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OXFORD — Midweek races have allowed Kyle Busch to come to Oxford Plains Speedway and “have some fun.”

He was hoping to add to his fun by nabbing a win Wednesday during his third trip to the track in a calendar year. Instead his night ended early.

Busch, who was running 13th on Lap 248 of the Celebration of America 300, left after the race’s seventh caution.

According to the rules of the Pro All Stars Series (PASS), drivers must slow to a “reasonable speed and hold their position when a yellow flag is displayed.”

Busch passed drivers going around the first turn. He was penalized a lap, then drove his white No. 51 car into the pit area behind the track and did not return.

Officials said Busch could have returned but chose not to. He declined to comment after the race.

Busch finished 27th. Scarborough’s Garrett Hall was the winner, with defending champion Joey Doiron placing second and Brandon Barker third.

Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, was competing in the Celebration of America for the second straight year and in his third race at Oxford Plains in a year. He finished 24th at last year’s event and eighth at the inaugural Memorial Day Clash 200 on May 27.

“I feel like I’m becoming a regular here,” Busch joked before Wednesday’s race.

Busch started 18th and spent the first 100 laps in the 20s, falling a lap down to leader Austin Teras. Through multiple cautions, Busch fought his way back to the lead lap, reaching as high as ninth place on Lap 184, before falling back to 12th and eventually 13th.

Busch has had success in Maine, winning the Oxford 250 in 2011. Earlier Wednesday, he was hoping to build off the momentum of his top-10 performance from May.

“It’s just fun to come up here and get some time around Oxford Plains Speedway, and try to get after some of these guys in the Northeast,” Busch said.

“Every time I’ve been here, I’ve been in someone else’s car. It’s hard to build a package or a program jumping around and being in something different every time. It’s just fun to come up here and race, try to get into a top five or a top three. Last year we thought we had a third-place finish that was going to come to us, but it just didn’t work out.”

Busch said he won’t compete in the Oxford 250 scheduled for Aug. 24.

“NASCAR schedule won’t allow for that, I won’t be up here for the 250,” Busch said. “I’m thankful for the opportunities to come on up here and run during the week. I know it’s tough on everyone else, but it gives me the chance to come up here and have some fun. But (my availability is) during the week.”

Among the drivers competing with Busch on Wednesday was his own NASCAR spotter, Derek Kneeland of Naples. Running in his fourth race of the season, Kneeland made it through 290 of the 300 laps and finished 24th.

“We’re 3-1 (racing against each other), He’s beaten me three times and I’ve beaten him once,” Kneeland said before the race. “I beat him at Lee (USA Speedway in New Hampshire). I’m excited. We were supposed to start side-by-side, but another driver got DQ’d from the race.”

Kneeland edged Busch for fourth place in the Keen Parts 150 at Lee in 2024.

“Last night he came up and hung out with my family after the races,” Kneeland said. “(Busch) said, ‘We’re starting side-by-side? You might not make it to Turn 1.’ I’m like, ‘Pal, I’m starting on the bottom, you might not make it to Turn 1.'”

The pair battled over the 16th position for 30 laps — from Lap 140 to 170 — before Busch passed him on the inside of turn three.

Between the Celebration of America, Memorial Day Clash and Oxford 250, Busch was happy to see the track create its own “triple crown” as it lifts up the PASS series.

“Any time you come up around these parts, these guys are all so good anyways,” Busch said. “Not having a team like I used to have, I’m just trying to jump in and get after it. But we’re doing the best we can.”

Busch is 20th in driver points in the NASCAR Cup Series. He’s led 62 laps this season, with five top-10 finishes and one top-5. Busch, the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet, finalized a contract extension that will keep him a member of Richard Childress Racing through 2026.