Johnny Clark Motorsports

26th at the Easter Bunny 150 after a a turn one multi-car wreck
crushes the nose and leads to overheating. 12th in time trials out
of an incredible field of 49 top runners.

2010 RESULTS & PHOTOS

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swiftsprings.com

10th Anniversay PASS North
Banquet of Champions
for the 2010 Season
Friday, January 14th



			*Sportsmanship Award*
			PASS Website Banquet Story and Photo Page HERE

Johnny received the Mainely Motosports TV "Mainely Award"
for Driver of the Year - Premier Touring Series
AND the 23rd EXPO Touring Driver of the Year Award

Johnny's 2010 Auto Meter 250 trophy was on display in Speedway 660 Booth
at the Northeast Motorsports Expo.

6th at the Meltdown,
2nd in National Points

Johnny and team made the run down to Tennessee for the Meltdown 250 in mid-October.

Qualifying 3rd, Johnny started 4th on the redraw. Running mostly in the top 3, Johnny took the lead twice and held it for about 35 laps.

But in the final laps, the #54 was just bit off and Johnny fell to a 6th place finish.

Preston Peltier #26 captured the PASS National
2010 title with Johnny just 15 points back,
1057 to 1042.

551's Short Track Power Rankings
Who Are the 40 Hottest Short
Trackers for the Fall season?

#3 JOHNNY CLARK

Johnny Completes his Drive for Five

PASS PR - By Norm Desjardins - Naples ME Johnny Clark’s 2010 season ended quietly in the White Mountain Motorsports Park pit area, the rear axle housing of his Clark’s Car Crushing/Port City Race Cars Impala cocked to one side with a rear suspension failure that ended his night early in the PASS North super late model season finale. It was supposed to be Clark’s night to celebrate an unprecedented fifth Pro All Stars Series title, his team’s third consecutive championship. But Clark didn’t get to make a flashy burn out or receive congratulations from his many fans in attendance.

While it wasn’t the sort of celebration that a racer dreams of, the facts remained the same. Clark’s five win season, with 10 top five and 12 top ten finishes, was one of the strongest in the ten year history of the Pro All Stars Series and further secured his status as one of America’s top super late model racers.

Clark’s year started off with a solid sixth at Beech Ridge, but he was about to go on a tear. He followed up with a win at White Mountain Motorsports Park, a track that Ben Rowe and, more recently Richie Dearborn have owned and Clark has tried to conquer for nearly twelve years. The team went on to dominate the month of June with wins at New Brunswick’s Speedway 660 and Maine’s Unity Raceway. Only his perennial title nemesis Ben Rowe could foil Clark’s shot at the consecutive win record when he chased Rowe to the checkers at Canaan Fair Speedway.

Rowe and his new Mulkern Racing team made it interesting during the heart of the schedule, winning at Canaan and Thompson (CT) International Speedway. Clark snared win number four in Caribou Maine at Spud Speedway in late August but Rowe was still nipping at his heels. The points were tight heading to Beech Ridge for the PASS 300 and the title was far from decided, less than 20 markers separating the two PASS stars. But Rowe never challenged and he was forced to park his Community Pharmacies Chevy with engine woes. Clark drove the fifty four to victory lane for the fifth and final time in 2010, collecting a ten thousand dollar pay day and guaranteeing his team a fifth title when he took the green at White Mountain.

A talented race team and a slew of sponsors make the wheels turn for Johnny Clark Motorsports. Bobby Clark, Robert Green, Tim Clark, Terry Downes, John Clark, Paul Rice, Diane Clark, Craig Smiley, Bill Marshall and Heidi Marshall are the ones that make the wins and titles possible. Primary sponsorship is provided by Clark’s Car Crushing, Port City Race Cars, ARBodies and DNK Select Used Cars; associates include Bondos Garage, Cen-Pe-Co Oil, Yankee Communications, KDT Towing & Repair and 54 Grafix.

Although the PASS North’s tenth anniversary campaign has ended. Clark still has one more title to chase. The PASS 300 was round four of the five race 2010 PASS National Championship Series and Clark’s win catapulted him to second in the National standings, just eleven behind point leader Preston Peltier and twenty in front of Jay Fogleman. Clark will make the trip south for the Mason-Dixon Meltdown, the {PASS South and National finale set for Newport (TN) Speedway on Saturday October 16.

..:: 2010 PASS NORTH CHAMPIONS ::..

WITH A 21ST PLACE FINISH AT WMMP ON 9/17, JOHNNY BECOMES THE
2010 AND FIVE-TIME PASS NORTH SLM CHAMPION.

THE #54 FELL OUT OF THE RACE AFTER 33 LAPS WHEN THE
PANHARD ROD BRACKET BROKE OFF THE REAR END.

Johnny won his fifth PASS North Series championship with a 21st-place finish in the season-ending PASS 150 at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., on Friday, September 17. Clark suffered mechanical issues early in the main event after winning his heat race and working his way to third position on the race track. Still, Clark earned his series-record fifth title and won an unprecedented third straight series championship. In 13 starts, Clark won five races, posted 10 Top-5 finishes and 12 Top-10 runs and finished with a final margin of victory of more than 40 points.

JOHNNY, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A CHAMPION AGAIN?

It's pretty cool. It shows how good of a car we really had all year. To have five championships and three championships in a row -- I mean, it just puts it into perspective when you realize that nobody can do that again until 2013. It's pretty amazing.

It's huge. It was a great year for us. And the championship is obviously a great way to cap off the year.

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR CAR?

We broke a panhard bar in the rear end. We were a rocket, too. We won our heat, started 11th and made it to third in 16 laps.

It just happened all at once. We went into the turn and 'Boom!' Race over. We thought we were going to go and do it in the right fashion and go straight to victory lane and celebrate.

But it was a simple part failure and that was it.

