|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
PASS
Teams Out in Full Force for Racin’ Preview 2010
|
|
PASS PR
Release - Naples ME – Florida racing has come and
gone and
that means it’s time
to kick off the 2010 northern New England
racing season in
earnest at Racin’
Preview 2010, scheduled
for
Friday and Saturday
February 19-20 at the Portland (ME) Expo.
The popular show always fills every square inch of
the floor with every sort of race car imaginable,
and the Pro All Stars Series will once again be well
represented.
Johnny Clark’s Super Late Model and Sally Grave’s
immaculate PASS Sportsman racer are but two of the
many PASS touring series race cars scheduled to be
on display, and the four time Champ will meet and
greet his fans on Friday evening from 6:00 PM until
8:00 PM.
Clark got his 2010 season off to
a solid start at PASS Florida Winterfest, leading
the most laps before chasing race winner Brad
Leighton to the line in round one of the 2010 PASS
National Championship series.
Doors at the Portland Expo open
at 4:00 PM on Friday, February 19, with several
autograph opportunities and other activities ongoing
through 10:00 PM. Saturday s show hours are 9:00 AM
until 9:00 PM.
Along with
today’s racers and their machines, an excellent
display of Maine’s racing past will be presented by
the Maine Vintage Race Car Association, with a
salute to late NEAR and MVRCA Hall of Famer Homer
Drew featured.
The PASS South Super Late Models get their season
underway in just under a month when the South
Carolina Clash returns to Dillon (SC) Motor Speedway
on March 12 and 13. All three PASS North divisions
will be in action at Speedway 95 in Hermon Maine on
April 17 and 18.
For
further information on Racin’ Preview 2010, please
call (603) 447-4251 or email
racinpaper@racinpaper.com
|
|
|
2ND PLACE - WINTERFEST 150 - SUNDAY, JAN. 31ST
Sam Watts #73, 3rd; Winner
Brad Leighton #55; & Johnny, 2nd
|
Solid Effort Gets Clark’s Season Off On Right Foot |
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Johnny Clark Motorsports
got its 2010 racing season off to a great start on
Sunday, with a dominating effort en route to a
2nd-place finish in the PASS Winterfest 150 at New
Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.
The race was originally scheduled for Saturday
evening, but bad weather forced its postponement
until Sunday afternoon.
Clark enjoyed a full straightaway lead with just
five laps remaining and appeared to have a win in
hand. But a late caution flag bunched the field to
set up a race restart with just five laps remaining.
"I was pretty bad on restarts all day," said Clark,
of Farmingdale, Maine. "I was just a sitting duck."
Brad Leighton of Center Harbor, N.H., capitalized by
taking the lead and then the victory.
"It would take me four or five laps to catch the guy
in front of me (on restarts)," said Clark, noting
that the outside lane was the preferred groove on
the fast, half-mile track. "I just didn’t have
enough time at the end to get the lead back."
Clark led a total of nearly 90 laps in the first of
five PASS National Series races scheduled for 2010.
The 4-time PASS North Series champion was the
quickest of 24 cars in time trials earlier in the
afternoon and lined up fourth on the starting grid
following a re-draw of the fastest qualifiers.
He was disappointed not to have won after leading on
a number of different occasions Sunday, but he
conceded it was a great start to the new year.
"Absolutely," Clark said. "We were awesome all
weekend. Considering we didn’t even have a race car
together two weeks ago, I think this said a lot
about our team. We didn’t even know we were coming
to Florida until the last-minute, but we proved that
we’re ready to go."
Clark anticipates that his next start will come in
round No. 2 of the PASS National Series -- in the
Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway on
April 3. |
PRACTICE FOR THE PASS WINTERFEST 150 - NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY -
1/29/10
|
|
|
 |
Multi-Time Champs Team Up For Florida 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. |
|
|
 |
JOHNNY CLARK
READY TO
DRIVE FOR 5 |
FARMINGDALE, Maine -- Johnny Clark is getting an
early start on the 2010 PASS North Series season.
Clark, a 4-time PASS North champion, was among the
first three drivers to register with the sanctioning
body for the upcoming season as he seeks to become
the first driver to win five championships in the
PASS North Super Late Model ranks.
"There's no reason to believe we can't contend for a
fifth championship," said Clark, who won
back-to-back series championships in 2008-2009. "The
same team is coming back, with (crew chief Robert
Green) heading it up. I think it's going to be a
great year for us."
