OXFORD – Roger Brown isn’t a household name in New England racing circles but he will be after Sunday night.

Brown, who started 30th, took the lead on lap 142 and held off hard-charging Dale Verrill by half a car length to win the 34th annual TD Banknorth Oxford 250 Sunday night.

The Lancaster, N.H., native survived 15 cautions and several late-lap restarts.

His car was exceptional on restarts but Paris native Verrill closed in over the final three laps and tried valiantly to pass him on the outside only to come up a few feet short on the absorbing final lap.

North Wooodstock, N.H., native David Avery passed him on the outside on lap 225 but Brown slid up the track, Avery slid down and they swapped paint which propelled Avery over the embankment in turn one.

“It was what it was. Dave had a better car. He came down and took a chance that I’d lift [off the accelerator]. I had my nose in there. If we were 50 laps into the race I probably would have lifted. But not with 25 left,” said Brown who wasn’t worried about being black-flagged for the incident “because I didn’t spin him out.”

Brown pocketed $35,800 in the first Late Model TD Banknorth Oxford 250. It had been a Pro Stock race.

Brown said he knew he would face another late-race challenge “but I kept my car on the bottom and [Verrill] was going to have to go around me or through me.”

Brown called his win “amazing” and said it was easily the highlight of his career. The 28-year-old Brown is ninth in points in the American-Canadian Tour. When he drew the 10th spot for the first heat race, he figured “our day was over.”

But he finished fourth in the heat race and second in the consolation race to earn his spot in the feature.

“I knew we had a good car. Today was our day. Everything we did worked out,” said Brown, who pitted for four new tires on lap 90 and never pitted again.

Several others, like Verrill, who pitted later, had fresher tires.

“I was gaining on him. If we just had another five laps…” said the 59-year-old Verrill who added that “my car was good all night.”

Scott Payea of Milton, Vt., was third; Jon Brill of Bridgton was fourth and Dennis Spencer Jr. of Oxford was fifth. Avery wound up sixth and rounding out the top 10 were Ricky Rolfe of Albany Township, Trampas Demers of South Burlington Vt., Eric Chase of Milton, Vt., Dennis Spencer Jr. of Oxford and Brent Dragon of Milton, Vt.

Nextel Cup drivers Terry Labonte and Kevin Lepage received provisionals after failing to qualify in the heat, consolation and last-chance races and neither was a factor.

Lepage was 21st and Labonte, who had car trouble, wound up 42nd.

In addition to Brown, Verrill also pocketed his biggest paycheck at $12,000. And Payea took home $7,500 for third.

Payea had fresher tires than Brown but said he lost track position taking tires and “it took a lot out of the car coming up through the pack. We needed some long runs and we didn’t get them. There were a lot of short runs due to the cautions.”

Frenchville native Shawn Martin, now living in Turner, started on the pole and led the first 41 laps. Drivers received $100 for every lap they led.

Rolfe, who was on the outside pole, passed Martin on lap 42 just before a caution flag came out.

Rolfe was strong on the restart and wound up leading 48 of the next 49 laps.

A series of pit stops and cautions juggled the lineup and Denmark’s Carey Martin, a five-time OPS Limited Sportsman champion, inherited the lead shortly afterward.

A 12-car pileup between turns one and two on lap 102 further shook up the running order.

Avery, who started 22nd, was second behind Rolfe on the restart with Busch East regular Eddie MacDonald of Rowley, Mass. starting in the third spot.

Boothbay Harbor’s Corey Williams, who had been running in the top 10, fell off the pace on lap 133 and came in to the pits. A few laps later, Martin’s hopes of winning were dashed when he developed car trouble and came to the pits.

MacDonald used lapped traffic to sneak inside Martin and take the lead on lap 133 but Martin passed MacDonald six laps later.

It was the sixth lead change of the race.

Brown took the lead on lap 142 and led all but one of the final 108 laps.

There were six cautions over the final 108 laps.

MacDonald, a Busch East regular, was penalized one lap for passing the pace car entering the pits and never recovered. He finished 24th.

THE TOP 10

1. Roger Brown, Lancaster, N.H.

2. Dale Verrill, Paris

3. Scott Payea, Milton, Vt.

4. Jon Brill, Bridgton

5. Dennis Spencer Jr., Oxford

6. David Avery, North Woodstock, N.H.

7. Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township

8. Trampas Demers, South Burlington Vt.

9. Eric Chase, Milton, Vt.

10. Dennis Spencer Jr., Oxford