	Friday, September 17th 6:00 PM
*White Mountain Motorsports Park Race Preview*
Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, is expected to win his unprecedented fifth PASS North Series championship when the series runs the PASS 150 at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., on Friday, September 17. Clark owns a 71-point lead over his closest challenger, Ben Rowe, heading to the season finale and needs only to start the main event to win the PASS North title for the third straight year. Clark has five wins this season, including last weekend's $10,000 PASS 300 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. Clark has never enjoyed such a large lead atop the standings going into a season-ending race, but his season to date has been stellar. In 12 races, he's yet to finish outside the Top-10 with the five wins and 10 Top-5 finishes. Clark picked up his first career win at White Mountain Motorsports Park back in May, the second in a stretch of three straight victories in the first half of the year. 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: 1st LAST RACE: Sunday, September 12, PASS 300, Beech Ridge, Scarborough, Maine (1st-place finish) JOHNNY, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CHAMPIONSHP? Being the first one to possibly win three championships in a row and the first one to win five overall, that makes it even more special to me. Every championship you win is obviously different, but this year winning five races, winning the most races of anyone (in the series) and winning in dominating fashion -- we've just had an absolutely fantastic year. To think that we're going to end up with five championships in nine years racing full-time with PASS, that's pretty cool. WHAT DID WINNING AT WHITE MOUNTAIN BACK IN MAY DO FOR THE TEAM? I think it definitely propelled us for the rest of the year, winning at a track nobody expected us to win at. To be honest, I didn't even expect it. You want to win every race you go to, and if you don't go to the race track believing you can win, you shouldn't even bother going -- but our goal this year was to win at tracks we needed to work on. White Mountain, Thompson, Seekonk, Spud, and we were able to win a couple of those. (Winning at White Mountain) was a huge confidence builder for us, winning right out of the box like that. Over time, we were just getting better and better with our setups -- not just there, but at every race track. You're always working to get better.

Win #5 at Beech Ridge PASS 300
Dedicated to John Phippen

Drive For Five: Johnny Wins PASS 300

SCARBOROUGH, Maine -- Johnny Clark continued his storybook season on Sunday afternoon at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, winning the PASS 300 for his fifth PASS North Series victory of the year and firming his grasp on a fifth career series championship.

"We've been on an awesome tear all year long," said Clark, a two-time winner of the PASS 300, having won the event in 2008 as well. "This is just phenomenal."

Clark took the lead from Bill Rodgers on Lap 260 and then held off Cassius Clark on a restart with 19 laps remaining.

"I was pretty nervous when Cassius was coming," Clark said. "He was the class of the field for the whole race, even on old tires."

Clark used pit strategy past the midpoint of the event to put himself in position for victory, choosing to change all four tires at once to gain track position over other cars pitting for fresh tires and fuel.

He gave up the sixth position on Lap 177 to head to pit road, emerging with fifth place when the race went back to green.

"We weren't very good for the first half of the race. The car was getting tight, loose -- everything," Clark said. "I just didn't want to race anybody (early on). I figured we'd race them in the pits.

"The guys just did an awesome job on a 4-tire stop, coming in a straightaway behind the pace car and not losing a lap. It was a big gamble, but I think it was the winning gamble."

Clark has now won three straight races, including two in PASS competition. He won the PASS North Series' return to Spud Speedway in Caribou, Maine, on Aug. 21, and then won the Auto Value 250 open competition at Geary, New Brunswick's Speedway 660 last weekend.

Perhaps more importantly, with fellow title contender Ben Rowe retiring early from the event with mechanical troubles, Clark has a comfortable points lead heading into the season finale at White Mountain Motorsports Park next weekend.

Unofficially, Clark owns a 71-point led over Rowe.

"We can't control what (Rowe) is going to do. All we can control is the 54 car and make sure it's fast and gives us a shot to win the race," Clark said. "The guys just work their butts off all week long to make this happen."

Cassius Clark #8, 2nd; Johnny; and Bill Rodgers #53, 3rd.

Broken Lift at Beech Ridge - The Clark 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.

Beech Ridge Race Preview

PASS North Series points leader Johnny Clark heads to the longest race on the schedule with the PASS 300 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Sunday, September 12.

The 2008 champion of the event, the four-time series champion Clark holds a 13-point lead over Ben Rowe atop the standings with two races remaining. He's finished sixth and fourth in the two previous PASS North races at Beech Ridge this season, but Clark enters the weekend off one of the biggest wins of his career -- a victory at the Auto Value 250 at Speedway 660 in Geary, New Brunswick, last weekend that carried with it a record payday of more than $26,000.

Clark has four PASS North Series wins this season and is the series' most recent winner, having taken the checkered flag at Spud Speedway in Caribou, Maine, last month.

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: 1st
LAST RACE: August 21, Spud Speedway, Caribou, Maine (1st-place finish)
NEXT RACE: Friday, September 17, White Mountain Motorsports Park, N. Woodstock, N.H. (.25-mile oval)

JOHNNY, HAS LAST WEEKEND'S WIN AT SPEEDWAY 660 SUNK IN YET?

That was just awesome. It's definitely one of the biggest wins of my career to date. That fact that we broke records up there -- for most laps led (207) and most money won ($26,350) -- adds even more to it. It's pretty neat, and it was great for all the guys on the team.

Regardless of what happens in the (PASS North) championship, we know that we've had a pretty good year.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO HOLD OFF BEN ROWE FOR AN UNPRECEDENTED FIFTH PASS NORTH SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP?

We have to do exactly what we've been doing -- winning races, leading the most laps. We're just going to try to continue doing that. There's nothing else we can do. We can't control what Ben does. It's a two-car race now, but we won't change anything. We'll keep plugging away.

　
BEECH RIDGE ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE SUCH AN UNPREDICTABLE TRACK FOR THIS SERIES. DOES 300 LAPS WITH LIVE PIT STOPS CHANGE RACING THERE?

Absolutely. I think that we'll see the cream really rise to the top. There will be cars and teams that are more prepared than others, and I think you'll see those guys make it to the 300-lap mark at the front of the field.

You'll see a more 'predictable' finish, I think, being that it's 300 laps on Sunday.

Sunday
September 5th

JOHNNY WINS THE 250!