That year kicks off this coming weekend, Jan. 8-10,
at the Northeast Motorsports Expo at the Augusta
Civic Center, just a few miles down the road from
Clark's Farmingdale home. Clark will be on hand to
sign autographs on Friday night and again on
Saturday afternoon.
MORE
in STORY BELOW
The racing season begins in earnest with the opener
at Speedway 95 in Hermon, Maine, on April 18.
Clark has 19 career PASS North victories to rank
second all-time in the series. He'd not only like to
break the 20-win plateau this season, but he'd also
like to snap a tie with Ben Rowe for the most career
PASS championships.
Green, of Benton, Maine, will be back as crew chief
on the familiar black, red and yellow No. 54 Port
City/Clark's Car Crushing Chevrolet which won three
times in 2009.
"The bottom line is that he wants to win races and
that's it," Clark said of Green. "That's really it.
He doesn't go to the racetrack to make friends.
That's a little hard sometimes, because it even goes
for our own team, but he simply wants to win races.
"You've got to respect that."
The 30-year-old Clark also won championships in the
2004 and 2006 PASS North seasons, giving him three
of the last four series titles. He's one of only two
PASS drivers with multiple championships and more
than 15 career wins.
He hopes that the momentum from last year will
continue to right through the first half of the 2010
season. Four of the first five series races will be
held at tracks where Clark has visited victory lane
-- Speedway 95, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Speedway
660 in Geary, New Brunswick, and Unity Raceway.
But winning isn't everything on the path to the
championship, Clark said.
"You've got to be consistent all year," he said.
"The competition is so tough on this tour that you
can't really afford to have any bad races,
especially early in the year.
"We'll be ready, for sure."
2010
PASS MASTER SCHEDULE
|
|
|
www.northeastmotorsports.net |
STOP
BY THE PASS BOOTH at the
Northeast Motorsports Expo for
an Autographed Hero Card
.
Friday -
January 8th - 6 to 8 PM
Johnny Clark, Ben
Rowe, & Jay Fogleman
Saturday -
January 9th -
3 - 5 PM
Johnny Clark &
Ben Rowe
. |
|
PASS
Stars Clark, Rowe, & Fogleman Highlight
Northeast Motorsports Expo Autograph Sessions |
Naples
ME (January 1, 2010) The New Year is
upon us, and race fans from all over northern New
England will converge on the Augusta (Maine) Civic
Center next weekend for the Northeast Motorsports
Expo, the traditional lid lifter to the new racing
season. The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) will once
again celebrate the New Year in Augusta with
autograph sessions from racers in every division.
One of the many highlights of the January 8-10 event
will be appearances by 2009 PASS North Super Late
Model Champion Johnny Clark and 2009 PASS South and
National Champion Ben Rowe. Clark is celebrating his
fourth PASS North title, while Rowe now has the
distinction of being the only driver to claim all
three PASS super late model Championships.
A special guest will join Clark and Rowe in Augusta
on Friday and Saturday. PASS South star Jay Fogleman
will make the trip from Durham North Carolina to
meet and greet northern super late model fans.
Fogleman has more than 100 career wins to his credit
and track championships at Orange County, South
Boston and Ace Speedways. He’s won four times at
Martinsville Speedway and has nine wins in the
former Hooters ProCup series. In 2009 Fogleman
finished fifth in the PASS South super late model
standings with three wins, six top five and nine top
ten finishes in his fourteen starts. Fogleman chased
Rowe for the PASS National Championship title as
well, finishing fifth.
PASS officials will be on hand throughout the
weekend to answer questions; rules and schedules for
all four PASS divisions will be available.
Expect a number of additional
drivers to join Clark, Rowe and Fogleman for the
autograph sessions. Keep an eye on
www.proallstarsseries.com
throughout the week for more driver appearances.
Northeast Motorsports Expo gets underway Friday
January 8th. Doors open at 5:00 PM and the show
wraps up at 10:00 PM. On Saturday January 9th show
hours are 10:00 AM – 9:00 Pm and Sunday January 10th
the Expo runs from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM.
