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8th Place
at the Easter Bunny 150
- Persistence Pays Off |
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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." |
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ROWE TAKING AN
EASTER VACATION |
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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.. |
Hickory Motor Speedway Race Preview
Four-time PASS North Series champion Ben Rowe of Turner, Maine,
will compete in the PASS Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor
Speedway in Hickory, N.C., on Saturday, April 3. Rowe is the
defending champion of the event.
WHO:
Ben Rowe, Turner, Maine
TEAM:
Mulkern Racing/No. 48
Community Pharmacies Chevrolet
BEST CAREER FINISH AT
HICKORY MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
1st (2009)
WHAT:
PASS Easter Bunny 150
WHERE:
Hickory Motor Speedway, Hickory, N.C. (.363-mile oval)
WHEN:
8 p.m., Saturday, April 3
PASS
NATIONAL SERIES
LAST RACE (Jan. 31):
Finished 14th (New Smyrna Speedway, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.)
BEN, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH A
NEW TEAM BEFORE THE PASS NORTH SERIES SEASON BEGINS IN A FEW
WEEKS?
"Anytime we can get out and do this before we get our season
started up here in the north, it's a good thing. 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."
WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT
HICKORY MOTOR SPEEDWAY?
"I don't know what it is about that track. 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."
IS IT TRUE THAT YOUR FATHER, INAUGURAL PASS SOUTH SERIES
CHAMPION MIKE ROWE, WAS THE ONE WHO ENCOURAGED YOU TO GO TO
HICKORY THIS WEEKEND?
"Things have been kind of slow at work, and my father decided we
should go racing. I figured, 'Why not?' He kind of got the whole
thing rolling." |
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