Johnny has won over Shawn Turple, Shawn Tucker, Greg Proude, Travis Benjamin, Jonathan Hicken, Scott Chubbuck, Craig Slaunwhite, Lonnie Sommerville, Wayne Smith, Kirk Thibeau and Kevin Moore. See the Speed51.com Trackside coverage HERE


			Photos by Jamie Williams

Johnny Dominates Auto Value 250. Pockets More Than $26,000

GEARY, N.B. -- Johnny Clark couldn't have scripted it any better. Heck, even noted Hollywood director Steven Spielberg couldn't have.

Clark thoroughly dominated the competition Sunday night at Speedway 660, leading all but a handful of laps en route to his second career Auto Value 250 win. Counting the win purse, the bonus paid to the leader at the halfway mark and lap leader earnings, Clark pocketed a total of $26,300 in the open competition for Super Late Model/Pro Stock cars.

The four-time PASS North Series champion and current series points leader previously won the Auto Value 250 in 2007.

"The first one was pretty awesome, but this one is, too," said Clark, whose No. 54 Clark's Car Crushing Chevrolet started fifth in the 28-car field. "This was way more of a dominant performance. I would have to say this one means more right now after the way we did this.

"It shows where (crew chief Robert Green) and I and the whole team are right now after working together for a few years. This is just unbelievable."

It took Clark fewer than 20 laps to grab the lead, where he stayed until he and the leaders pitted for fresh tires with 70 laps remaining. Clark won the race out of the pits and restarted fourth in the running order. He made contact with Shawn Turple while racing for the lead shortly after the restart and was sent to the rear as a penalty from race officials.

"I messed up. I got into him," Clark said. "I completely got sideways. I didn't mean to, and I'm just glad he got back up to finish second."

From there, Clark battled back and reclaimed the top spot with less than 40 laps remaining.

"Everything has to fall right into place to win one of these 250s anywhere you go," Clark said. "This was unbelieveble. The car was just phenomenal, and we couldn't have scripted it any better."

Clark now has five career victories in races with distances of 250 laps or more -- having won the DNK 250 at Unity Raceway in 2004, this race in 2007 and again in 2010, and both the Toyota Tundra 250 at Wiscasset Raceway and the PASS 300 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in 2008.

MORE AT SPEED51 LEFTOVERS HERE

Speedway 660 Race Preview

Johnny looks for his second career '250' win north of the border as he heads to the Auto Value 250 at Speedway 660 in Geary, New Brunswick, on Sunday, September 5. Clark won nearly $20,000 in the Labor Day weekend event in 2007 and also won the PASS North Series visit to the .333-mile oval back in June.
The four-time PASS North Series champion and current PASS North points leader, he has excelled in extra-distance races in recent years -- winning the DNK 250 at Unity Raceway in 2004, the Peterbilt 250 at Speedway 660 in 2007, and both the Toyota Tundra 250 at Wiscasset Raceway and the PASS 300 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in 2008. With four PASS wins this season alone, including a 200-lap victory at Speedway 660, Clark hopes to add another big payday to his resume this weekend.

BEST CAREER SPEEDWAY 660 FINISH: 1st (2 times; most recently, June 2010)
LAST RACE AT SPEEDWAY 660: 1st (June 2010, PASS North Series)

JOHNNY, SPEEDWAY 660 IS THE SITE OF ONE OF THE BIGGEST WINS OF YOUR CAREER.

Yeah, absolutely. I guess you kind of judge races by how much they pay, and obviously, that's a big one. But you know, there have been other times there that were just as important to me. I remember going there in 2003 and finishing third behind Scott Fraser and Ben Rowe -- and at the time, we were just getting going with this PASS deal and that was a really big deal to me.

WHY HAVE YOU MADE THIS RACE A MUST ON YOUR OWN SCHEDULE EACH SEASON?

Chris Johnston from Speedway 660 is one of the biggest reasons, to be honest with you. He just knows how to run a show. This guy is trying really hard to make this race go and doing everything right. This show is going to continue getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Jay Cushman kind of first got the word out about this race a few years ago, about the purse and about the kind of race it is.

You need to support these races. When guys are putting up these kind of purses and holding these kinds of events -- we know the fans are showing up. It's our duty as a race team to go and support them.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT SPEEDWAY 660 THAT YOU'VE TAKEN SO WELL TO?

It's one of those get up on the wheel kind of places. A lot like Spud Speedway, a lot like Unity Raceway. Now that I've been to Spud, it's probably most like that. It's got tight corners, and it can put on a really great show if there's a little give and take out there. It's a cool little race track.

DO YOU APPROACH RACING DIFFERENTLY WHEN THERE ARE NO PASS NORTH SERIES POINTS ON THE LINE?

I don't think we run them any differently. We're going there to win -- flat-out, that's it. I think if you asked Ben (Rowe), he'd tell you the same thing. I don't think we run any races any differently. We always try to win. If you're points racing -- winning races still wins you the championships, so that's what you go out to try and do.

If you're out there putting yourself in bad spots and taking chances because all you want to do is win, it's going to bite you before it's over either way. We're going to go, try and do our homework and try to have the best car at the end of the race. That's it.

WIN #4 at Spud Speedway on August 21st

Johnny won the inaugural PASS North Series PASS 150 at Spud Speedway in Caribou, Maine, on Saturday, Aug. 21. It was Clark's fourth win of the season and helped him extend his series points lead to 13 over his closest challenger as Clark hits the home stretch of his bid for an unprecedented fifth PASS North championship. Clark rebounded from a flat tire in his heat race, starting 12th in the main event and securing the lead by Lap 25 as he drove off to the victory.

WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 150 - WHERE: Spud Speedway, Caribou, Maine (.250-mile oval)

STARTED: 12th - FINISHED: 1st - LED: 1 time for 125 laps

JOHNNY, IT MUST FEEL GOOD TO BE BACK IN VICTORY LANE.

Absolutely it does. I heard the guys as we were celebrating in Victory Lane and they were saying, "We're back." That's exactly what it feels like, too. We've had some decent runs lately, but we never really put it all together in terms of our finishes. (Saturday) night I felt it, though.

We won three races in a row (from May-June) and hopefully we can do it again to close out the season and win that fifth championship.

WHAT WAS THE KEY TO WINNING AT SPUD SPEEDWAY?

