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WINTERFEST 150
- NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY - SUN., JAN. 31ST
After time-trialing in 7th and drawing the 8th starting
spot, Ben ran in the top 3 to top 5,
taking the lead from Southern Star Jeff Choquette at one point.
After the mid-point
mandatory caution for tire changes for all cars, the race fell into
a series of cautions.
On lap 104, Ben wound up in the middle of a tangle in turn one,
sitting on the hood
of the #08 of Joey Gase. With some quick tape work in the pits, Ben
was back on
track. But at the restart, a tag in the right rear sent the #48 into
the bottom wall
of turn one. With substantial damage the #48 returned to the pits
behind a wrecker.
Ben was scored with a 14th place finish.
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Florida Trip Brings Rowe, Team Together |
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Ben
Rowe could have left Florida in a bad mood. Instead,
he left encouraged.
A twice-wrecked race car during the 4-time PASS
North Series champion’s first voyage with Mulkern
Racing did cast a mild pall over the trip to New
Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway last week, but Rowe saw the
silver lining.
"I’m really happy, and I can tell you I’m excited
about the season," Rowe said after finishing 14th in
the Winterfest 150, the first of five races in the
PASS National Series for 2010. "We had a good run
going, the entire team worked really hard and we’re
going to be ready for the start (of the PASS North
season)."
Rowe was fastest in the final practice, qualified
eighth in the 22-car field and was the leader of the
race at the halfway break -- all in his first race
with his new team and in his first race at New
Smyrna’s fast half-mile track.
He took the lead in the No. 48 Community Pharmacies
Chevrolet on lap 65 and held it until a lap 76
restart.
Rowe, of Turner, Maine, watched as leaders Johnny
Clark and Brad Leighton moved ahead early in the
second half of the event, planning to let them burn
through their equipment while waiting to make a
late-race run for the lead. Instead, he was caught
up in a wreck on lap 104 that was a harbinger of
things to come.
Rowe saw Leighton wave his hand out the window to
indicate he was slowing down for an apparent caution
flag -- but as Rowe checked up, he was hit from
behind and ended up in the turn one wall.
"It was just miscommunication between (Leighton) and
his spotter," Rowe said, noting that the race
director never called for a caution. "I talked to
Brad after the race, and he felt bad. He thought
he’d been told there was a caution out."
Just three laps later, after restarting at the rear
of the field with what was largely cosmetic damage,
Rowe was involved in a second incident -- this time
a much harder hit into the frontstretch wall that
ended the No. 48’s day.
"I was just racing with guys I should never have
been back there racing with," Rowe said.
Still, after the disappointment of seeing a possible
winning car sidelined, Rowe was excited.
"I was real happy," said the reigning PASS National
and PASS South champion. "The entire team -- Tony
Ricci, Scott Chubbuck, Mark Lyden, Shawn Plowman,
every single one of the guys -- all worked their
tails off… There wasn’t anything anyone could have
done different, it was just one of those deals that
happens.
"But I’m really, really looking forward to going to
the track again with those guys."
When that will be exactly Rowe isn’t sure.
"There’s some things we want to do to the car," he
said. "It was my first time in a Junior Hanley car.
My first time with bump stops like that. Maybe we
can get to another (National or South) race before
the North season starts, but we’ll just have to see
how much we can get done." |
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A Big Thank You to the New Smyrna
crew for their hard work and time:
- Tony Ricci (who worked especially hard to get the car
together and fitted for Ben
in the weeks prior to the race
given the "last minute" decision to go)
- Scott Chubbuck - Shawn Plowman - Mark Lyden
Thanks to John and Johnny Clark for transporting the race
car
Thanks to Ben for making the trip and his effort,
competitive spirit and commitment behind the wheel.
