OXFORD – Eddie MacDonald extended his mastery at Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday night, becoming only the fourth driver to win back-to-back TD Bank 250s.
It was MacDonald’s fourth victory in four races at the three-eighths-mile oval during the past 12 months.
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“I’ve always loved flat tracks, and we’ve got a good baseline for here,” said MacDonald, a 30-year-old driver from Rowley, Mass., who won two American-Canadian Tour races at the speedway earlier this season.
Brian Hoar, the ACT points leader from Williston, Vt., finished second, and Corey Morgan, an OPS regular from Lewiston, finished third.
“Eddie does a great job,” said Hoar, who led the first 12 laps after starting on the pole. “He always runs good here, and all year long I’ve been chasing him here.”
MacDonald, who earned $29,800 for the win, took the lead from Brad Leighton, a veteran driver from Center Harbor, N.H., on Lap 203 and held on the rest of the way.
“The race was mine to lose,” MacDonald said. “The good thing was there were some lapped cars between us and the second-place car, so I just needed to keep them between us.”
MacDonald took the lead when Leighton, who led for 189 laps, blew out his right front tire coming out of Turn 4. Leighton, who earned $23,900 in lap and prize money while finishing fifth, set a torrid pace up to that point.
“I’m pretty worn out after this one,” MacDonald said. “That was definitely a challenge.”
It took just one hour, 41 minutes to finish the race, which was slowed by only six caution flags.
“The beginning of the race was the hardest because the car wasn’t really the greatest,” said MacDonald, who started on the inside of Row 5 on the 20-row starting grid. “When we came (into the pits) and made the adjustments it got a lot better, so it was a little easier on me.”
Brent Dragon of Milton, Vt., finished fourth.
After receiving one of three provisional starting slots, Brad Keselowski, the Sprint Cup driver and Nationwide Series points leader from Rochester Hills, Mich., finished 22nd, Keselowski started last in the 39-car field.
Keselowski, who traveled to Maine after running in a Nationwide Series race in Madison, Ill., on Saturday night, was one of 42 drivers who failed to earn a spot in the 250 during qualifying.
Jeffrey Earnhardt, the 21-year-old grandson of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, was among those who didn’t qualify.
Earnhardt was supposed to practice at the track on Saturday. But his arrival in Maine was delayed a day because the Camping World Truck Series race in Madison, Ill., was rained out Friday night and moved to Saturday.
“You just can’t hop into this thing and go,” said OPS owner Bill Ryan Jr. “If he had been here all day (Saturday), I’m sure he would have been in a qualified car.”
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:
pbetit@pressherald.com
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