Everyone kept talking about "Turn 5" there. It's not a dogleg in the middle of the straightaway, but you go through Turns 3 and 4, and then there is another turn after that. It's hard to describe it unless you're in the race car. But it's a really cool, really unique place -- and we were really good through that Turn 5 all night.

I think we passed everybody by going under them there. I could really put the car wherever I needed to, and I could just wait for guys to push up a little in the corner and then drive up off under them. We just had a lot of drive from the center of the corner off.

We were one of three teams that chose to stay for practice on Friday night (after regularly scheduled racing). It was at 9:30 at night, but I think it paid off for us. Our last practice was as at 6:30, and I didn't want to stick around for three hours, either -- but I felt like, "You know what? We're here to win this race, and if this helps we're going to take advantage of it." I absolutely think it did help. It got colder, the track changed a little and we were ready for it on race day.

5TH - SATURDAY, AUGUST 14TH

Johnny headed into Seekonk with a slim 10 points lead over Ben Rowe in the #48 (1971 to 1961 points).

In Heat 1, Johnny pulled a third place draw and jumped into the lead by the exit of turn two of the first lap. From there it was an unchallenged cruise to the win.

Heat 2 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. With all the cars slipping, sliding and spinning, Ben got into the back of Richie Dearborn, and Richie spun in front of Ben. 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, the action was hot but clean and caution-free for 102 laps. Ben and Johnny moved up from their past 2010 winners positions on the grid. Ben and Johnny were side by side on the lap 107 restart with Ben pulling ahead at the green. Johnny pulled alongside (shot above) to challenge but by lap 120 Ben was solidly in fourth with Johnny in fifth as Seekonk weekly racer Dave Darling #52 took the checkers.

Ben reclaimed two points in the feature so the battle moves to Spud Speedway on Aug. 21 still with a ten points spread.

Seekonk Speedway Race Preview

PASS North Series points leader Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, rolls off to the PASS North Series PASS 150 at Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, Mass., on Saturday, August 14. It's just the second time the series visits the tight .333-mile track affectionately known as the "Cement Palace." Clark is coming off back-to-back finishes outside the top-5 and hopes to get back on track at Seekonk, where he finished third last year in his lone career start there. The four-time series champion Clark nurses a 10-point lead over Ben Rowe atop the PASS North standings with four races remaining.

BEST CAREER SEEKONK SPEEDWAY FINISH: 3rd (August 2009)
LAST RACE AT SEEKONK SPEEDWAY: 3rd (August 2009)

WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 150
WHERE: Seekonk Speedway, Seekonk, Mass. (.333-mile oval)
WHEN: 6 p.m., Saturday, August 14

PASS NORTH SERIES - POINTS POSITION: 1st
LAST RACE: July 31, Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H. (7th-place finish)
NEXT RACE: Saturday, August 21, Spud Speedway, Caribou, Maine (.333-mile oval)

JOHNNY, DOES IT SEEM LIKE THE CHAMPIONSHIP PICTURE HAS TIGHTENED UP ALL OF A SUDDEN?

If you had asked me that after Beech Ridge (in early July), I would have told you that we just have to keep doing what we were doing and we'd be fine. Now, though, that doesn't hold true. The last two races we've lost points. We've got to buckle down and win a couple of races.

There's no doubt about it. Ben's won twice since I last won. I really feel like we've got to win two of these last four races and have solid runs in the other two if we want to win this championship. It's going to come down to the last race (at White Mountain Motorsports Park in September). I said that at the beginning of the season, and it's still true.

HOW DO YOU APPROACH A RACE AT A PLACE LIKE SEEKONK SPEEDWAY?

No one has any experience there. It's really a complete wild card, and that's how I'm kind of looking at it. It's a lot like a race at Beech Ridge -- when you roll into the gate there, nobody really knows what's going to happen. That's kind of how it is at Seekonk, too.

DO YOU LIKE THE RACING AT SEEKONK?

I do. It's a complete bowl, but it's a rough race track. It's got some Unity characteristics in it, because you have to be smooth on the throttle. I like the rougher race tracks. Put some bumps, some frost heaves in it and we'll have some fun.

Experience does mean everything at Seekonk -- just last time we saw that because the regulars ran so strong there. With our baseline setup we take to tracks that are unknowns for us -- it usually works well. It's kind of a middle of the road setup, but hopefully it will work on that rough, tough race track.

7th at RIVERSIDE

Johnny finished seventh in the PASS North Series Summerfest 150 at Riverside Speedway in Groveton, N.H., on Saturday July 31. It was Clark's seventh top-10 finish in seven career starts at the track, which includes three victories. He won his heat race on Saturday and started 11th in the 18-car field, but never advanced beyond seventh in the running order -- even after utilizing a Lap 80 caution to pit for adjustments.

STARTED: 11th - FINISHED: 7th - LED: 0 times for 0 laps

NEXT RACE: Saturday, August 14, Seekonk Speedway, Seekonk, Mass. (.333-mile oval)

JOHNNY, IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS A TOUGH NIGHT OUT THERE.

I don't know what happened out there. We were just OK in practice and the heat -- but the car never did what it did in the feature. Not even close. In the feature, it was absolutely garbage.

It didn't get into the race track. We didn't have any traction down the straightaway. Really, I didn't have that all day. We made a few adjustments right before the feature, but it still shouldn't have done that. I don't know what happened.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF TREVOR SANBORN GETTING HIS FIRST CAREER PASS NORTH SERIES WIN?

It's cool. He's been working so hard to get that first win. Everyone thought it would come at Beech Ridge, but it didn't, so it's great to see him do it here. And then to have (Richard Moody Racing teammate Travis Benjamin) finish second -- both of those guys needed good runs. It was nice to see that for those guys over there.

Riverside Speedway Race Preview

PASS North Series points leader Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, heads to one of his favorite events on the PASS North Series schedule, the Summerfest 150 at Riverside Speedway in Groveton, N.H., on Saturday, July 31. Clark is a three-time race winner at Riverside with just one career finish outside the top-five -- a span of six races. After having won the Summerfest 150 most recently in 2008, Clark finished an uncharacteristic ninth in last year's running of the race. Still, he's 14 points ahead of Ben Rowe atop the series standings with five races remaining -- having gone a perfect 8-for-8 in top-10 finishes this season with three wins and seven top-five runs in the eight starts.

