren’t great down there in the test session, but we gained speed as the day progressed,” Stearns added. “It looked like (TD Bank 250 winner) Joey Polewarczyk Jr. was super-fast. I’d say he and probably Eddie MacDonald (two ACT wins at NHMS) would be the pre-race favorites.”

No matter which Late Model driver comes out on top, they all employ a different style at New Hampshire.

“Racing on that type of track is like starting all over for a short track regular,” Martin says. “It’s all about being in the right place when you make a pass. After revamping our car last winter, we basically had no records to go by during the recent test. We gained a great deal as the day went on, so we’re expecting a solid run on Saturday. But so are all the other teams headed down.”

The ACT Invitational will follow NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East race and is slated to see the green flag at approximately 4:30 p.m.

LOUDON, N.H. — The list of 43 drivers scheduled to compete Sept. 22 in the fourth-annual ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway:

Ricky Roberts, Washington, Vt.

Glen Luce, Turner

Ben Lynch, Derry, N.H.

Guy Caron, Lempster, N.H.

Emily Packard, East Montpelier, Vt.

Ben Ashline, Pittston

Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier, Vt.

Scott Dragon, Colchester, Vt.

Ryan Kimball, Norwood, Ont.

Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass.

Ray Parent, Tiverton, R.I.

Jamie Fisher, Shelburne, Vt.

Dany Trepanier, St-Edouard, Quebec

Pete Yetman, Peru, Mass.

Jean-Francois Dery, Quebec City

Dave Farringon, Jr., Jay

Wayne Helliwell, Jr., Dover, N.H.

Rowland Robinson, Jr., Steuben

Aaron Fellows, Croyden, N.H.

Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton, Vt.

Brian Hoar, Williston, Vt.

David Michaud, St-A-des-Plns, Quebec

Jamie Aube, North Ferrisburgh, Vt.

Andre Beaudoin, St. Augustin, Quebec

Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township

Bruce Jaycox, Hartland, Vt.

Austin Theriault, Fort Kent

Jimmy Hebert, Williamstown, Vt.

TJ Brackett, Buckfield

Brooks Clark, Fayston, Vt.

Dan McHattie, Cavan, Ontario

Jimmy Linardy, Somerville, Mass.

Quinten Welch, Lancaster, N.H.

Donald Theetge, Boischatel, Quebec

Bryan Mercer, Port Hope, Ont.

Travis Stearns, Auburn

Jeff Taylor, Farmington

Nick Sweet, Barre, Vt.

Patrick Laperle, St-Denis, Quebec

Shawn Martin, Turner

Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., Hudson, N.H.

Randy Potter, Groveton, N.H.

Tom Carey, Jr., Orange, Mass.