For more information on Northeast Motorsports Expo,
visit their web site
www.northeastmotorsports.net
. |
|
|
 |
|
Johnny
Clark Motorsports Honored
at PASS Banquet of Champions |
|
2009
PASS Super Late Model Champion Johnny Clark was
honored at the Nov. 7th PASS awards presentation,
making his fourth walk to the podium as Champion in
the series premier division. Clark’s team received
championship jackets and travel bags from Northern
Race Tire and Superior Image Embroidery. Johnny
presented the Mayberry family an appreciation plaque
for devotion to their PASS tour. |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
Sat. Oct. 24th
The Howler 125 |
|
Johnny
Wins the Howler 125 |
TOP FINISHERS
1 - 54 -Johnny Clark
2 - 4s - Jay
Fogleman
3 - 60 - DJ Shaw
4 - 4n - Ben Rowe
5 - 32 - Randy Porter
6 - 47 - Corey Williams
7 - 98 - Justin Wakefield
8 - 32x - Corey Gibson
9 - 2 - Ralph Carnes
10 - 62 - Brandon Ward
TOP QUALIFIERS
1 - 98 - Justin Wakefield - 19.968
2 - 54 -
Johnny Clark - 19.982
3 - 47 -
Corey Williams - 20.056
4 - 5 - Preston Peltier - 20.192
5 - 4n- Ben Rowe - 20.207
6 4s Jay Fogleman - 20.259 |
After posting the second fastest lap in time trials,
Johnny redrew for the 10th place starting spot.
Working his way to the front, Johnny passed DJ Shaw
for 4th on lap 65, was in 2nd on lap 75, and moved
around Preston Peltier for the lead on lap 78.
At the restart on lap 95, Johnny had to retake the
lead as DJ Shaw in the #60 had surged ahead.
Holding the lead for the final 20 laps, Johnny
finished several car lengths ahead of the 4s of Jay
Fogleman.
FOLLOW
THE ACTION AT:
SPEED51 Trackside Now HERE |
|
|
 |
|
Sat. Oct. 17th
Mason-Dixon
Meltdown 250 |
|
Rowe - Rowe - Clark - Clark -- Johnny 4th in
the Meltdown 250 |
TOP TEN
FINISHERS
1. Ben Rowe
2. Mike Rowe
3. Cassius Clark
4.
Johnny Clark
5. Heath
Hindman
6. Mark Gibson
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Jay Fogleman
9. Preston Pelitier
10. DJ Shaw |
Johnny
joined a contingent of PASS North teams that headed
down to South Boston, Virginia to battle the PASS
South Super Late Model Stars in the final event of
the PASS National Championship.
After qualifying 5th, Johnny redraw the 8th starting
spot. Johnny moved up to take the lead at lap 32 and
then settled in to run in the top five through the
pit stops and the 250 laps. Ben and Mike Rowe moved
up to take the first two spots, with Ben becoming
the
2009 PASS National Champion.
SPEED51 Trackside Now HERE |
|
|
PASS 150 - White Mountain Motorsports Park - Friday, Sept.
18th
Fourth PASS Championship for Clark Motorsports
With a heat
win and a fifth place finish at White Mountain,
Johnny posted a 32 point lead over Ben Rowe to win
a fourth PASS North SLM Championship.
For the 13 starts in the 2009 season, the Clark Motorsports
Team
scored 3 Wins, 8 Top 5s, and 12 Top 10s.
.
|
|
WMMP 9/18
Unofficial Results HERE |
|
 |
Sunday, September 13th - Scarborough, ME
.
4th at the
PASS 400 Weekend
.
The
PASS 300 lap feature saw the #54 make a solid run to
a 4th place finish. With the #4 in 3rd - but a
heat winner for 5 points - Ben Rowe only picked up 7
points, leaving Johnny 33 ahead entering the final
PASS North race of the season at White Mountain
Motorsports park.
After a six hour rain delay on Saturday,
Johnny placed 6th in Saturday's Heat #2 for a
starting spot of 17th in Sunday's feature. After
surviving a couple of close calls, Johnny's steady
progress to the front had the #54 on the top five
scoreboard at lap 244. Ben Rowe slipped by into 3rd
while Johnny kept Jay Fogleman in the #4s at bay.
Johnny now stands in second behind Ben in the
National Standings.
PASS Race Story |
|
Follow the PASS
300 Sunday Feature at
Speed51's Trackside Now HERE |
|
|
|
|
 |
Sunday, September 6th - Fredericton, NB
3rd
for Johnny in the Peterbilt 250
After
transferring to the 250 with a heat win,
Johnny took the race lead on lap 25 with a pass on
the outside. Johnny dominated most of the night
from that point forward leading 118 laps.
After a lap 224 caution for oil on the track, Lonnie
Sommerville who had pitted for two fresh tires moved
right up into the lead from 5th at the restart while
Johnny hung onto third with used up tires.
Including lap money of $50 per lap, Johnny took home
$8900.00 for his efforts.
Full Race
Report at
Speedway660.com |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Hot....Long....Exhausting....Wild |
| -
Johnny ran the 2 1/2 hour Late Model portion of the
Wiscasset open specials weekend in the #0no and
survived with a third place out of 30 starters. T.J.
Watson was the winner with Adam Chadbourne in 3rd. |
|
 |
- In
the Pro Stocks 150, Johnny led 122 laps in the car
that came straight from the Seekonk PASS 150 with no
damage. But the car was used up at the end and Scott
Chubbuck took the lead on lap 139 after a hard
battle and pulled away for the win
over Johnny in 2nd and Randy Turner in 3rd. |
|
 |
|
"It
was a grueling marathon of attrition that tortured
drivers, cars and fans alike...."
Read
the race coverage by Travis Barrett at
Green-White-Checker |
| Three
very tough races on two days - scoring a 2nd
and two 3rds! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
NAPA
150 - Unity Raceway - Unity, ME - 8/2 |
|
 |
|
6th
Place at The NAPA 150 at Unity |
|
|
|
|
The
Summerfest 150 - Riverside
Speedway - Groveton, NH - 7/25 |
|
 |
|
9th
Place at Grovetona |
The
trip to Groveton, NH produced a 9th place finish in
a field of only 17 cars. From an 11th place starting
spot as a previous race winner in the 2009 season,
Johnny made little progress toward the front.
Meanwhile Cassius Clark in the #8 was back to his
old style of running away with the lead. With only
two cautions, the 43 minute race flew by. Johnny was
the last car on the lead lap, and at the checkers
Cassius was right behind the #54.
Chassis changes from the setup notebook that had
worked well on previous cars didn't help with this
new machine. Johnny just didn't have the grip or
speed to keep up with the front runners.
Johnny holds onto the points lead with 1939 markers,
and Adam Bates moves back into second with 1899. Ben
Rowe moved up into third with 1888 with Derek just 1
point back in fourth with 1887. |
|
|
|
|
After great runs at Thompson and Lee - and no damage to
either of the race cars - Johnny & the Team headed up to Antigonish, Nova Scotia for the IWK 250.
The race was postponed to Sunday the 19th after showers were
followed by evening fog and mist.
Time Trials were completed - Regan Smith posted fast time.
Johnny was second fastest.
In the race, Johnny was out early at lap 20 after an early
multi-car tangle damaged the nose of the #54. The air to the
radiator was cut off so Johnny pulled into
the infield for
a 32nd and last place finish.
A 3 hours & 15 minutes race with a 45 red flag for rain
again.
Full IWK 250 results & story at
www.CheckersToWreckers.com
|
|
Lee UA
Speedway - PASS Bastille 200 - Tues.
7/14
Johnny Wins the Bastille 200
Louis Mechalides 2nd - Cassius Clark 3rd
|
|
Johnny
Clark Heats Up With Bastille 200 Win at Lee
PASS North Points Leader Tops Them all In
Tuesday Night Special
By Elgin Traylor
SPEED51 STORY HERE |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Photos
by
NormMarx.com |
|
|
Thompson Int'l Speedway - Full Fender Frenzy 75 - Sat.
7/11 |
|
Third Place at Thompson |
|
 |
|
 |
Johnny
had a good run at Thompson for a third place finish
and a 21 points lead in the PASS North points
standings.
Starting from 13th as a 2009 race winner, the #54
moved into the front group that were watching Derek
Ramstrom disappear. Three cautions saw DJ Shaw, Adam
Bates, and Ben Rowe run into trouble. On the second
restart Johnny made a dramatic three wide low move
but had to fall back in line in turn one.
At the final restart on lap 58, Johnny moved around
Kelly Moore and Travis Banjamin to chase the
#33 Richie Dearborn. The #54 was strong in the
closing laps but the #33 held onto second. |
|
|
|
|
Beech Ridge
- PASS 150 - Sat. 6/26
A Run to a 2nd Place
3rd-Richie-Dearborn-.jpg)
Richie Dearborn,
3rd; Winner Adam Bates; & Johnny, 2nd.
PASS Press Release (6/27) Adam Bates took over
the race lead from Scott Chubbuck just past half way in the
June 26th Pro All Stars Series (PASS) North 150 lap super
late model feature to score his third career series win, his
second at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. The Granite State
racer had a car that could dominate and the talent to take
advantage of it in a race that was short on cautions and
featured a 115 lap stretch of green flag racing. Bates now
has two wins and two second place finishes in the last four
PASS races at Beech Ridge dating back to July of 2008.
Johnny Clark did his best to wrestle the win away from
Bates. The pair started one-two after the night’s final
caution at lap 144 set up a six lap shoot-out to the
checker. Clark held his ground on the outside and the lead
pair crossed the stripe on lap 145 in a dead heat. But Bates
edged ahead on the bottom and slowly increased his margin of
victory to .462 seconds over the three time series champ.
Clark settled for a solid second and Richie Dearborn came
out on top of a three wide tussle with Kelly Moore and Scott
Mulkern to finish third. Moore, who led from the pole
through lap 82, had to settle for fourth. Donnie Whitten
earned his first top five of 2009, and Scott Mulkern had a
successful return to PASS racing with a sixth place run.
Bates
takes over the PASS North points lead with Johnny right
behind after Ben Rowe was caught up in a late race multi-car
pile up and finished in 9th. |
|
|
|
|
Speedway 660
- PASS 200 - Sat. 6/13 |
|
Fighting Back from a Broken Front Hub to a 14th |
|
 |
With
the fastest car in practice and a nice run in the heat,
Johnny and the #54 looked like the one to beat at Speedway
660. The 2007 winner of the fall Peterbilt 250, Johnny likes
the track and knows it well.
Starting from his usual past winner spot of 11th, Johnny
started the run to the front followed by Ben Rowe.
Outside the #23 of Lonnie Sommerville and just car lengths
behind leader Kirk Thibeau in the #28
(shot above), Johnny was suddenly into the back straight
banking on lap 75 and the right front wheel was bouncing
free. An unheard of failure of the front "5 on 5" wheel hub
had occurred. After a quick damage check in the right front
corner, Johnny grabbed the hood to get it out of the way of
the tow truck crew and sprinted for the pits to get the
repairs under way. Parts were pulled out and tools laid out
and work started as the wrecker delivered the #54.
Helped out by two cautions in the closing laps of the first
100 lap segment, Johnny made it back out for a few laps
before the mid-race tire change and refueling break. For the
second 100, Johnny started at the back and left a little
room to the pack......which helped in missing the big
back straight wreck that started with Derek Ramstrom #35 and
Cassius Clark #8 on lap 103.
Running 98 laps in the second segment for a race total of
178, Johnny grabbed a 14th spot finish (just ahead of D.J.
Shaw with 175 laps) instead of being the first car out in
22nd. The 16 point gain for eight places may be important at
the end of the season. |
|
|
|
|
White Mntn. Motorsports Park
- PASS 150 - Sat. 5/23 |
|
Johnny in 6th |
|
 |
| Johnny
had a fast #54 during his heat and took the win. But changes
just before the feature did not produce the desired results.
Johnny wheeled the Monte Carlo up from 11th to 6th and that
all it had. |
|
|
|
 |
Clark, Cassill, Wimmer, Varney & More on
Speed 51 Radio on 5/20/09
PASS North Unity Speedway (ME) winner Johnny Clark, ASA
Midwest Iowa Speedway winner Chris Wimmer, last year's
NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year Landon Cassill
and ASA Late Models President Ron Varney headline the list
of guests on a special Wednesday night edition of Speed 51
Radio tonight at 8pm ET. The Speed 51 Mafia will be
broadcasting live from Buffalo Wild Wings in Concord, NC,
located just off Interstate 85's Exit 54. |
|
|
Unity Raceway - PASS 150 - Saturday 5/16 |
|
Johnny Wins! |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Johnny Clark Gets Home Cooked Unity Victory
This Time, He Has to Work Hard for PASS North
Victory at Unity |
By
Mike Twist - SPEED51.COM
The fans at Unity Raceway (ME) face a bit of a
dilemma when the PASS North Super Late Models come
to town. One of their own, Johnny Clark, is usually
a threat to dominate the race - which is a welcome
sight. But at the same time, the fans want to
witness a good and competitive show as well.
This time around, the fans got to see both things
happen though. Clark won. He even dominated early
and late in the race. But fans also got to see some
great competition in the middle stages of the event
and had the added bonus of seeing two other familiar
drivers to the central Maine speedplant, Scott
Chubbuck and Randy Turner, finish on the podium.
FULL
STORY HERE |
|
|
|
|
|
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway - PASS 150 - May 2nd. - 7th |
|
 |
With a
car that was OK but not really fast, Johnny let the 150 laps
play out and posted a seventh place finish. Next to a first
time racer in his heat, Johnny leapt into a big lead
and the win as the first timer held up the rest of the
racers.
Starting in 11th for the feature as a previous race winner
in 2009, Johnny and Ben Rowe in the #4 ran the first part of
the race in 12th and 13th with the #54 on the loose side. As
the sun went down, the car went very tight and every
position gained was a struggle. Johnny spent much of the
race battling Marty Prevost in the #11 and Alan Ricker in
the #22 with Ben in the #4 attached to his rear bumper.
With two
races in the books, Johnny stands tied for 2nd in points.
But everyone is real close:
Cassius Clark 436, Johnny 435, Chris Staples 435, Adam Bates
433, and Derek Ramstrom 432. |
|
|
|
|
Johnny Wins at Speedway 95!
Race finishing order at PASS Here
|
|
|
Johnny Wins
NAPA 150 PASS North Opener |
PASS PRESS
RELEASE - Hermon ME (April 19) Johnny Clark fired his Car
Crushing/Port City Race Cars Impala SS under Richie Dearborn
and Cassius Clark on lap 136 of Sunday’s Pro All Stars
Series (PASS) NAPA 150 to take the opening day win at
Speedway 95 in Hermon ME. Clark got into Dearborn on the
backstretch in a side by side battle for the lead and
Dearborn dropped his right rear off the backstretch,
slipping back to fourth at the finish after leading much of
the day. Cassius Clark raced back from an early race
incident to capture second place. Chubbuck came home third
after running up front all day . Dearborn and Adam Bates
rounded out the top five.
The defending PASS North Champion beat Cassius Clark to the
stripe by .389 seconds. Derek Ramstrom, Chris Staples, John
Flemming, Ben Rowe and Donnie Whitten raced home sixth thru
tenth. Fifteen cars finished on the lead lap. Dearborn,
Ramstrom and Cassius Clark each earned heat race wins.
Cassius snatched the lead away from pole sitter Dearborn on
lap six but Kelly Moore's NAPA Chevy was charging and it
looked like he might have something for Clark. They battled
tooth and nail for several laps before the pair got
together, spinning out of the top two spots on lap fifty
six. Clark fell back to thirteenth and Moore restarted
fourteenth. Scott Chubbuck was the beneficiary, restarting
in the lead, but Dearborn and Chris Staples soon made their
way by. Those three ran nose to tail at the halfway mark,
with Johnny Clark fourth and Ramstrom fifth. Staples had a
great run going, keeping the pressure on Dearborn and
battling back and forth with Chubbuck for the second spot.
With twenty five to go Cassius Clark had recovered from his
early spin and looked like he was ready to challenge
Dearborn for the win; Johnny Clark worked his way up to
third and local hero Scott Alexander was running a fine
fourth as Staples faded back from the lead pack. Alexander’s
day would eventually end in the tires off turn four with the
finish line in his sights.
It all came to a head on a lap 136 restart and Johnny Clark
showed his hand, clashing with Dearborn to grab the lead.
Despite Cassius'best efforts to run him down, it was Johnny
at the checkers by two car lengths. |
|
|
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.
PASS
North goes green for the first time in 2009 at Speedway 95
on Sunday April 19th at 2:00 PM sharp. |
|
 |
- 2nd Fastest
Qualifier -
- 11th Place
Finish for Johnny -
Leftovers: Easter Bunny 150
"IT'S EVEN A
TOUGHER DAY
TO BE A CLARK"
"Nothing seemed to go right today," said Johnny Clark. "It seemed
like you had to have a great motor and we didn’t have one. It killed
us. The track seemed weird to me. I am going to have to go home and
tear this thing apart because that was the worst this car has ever
ran. I would have a solid ten laps and then ten laps that were out
of control. It wasn’t loose and it wasn’t pushing, it would just
skate. I know there was a lot of oil on the track by looking at
everyone’s windshields, but I still don’t think that was all of it.