BEST CAREER RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY FINISH: 1st
(3 times, most recently July 2008)
LAST RACE AT RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY: 9th (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: 1st
LAST RACE: July 22, Thompson International Speedway, Thompson, Conn. (3rd)
NEXT RACE: August 14, Seekonk Speedway, Seekonk, Mass. (.333-mile oval)

JOHNNY, YOU HAVE TO REALLY LOVE HEADING TO RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY.

Absolutely. We've always run so good there, it's just such a great track for us. It's a little bit of a cross between White Mountain, Unity Raceway, Wiscasset and All-Star Speedway -- it's got completely different corners and straightaways. You've got two different turns, two different straightaways, and you've really got to get up on the wheel and drive, and I love tracks like that.

The actual track is a little beat up, but that's probably why we've run so well there, honestly. Look at the other tracks like that -- Unity and Wiscasset and places like that -- and we've always run well on them.

IS THERE ANY REASON TO THINK YOU CAN GET THAT FOURTH WIN OF THE YEAR ON SATURDAY?

Not at all. We're going there to win. That's what we do every week, anyway. We show up at the race track trying to win that race, and I really feel like we've had such a good year that we can keep it rolling at Groveton.

SLM TOP THREE - L TO R: Preston Peltier #26, 2nd;
Winner Ben Rowe #48; and Johnny Clark #54, 3rd.

3rd at the Thompson PASS 75 on 7/22

Johnny finished third in the combination PASS North Series/PASS National Championship Series PASS 75 at Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, Conn., on Thursday, July 22. at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H., on Tuesday, July 13. The finish markes the seventh top-five finish in eight races for Clark, the PASS North points leader. He started 12th and quickly moved into the top-four, where he raced nose-to-tail with the leaders for most of the event.

STARTED: 12th - FINISHED: 3rd - LED: 0 times for 0 laps

NEXT RACE: Saturday, July 31st, Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H.

JOHNNY, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR NIGHT?

The car was as good as any we've had at Thompson. The top-4 cars, we were all bumper to bumper. It was too bad, because we were just a tick off. We needed a restart or two to try and mix it up with those guys a little bit, but we never gone one.

YOU AND JAY FOGLEMAN HAD A SPIRITED BATTLE FOR THIRD NEAR THE END.

As soon as you'd want to get to the inside of (Fogleman's car), they'd want you to run a lane lower than you needed to. He was holding his hand out the window. As much banging as we were doing he probably should have put two hands back on the wheel.

We were just a tick off to stay in front of (winner Ben Rowe) and then he was able to go all the way.

Thompson International Speedway Race Preview

PASS North Series points leader Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, rolls into round three of the PASS National Championship Series with the PASS 75 at Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, Conn., on Thursday, July 22. The .625-mile high-banked track is the nation's oldest paved oval and also the largest facility the series visits. The 75-lap event counts as a points-paying event for both the five-race PASS National Series as well as the PASS North Series. Clark owns a 19-point lead over Ben Rowe in the PASS North standings, having posted six top-5 finishes through the first seven races -- including a fourth-place run at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway last weekend. Clark is fourth through two events in the PASS National standings, 40 points behind North Carolina's Preston Peltier, after finishing second in the season opener at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida and a disappointing 26th at Hickory, N.C., in April.

PASS National Series - POINTS POSITION: 4th
LAST RACE: April 3, Hickory Motor Speedway, Hickory, N.C. (26th-place)
NEXT RACE: Sept. 12, Beech Ridge , Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile)

PASS North Series - POINTS POSITION: 1st
LAST RACE: July 17, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (4th-place)
NEXT RACE: July 31, PASS 150, Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H. (.25-mile oval)

JOHNNY, YOU ALWAYS SEEM TO RUN WELL AT THOMPSON. CAN YOU FINALLY WIN ONE THERE?

We've always been decent there, but we've never been stellar by any means. You can say we've run respectfully there -- but you can't say, 'OK, here we go, we're going to Thompson. We're going to win.' I'm hoping we can change that.

It's so similar to New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway. We led by half a lap there in January. We just don't see any of those big, hig-banked half-mile tracks up here, so to go there and do that at New Smyrna really gives me a lot of confidence going into Thompson.

DO YOU STILL CONSIDER YOURSELF IN THE PASS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HUNT?

We're behind, and we know that. We have to win at Thompson. We need the points. Of course if we do that, it's going to help us in North, too.

We have to win to have a prayer at the National championship. I'd say you can have one mulligan -- but it's only five races in the series, so I'm not even sure you can say that. I'm not even sure you can say you can have a mulligan in the North, either, anymore.

We're putting in a new motor, new transmission, everything -- we're going with all our freshest stuff to go to our best track.

4th at BEECH RIDGE

After a scoring review and the DQ of the #44 of Trevor Sanborn after tech,
Johnny scores a fourth at Beech Ridge and Ben Rowe finishes in 9th.

Johnny stands in 1st with 1538 markers, Ben with 1519,
and Cassius Clark at 1437 in 3rd.

2nd at LEE USA Bastille 200 on 7/13

Johnny finished second in the PASS North Series Bastille 200 at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H., on Tuesday, July 13. The finish marked the fifth top-2 for Clark in as many starts this season, and allowed the series points leader to extend his lead over Ben Rowe unofficially to 10 points through six races. Clark led the Bastille 200 on two occasions for a race-high 113 laps but was passed by eventual race winner Mike Rowe on a restart with 12 laps remaining.

WHAT: PASS North Series Bastille 200
WHERE: Lee USA Speedway, Lee, N.H. (.333-mile oval)

STARTED: 11th - FINISHED: 2nd - LED: 2 times for 113 laps

NEXT RACE: Saturday, July 17th, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine

JOHNNY, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR NIGHT?

The car was just phenomenal. It was on rails. We had a tire issue or something (early), a bleeder -- I don't know what happened. We dropped backto third after taking the lead, but we pitted and put those right sides on and the car was just phenomenal the whole second half.

I had over a straightaway lead (with 25 laps remaining), and I was so far ahead I couldn't see second place. I knew it was going to come down to a last-minute restart, and that's what happened. You just can't win them all.

DID YOU THINK YOU HAD A CHANCE TO HOLD OFF MIKE ROWE ON THE FINAL RESTART?

If I could beat him into (turn) one and have the line on him... there would have been contact -- just like there was contact when he went by after he got a fender on me. He knew that, too -- that whoever got a fender on who was going to take the line away.

(Rowe) did exactly what he needed to do to win the race... It was just one of these deals. If I'd gotten just a little bit better restart on the tires, it might have been different.

A DISAPPOINTING FINISH, NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT.

You just hate to lose them that way after such a dominating performance.

But the last five races, we have three wins and two seconds. That's pretty good. We're just going to keep plugging away.

Beech Ridge Motor Speedway Race Preview

Points leader Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, joins the PASS North Series as it heads back to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, for the PASS 150 on Saturday, July 10. Clark saw his three-race winning streak come to an end last weekend at Canaan Fair Speedway, but he still holds an eight-point lead over Ben Rowe in his chase for a record fifth PASS North Series championship. He's has three wins, four top-5s and has yet to finish any worse than sixth through the series' first five races. Clark finished sixth at Beech Ridge back in May in the season opener and hopes to improve upon that this weekend. Clark is a former winner at the track, having claimed the PASS 300 in September of 2008.

BEST CAREER BEECH RIDGE FINISH: 1st (September 2008)
LAST RACE AT BEECH RIDGE: 6th (May 2010)

LAST RACE: July 3, Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. (2nd-place)
NEXT RACE: July 13, Bastille 200, Lee USA Speedway, Lee, N.H.
POINTS POSITION: 1st

JOHNNY, BEECH RIDGE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A TRICKY TRACK FOR YOU GUYS. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS WEEKEND?

I guess we're excited to go in there and prove that this place can be a great race track for us. We're on a roll here at the start of the season, and we're pumped about that and excited about the way things are going right now.

I don't see why we should go and have a 'typical' Beech Ridge race for us and be OK with coming home seventh or eighth at the end of the night. We expect to go in there and compete, and we should go there and be fighting for the win.

DID YOU LOSE ANY MOMENTUM LAST WEEKEND BY FINISHING SECOND AT CANAAN?

Absolutely not. If you let yourself believe things like that, then I guess I can see how it could happen to teams that they'd start thinking they'd lost their edge. But we don't let that happen, because we don't look at it like that at all.

We're right on schedule and right on track with where we want to be. Absolutely, you're only as good as your last race, but this team looks ahead at how we can win the next race -- week after week. We still have plenty of racing left and we always go to the next race to try and win.

WHY DOES BEECH RIDGE PRESENT SUCH PROBLEMS FOR TEAMS?

You've got to stay on top of the track, because it just changes so much there. You don't always know what it's going to do, but you have to do your best to stay on top of it.

From practice to qualifying to feature time, we've made a lot of changes to the car in the past and it's worked out for us. If we'd have stayed the same, we'd in real trouble when the race started. It's just important to keep working at it all day.

2nd at Canaan Fair Speedway - 7/3/10

PASS SLM TOP THREE - L TO R: RICHIE DEARBORN #33, 3RD;
WINNER BEN ROWE, #48; & JOHNNY CLARK #54, 2ND;
with BRAXTON ROWE

Johnny finished second in the PASS North Series Firecracker 150 at Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, N.H., on Saturday, July 3. Clark's runner-up finish snapped a three-race winning streak for the fourt-time series champion and current points leader. Clark started 11th and moved into second by the one-third point of the event and even led for a brief stretch before giving the lead over to eventual winner Ben Rowe just past the halfway point..

STARTED: 11th - FINISHED: 2nd

NEXT RACE: Saturday, July 10, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine

JOHNNY, ARE YOU DISAPPOINTED TO SEE YOUR WINNING STREAK COME TO AN END?

Well, you can't win them all. I mean, you'd like to, but to finish second in the big picture isn't that bad for us.

YOUR CAR NEVER SEEMED TO COME TO LIFE.

We just were too tight. The got the car pretty good at one point for the start of the race, but it just kept getting tighter. I knew pretty much at the beginning that we were going to be in a little trouble.

I took the lead for a little bit at one point, but Ben was definitely better than us tonight. I don't know if we had been on like we'd been the last few races if we couldn't have beaten him, but we just weren't as strong.

Johnny Goes for a PASS North Series Record 4th Straight Win at Canaan

Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, goes for a PASS North Series-record 4th straight victory this weekend when the series runs the Firecracker 150 at Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, N.H, on Saturday, July 3. A record-setting victory at Canaan would be fitting for Clark, who won his first 150-lap PASS event at the track back in 2004, one of his 22 career series wins. This marks the first series visit to Canaan since 2006.

BEST CAREER CANAAN FAIR SPEEDWAY FINISH: 1st (May 2004)
LAST RACE AT CANAAN FAIR SPEEDWAY: 14th (May 2006)

LAST RACE: June 20, Unity Raceway, Unity, Maine (1st-place finish)
NEXT RACE: Saturday, July 10, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine

POINTS POSITION: 1st

JOHNNY, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE POSSIBILITY OF A FOURTH-STRAIGHT VICTORY THIS WEEKEND?

It's a pretty cool opportunity to have, and we want to make the best of it. I knew that we would be capable of winning races, but you never think you'll win three in a row. We'll just try and treat it like any other race.

It's kind of a neat deal when you think about it -- but I don't want to think about it coming to an end. So, that being said, we're going there to win the race.

WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF CANAAN FAIR SPEEDWAY?

Setup-wise and the way you drive it, I treat it a lot like Wiscasset (Raceway). It's fast, and it's kind of a power track the way Wiscasset is. At least, that's how it was a few years ago when we were there. The pavement's nice and smooth, so it should still be the same.

I think we're going to be good, because we have been at those kinds of tracks. I'm really excited to get there.

WHAT'S BEEN THE KEY TO YOUR WIN STREAK EARLY IN THE SEASON?

I think it's just the communication between (crew chief Robert Green) and I has been really good. He's done a really good job of trusting what I want in the car when I try and explain to him what I'm feeling. I feel so lucky to have someone like him right now in my career -- 10 years ago, I wouldn't have been able to use him the right way.

We've learned a lot of the same things over the years, and the communication between us is really clicking right now and we're able to find 'it' on race day.

UNITY
Sun. 6/20

THREE IN A ROW!

Johnny Wins Father's Day 150 At Unity Raceway

UNITY, Maine -- Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, won his record-tying third straight PASS North Series race on Sunday, leading the final 114 laps virtually unchallenged en route to victory in the Father's Day 150 at Unity Raceway.

The win was the fourth of Clark's career at Unity, and his second on Father's Day.

"It's really kind of unbelievable," said Clark, who now has 22 career series victories. "We were going for three in a row, and I figured we'd blow it here because everyone always expects us to be so good at this place. I didn't know if we'd be able to pull it off."

Clark opened his streak of consecutive wins with a 150-lap win at White Mountain Motorsports Park last month and then took the Pro All Stars Series 200 at Speedway 660 in New Brunswick last weekend. He's tied the series record of three consecutive wins set by both Ben Rowe (2001) and Sam Sessions (2002).

He will have the opportunity to break the record when the series heads to Canaan, N.H., on July 3.

Clark started 11th and moved all the way to third in the span of just 15 laps. He took the lead from Sanborn on a lap 37 restart, moving around him in the preferred outside groove.

Sanborn would prove to be Clark's only challenger for the rest of the day, but Clark held him off on a couple of restarts in the final stages of the race -- including one with four laps remaining.

"I knew Trevor was going to be tough, because he was really good in practice all day," Clark said. "It's just that the car was so good, I was able to get it done."

Clark previously won at Unity Raceway in 2007 and again in May of 2009. He won the lucrative DNK Select 250 at the track in 2004.

Johnny Clark: PASS North Series
Unity Raceway Race Preview

Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, heads into his favorite track on the schedule when the PASS North Series invades Unity Raceway for the PASS 150 on Sunday, June 20. With back-to-back wins in his hand, Clark enters the week having inherited the series points lead in search of his record fifth PASS North championship. Clark led the final 140 laps at Speedway 660 last weekend. Not only does he own two career victories at Unity, but he's also won on Father's Day at the track before -- back in 2007.

WHO: Johnny Clark, Farmingdale, Maine
TEAM: Clark's Car Crushing/Port City No. 54 Chevrolet
BEST CAREER UNITY RACEWAY FINISH: 1st (2 times, most recently June 2007)
LAST RACE AT UNITY RACEWAY: 6th (August 2009)

WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 150
WHERE: Unity Raceway, Unity, Maine (.333-mile oval)
WHEN: 3 p.m., Sunday, June 20

PASS NORTH SERIES
LAST RACE: June 12, Speedway 660, Fredericton, New Brunswick (25th-place finish)
NEXT RACE: Saturday, July 3, Canaan Speedway, Canaan, N.H.
POINTS POSITION: 1st

JOHNNY, YOU CLICKED OFF WINS AT TWO TRACKS WHERE YOU'D NEVER WON IN PASS COMPETITION. HOW EXCITED ARE YOU ABOUT THIS NEXT STRETCH OF RACES?

It's been a lot of fun, I can tell you that. It's always more fun when the car's running like it should and everything's clicking for you as a team. That's exactly what's happening, which is really nice. We're just going to ride it as long as we can and try to win as many of these things as we can.

It's going to be interesting to see how we do at a track like Unity where everyone's expecting us to do well. The next few tracks on the schedule are all tracks we've won races at -- Unity, Canaan, Groveton, N.H. -- they're all decent tracks. We're just going to go out and try to win as many of the races as we can, just like we always try to do.

WHAT'S THE SECRET TO RUNNING WELL AT UNITY?

I don't know what the secret's been, I really don't. Growing up around some of these tracks has really helped me. I think there's one really good way to get around Unity, and I think there's a couple of people that know how to do it -- Travis Benjamin, Scott Chubbuck, Randy Turner and a few others. There's just a feel you have to be looking for when you get there, and when you find it it's pretty good.

I just love going there, I can tell you that. I'm really looking forward to it. I can't wait for Sunday. I wish it was tomorrow.

660
Sat. 6/12
FIRST!

TWO IN A ROW!

Johnny dominated the final three-quarters of the Pro All Stars Series 200 on Saturday night June 12th at Speedway 660 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, en route to posting his second straight PASS North Series win. Clark passed Cassius Clark on lap 61, pitted for two tires during a competition caution at the halfway point and battled little more than lapped traffic over the final stages of the race. It was Clark's first PASS victory at Speedway 660, but his second career win at the facility -- where he won the Peterbilt 250 in 2007.

STARTED: 11th - FINISHED: 1st - LED: 1 time for 140 laps

JOHNNY, IT SEEMS LIKE IT WAS JUST YOUR DAY AT SPEEDWAY 660.

It absolutely was. The car was just awesome.

We were so good there last year, we felt like we got a little redemption this time. When we took the lead, it was a lot like what happened last year when we came from mid-pack to second and then broke. We were really good that time and just never made it to end. I'm not saying we would have dominated that race like we did this one, but I do feel like we had equally as good of a car this time around.

CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH THE RACE?

Cassius (Clark) was all over me for 30 laps after the pit stop. He had a really good car, but then I was able to pull away after that. I probably had a half-straightaway to a straightaway lead, but lapped traffic was awful. There are some guys that you get along with -- they all get out of the way and do it in a way that's respectful. But at one point I went three-wide with some lapped cars.

At one point, I split two lapped cars just 50 laps from the finish. That was a little wild.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE WON TWO OF THE FIRST THREE RACES OF THE SEASON?

It's been a lot of fun, I can tell you that. It's always more fun when the car's running like it should and everything's clicking for you as a team. That's exactly what's happening, which is really nice. We're just going to ride it as long as we can and try to win as many of these things as we can.

