Ben Rowe
Wins PASS North Finale at Unity,
Johnny Clark Earns 2nd Championship
UNITY, Maine (Oct. 22, 2006) - Despite cold temperatures and an aggressive late-race
challenge from Cassius Clark, Ben Rowe continued his autumn hot streak Sunday afternoon by
capturing the 2006 Pro All Stars Series (PASS) North Super Late Model division season
finale at historic Unity Raceway.
The Turner, Maine, native took the lead for the third and final time on lap 115 and hung
on to record his third straight victory on the PASS North Super Late Model/Pro Stock tour.
This has been an impressive turnaround for the three-time series champion, after getting
off to a slow start in his first season driving for the Richard Moody Racing (RMR) team.
Clark fought side-by-side with Rowe in his Team EJP/Chapman Racing Ford Fusion, battling
back from an early-race spin to contend for the victory.
Johnny Clark, of Farmingdale, Maine, locked up his second career championship Sunday with
a solid run, leading on three occasions and coming home third at the finish. Local
favorite Jeff Burgess of nearby Oakland finished fourth, while Trevor Sanborn came from
22nd on the 26-car grid to round out the top five.
"That was some good, hard racing out there today," said Rowe. "Cassius and
Johnny are fast here, they raced me clean and that’s all I can ask. My hat is off to
this team, once they got us headed in the right direction at Beech Ridge, the car has been
awesome to drive. This place can be a handful, but we had the right setup today and held
them off again. It’s a terrific way to end the season."
Clark, competing with a broken finger suffered in a hard crash last month at Beech Ridge,
capped a terrific season that featured five victories and four runner-up finishes. While
he was disappointed to finish second, he was pleased with the team’s performance on
Sunday.
"That’s racing at Unity for you," he said. "We had a good race today,
the car handled well even after we spun early on. My Dad, Ed (team owner Chapman) and
everybody worked hard all season and we led the series in wins. I couldn’t get by Ben
today, but we’re still happy. It’s been a successful year for this whole Team
EJP organization."
Johnny Clark reflected on his emotional roller-coaster after the caution-plagued event,
sounding both relieved and proud after earning his second crown in three years.
"I really wanted to win this one today," said the 2004 series champion who paced
the field for 21 laps Sunday. "I think this is a great place to race, and this second
championship means a lot to me. Fortunately, we had the consistency needed to pull it off.
I was worried coming into today, having somebody like Mike Rowe just eight points behind
us was stressful. He is a great driver, but we did what we needed to do today and it feels
fantastic."
Finishing sixth through 10th Sunday was Louis Mechalides, Curtis Gerry, Gary Smith, Travis
Benjamin and Scott Chubbuck. Thirteen of the 26 starters finished on the lead lap, exactly
half the field. Nineteen cautions slowed the proceedings, most of which were caused simply
by the lack of grip available on the frigid racing surface.
In earlier feature action, Jason Taylor drove to victory in the 40-lap PASS Modified
season finale. The Searsmont, Maine driver held off a hard-charging Gary Norris Jr. for
top honors. Chris Staples put in a strong run and locked up the 2006 divisional crown.
Troy Morse of Brunswick, Maine rounded out the top five in a thrilling closer for the
open-wheel warriors.
Terry Merrill of Saco, Maine capped his 2006 season with a victory in the 75-lap PASS
Super Sportsman/Limited Challenge Series feature. Mike Landry worked his way through
traffic like a seasoned veteran and came home second, while Allen Moeller finished third.
Gary Modugno and Steve Fogg rounded out the top five in Round 3 of the three-race series.
Dan McKeage drove to a solid 15th place finish, which gave him the overall championship.
Congratulations to all of our winners on a frigid yet exciting weekend of racing at Unity.
The PASS North 2006 Awards Banquet will be held on
Fri., Nov. 3, at Verillos in Portland, Maine.