We look
forward to the upcoming season! |
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PRACTICE FOR THE PASS WINTERFEST 150 - NEW
SMYRNA SPEEDWAY - 1/29/10
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| Multi-Time Champs Team Up
For PASS Winterfest National Race |
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FARMINGDALE,
Maine -- With 10 championships between them, Maine racers
Ben Rowe and Johnny Clark are teaming up for a winter road
trip.
A long winter road trip -- to Florida.
Rowe, who has four PASS North Series championships as well
as PASS South and PASS National championships on his resume,
and Clark will field a joint effort for the inaugural PASS
Winterfest 150 at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway on Jan. 29-30.
The event is the first of five PASS National Championship
races scheduled for the 2010 season.
"We wanted to go down and support this race, because we
think it could grow into something really big in the
future," said Clark, a four-time PASS North champion,
including the last two series titles. "If everything goes
well, we should both have a chance to win this one."
Clark's race hauler will carry both his familiar Clark's Car
Crushing No. 54 and Rowe's new Community Pharmacies No. 48.
The deal to pool the resources of Johnny Clark Motorsports
and Mulkern Racing was finalized at last weekend's Northeast
Motorsports Expo held at the Augusta Civic Center.
Rowe was named Touring Series Driver of the Year at the
Expo.
"I think it's going to be a lot of fun," said Rowe, who will
debut with his new team and new crew chief, Seth Holbrook,
at New Smyrna. "Me and Johnny have never teamed up before,
so it's going to be a blast."
Of the two drivers, only Clark has New Smyrna experience,
having competed on multiple occasions in the annual New
Smyrna World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing held each
February.
He compared New Smyrna's high-banked half-mile layout to
Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway, a track familiar to
PASS North Series competitors.
"It's a lot like Thompson," Clark said. "It's big and fast,
and it's definitely a fun and challenging track. It's
extremely hard on brakes, and you need one of the biggest
motors you can find there."
Rowe said he'll take Clark's word for it, having never raced
at New Smyrna himself. He has, however, watched a number of
races there from the pit area.
"It does race a lot like Thompson -- at least that's what
Johnny tells me," Rowe said. "Hopefully he'll help me out
when we get there and we can go from there.
"We're going to take a bunch of guys from the north down
there and see what we can do together."
Teams hit the track on Friday, Jan. 29 for an extended
practice session. Qualifying and feature racing will be held
on Saturday, Jan. 30. The Winterfest 150 is tentatively
scheduled for a 7:30 PM green flag. |
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2009
Touring Series Driver of the Year |
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At the
Northeast Motorsports Expo held on January 8th to the 10th
at the Augusta Civic Center, Ben received one of the 1st
Annual "Mainely's" for Driver of the Year in a Touring
Series in 2009.
The "Mainely's" were presented from Mainely Motorsports TV by
the show's co-host Amanda Leach. |
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2010 Breaking News - # 48 |
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Four-Time
PASS Champ Ben Rowe
Signs On With Mulkern Racing |
FALMOUTH, Maine --
Championship-caliber equipment now has a
championship-caliber driver to call its own. A four-time
championship
driver, that is.
Mulkern Racing LLC has announced Ben Rowe, the all-time
winningest driver in PASS history, will drive the Community
Pharmacies No. 48 full-time on the PASS North Series in
2010. With team owner Scott Mulkern, Rowe will attempt to
win a record fifth PASS North title.
"It's exciting for me all over again. Anytime you start
something new,
it's pretty exciting to me," said Rowe, who has 39 career
combined
victories in PASS North and PASS South and is coming off a
season in which
he won both the PASS South and PASS National championships
in 2009.
"Scott's just a great guy to be around, and he knows what it
takes to win."
Rowe will debut with Mulkern Racing this weekend at the
Northeast
Motorsports Expo at the Augusta Civic Center, where he will
sign autographs both Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
Mulkern is no stranger to victory lane himself, with three
career wins in
PASS-sanctioned events and 19 career top-5 finishes in PASS
North. He's
competed part-time as a driver with his own team over the
last few
seasons, but this year has made the commitment to a
full-time operation as an owner with his wife, Vickie.
"The real focus for us now is on Ben and trying to win a
championship for
Ben in PASS North," Mulkern said.
Accomplished crew chief Seth Holbrook, who has ties to both
Kyle Busch
Motorsports and veteran New England racers like Mike Rowe,
Joey Laquerre
and Tim Brackett, has been hired by Mulkern to lead the No.
48 team. Tony
Ricci works full-time at the Mulkern Racing shop preparing
and maintaining
the team's cars.
Already, Rowe said he believes the new No. 48 is capable of
contending for
the PASS North title.
" I think we can go to (Speedway 95) and win the first race
of the year,"
Rowe said of the April 18 season opener in Hermon, Maine.
"Scott wants to
do it, and he wants to do it right. He wants to go for the
North championship, and it gets him all pumped up talking
about it.
"Seeing him get so pumped up gets me wound up to get going
again, too, so it's good for me. I think it's going to be a
fun year."
Mulkern said the team is concentrating on racing here in the
North Series,
with an eye on a possible race or two in PASS South.
"We may do some," said Mulkern, who also plans to run a
couple of PASS
North races himself in a team car. "If everything goes well,
we might run
a race down south early before the North season starts."
Mulkern Racing has four cars, including a Lefthander
Chassis, two Junior
Hanley-prepared cars and a new Howe chassis from Distance
Racing. The team will use both Chevrolet engines prepared by
Butler-MacMaster Automotive and Dodge engines from
Performance Automotive Machine. |
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BEECH RIDGE PASS 150 - Sat. May 2nd, 2009 |
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A 19th for Scott |
| The May Beech Ridge
PASS 150, the second outing of the year for Scott, saw the
#84 finish 19th out of 32 cars at the track. The ABC-bodied
Super Late Model was picking up more speed and getting more
comfortable.
Scott scored a 6th in
Heat #2 to transfer directly to the feature without
participating in a consi.
From 17th, Scott settled
in to run with Richie Dearborn #33 and Ben Rowe in the #4
for the first half of the race. Mulkern was running in the
top 12 within 10 laps of the checkers when the #84 slid off
turn three into the dirt and fell back for a 19th place
finish. |
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Beech Ridge PASS 150 Speed51 Trackside Now |
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FIRST EVENT of the 2009 SEASON
Scott
is 23rd
at Speedway 95
Retired on Lap 3 with damage from a
crash on the main straight.
Race finishing order at PASS Here
PASS NAPA 150 at
Speedway 95
Naples ME (April 14)
The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) North season kicks off
Sunday April 19th at Speedway 95 in Hermon Maine with the
NAPA 150 and fans of the fastest full fender short track
series in the east are asking themselves, “can Ben Rowe Rowe
score three PASS super late model wins in a row and lead the
points in all three title chases?”
It will be no easy task, but the four time PASS North
champion is definitely on an early season roll. With PASS
South wins at Dillon (SC) Motor Speedway and Hickory (NC)
Motor Speedway already under his belt, Rowe leads both the
PASS South and National Championship title chases. A win in
the NAPA 150 and a good run in his qualifying race could put
Rowe on top of the North Series points as well, a feat never
accomplished since PASS started the South super late model
series in 2006.
Rowe will have his hands full with a strong field of super
late models that will include defending PASS North champ
Johnny Clark, 2008 race winners Travis Benjamin, Adam Bates,
Derek Ramstrom and 2008 PASS Rookie of the Year D.J. Shaw,
Scott Chubbuck, Kelly Moore and a host of new talent
including Steve Legendre and John Dabrowski.
If licensed drivers are any indication, the PASS Sportsman
and Mod divisions should see their ranks grow in 2009. Many
of the top guns in the Sportsman class are back on board for
2009, including Steve Bennett Sr., 2008 Rookie of the Year
Kyle Hart, Mike Landry, Duane Seekins, Shane Tatro and many
more. New names and veterans dot the Mod list, including
Greg Ellis, Scott McDaniel, Steve Bennett Jr. and Dan Somes.
