Gordon Scores PASS 150 at Speedway 95

L to R: Dale Shaw, 2nd; Tracy Gordon, 1st, and Ben Rowe, 3rd

Tracy Gordon took advantage of a Larry Gelinas miscue to grab the lead on lap 112 and lead the remaining 38 laps to earn his first Pro All Stars Series victory in Saturday’s PASS 150 at Speedway 95 in Hermon Maine. The veteran from Strong drove his Gordon Lumbering/SNF Crane Chevrolet to the win over Dale Shaw in the Hill’s RV’s/Plum Potter Automotive Dodge Intrepid and PASS points leader Ben Rowe, who brought his Mechanical Services/Superior Image Chevrolet back from an early race wreck to claim third.

Sam Sessions was fastest in Sunoco Race Fuels time trials, nipping defending race winner Scott Chubbuck by .012 seconds to claim the fast time. Rowe clocked third fasted with Gelinas timing in fourth, Gordon fifth and Johnny Clark sixth. Cassius Clark broke the beam for seventh with Shaw, Mike Rowe and Doug Averill rounding out the top ten qualifiers. Only .144 seconds separated tenth place Averill from fast timer Sessions.

Gordon actually earned two wins Saturday night as he redrew the outside pole for the fast car dash and outraced Cassius Clark for the top spot to claim the win and the number one starting position for the feature event. Gelinas raced up from fourth to start from the outside pole with Cassius Clark, Johnny Clark, Sessions, Chubbuck, Ben Rowe, Shaw, Doug Averill and Mike Rowe rounding out the top ten. Randy Turner and Dave Gorveatt each earned a heat race victory.

The field was set for the feature and Gordon showed early dominance, beating Gelinas to the green and opening up a respectable advantage on the majority of the field. Gelinas hung tough with Gordon throughout the early stages with Chubbuck moving around Johnny Clark for third and Dale Shaw up to fourth. Steve Knowlton spun Carleton Robie’s 24 on lap 32 to bring out the night’s first caution and set up the first restart. Gordon held his ground over Gelinas while Shaw got a run on Chubbuck for third and Ben Rowe followed that pair in fifth. The complexion of the race changed on lap 57 when Chubbuck took a long sideways slide in turns one and two and Rowe had no where to go, making contact with the Cushman Competition Ford. Both drivers pitted for some aluminum and fiberglass repairs and returned at the rear of the field minus some body panels.

Gordon’s only bobble of the evening came on a lap 57 restart and Gelinas and Shaw both took advantage to shuffle Gordon back to third and eventually to fourth when Sam Sessions got by as well. The trio ran in that order through lap 105 with Cassius Clark up to fourth, Randy Turner fifth, Scott Mulkern sixth, Dave Gorveatt seventh and Ben Rowe working his way back through the field to eighth. A strong run for Cassius Clark was derailed by a spin on lap 106, and Gelinas held the pack at bay once again on the restart. Dave Gorveatt and Scott Mulkern ended spoiled good runs with an off-track excursion on lap 112. Gelinas got a little high on the restart, making contact with Shaw and giving Gordon the opportunity he needed. Gordon had already reclaimed the third spot from Sessions and he dove low on the green, passing both Gelinas and Shaw for the number one spot. Gelinas held on to second with Shaw now third and Ben Rowe and Sessions completing the top five. Gelinas’ fine run came to an end on lap 132 when his Digby’s Variety/Watts Racing Monte Carlo shut down, leaving him 20th at the finish.

Gordon maintained control of the field as Shaw and Rowe waged a great battle for second. Gordon beat Shaw to the stripe by five car lengths (.810 seconds) to claim his first PASS win in only his second start. Rowe brought his right front fender-less ride home third with Sam Sessions in fourth. Randy Turner turned in a great run for his first top five of the season while Arundel’s Donny Whitten made his return to the PASS series a successful one with a solid sixth. Cassius Clark recovered from his spin for seventh in the S&S Transportation Ford Taurus. Mike Rowe, Chuck LaChance and local legend John Phippen rounded out the unofficial top ten.

“66 must be my lucky number!” said Gordon in Victory Lane, referring to the new number he brought with him to the PASS on a car he purchased from Canadian short track legend Junior Hanley. “ This has never been one of my better tracks, but this is an awesome car. It’s great to win so close to home!’

Order of Finish - Pro All Stars Series Event #5 – PASS 150 – Speedway 95 – Hermon, ME
1)  66 Tracy Gordon, Strong ME Gordon Lumbering/SNF Crane Chev.
2)  60 Dale Shaw, Ctr. Conway NH Hill’s RV’s/Plum Potter Automotive Dodge
3)  00 Ben Rowe Turner ME Mechanical Service/Superior Image Chev.
4)  0 Sam Sessions So. Paris ME Call of the Wild RV Center Chev.
5)  1) Randy Turner, Freedom ME Watson Racing Heads Chev.
6)  83 Donny Whitten, Arundel ME Whitten Racing Chev.
7)  8 Cassius Clark Farmington ME S&S Transportation Ford
8)  24x Mike Rowe, Turner ME K&K Excavating Chev.
9)  38 Chuck LaChance, Cushing ME Fuller Automall Ford
10) 59 John Phippen Bar Harbor ME Blanchard & Gray Contractors Chev.
11) 54 Johnny Clark Hallowell ME DNK/Clark’s Cars and Parts Chev.
12) 24K Travis Kheil, Denmark ME Kheil Logging/Frechette Tire Chev.
13) 85 Doug Averill, Litchfield ME VIP Chev
14) 77 Dave Gorveatt Charlottetown PEI Canada Johnston Home Style Chev.
15) 75 Gary Smith Bangor ME Bud and Ray’s/Uncle Henry’s Chev.
16) 20 Tim Allen, Northeast Harbor ME Hayes Garage/Fineline Chev
17) 29 Scott Chubbuck, Wiscasset ME Cushman Competition Ford
18) 24 Steve Knowlton, Ipswich MA Carleton Robie Chev.
19) 35 Garry Johnson, Hollis ME Johnson Trucking Chev
20) 37 Larry Gelinas, Scarborough ME Digby’s Variety Chev.
21) 84 Scott Mulkern, Falmouth ME Community Pharmacies Dodge
22) 33 Richie Dearborn, Hollis ME Chadwick BaRoss/Dayton Sand and Gravel Chev.