During the past two summers, it seems Eddie MacDonald has been riding a rail around the track whenever he’s raced at Oxford Plans Speedway.

Next Sunday, MacDonald will return to the Maine track and try to become only the second driver to win the prestigious TD Bank 250 three consecutive times.

He won 250s in 2009 and ’10.

In between, MacDonald, the 30-year-old driver from Rowley, Mass., won two American Canadian Tour 150-lap races at Oxford Plains.

During his last four visits to the 3/8-mile asphalt track, MacDonald has gone 4 for 4.

What’s his secret?

“There are two reasons why he’s so good here,” said Ricky Rolfe, a top driver in the speedway’s Late Model division. “One, he has Rollie Lachance in his pocket, and two, he’s a very, very good driver.”

Lachance, MacDonald’s crew chief, grew up in New Gloucester, 20 minutes away from the speedway.

“Rollie has always run well there in the past, so I think we just have a good feel for what we need when we show up there, and we’ve been lucky to adjust and be where we need to be at the end of the race,” MacDonald said. “We’ve changed things a little bit, here and there, but we have a good place to start.”

MacDonald’s ability to adapt during a race has enabled him to stay near the front of the lead pack during his recent visits to the speedway.

“He never overdrives his car,” said Rolfe, who lives in Poland. “He drives like he has to drive it. He learns a groove and he learns where he’s got to go.”

“(Oxford is) one of the tracks I really like to drive on,” MacDonald said. “You have to be really smooth and get momentum. I like to get into a rhythm, especially on a longer run.”

“Last year, I was able to catch up to him and race with him for a while,” said Rolfe, who finished second to Ben Rowe in the 250 in 2004. “I was running a good pace, but he just picked up the pace.”

MacDonald races full time on the K&N Pro Series, NASCAR’s top developmental racing circuit.

“What sets him apart is he races all the time,” said Shawn Martin, another top competitor in the track’s Late Model division. “Anybody who races that much and has that kind of talent, it gives them an edge.”

Since winning the 250 last July, MacDonald has not driven the Late Model car he will run next Sunday at OPS.

He had intended to run in two ACT races at the speedway in May and June, but both events were called off because of rain.

The plan calls for MacDonald’s crew to take the car out of mothballs today and spend two days setting it up for the 250.

On Thursday, MacDonald’s race crew will travel to Ohio for the JEGS 150, a K&N Series event that will run Saturday night at Columbus Motor Speedway.

After the race, the crew will drive two hours to Pittsburgh and fly to Maine on Sunday morning.

“It’s been a really good car, so hopefully that will make up for the lack of practice we will have next weekend,” MacDonald said. “We’re up for the challenge. Hopefully, we can get that car rolling and get off to a good start.”

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH