THE MASON-DIXON MELTDOWN NEWPORT SPEEDWAY -
10/16/10
TOP
THREE at the MASON-DIXON MELTDOWN:
L to R:
#48 Ben Rowe (3rd), #98 Justin Wakefield (1st),
#29 Andy Loden (2nd)
Friday, Sept.
17th
5th for Ben at WMMP
With his fifth-place
finish in the season finale at White Mountain
Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., last weekend,
Ben locked up a second place in the 2010 PASS North
Series final standings. The finish marked Rowe's eighth
in the Top-2 at season's end in the PASS North Series,
and the winningest driver in series history (36) has
never finished worse than third overall. This marked his
first season with Mulkern Racing.
PASS NORTH SERIES - FINAL POINTS POSITION: 2nd
BEN, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SEASON YOU
JUST COMPLETED?
It went well. I think anytime you have two wins and
finish second in the points, it's a good season. I
figured all year long we were a second-place car behind
(Johnny Clark), and that's right where we ended up.
Obviously, everyone wants to win more races and win the
championship -- but I think the year was as good as any
of us could have expected. Everything about the team was
totally, totally new -- new team owners (Scott and
Vickie Mulkern), new crew chief working with a new
driver.
WHEN YOU LOOK BACK, ARE YOU GOING TO FEEL GOOD
ABOUT THE EFFORT THIS SEASON?
I am. Johnny has been with all of the guys on his team
for so long, it's like second nature for them. We did a
lot of testing this year -- a lot -- and we still
couldn't quite get on the same page. It's not just about
setups. It's about communication and spending time
working together.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DIFFERENT NEXT YEAR IN ORDER TO
WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?
I thought we were better at the end of the year. Right
up until we went to Beech Ridge (for the PASS 300), I
thought we were making pretty good strides.
The biggest thing for us is to get things in order as
soon as we can (in the offseason). I really feel like we
have to have things rolling along by the time the first
race (of 2011) gets here, so we don't go to North
Wilkesboro in April still trying to figure things out.
White
Mountain Motorsports Park Race Preview
4-time PASS North
Series champion Ben Rowe attempts looks for an
unprecedented ninth career victory at the track when the
series heads to the PASS 150 at White Mountain
Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., on Friday
night, September 17. Rowe owns a PASS-record eight
career victories on the high-banked quarter-mile as he
heads into the PASS North Series season finale. A solid
second in the series standings, Rowe is looking for his
10th Top-5 finish in 13 races this season.
BEST CAREER WHITE MOUNTAIN MOTORSPORTS PARK FINISH: 1st
(8 times; most recenty: May 2009)
LAST RACE AT WHITE MOUNTAIN MOTORSPORTS PARK: 5th (May
2010)
WHAT: Season Finale -- PASS North
Series PASS 150
WHERE: White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock,
N.H. (.25-mile oval)
WHEN: 6 p.m., Friday, September 17
PASS NORTH SERIES - POINTS POSITION: 2nd
BEN, YOU OBVIOUSLY LOOK FORWARD TO ANY TRIP TO
WHITE MOUNTAIN.
I can't wait to get to White Mountain. I love White
Mountain. It's a great place. It's a Friday night deal,
and hopefully a lot of people come up from (NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series weekend at New Hampshire Motor
Speedway) to check it out.
I love that place. It's one of the race tracks you can
actually race on, and I've had a lot of success there.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE TRACK THAT YOU'VE TAKEN TO
OVER THE YEARS?
A place like Beech Ridge is all finesse. You've got ot
be really easy on the throttle -- but at White Mountain,
you don't have to worry about the race track. You go and
drive the car, basically. That's probably why I get
myself in so much trouble at Beech Ridge. I try to take
too much -- but up there, you 've got a little bit of
banking to hold you.
Ever since I showed up there, I love the place. It's
probably all in my head, but whatever works.
DO YOU HOLD ANY HOPE OF ADDING A FIFTH PASS
NORTH CHAMPIONSHIP TO YOUR RESUME THIS WEEKEND?
(Johnny Clark) basically wrapped it up. But a
championship isn't won on one race and it isn't lost on
one race. It's what you do all year long. I feel he's
had the better car all year long.
We chased him, chased him, chased him -- and we kept it
close as long as we could. It was fun, and we'll go to
White Mountain and we'll try to go out and win it.
Broken Lift at Beech Ridge - The Clark Motorsports
hauler is backed up
to the Mulkern hauler to transfer two cars and lower
them to the ground as a front end loader supports the
broken side of the lift. Thanks for the rescue!
SCOTT 5TH in the PASS
300
Scott finished fifth in the PASS
North Series PASS 300 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in
Scarborough, Maine, on Sunday, September 12. Mulkern,
who also owns the No. 48 for driver Ben Rowe, posted his
second Top-5 of the season in just his third 2010 start in
part-time competition. (3rd at Beech Ridge on July
17th.)
Mulkern's pit stop for tires and
adjustments to the car on Lap 177 helped give him both
track position and a car good enough to run with the
leaders over the late stages of the event.
STARTED: 25th - FINISHED:
5th
SCOTT, HOW DID YOUR DAY GO?
It was a good finish. We started out real tight, so we
came in and took a spring rubber out of the right front
and changed the stagger. I thought it was driveable if
we didn't get lapped. It wasn't too bad -- we put the
new tires on, and it was decent.
It's hard to pass out there. I started to pass some cars
on the bottom, but you can only do that so much. Then
towards the end, you can't even pass lapped cars on the
bottom
It's fun. I like racing here. A lot of people complain
about the syrup and stuff here, but I think the traction
compound makes it interesting. You can go out and search
around on the race track. I had fun.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO LEAVE WITH A TOP-5?
Good, but I don't think about it too much. I still think
I can win when I go out there. I don't care if I only
race once a year -- but it's hard. I've raced three
times this year, and that car's run really well every
time. I'm usually conservative with it, because I don't
want to mess things up... But you've got to race all the
time to be able to keep up with things.
The car was good, so what else can I say?
BEN 28TH in the PASS
300
Ben finished 28th in the PASS North
Series PASS 300 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in
Scarborough, Maine, on Sunday, September 12. Rowe's day
ended with more than 70 laps remaining in the event,
after he pulled behind the wall with mechanical woes.
With just one race remaining in the PASS North Series
season, Rowe now trails leader Johnny Clark by 71
points.
STARTED: 20th - FINISHED:
28th
NEXT RACE: Friday, September 17, White
Mountain Motorsports Park, N. Woodstock, N.H. (.25-mile
oval)
BEN, WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT YOUR DAY?
It was a long day, but it ended early. We were off in
the beginning. We got way too tight. We changed tires,
and the right rear was flat. We'd tightened it up to
make up for it. Then it started skipping at high RPM --
which, I'm almost certain, it was a battery. I've had
that happen before. Luckily, it wasn't anything serious
with the engine.
We knew it would be a gremlin. We've been great all year
on stuff like that. This is racing. That's why that
stuff happens. We'll pack it up in the trailer and go
back to the next one.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP
PICTURE AFTER TODAY?
(Race winner Johnny Clark) basically wrapped it up
today. But a championship isn't won on one race and it
isn't lost on one race. It's what you do all year long.
I feel he's had the better car all year long.
We chased him, chased him, chased him -- and we kept it
close as long as we could. It was fun, and we'll go to
White Mountain and we'll try to go out and win it.
Beech Ridge Motor
Speedway Race Preview
Ben Rowe of Turner, Maine, joins
the PASS North Series for its longest race of the season
-- the PASS 300 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in
Scarborough, Maine, on Sunday, September 12. Rowe won
the event in 2006 and heads into this weekend 13 points
behind leader Johnny Clark in the PASS North standings
with two races remaining. A four-time PASS North
champion and the defending PASS National Series
champion, Rowe is third in this year's National
standings heading into the 300 -- the fourth of five
National Series events. Rowe won the most recent PASS
National event -- the PASS 75 at Thompson International
Speedway in July -- and has two wins, nine Top-5s and 10
Top-10 finishes in 11 PASS North races this year.
WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 300
WHERE: Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine.
(.333-mile oval)
WHEN: Qualifying -- 2 p.m., Saturday, September 11; Race
-- 12 noon, Sunday, September 12
PASS NORTH SERIES -
POINTS POSITION: 2nd
LAST RACE: August 21, Spud Speedway, Caribou, Maine
(5th-place finish)
NEXT RACE: Friday, September 17, White Mountain
Motorsports Park, N. Woodstock, N.H. (.25-mile oval)
POINTS POSITION: 2nd
BEN, HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS YOUR PASS NORTH
CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES WITH TWO RACES REMAINING?
We've got to keep doing what we're doing. Neither of us
has shot ourselve in the foot yet, and hopefully neither
of us will. We just need to get to the level that
they're at. We were getting there slowly, a couple races
at a time, and then he put us back to reality (by
winning at Spud Speedway in August). Johnny''s been good
all year. We gained some points, but only a few at a
time here and there.
Anything can happen at Beech Ridge. This is going to be
the tell-tale race. If I can't gain a whole lot at Beech
Ridge, then it's going to be really tough going into
White Mountain next weekend. But anything can happen.
There will be lots of cars we don't usually race with
there this weekend, and it's kind of a wild card race.
YOU WERE PRETTY FRUSTRATED WITH YOUR LAST RACE
AT BEECH RIDGE. ARE YOU BETTER NOW THAN YOU WERE IN
EARLY JULY?
I tested all day (Thursday) to get ready -- all day with
both cars at Oxford (Plains Speedway). We just struggle
on the flat tracks. I left Oxford feeling pretty good,
but (Friday) is a whole different day, and it's Beech
Ridge. I've gone there and run decent, but I've also
been there and not been very good.
We've done a lot of changing, a lot of testing (this
season). We've done everything we can. I think we can go
down there and run up front. I want to beat Johnny, but
I want to beat him fair and square, too. I don't wish
him any trouble or anything like that.
No matter what, I guarantee you that at some point we'll
be running nose-to-tail on the track during that race.
It's always that way for us at Beech Ridge.
Rowe Keeps Title Hopes
Alive With Top-5 Finishes
FALMOUTH, Maine -- Ben Rowe sits
just a handful of points out of the PASS North Series
championship lead as the tour barrels down the
homestretch.
Rowe, of Turner, Maine, posted back-to-back Top-5
finishes at Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, Mass., and Spud
Speedway in Caribou, Maine to position himself just 13
points out of the PASS North Series lead with two races
remaining.
"Everybody's still working really hard," Rowe said of
the No. 48 Community Pharmacies team. "We're getting
close. And we're still in the hunt for the championship
-- so we may not be quite where we want to be, but we're
not that far off, either."
Rowe finished fourth at Seekonk Speedway on Aug. 14.
Just one week later, he ran fifth in the series'
inaugural visit to Spud Speedway.
In both cases, Rowe said he had a competitive car early
on.
"The car seems to be really fast for the first few laps,
but it drops off pretty quickly for some reason," said
Rowe, who has two wins and nine Top-5s through the first
11 races of the year. "Obviously, if we can figure out
why that happens and fix it, we're going to be really
good."
The series returns to action in the PASS 300 at Beech
Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on September
12 -- the longest race of the season -- and concludes
with a final PASS 150 at White Mountain Motorsports Park
on September 17.
The PASS 300 is also the fourth of five PASS National
Series events. The 4-time PASS North champion Rowe sits
third in the National standings, just 27 points out of
the lead in that series. He is the reigning PASS
National and PASS South Series champion.
5th at SPUD SPEEDWAY
Caribou, Maine
Saturday, August 21st
4TH at SEEKONK on 8/14
After a
smooth first heat won by Johnny Clark in cruise mode,
Heat 2 for Ben was a disaster by comparison. A full oil
down of the track required a 35 minute red flag for a
cleanup that left speedi-dry and water from a street
sweeper on the track. Shooting to get back into the
lead, with all the cars slipping, sliding and spinning,
Ben got into the back of Richie Dearborn, and Richie
spun in front of #48. The #33 climbing over the front
fender of the #48 let Derek Ramstrom win with Ben in
third. So Ben lost two points to Johnny.
In the feature, Ben and Johnny started 11th and back as
past 2010 winners. Ben moved up as the first 102 laps
ran fast but caution free. After three quick yellows in
a row, Ben had pulled ahead of the #54 but Johnny got
back alongisde to challenge. But by lap 120 Ben was
solidly in fourth with Johnny a half dozen car lengths
back in fifth as Seekonk weekly racer Dave Darling #52
headed for the checkers.
Ben clawed back the 2 points loss from the heats to
remain ten points back (1971 to 1961 markers) as the
PASS Tour heads to Spud Speedway on Sat. August 21st.
4TH at RIVERSIDE on 7/31
Ben finished fourth in the PASS North Series Summerfest
150 at Riverside Speedway in Groveton, N.H., on
Saturday, July 31. Rowe started 12th in the 18-car field
and worked into the top-10 before the 50-lap mark on the
high-banked, quarter-mile track. He benefited from a lap
81 restart, gaining a few spots' worth of track position
before running comfortably inside the top-five for the
remainder of the event. Unofficially, Rowe gained five
points in the title chase on leader Johnny Clark and now
trails by just nine points heading into the final four
races of the year.
STARTED: 12th - FINISHED: 4th - LED: 0 times for
0 laps
NEXT RACE: Saturday, August 14, Seekonk Speedway,
Seekonk, Mass. (.333-mile)
BEN, YOUR THOUGHTS ON A TOP-FIVE FINISH AT
RIVERSIDE?
We're happy. To come out of here top-five at Groveton,
to me, is like a win. We gained some points on Johnny. I
know it's slim, but we're on the upper hand of it. We
gained a little last week, a little more this week.
That's what you need to do. We've got to capitalize on
it when he falls off. Good points night for us -- that's
about it.
THAT LAP 82 RESTART OBVIOUSLY HELPED OUT.
Here, (the leaders) get squirted away so bad that you
need a couple restarts. I'd like to see a couple more at
the end -- bunch us all back up and let us go. The
lapped cars were really tough... Once we cleared them,
it wasn't bad. It was just at the end it got so free, I
couldn't do anything with them.
Riverside Speedway
Preview
Ben Rowe of Turner,
Maine, is the PASS North Series' most recent winner as
the series heads to the Summerfest 150 at Riverside
Speedway in Groveton, N.H., on Saturday, July 31. Rowe
took round three of the PASS National Championship
Series by winning the PASS 75 at Thompson (Conn.)
International Speedway last week for his second win of
the season. He's never won at Riverside Speedway -- one
of the few PASS tracks where he's never visitied victory
lane -- but has closed to within 14 points of leader
Johnny Clark atop the standings with five races to go.
In eight starts this year, he's yet to miss the top-10
and has seven top-five finishes.
BEST CAREER RIVERSIDE
SPEEDWAY FINISH: 3rd (June 2005)
LAST RACE AT RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY: 4th (July 2009)
WHAT: PASS North Series Summerfest 150
WHERE: Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H. (.25-mile
oval)
WHEN: 5 p.m., Saturday, July 31
PASS North Series -
POINTS POSITION: 2nd
LAST RACE: July 22, Thompson International Speedway,
Thompson, Conn. (1st)
NEXT RACE: August 14, Seekonk Speedway, Seekonk, Mass.
(.333-mile oval)
BEN, YOU HAVE MOMENTUM ON YOUR SIDE HEADING TO
RIVERSIDE.
To win that first one (at Canaan Fair Speedway), and
then to come back and win again a few weeks later --
especially after running so bad at Beech Ridge -- it
really felt good. We've won with both of the cars we've
raced this year, and as far as competing for a
championship, that's pretty good for the team. If we
wreck one of the cars, we know we've got another good
one ready to go the next week.
HOW DID YOU GUYS COME TO THE DECISION TO BRING
YOUR THOMPSON CAR TO THE TIGHT QUARTER-MILE AT
RIVERSIDE?
Just because we won with it and want to try and ride the
flow, basically. Last time out with the other one was at
Beech Ridge, and obviously that didn't go the way we
wanted. That's why we took this one. It's totally
different. This one is an old Junior Hanley car he had
for himself 10 years ago. Once you get one that works,
it's hard to change.
WHAT'S THE KEY TO RACING AT RIVERSIDE?
Beat (three-time Riverside winner Johnny Clark) for one
-- he's really good there.
It's really tight, and you've got to stay out of
trouble, basically. You can get some traffic, especially
off of turn four with the way the wall is right there,
but you can also really go there if you can get around
lapped cars. It's the kind of place where you can get up
on the wheel and really drive it -- but you've got to be
there at the end to make a run for it.
SLM TOP THREE - L TO R: Preston
Peltier #26, 2nd; Winner Ben Rowe #48; and Johnny
Clark #54, 3rd.
BEN THE WINNER AT
THOMPSON on 7/22
Ben won the
PASS North Series PASS 75 at Thompson International
Speedway in Thompson, Conn., on Thursday, July 22. Rowe
passed Preston Peltier with five laps remaining to take
his third career PASS victory at Thompson, the largest
track on the series' schedule. The win marked the second
win in the last four races for Rowe, a four-time series
champion. A combination PASS North/PASS National
Championship event, Rowe gained ground on both Peltier
and Jay Fogleman in the PASS National standings as he
tries to defend his 2009 championship in the PASS
National ranks.
STARTED: 11th - FINISHED:
1st - LED: 1 time for 5 laps
NEXT RACE: Saturday, July 31st,
Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H.
BEN, HOW BIG A WIN WAS
THIS FOR THE TEAM?
This is just huge for us because
we ran so bad last week. I mean, I was ugly last week
about the way we ran at Beech Ridge. For this team to work so hard and
bring a whole different car to this race and go out and
win, that's a big deal.
BY MAKING THE PASS FOR
THE LEAD ON LAP 71, WERE YOU WORRIED YOU'D WAITED TOO
LONG?
I was. And then when I got by Jay
Fogleman for second, Preston (Peltier) squirted out
there a little bit and got away from us. But I could see
that if I settled in and just drove, I was catching up
to him a little bit.
I was going to get a run off four
on him, and he slipped up. I slammed my nose under him,
but he just pulled me down the straightaway with his
motor. I went into turn one, and he was blocking the
high line. I just headed for the bottom, I outbraked him
-- and I wasn't going to lift until I got beside him. I
just held that line and could kind of dictate his line
off the corner once I had the lead.
Thompson International Speedway
Race Preview Ben Rowe of Turner, Maine,
is the highest-ranking PASS North Series driver as the
PASS National Championship Series heads into its third
race of the season -- the PASS 75 at Thompson
International Speedway in Thompson, Conn., on Thursday,
July 22. Rowe is in contention for both championships,
one year after winning both the PASS National Series and
PASS South Series titles -- as he sits second in the
PASS North standings and third in the PASS South points
behind North Carolina drivers Preston Peltier and Jay
Fogelman. Rowe owns two career victories at Thompson and
has posted a top-five finish in six of the season's
first seven races.
BEST CAREER THOMPSON
FINISH: 1st (2 times; most recently July 2008) LAST RACE AT THOMPSON SPEEDWAY: 9th (July 2009) PASS National Series POINTS
POSITION: 3rd
LAST RACE: April 3, Hickory Motor Speedway, Hickory,
N.C. (8th-place) NEXT RACE: Sept. 12, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway,
Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval)
PASS North Series
POINTS POSITION: 2nd LAST RACE: July 17, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway,
Scarborough, Maine (9th-place) NEXT RACE: July 31, PASS 150, Riverside Speedway,
Groveton, N.H. (.25-mile oval) BEN, WHAT MAKES THOMPSON THE KIND OF PLACE
WHERE IT SEEMS EVERYBODY WANTS TO RACE?
(Laughing) You go fast!
The faster the better for me.
You really notice the speeds there because it's got
tight turns. You can go to Loudon and not really know
how fast you're going, but you know you're hopping down
the straightaways when you're at Thompson. I think a lot
of young guys don't see the banking, but when you get to
the end of that straightaway, there's a 90-degree turn
waiting for you. WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR YOU THIS WEEK, THE PASS
NORTH SERIES STANDINGS OR THE PASS NATIONAL STANDINGS?
We'll see how this week goes. We're quite a bit behind
(28 points in the PASS National), but if we could come
out of here with a shot at the next two races we'll go
for it.
Right now, it's just a bonus for us, because we're third
(in the standings). If we were leading, we'd play more
on the defensive side. Now we need every point we can
get -- whether it's heat races or not. We need max
points at every race. That's probably why you see us
driving and doing some crazy things in heat races
probably -- we need to make up points wherever. YOU WEREN'T HAPPY WITH THE WAY THINGS WENT AT BEECH
RIDGE LAST WEEKEND, EVEN THOUGH YOU CAME OUT WITH A
9TH-PLACE FINISH. IS IT A BLIP ON THE RADAR OR ARE YOU
GUYS STILL NOT WHERE YOU WANT TO BE AS A TEAM?
We don't know what happened -- but that race was
horrible for us by anybody's standards. I told (team
owner Scott Mulkern) they should fire us all.... To run
that bad, everybody was all upset. We'll have a
different car down there this weekend, and hopefully
we'll rebound.
The biggest thing is that we can't afford to give away
points like that, especially when (points leader Johnny
Clark) is off. When he's not good enough to win a race,
we have to be right there. We have to get those points
when we can if we're going to make up ground.
3rd Scott in the #84 -
9th for Ben in the #48 After a scoring revision and the
DQ of the #44 of Trevor Sanborn
at tech, Scott moves up to 3rd and Ben takes 9th.
Ben now stands 2nd in points with 1519 to Johnny Clark's
1538.
Third
in the PASS North Series Bastille 200
Ben finished third in the PASS
North Series Bastille 200 at Lee USA Speedway in Lee,
N.H., on Tuesday, July 13. With the effort, Rowe
continues to be the only driver in the series to have
posted top-5 finishes in each of the series six events.
After struggling in the back half of the field for most
of the first half of the 200-lap event, Rowe gained 13
spots on pit road during a lap 101 stop for tires and
adjustments and emerged in the fifth spot on the
restart. He then climbed to as high as second place with
50 laps remaining before relinquishing second to his
father and eventual race winner Mike Rowe.
WHAT: PASS North Series Bastille 200
WHERE: Lee USA Speedway, Lee, N.H. (.333-mile oval)
STARTED: 12th - FINISHED: 3rd - LED: 0 times for
0 laps
NEXT RACE: Saturday, July 17th, Beech Ridge Motor
Speedway, Scarborough, Maine
BEN, YOUR CAR CAME TO LIFE AFTER THAT PIT STOP
AND HELPED MAKE FOR A GOOD NIGHT.
We started off real bad. I don't know if it was a bad
tire or what, but we adjusted for it. We swapped tires
and then we were too tight -- so we think it was just a
bad tire right from the get go. The last run we adjusted
for it. We made a big air pressure adjustment and
changed two right side tires and gained a ton of spots
on pit road.
HOW CRUCIAL WAS THE EFFORT OF YOUR PIT CREW?
It got us back up to fifth after we'd come in like 15th
or 18th. They gained more spots on pit road than I did
on the race track. That's a big deal for a makeshift
crew to come out here and change tires and do that for
us.
YOUR THOUGHTS ON RACING AT BEECH RIDGE JUST FOUR
DAYS FROM NOW?
Beech Ridge is not one of my favorite tracks, but we'll
see when we get there what happens, I guess.
Beech
Ridge Motor Speedway 7/10 Preview
Ben Rowe of Turner,
Maine, rides the hot hand as the PASS North Series heads
back to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough,
Maine, for the PASS 150 on Saturday, July 10. Rowe
snapped a winless streak dating back more than a year to
June of 2009 by finding victory lane at Canaan Fair
Speedway last weekend. It was Rowe's first win for
Mulkern Racing, and it also marked his fifth top-5 in as
many races this season. Rowe, who finished third at
Beech Ridge back in May and has a win on his resume at
the track in 2006, sits second in the series standings
-- just eight points behind Johnny Clark -- as he vies
for a record fifth PASS North title.
BEST CAREER BEECH
RIDGE FINISH: 1st (September 2006) LAST RACE AT BEECH RIDGE: 3rd (May 2010)
LAST RACE: July 3, Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan,
N.H. (1st-place) NEXT RACE: July 13, Bastille 200, Lee USA
Speedway, Lee, N.H. POINTS POSITION: 2nd BEN, WHAT KIND OF MOMENTUM DID YOUR TEAM TAKE FROM
WINNING AT CANAAN LAST WEEK?
Well, right now momentum is definitely in our corner,
and we're planning on riding it as long as we can. I
think momentum is a week-to-week thing in this sport.
Look at what Johnny (Clark) did -- he won that first
race (at White Mountain in mid-May) and then they went
off and won a couple more right after that. When you get
on a run like that, you know that your cars are good and
if you just go and do your job, you're going to win.
That's where we're at right now. We know we can beat the
best teams out there. Everybody's upbeat, everybody's
positive and everybody wants to work hard to keep
winning. Ninety percent of this team is volunteer -- and
a win just boosts their spirits and everybody wants to
get involved and do stuff to help the team. I'll tell
you what, this is going to be a fun weekend.
HOW DO YOU FIND SUCCESS AT BEECH RIDGE?
I'm not really sure. It seems to be a real hit or miss
place for me. Trevor (Sanborn) goes really good every
time he races there, and it's the same for my father
(Mike Rowe). But even my father, as good as he was there
last year he's struggled some there this year.
I don't know what it is. I wish I did.
IS THIS THE HARDEST TRACK THE SERIES VISITS TO GET A
FIRM
HANDLE ON?
Yeah, it's probably the worst of all of them. Oxford's
getting to be a little like it, but we don't race there,
so this is probably the worst for the PASS tour.
It's so flat and round. It's very, very easy to
overdrive Beech Ridge and get yourself in trouble. Maybe
that's what we all want to do there -- too much. You
look at the guys that have had success there -- guys
like Adam Bates -- and they all seem to be guys that
came from go-karts and learned not to overdrive the
track.
The WINNER at Canaan
Fair Speedway - July 3rd
Ben won the PASS North Series
Firecracker 150 at Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, N.H.,
on Saturday, July 3. The victory was the 33rd career
PASS North win for the four-time series champion and his
first in the Mulkern Racing No. 48 Community Pharmacies
Chevrolet. Rowe led on two occasions, taking the lead
for good from series points leader Johnny Clark shortly
after a restart near the halfway point of the event. It
was Rowe's fourth career Canaan Fair Speedway win.
STARTED: 2nd - FINISHED: 1st
BEN, HOW GOOD DOES IT FEEL TO GET THIS FIRST WIN
WITH YOUR NEW TEAM?
It's huge -- but (team owner Scott Mulkern) wasn't even
here to see it, because he was up at camp this weekend.
That's too bad.
But whenever you get that first win it's great, because
everybody's upbeat now. We know that we have the stuff
to get it done, and tonight we went out and showed
ourselves that we can.
WHEN JOHNNY CLARK PASSED YOU FOR THE LEAD EARLY
IN THE EVENT, WERE YOU WORRIED THAT TONIGHT MIGHT NOT BE
YOUR NIGHT?
I was thinking that when I saw him move into second
behind me. But I figured I'd pulled away from him a
little bit right before the caution came out, and I knew
that I was pretty good on the bottom and could probably
get by him. Once I did, track position was just huge.
It was that way for everybody. It just seemd that
everyone was pretty much done at the end.
TALK ABOUT HOW GOOD YOUR CAR WAS TONIGHT.
It's a lot easier starting up front, I know that. We
started out in practice and we weren't that good, but we
kept working on it and working on it and by the time
they dropped the green in the feature, we were really
good.
After that, it was just a matter of saving it all for
the end of the night.
Canaan Fair Speedway
7/3 Race Preview
4-time PASS North Series champion
Ben Rowe of Turner, Maine, heads to one of his favorite
stops on the circuit this weekend with the running of
the Firecracker 150 at Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan,
N.H., on Saturday, July 3. Rowe has 3 career victories
at Canaan, including a sweep of the two PASS stops there
in 2005. The all-time winningest driver in series
history with 32 wins, Rowe is looking for his first win
in the Mulkern Racing No. 48.
BEST CAREER CANAAN FAIR SPEEDWAY FINISH: 1st (3 times;
most recently: September 2005)
LAST RACE AT CANAAN FAIR SPEEDWAY: 7th (May 2006)
PASS NORTH SERIES
LAST RACE: June 20, Unity Raceway, Unity, Maine
(3rd-place finish)
NEXT RACE: Saturday, July 10, Beech Ridge Motor
Speedway, Scarborough, Maine
POINTS POSITION: 2nd
BEN, TALK ABOUT CANAAN FAIR SPEEDWAY?
It's definitely fun to race there. It's a fast track,
and I like it. It's a lot like Speedway 660 (in New
Brunswick), so we should be fast there. It's pretty fast
and has a lot of grip -- and it's one of the tracks I
actually look forward to going to.
Everytime we go there, we're pretty decent.
YOU'RE THE ONLY SERIES DRIVER WITH A TOP-5 IN
ALL FOUR RACES THUS FAR IN 2010. HOW CLOSE ARE YOU TO
THAT FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON?
We're just 'that much' away from winning. I keep telling
everybody that once we get it all figured out and learn
how to win together, we're going to win a bunch of
races.
We're just knocking on that door right now.
DO YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO FINALLY BREAK THROUGH AT
CANAAN?
I think so. We're going into this weekend knowing we can
run good enough to win. We know the things that we're
running and we know the things that are keeping us just
a little off, so there's no question we can win.
We just have to raise our standards to (points leader
Johnny Clark), because he's obviously running really
well right now. We're almost there.
SUN. JUNE 20TH - 3 PM
BEN 3rd at
UNITY
Ben Rowe of Turner,
Maine, finished third in the PASS North Series Father's
Day 150 at Unity Raceway in Unity, Maine, on Sunday,
June 20. Rowe is the only driver to finish in the top-5
of all four PASS North events this season after turning
in another solid performance on Sunday. After starting
third, Rowe never dropped out of the top-5 in the
running order at any point in the event, holding off
Donnie Whitten for third as the two battled for position
for almost the final 50 laps of the event.
WHO: Ben Rowe, Turner, Maine TEAM: No. 48 Community Pharmacies Chevrolet WHAT: PASS North Series Father's Day 150 WHERE: Unity Raceway, Unity, Maine (.333-mile
oval)
STARTED: 3rd - FINISHED: 3rd - LED: 0 times for 0 laps
NEXT: Saturday, July 3, Firecracker 150, Canaan
Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. (.333-mile oval)
BEN, IT WAS ANOTHER GOOD DAY FOR THE 48 TEAM.
A top-3 for me here is a win. It's all about keeping it
on the track and keeping it in one piece. We've been
working on this thing day in and day out. We're getting
better.
We're getting the top-3s now. It won't be long, we'll be
up there with (race winner Johnny Clark). It just takes
time for everybody that hasn't been together, to put a
new team together. I can't wait (to start winning),
we're getting better and better every time.
DID THE MORE THAN 3-HOUR RAIN DELAY PLAY A FACTOR IN
YOUR RACE?
I don't think so. We were really good in the heat (race)
and then right at the end (of the 150) I got too tight
to do anything. We got this place dried out, the fans
stuck with us and we came out here and put on a show.
Ben Rowe: Unity Raceway Race Preview
4-time PASS North Series champion Ben Rowe of Turner,
Maine, returns to one of the toughest tracks on the
circuit this weekend when the series visits Unity
Raceway in Unity, Maine, for the PASS 150 on Sunday,
June 20. Rowe finished 5th last weekend at Speedway 660
near Fredericton, New Brunswick, and is the only driver
to post a top-5 finish in each of the first three PASS
races of the season. Rowe has won twice at Unity in his
career and is looking to put his new Mulkern Racing No.
48 in victory lane for the first time this season.
BEST CAREER UNITY RACEWAY FINISH: 1st (2 times; most
recently: October 2006)
LAST RACE AT UNITY RACEWAY: 3rd (August 2009)BEN, IT WAS ANOTHER SOLID RUN
FOR YOU LAST WEEKEND NORTH OF THE BORDER.
Another top-5, so I can't complain. It's what we need to
do. When I first started with (owner Tom) Estes -- and
it was the same when I started with (Richard Moody
Racing) -- it took us a while to hit on things and we
never won a race until end of the year. And where we are
now is way ahead of all that. We just need to get a
little bit better, and then things will be really good.
I was really happy with the car in practice. The first
segment (of the 200-lap race), the car bottomed out
really bad. It was dragging, and we tried to make up for
it in second segment but we just kind of overdid it. We
were closer than we have been this year, though, and I'm
happy about that.
ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING TO UNITY RACEWAY THIS
WEEKEND?
It's fun place to race during the actual race, if you
can get around the right people. It's really fun racing
guys like Johnny (Clark) there or Randy Turner. Those
guys are a lot of fun to race with.
I used to go there and totally hate it, and I'd run
terrible. Now, I just try to keep it on the race track.
My whole thing is just stay on the asphalt for 125 laps
and then race at the end. We've had some really good
races there doing that. The track puts on some good
racing, and hopefully we'll be right there with 25 to
go.
SAT. JUNE 12TH - 7 PM
5TH PLACE AT 660
Ben Rowe: Speedway
660 Race Preview
4-time PASS North Series champion Ben Rowe of Turner,
Maine, attempts to win for a second straight time at
Speedway 660 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, when the
series competes in the Pro All Stars Series 200 on
Saturday, June 12. Rowe won this race a year ago with
his former team, and he aims to put Mulkern Racing in
victory lane for the first time this season. He's won
twice in series history at Speedway 660 and enters this
weekend third in the PASS North standings -- one of only
two drivers with top-5 finishes in each of the season's
first two races. His father, Mike, is the other.
WHO: Ben Rowe, Turner, Maine
TEAM: Community Pharmacies No. 48 Chevrolet
BEST CAREER SPEEDWAY 660 FINISH: 1st (2 times; most
recently: June 2009)
LAST RACE AT SPEEDWAY 660: 1st (June 2009)
WHAT: PASS North Series Pro All Stars Series 200
WHERE: Speedway 660, Fredericton, New Brunswick
(.333-mile oval)
WHEN: 7:05 p.m., Saturday, June 12
PASS NORTH SERIES
LAST RACE: Saturday, May 22, PASS 150, White Mountain
Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. (5th-place
finish)
NEXT RACE: Sunday, June 20, Unity Raceway, Unity, Maine
POINTS POSITION: 3rdBEN, THIS SEEMS TO BE ANOTHER
ONE OF THOSE TRACKS THAT DRIVERS EITHER LOVE OR HATE.
THERE'S NO IN-BETWEEN.
It's a nice track, and it's a lot of fun to drive --
kind of like Oxford or Beech Ridge. I think it's a fun
little place, the fans really get into it up there, and
it makes it worth the long trip getting there.
I like Fredericton. It's kind of round and it's got a
lot of grip if you get the car right. I think you can
race two-wide there in these cars, and it puts on a lot
of good races.
ARE YOU READY FOR THIS NEXT STRETCH OF 5 RACES IN 6
WEEKS?
I hope so. We're testing again (Wednesday) at Beech
Ridge, just trying to get where we need to be as we get
ready for this stretch. We've got three or four cars
that could be ready to race in a day's time if we need
them, so equipment-wise we're ready. We're just not
quite ready speed-wise.
IN YOUR MIND, WHERE IS THE TEAM LACKING AFTER JUST TWO
RACES TOGETHER?
I'm not quite sure. It's something very tiny. Maybe it's
just me getting too fussy with things, but I know
there's more there for us to pick up. We know everyone
else is working hard to get better, and we are, too.
That's why we've done so much testing and we keep on
testing, so we can try and get this thing as good as it
can be.
Saturday, May 22nd,
2010
5th Place
at WMMP
Photos by Norm Marx
RACE REPORT
- Started 10th - Finished 5th
NORTH WOODSTOCK, N.H. -- Multi-time PASS North Series
champion Ben Rowe posted a 5th-place finish in the PASS
150 at White Mountain Motorsports Park on Saturday,
making him one of just three drivers to post a top-5 in
each of the first two events of the season. Rowe started
10th at the track where he owns eight career wins, and
he ran as high as third in the second half of the race.
BEN, YOU NEVER SEEMED TO HAVE THE
CAR JUST THE WAY YOU WANTED IT.
Right from the drop of the green,
we were just too tight on entry. We came here and tested
and had a really good car -- thought we were going to be
really good. Just as the track kept getting more and
more rubber on it, it just kept getting tighter and
tighter in the center.
IT'S A GOOD SIGN THAT THE TEAM IS
DISAPPOINTED IN A 5TH-PLACE FINISH, THOUGH, ISN'T IT?
To be disappointed with a fifth
coming out of here, it's because we have high
expectations coming here. This is a place that I'm
supposed to gain points on (race winner Johnny Clark),
not lose them. But like I said, two top-5s (to start the
season), we're happy. We'll figure out what happened and
we'll go from there.
NEXT RACE: Saturday, June 12,
PASS 200, Speedway 660, Fredericton, N.B.
Ben
Rowe: White Mountain Motorsports Park Race Preview
4-time PASS North Series champion
Ben Rowe of Turner, Maine, attempts to add to his
decorated resume in the PASS 150 at White Mountain
Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., on Saturday
night, May 22. Rowe owns a PASS-record 8 career
victories on the high-banked quarter-mile and is the
defending champion of this event. A recent test at the
track with with his new team at Mulkern Racing suggested
he's still one of the favorites at a track owned by the
Avery family -- which, ironically, fields an ACT-legal
Late Model in which Rowe races part-time.
BEST CAREER WMMP FINISH: 1st (8
times; most recently: May 2009) LAST RACE AT WMMP: 2nd (September
2009)
PASS NORTH SERIES LAST RACE: Saturday, May 1, PASS
150, Beech Ridge, Scarborough, Maine (3rd-place finish) NEXT RACE: Saturday, June 12,
Speedway 660, Fredericton, New Brunswick POINTS POSITION: 1st BEN, WHAT IS IT ABOUT WHITE
MOUNTAIN THAT YOU LOVE SO MUCH?
I don't really know. The first
time I ever was there, I thought I was flying around
there and then my father went by me and I figured I was
about 3-tenths of a second too slow. I just couldn't
quite get it figured out, and then he got into my car
and came back in and said, 'That's what it's supposed to
feel like.' Ever since then, I've tried to have that
feeling in the car.
I love the place. It's just a
great place where you can actually race each other.
There's plenty of room, there's two grooves, and you can
pass people.
MOST PEOPLE DESCRIBE THE PLACE AS
BEING VERY UNIQUE. DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT ASSESSMENT?
Yeah, I do. It's weird. The other
quarter-miles we go to -- (Riverside Speedway) and
All-Star Speedway -- they're tight and narrow. They
don't suit me at all. I'm sure if you talk to Johnny
(Clark), he loves those other places.
You always seem to find one of
those places you do well at, and fortunately for me this
has been one.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU'VE
BEEN TO WHITE MOUNTAIN WITH SETH HOLBROOK AS YOUR CREW
CHIEF. ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC?
Absolutely. We tested up there
last Thursday with both cars, and we had a really good
test. I can't wait to get back there for the race. I was
so happy with everything, that I just can't wait for
this weekend.
Me and Seth, we grew up racing
with each other, so it wasn't like it was a matter of
him and I getting along. (Tony Ricci) has been great to
work with, too, and (car owner Scott Mulkern) gives you
everything you need. We go to the race track, and we
laugh and have a good time together. It's been a lot of
fun with this team so far.
Saturday, May 1st,
2010
3rd for Ben and
20th for Scott
at the PASS North Opener
4-time PASS North
Series champion Ben Rowe of Turner, Maine, finished 3rd in the
season-opening PASS 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on
Saturday, May 1. He led on one occasion for a total of nine laps
in the Mulkern Racing Community Pharmacies No. 48 Chevrolet, his
PASS North debut with his new team and crew chief Seth Holbrook.
Team owner Scott Mulkern finished 20th in a second Mulkern
Racing car, the #84, after spending much of the day
trouble-shooting Ben's car. The #48 engine was randomly shutting
completely off. Giving up his own practice sessions, Scott went
through the fuel and electrical systems of the #48 to discover
the cause(s). Only in the last tire scuff session did Ben
realize that the motor died whenever he pushed the radio talk
button. Tearing into the dash, Scott realized the radio controls
were wired right next to the tachometer. Pushing the talk
button caused the tach to shut off the ignition circuit. It was
fixed just in time for the heat.
In his heat Scott was caught up in one of the multiple tangles
with the pole car and finished out of the transfer spots. In his
consi, the #84 had a great side-by-side battle with the #2 of
eventual race winner Mike Rowe.
In the feature, Scott was running with a pack of cars heading
for the top five when a spin without a yellow knocked Scott a
lap down and out of a top ten finish. BEN - STARTED: 6th - FINISHED: 3rd
- LED: 1 time for 9 laps
BEN, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON YOUR PASS NORTH DEBUT WITH
MULKERN RACING? Third-place with this
team, like I said, I can't thank (car owners Scott and Vickie
Mulkern) and Community Pharmacies enough, and all the people
that's kind of behind me in this whole deal. It's a lot of fun,
and I can't wait for White Mountain next.
WHAT WAS THEY KEY TO THE RACE FOR YOU? I learned a lot from
Adam (Bates). I kept going over to him and talking, and he just
said, 'Don't get on the gas around here and ride.' I thought I
was pretty good, and there was about 20 to go and I got pinched
down behind that lapped car and they got away from me. It's just too bad. I got
on the bottom and couldn't get going.
SCOTT
- FINISHED: 20th
CAR
OWNER SCOTT MULKERN ON TEAM'S FINISH AT BEECH RIDGE: I want to see Ben do
good, and I just don't want to get in the way of that. We did
all right. Ben finished third and I'm happy. We've got a little
work to do to get him happy in that car, but we're gaining. I'm
happy, for sure.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR RACE? It was hot and cold.
Everybody was in the same boat. The car wasn't that great, but
it had its moments. I kind of like this track -- it's a fun
track -- but you never know what you're going to get.
NEXT RACE: Saturday, May 22, PASS 150, White Mountain Motorsports
Park, North Woodstock, N.H.
RAINOUT
Speedway 95
Sun. 4/18
Race Preview
4-time PASS North Series champion Ben Rowe of Turner, Maine,
opens the 2010 north season with the PASS 150 at Speedway 95 in
Hermon, Maine, on Sunday, April 18. Rowe will make his PASS
North debut with Mulkern Racing, where he signed to drive the
No. 48 during the offseason. He is trying to become the first
5-time PASS North Series champion and first driver to reach 40
wins in PASS Super Late Model history.
WHO:
Ben Rowe, Turner, Maine TEAM:Mulkern Racing/Community
Pharmacies No. 48 BEST CAREER SPEEDWAY 95
FINISH: 1st (August
2003)
WHAT:
PASS North Series PASS 150 WHERE: Speedway 95, Hermon,
Maine. (.333-mile oval) WHEN:
1:30 p.m., Sunday, April 18
BEN, YOU'VE WON TWICE AT SPEEDWAY 95 IN THE PAST, BUT NOT SINCE
2003. WHAT'S THE SECRET THERE?
I've won there a few times, but I don't know how. It's just one
of my tracks that I just dislike. It's just a tough track.
You can't really race the other competitors there, you just
worry about not running off the race track. Once you get racing
it's fun. Practice and the heats, the place is just tough. It's
not bad once you get spread out in the race, because then you
can go.
At the end there, it always comes down to who's on the outside.
Guys on the inside can just run you off the race track, but it's
hard to do. You just can't go on the bottom at all.
HOW EXCITED ARE YOU ABOUT
GETTING TO WORK WITH NEW CREW CHIEF SETH HOLBROOK FOR THE FIRST
TIME THIS WEEK?
I can't wait. Seth was really good there with Staples last year,
and then they went and won at Beech Ridge the week after that.
Hopefully he'll be good enough to make up for where I'm not as a
driver.
IS THIS NO. 48 TEAM GOOD
ENOUGH TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2010?
I think so. Right now, the cars I have been running (in PASS
National Series races), are the older equipment that Scott's
had. Now we've got all the eggs in one basket with a brand new
car -- putting together everything that I've used and Seth's
used in the past.
It's kind of foreign to (car owner Scott Mulkern), but if we can
get together and have it 100 percent, don't see why we can't
compete right out of the gate.
8th Place
at the Easter Bunny 150 - Persistence Pays Off
Easter Miracle For Ben Rowe
at Hickory
HICKORY, N.C. -- In his own words, it was a miraculous
performance from Ben Rowe at Hickory Motor Speedway over the
weekend..
"It was a long, long night," Rowe said after finishing eighth in
the PASS Easter Bunny 150 on Saturday. "To come home where we
did, it was a miracle. It really was.""
Rowe battled lost brakes, a flat tire and damage to the race car
all night to charge from 28th starting position in the 32-car
field and end up in the top-10 by the time the checkered flag
fell in his No. 48 Community Pharmacies Chevrolet..
Rowe, the 2009 Easter Bunny 150 winner, knew that his team would
be in for a battle even before qualifying began for the second
event in the five-race 2010 PASS National Series..
"We time trialed horrible and had to take a provisional," Rowe
said. "But we knew that would probably happen. We were just
running a little crate engine..
"So we started at the back, and I think we were in every
accident there was. We kept pitting and pitting, trying to make
it better, and once we got all the way back up (to the front)
but had a flat tire..
"It's just hard to come from the back with that crate engine
there, because you get bogged down behind people and get stuck
for a couple of laps.""
Getting stuck behind other cars -- both at speed and when they
were spinning -- was a problem..
"It's just that kind of place," Rowe said. "Everybody was side
by side all night, two by two. When a couple of leaders get
tangled up, everybody just piles into them..
"Just to finish -- Johnny (Clark) and a lot of other good cars
wrecked early or whatever -- so really just to finish was a good
deal.""
Rowe did say that the race served a purpose for the team,
though, as he continued to build the working relationship with
team owner Scott Mulkern..
The Turner, Maine, driver signed with Mulkern Racing this
offseason. Hickory marked just his second race with the team,
which will open the PASS North Series season at Speedway 95 in
Hermon, Maine, on April 18. They finished 14th in the Winterfest
150 at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway in January..
"It was good for me and Scott to be together, to get on the same
page about what I need," Rowe said. "When I say we need a 'lot,'
he doesn't always know how much a 'lot' is to me and vice versa.
Any chance to get on the same page and get talking is good for
us."
ROWE TAKING AN
EASTER VACATION
FALMOUTH, Maine -- Ben Rowe decided Easter weekend was a perfect
time to take a road trip.
Rowe will defend his 2009 Hickory Motor Speedway victory when he
returns to North Carolina for the PASS Easter Bunny 150 at the
storied track on April 3. The defending champion of both the
PASS National Series and PASS South Series is the all-time
winningest driver in PASS history with six total championships
and 39 career victories.
The decision to participate in the second of five 2010 PASS
National Series events was a last-minute one.
"Things have been kind of slow at work, and my father (inaugural
PASS South Series champion Mike Rowe) decided we should go
racing," Ben Rowe said. "I figured, 'Why not?' He kind of got
the whole thing rolling."
One year ago, Rowe led the final 34 laps to claim the checkered
flag in the Easter Bunny 150. Perhaps not coincidentally, both
Rowes -- Ben and Mike -- are champions of the event.
I don't know
what it is about that track," Ben Rowe said. "I just like it. I
really don't know what it is. It's old and there's a lot of
history there. The track (surface) is pretty worn out, so I
think that brings the driver's ability into effect a little
more.""
The Easter Bunny 150 marks Rowe's second start with Mulkern
Racing, the team he signed with in the offseason. He led at the
halfway mark of his first race with the team -- the Winterfest
150 at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway in January -- before being
caught up in a pair of wrecks and finishing 14th.The Easter Bunny 150 marks Rowe's second start with Mulkern
Racing, the team he signed with in the offseason. He led at the
halfway mark of his first race with the team -- the Winterfest
150 at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway in January -- before being
caught up in a pair of wrecks and finishing 14th.
Mulkern Racing will field a
completely different car than it did at New Smyrna, bringing a
Lefthander chassis with a crate engine to Hickory..
"Anytime we can get out and do this before we get our season
started up here in the north, it's a good thing," said Rowe, of
Turner, Maine. "Just getting a chance to be around the guys,
work as a team and get to know each other better is only going
to help us.""
The PASS North Series season begins April 18 at Speedway 95 in
Hermon, Maine.
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.
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."
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!
PRACTICE FOR THE PASS WINTERFEST 150
NEW
SMYRNA SPEEDWAY - 1/29/10
Multi-Time Champs Team Up
For
PASS Winterfest National Race
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.
Gary
Bellefleur Memorial Fund . If you wish to make a donation,
please make checks payable to
The Gary Bellefleur Memorial
Fund and mail to: Mulkern Racing LLC
Attention: Bellefleur
Memorial Fund 58 Hadlock Road
Falmouth, ME 04105 .. Full Info & Story HERE
. Bub 1957-2010 Our Condolences to the
Bilodeau Family