For tickets call Amanda t 207-693-6497. BANQUET
INFO HERE |
Official Finish - Unity Raceway 10/22
| 1 |
4 |
Ben Rowe |
Turner, ME |
Richard Moody & Sons
Construction Co. LLC |
| 2 |
8 |
Cassius Clark |
Farmington, ME |
EJP Pipeline Services |
| 3 |
54 |
Johnny Clark |
Hallowell, ME |
VIP Parts, Tires, & Service |
| 4 |
34 |
Jeff Burgess |
Fairfield, ME |
Burgess |
| 5 |
44 |
Trevor Sanborn |
Parsonsfield, ME |
Richard Moody & Sons
Construction Co. LLC |
| 6 |
1 |
Louie Mechalides |
Tyngsboro, MA |
Crete Carriers |
| 7 |
7 |
Curtis Gerry |
Waterboro, ME |
Saco Bay Tackle |
| 8 |
75 |
Gary Smith |
Bangor, ME |
Uncle Henry's |
| 9 |
17 |
Travis Benjamin |
Morrill, ME |
Arrow Fuel |
| 10 |
29 |
Scott Chubbuck |
Brunswick, ME |
Cushman Competition |
| 11 |
9 |
Tim Turner |
Freedom, ME |
Downer Logging |
| 12 |
47 |
Corey Williams |
Boothbay, ME |
Aegis Investigations |
| 13 |
59 |
John Phippen |
Bar Harbor, ME |
BG |
| 14 |
24 |
Mike Rowe |
Turner, ME |
P.T. Watts |
| 15 |
8t |
Alan Tardiff |
Lyman, ME |
S & T Rentals |
| 16 |
2 |
Steve Jones |
Saco, ME |
S & B Construction |
| 17 |
0x |
Bill Whorff Jr. |
Topsham, ME |
AAA Insurance |
| 18 |
13 |
Mike Maietta |
Scarborough, ME |
Dennwood Builders |
| 19 |
40 |
Gary Bellefleur |
Stetson, ME |
Butler Variety, Newport Metals |
| 20 |
33 |
Richie Dearborn |
Hollis, ME |
Chadwick BaRoss |
| 21 |
33x |
John Higgins |
Bangor, ME |
Acadia Mortgage Company |
| 22 |
53x |
Billy Rogers |
Old Orchard Beach, ME |
Bill Dodge Auto Group |
| 23 |
53 |
Alan Wilson |
Hebron, ME |
Wheeler's Market |
| 24 |
10 |
Ralph Nason |
Unity, ME |
Jim's Salad Company |
| 25 |
00 |
Jeremie Whorff |
Topsham, ME |
AAA Insurance |
| 26 |
35r |
Derek Ramstrom |
Worcester, MA |
West Boylston Auto Parts |
|
|
Nason
Captures PASS Outlaw Late Model 100 at Unity,
Ramstrom Clinches 2006 Combo Championship
UNITY, Maine (October 21, 2006)- One of the Pine Tree state's most colorful and well-known
racers added another victory to his storied career Saturday. Ralph Nason took the lead for
the final time from Corey Williams on lap 79 and survived three late-race restarts to win
the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Outlaw Late Model 100 Saturday at the famed Unity Raceway.
The 100-lap tilt capped a full day of racing as PASS completed day one of its two-day 2006
Championship Weekend program. Three titles were decided Saturday (Outlaw Late Model North,
Central and Overall), and three more (PASS North Super Late Models, PASS Mods and the PASS
Sportsman Challenge Series) will be wrapped up on Sunday afternoon.
Kevin Nutting, Carl McAlpine, Thom Bell and Kurt Hewins were also feature winners on a
sunny but extremely windy day for racing at the historic 1/3-mile oval.
Nason, a Unity native who also happens to own the speedway, led the race on four occasions
and clearly had the fastest car in the field. After starting seventh on the 25-car grid,
the cagey veteran and three-time Oxford 250 winner went to the outside of Williams to take
the point for the first time on lap 34. Williams made Nason work for this one, leading on
three occasions for a total of 37 laps. The young hotshoe from Boothbay settled for
second, while local favorite George Fernald Jr. of nearby Benton was third. Chuck Colby
and Jimmy Rosenfield rounded out the top five.
"I was a little worried on those restarts," said Nason. "With the track
this cold, it took a few laps to get any heat in the tires. Once they got warm, my car
really took off and handled like a dream. Corey was fast on the outside, and he gave me a
run for it two or three times. I'm thrilled we could hold him off and bring home the win.
There are a lot of good cars in this division, it takes a strong car to win one of these
things."
Williams was thrilled with his performance, and expressed his feelings about battling with
one of Maine's best-known racers for the win.
"It felt really good to run up front today," said the former Legends division
standout. "Ralph is a tough racer, I've been watching him race since I was a kid and
just to compete this well against him is pretty special. This was a great run for us, now
we'll get ready for tomorrow and hope to run strong in the 150."
Fernald started 17th on the grid and fought tooth-and-nail all afternoon to record a
podium finish. With a cold track, traction was at a premium for everybody as they fought
for position. "I didn't think we could make it up this far," he said. "It
was a tough battle for us, every time we would start making headway another caution would
come out and we'd have to start over again on the restart. The car was hooked up today,
which allowed me to pick my way up through traffic. I'm thrilled to be standing here, and
have to thank my team for their efforts."
Nine cautions slowed the proceedings, most for minor incidents. Of them all, the worst was
brought out at lap 76 when several cars came together going into Turn 3. After a brief
delay to remove debris, action continued and Nason set about his quest for the biggest
trophy. seven cars finished on the lead lap, and 15 of the 25 starters were running at the
finish.
Finishing sixth through tenth Saturday was Mike Fowler, Mike Thomas, Matt Lee, Brian
Hinkley and Mike Harnish.
Teenage sensation Derek Ramstrom locked up the overall Outlaw Late Model championship with
his 13th place finish Saturday. The 15 year-old hotshoe from West Boylston, Massachusetts,
looked impressive in the early going, running inside the top five until just after
halfway. He got caught up in an altercation on lap 61 and suffered damage to his No. 35
machine. After pitting for repairs, he returned to the speedway and was running at the
finish.
"What a great season it has been for us," said a humble Ramstrom. "My Dad,
this whole team, the sponsors Charter Communications and W. Boylston Auto Parts, everybody
has just kept a great car under me all season and that's what it takes. We got into a
little trouble here today, but overall we've been lucky. I'm happy with this much success
in my first season of driving full-bodied race cars. It's been a blast."
In earlier feature action, Nutting drove to victory in the 40-lap Mini Truck feature.
McAlpine earned his win in an exciting Stock 4 feature, with Kevin Douglass and Lewis
Batchelder second and third respectively. Bell, of Minot, Maine, out-gunned Judd
Derbyshire and Daryl Varney to claim the 40-lap Stock 8 feature. Hewins notched a win in a
thrilling 40-lap Wildcat feature, with Lyman McKeage second and Skip Tripp third. There
were plenty of side-by-side battles in each of the support races, despite the fact these
were non-points paying events.
The 2006 PASS Championship Weekend will conclude Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. with a 150-lap
season finale for the Super Late Model/Pro Stock machines. Just eight markers separate
points leader Johnny Clark from second place Mike Rowe as they wrap up their battle for
the coveted PASS North championship.
UnOfficial Finish - Outlaw Late Model 100 at Unity
Raceway
-finishing position, starting
position in parentheses, car number, driver and hometown
1. (7) #10 - Ralph Nason, Unity, ME
2. (3) #47 - Corey Williams, Boothbay, ME
3. (17) #91 - George Fernald Jr., Benton, ME
4. (6) #87 - Chuck Colby, Newcaslte, ME
5. (22) #44 - Jimmy Rosenfield, Middleboro, MA
6. (4) #66x - Mike Fowler, Scarborough, ME
7. (12) #25 - Mike Thomas, Lewiston, ME
8. (24) #00 - Matt Lee, Albion, ME
9. (11) #72x - Brian Whitney, Burnham, ME
10.(13) #22 - Mike Harnish, Readfield, ME
11. (1) #36 - Jay Sands, Seabrook, NH
12. (23) #57 - Zig Geno, Canterbury, NH
13. (5) #35 - Derek Ramstrom, W. Boylston, MA
14.(20) #01 - Joe Decker, Chesterfield, ME
15.(21) #73 - Mark Dodge, Anson, ME
16.(14) #9 - Tim Turner, Freedom, ME
17. (2) #2 - Charlie Colby, Newcastle
18.(10) #55 - Jimmy Renfrew, Candia, NH
19.(18) #01x - Marty Emerson, Durham, ME
20. (8) #5x - Billy Pinkham, Wiscasset, ME
21.(19) #03 - Gary Norris Jr., W. Gardiner, ME
22.(15) #8 - Dennis Spencer Jr., Norway, ME
23.(25) #29e - Ben Erskine, Solon, ME
24.(16) #97, - Walt Hammond, Canaan, NH
25. (9) #29 - Ricky Morse, St. Albans, ME |