We just need to go back to the shop and do our homework." |
|
PASS South Fields Stacked with
Big Names Heading to Hickory
After repairs to the hauler on
the way down, Johnny and the
#54 arrived at Hickory ready for action. All of Friday's
practice was wiped out by rain, so Johnny didn't miss
anything.
Sat.
Trackside live reports with Speed51 HERE |
|
|
|
Power Rankings - A 51
Exclusive & Tradition
|
Speed 51 Short Track Power
Rankings
So when the green flag drops, who is expected to be the most
powerful players of them all in 2009? Speed51.com gathered
our own big dogs to cast their votes and share their
comments on that and as a result, we present the pre-season
edition of our long-running and exclusive feature, the 51
Short Track Power rankings.
#7. Johnny Clark (PASS North)
- It seems that every
other year is when Johnny Clark will win a PASS North
championship. He won the crown in 2008, so traditionally, he
won't repeat the task in 2009.
But that's just hogwash in our eyes. Clark came on so strong
in the second half of the 2008 season that there is no way
that momentum can't carry on into the new season. He'll have
some tough competition in PASS with Ben Rowe, Cassius Clark,
DJ Shaw, Derek Ramstrom, Adam Bates and Travis Benjamin all
chasing him, but we'd be fools to bet against Clark rising
to the top again this year.
“Clark himself would joke with you and say it's an odd year
so it's Ben Rowe's turn to win the PASS series
championship,” wrote one of our experts. “Looking at the
history, the 2004, 2006 and 2008 PASS Champion loses his
title defenses to Ben Rowe. This might be the year to bet
that that will not happen again. However, the series is
creating new talent drivers each season like Adam Bates,
Trevor Sanborn and DJ Shaw.” |
|
|
 |
|
Johnny Clark’s Second
Half Charge Leads to
Third PASS North Super Late Model Title |
PASS PR STORY: If you had to hang a title on
Johnny Clark’s run to the 2008 Pro All Stars Series (PASS) North
Championship, it might be “a tale of two seasons”. The Farmingdale
Maine race car driver didn’t start his 2008 campaign with a great
deal of flourish, but his team came on strong in the second half of
the season to capture their third PASS Super Late Model
Championship.
His early season results were mixed at best. He finished thirteenth
in the PASS North season opener at Maine’s Beech Ridge Motor
Speedway, but rebounded with a victory at Wiscasset Raceway. But
after Wiscasset, the results weren’t there. A ninth at White
Mountain, sixteenth back at Wiscasset, a tenth place run at Beech
Ridge. Solid runs to be sure, but not up to par for a race team that
has two PASS super late model titles and thirteen race wins to their
credit. To be a title contender in the ultra competitive PASS North,
top fives are the key and you need them in each and every race.
Clark didn’t score another top three until July at Thompson (CT)
Speedway, and he was mired back in the point standings. But, Clark
is quick to point to that Thompson race as a turning point in his
season. The family-focused team never gave up. With a new race car
that the crew painstakingly assembled over the off season and a
set-up that made that car run like it was on rails, Clark turned on
the jets. He claimed his second win of 2008 two weeks later at
Groveton NH’s Riverside Speedway, and dominated the action at
All-Star Speedway before a flat tire set him back to fourth at the
finish. Still, he recovered from what could have been a disastrous
result and scored solid points, and it looked like the season might
be turning around for the Clark’s Car Crushing team.
He contended for the Atlantic Cat 250 win in Nova Scotia but had to
settle for seventh at the checkered flag. Clark got back to his
winning ways at Wiscasset in August, rebounding for a $30,000.00
payday in the Toyota Tundra 250 followed by a second place run at
White Mountain and a $10,000.00 win at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in
the PASS 300.
It all came down to the Fall Brawl at Johnny’s home track, Wiscasset
Raceway. When the checkers flew Clark had a fifth place finish,
beating four time series champ Ben Rowe by five spots to secure the
2008 PASS super late model title by ten points. On his way to the
crown Clark scored the most series wins (4) and led the most laps
(469). He raced home in the top five eight times, with eleven top
tens.
Clark put an exclamation point on a super 2008 season by dominating
the PASS South 250 lap feature at the Mason-Dixon 500 at Virginia’s
South Boston Speedway, collecting yet another $10,000.00 payday
along with his first PASS South victory. |
|
|
PREVIOUS RESULTS & PHOTOS HERE |
|
nmarx-dtp@comcast.net
Copyright 2003-2009 Johnny Clark Motorsports
|
|
|
