OXFORD — The TD Bank 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway is a race of lists.

Win the thing and you put your name alongside regional and national hall of fame drivers, joining a roll call that includes Geoff Bodine, Dave Dion, Mike Rowe, Ralph Nason, Butch Lindley and Bob Pressley.

Tougher to recite but just as significant to the 38-year history of the event is the selection of runner-up and podium finishers for whom one Sunday night trumped everything else they ever celebrated on a race track.

Dale Verrill, Nick Nichols, Scott Kelly, Harvey Sprague and Danny Knoll Jr. stand out on that roster.

Lewiston’s Corey Morgan isn’t even a smidge sheepish about having added his name in 2010.

“Oh, it’s definitely the highlight of my career,” Morgan said of a third-place finish to Eddie McDonald and Brian Hoar, one that was worth $7,500 in addition to that footnote in the history book.

Morgan’s magical day and night modeled the patience that is necessary to survive the stoutest challenge in Maine stock car racing.

His draw for qualifying position was unspectacular but not insurmountable.

Drivers pick a number for starting position in the first round of heats. Where they start the second and third rounds is determined by the finish of the previous race.

“It was mid-pack in one of the later heats,” Morgan said. “I didn’t get in through the heat, but I finished well enough to get a good starting position in the (consolation race). It’s the guys who get spun out in the heat and end up all the way in the back that have a long day.”

Morgan qualified through his consi. Then, like most of the field, he was a victim to the blistering pace set by Brad Leighton and McDonald, falling one lap down early in the race.

In a rare twist, Morgan passed the leaders under green to get back into contention. He used the final restart to catch the pack and advance to third.

Third also is where he stands in Oxford’s current point standings after leading early in the season. Still, he’s in the background while Hoar, McDonald and OPS weekly standouts Jeff Taylor and Jeff White share the stage as pre-race favorites.

That’s OK with Morgan, a lifetime Ford fan who identifies strongly with a blue-oval 250 legend of the past.

“Watching Dave Dion was a highlight for me. He was a Ford guy, and if you looked at him come through the pit gate, he didn’t seem to have much,” Morgan said, “But you noticed him on the race track. He did pretty good for himself in that era.”

Dion is a three-time champion, winning the 250 in 1975, 1985 and 1992.

Don’t underestimate Morgan’s chances of joining his hero on that most prestigious of lists.

“It’s all about the car,” he said. “If you have a good car, the long races aren’t too tough.”

CHAMP KEEPS LOW PROFILE

Drivers by the dozen flocked to Saturday night races at Oxford Plains Speedway the past three weeks as a means of tuning up for the 250. A record 37 attempted to qualify for the July 2 race.

Not part of the delegation: Two-time defending champion Eddie MacDonald of Rowley, Mass., who hasn’t competed at OPS in 2011.

MacDonald, known throughout the region for his willingness to drive every type of race car, is focused primarily on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East this season. That circuit will race in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday night.

Weather permitting, MacDonald — ninth in K&N East points — is expected to be on site to defend his 250 crown.

“I doubt he will get much practice time,” said racer Tommy Ricker of Poland.

But Ricker knows better than to count out MacDonald and his chief mechanic, Rollie LaChance of New Gloucester.

Although the pair is bidding to join Ralph Nason as the only team to win three straight 250 titles, MacDonald and LaChance easily could be chasing five in a row after leading the race in 2007 and ’08.

“Don’t count out Eddie. People say he hasn’t been at Oxford all year. I don’t think that matters. He’s so smooth here,” Ricker said.

Ricker finished second to MacDonald in a May 2010 ACT race at Oxford.

“He was going side-by-side with Brian Hoar for the longest time, just riding. I drove by them for the lead, feeling great, and all of a sudden he came flying by me,” Ricker said, “I was like, ‘You little (expletive).’ I knew he wasn‘t showing everything he had yet.”

HOMECOMING GAME

Thirty-four drivers are on the pre-entry list for Saturday’s Brackett Mechanical/RB Competition 150, the first Pro All Stars Series race at OPS since 2006.

As you might expect, there are several surprise names in the mix.

One is Cassius Clark. The 29-year-old from Farmington hasn’t raced in his home state all season, but he is joining forces with car owner Dick Woodman and sponsor Plant’s Seafood to run the doubleheader at Thompson (Conn.) on Thursday night and OPS Saturday.

Woodman was crew chief for Bill Whorff Jr. in 2006, when the Whorff Motorsports team of son Jeremie and father Bill went one-two in the TD Bank 250.

“He has driven for us a couple of times down in North Carolina and Virginia, but we are looking forward to finally coming home to race,” said Becky Woodman, Dick’s wife and a West Paris native.

Tracy Gordon of Strong also is set to make his first OPS appearance in many years. Gordon was the speedway’s Pro Stock champion in 1991 and a runner-up finisher in the 250 in 1997 and ’98.

In addition to multi-time PASS North champions Johnny Clark and Ben Rowe, other notable entries are North Carolina’s Jay Fogleman and ACT champion Hoar.

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