The Mods “move up” to 10 inch tires this season, and the
quick, economical class should be even more exciting in
2009.
- NAPA Two for One Discount
Coupon:
2 Adult
Tickets for $10.00 each!
If you’ve made
it this far, you’re in for an additional treat! NAPA will be
offering a Two for One discount coupon,
valid exclusively at the NAPA 150 at
Speedway 95 this Sunday, and for the Father’s Day weekend
(6/21) race at Unity Raceway. The two for one coupon
brings the price of two adult tickets down to $10.00 each.
“We felt it was an opportune time to give back to the fans
that have supported PASS in the North for nine seasons now,”
said series President Tom Mayberry, “ and with the
cooperation of NAPA we are able to offer this coupon for
these two events. “ The Two for One
coupon will be available in Bangor area NAPA stores late
this week. |
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Sat-Sun,
September 20th & 21st
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway - Scarborough, ME
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returned to Beech Ridge in September for the longest PASS
North race of the season at 300 laps. A strong second place
finish in Heat 3 put the #84 fourth on grid for the feature
after previous 2008 winners were put from 11th on back per
PASS rules. At
the green Scott cruised with the lead group having the same
strategy as most of the racers - put 250 laps down easily
and then race hard for the final 50. Trying to use up the
tires from the shot lived Toyota Tundra event at Wiscasset
in August put Scott at a disadvantage since the tires had
some laps on them and had less forward bite on the restarts.
The #84 ran in the top six for most of the race but dropped
to 8th at the finish handicapped by the older tires. The #84
was the final car on the lead lap. |
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Sunday, August 17th
Wiscasset Raceway - Wiscasset, ME |
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Scott's luck in the
Tundar 250 at Wiscasset in August just wasn't very good. The
first heat of the day turned into a tough one with several
incidents over just 12 laps. The final multi-car wreck saw
the #84 spun around on the main straight and too damaged to
continue in the consis or last chance races.
So it was a short day for the Mulkern Racing team. |
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Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
Speedway 95 - Hermon, ME
A WIN in the OUTLAW 50 LAPPER |
The PASS Outlaws kicked off their 2008 season at Speedway 95 and
Scott Mulkern powered by Chris Staples at the half way point of
their 50 lap feature to open his Outlaw season on a winning note. At
the checker it was Mulkern’s Community Pharmacies Dodge over Staples
with Mike Harnish third. Joe Decker and Scott Alexander rounded out
the top five.
Despite the best efforts of the Pro All Stars Series and Speedway 95
officials, Saturday’s PASS North Community Pharmacies 150
super late model main event was lost to rain.
PASS Outlaw
Feature
– 50 Laps
1)
84-Scott Mulkern, Falmouth, ME
2) 5-Chris Staples, Brunswick,
ME
3) 22-Mike Harnish, Waterville, ME 4) 01-Joe
Decker, Chesterfield, ME
5) 17-Scott Alexander, Orrington, ME 6) 25J-Gunnar Josselyn,
Farmington 7) 25- Mike Thomas, Lewiston, ME 8) 04-Jamie
Swallow Jr., Stark, NH
9) 7 – Donnie Morrison, Carmel, ME
DNS - 52-Dave
Bitondo, Ashby, MA
MULKERN FLIES TO, AND AT, SPEEDWAY 95
by Mike Twist
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Sat. April
19th, 2008
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway - Scarborough, ME
Scott hops back in the Outlaw bodied #84 to race
with the PASS North Super Late Models in the
"Cabin Fever 150" season opener at Beech Ridge
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Previous Race Results and Photos
HERE |
Welcome to our new little buddy OSCAR!
He joined the crew on Nov. 4th, 2007
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In Loving Memory
Our Best Friend
Rexie!
1991 - 2006 |
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