Johnny Clark: PASS North Series
Speedway 660 Race Preview

Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, looks to make it back-to-back PASS North Series victories when the series heads to the Pro All Stars Series 200 at Speedway 660 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on Saturday, June 12. Fresh off a win at White Mountain Motorsports Park last month -- his first career victory at the track -- Clark hopes to check another track off his bucket list this weekend. While he's never won at Speedway 660 in PASS competition, Clark has won the prestigious $20,000-to-win Peterbilt 250 at the track in 2007. He enters the weekend fourth in the standings, just eight points out of first.

WHO: Johnny Clark, Farmingdale, Maine
TEAM: Clark's Car Crushing/Port City No. 54 Chevrolet
BEST CAREER SPEEDWAY 660 FINISH: 3rd (2003)
LAST RACE AT SPEEDWAY 660: 14th (September 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.
(1st-place finish)
NEXT RACE: Sunday, June 20, Unity Raceway, Unity, Maine
POINTS POSITION: 4th

JOHNNY, SPEEDWAY 660 IS THE SITE OF ONE OF THE BIGGEST WINS OF YOUR CAREER.

Yeah, absolutely. I guess you kind of judge races by how much they pay, and obviously, that's a big one. But you know, there have been other times there that were just as important to me. I remember going there in 2003 and finishing third behind Scott Fraser and Ben Rowe -- and at the time, we were just getting going with this PASS deal and that was a really big deal to me.

HOW DO YOU APPROACH RACING AT SPEEDWAY 660?

I think it's a lot like Unity Raceway. It has a little more banking, a lot sharper turns, the track is smoother and it's a little faster there -- but other than that it's just like Unity (laughing). It is like Unity in how you race guys there, though. In that way it's a lot like Unity.

AFTER HAVING A COUPLE OF WEEKENDS OFF BETWEEN EACH OF THE LAST COUPLE OF RACES, YOU'RE ABOUT TO START A STRETCH OF 5 RACES IN A 6-WEEK STRETCH. ARE YOU READY FOR THAT?

We are. I think it's going to be good for us. We're ready to start grinding at it now. I'm definitely not going to complain about having time off. Everyone's volunteer on the crew, and they get to do stuff with their families and enjoy some time off. But I speak for the whole team when I say that we're ready to get this on and start clicking off races.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE UNTIMELY PASSING OF BUB BILODEAU AT BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY LAST WEEKEND?

Shocking. Just shocking, really. It's something you don't ever really think about -- you're not supposed to have a heart attack at the race track. Hey, we all know that things happen and you might get into an accident or have something like that. But he was 53 years old. It's not like he was old.

He always had a smile on his face, no matter what -- and, boy, I used to make him mad. A lot. Back in 1997, 1998, 1999 -- that's when I first got to know him. I was young, and I remember one day I dumped him once in the heat race and once in the feature. He would never let me forget that -- he was always smiling and joking about it later on, but he didn't let me forget it either.

I was down there (at Beech Ridge) on opening day this year and got to talk to him for a little while. We were still joking around about payback and him getting revenge and all that. I'm just glad I got to spend a few minutes with him that night.

PitRowRadio.com - "Inside PASS" - Mondays at 7 PM

This week's guests on "Inside PASS" will be White Mountain winner Johnny Clark and PASS South driver Clay Jones, plus a preview of PASS South's next stop coming up at Concord Speedway.

Listen live every Monday night at 7 PM EST on PitRowRadio.com

Johnny Clark to Appear on Speed 51 Radio Show
Speed 51 Radio has confirmed PASS North White Mountain race winner Johnny Clark as a guest for Tuesday night's show. Clark will appear on the Racing Electronics hotline to discuss his victory and the defense of his 2009 PASS North champion. This week's show will take place live at Victory Lane Karting in Charlotte, North Carolina for the Kings Cup go-kart event.
The show takes place from 6-8 PM ET Tuesday
and will be broadcast live on RaceTalkRadio.com

White Mnt'n
Sat. 5/22

Top Three: L to R - Louies Mchalides # 80. 2nd; Winner Johnny Clark #54;
and Trevor Sanborn #44, 3rd; with Braxton Rowe.

Johnny Clark Claims First Win at
White Mountain Motorsports Park

NORTH WOODSTOCK, N.H. -- After 12 years of trying, Johnny Clark finally got what he wanted in New Hampshire's White Mountains.

Clark led the final 37 laps of the PASS North Series 150 on Saturday night, claiming his 20th career North Series victory -- and his first-ever at White Mountain Motorsports Park. The 4-time series champion recovered from a scrape with Richie Dearborn on a late-race restart before driving to victory lane.

"This feels so good," Clark said of the win on the high-banked quarter-mile track. "Honestly, the way the car was, I felt like I had a dominant car the whole race. Man, this thing was just unreal."

Louie Mechalides finished second, while Trevor Sanborn was third.

Clark started 17th in the 28-car field and cracked the top-5 by lap 50 -- without the aid of a caution flag. On a lap 59 restart, he put the No. 54 Clark's Car Crushing/Port City Racecars Chevrolet into third, and he eventually took the lead following the race's final caution on lap 110.

On the lap 111 restart, Clark nosed ahead of Dearborn on the outside lane before the two cars made contact on lap 112. Clark washed up the turn three banking, but held onto second place -- eventually running Dearborn down two laps later.

"I just can't believe it's taken that long to figure this place out," Clark said. "I just can't believe how awesome this is."

JOHNNY, CAN YOU BELIEVE YOU FINALLY WON AT WHITE MOUNTAIN?

It's taken 12 years of coming to White Mountain to finally win one. Man, it feels so good. Honestly, the way the car was, I felt like I had a dominant car pretty much the whole race. I was kind of watching a lot of stuff going on (around me with other cars). Man, this thing was just unbelievable.

WHAT WAS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS TRIP VERSUS YOUR OTHER VISITS TO THIS TRACK?

Man, I just can't believe it's taken that long to figure this place out. I just can't believe how awesome it is. Bill Hill's always told me -- he used to be Ben Rowe's tire guy -- he told me, 'Man, Johnny, you've got to paint that white line, you've got to paint that white line.' That's always been my problem here is pushing up in the center (of the corner), but this thing was just awesome.

NEXT RACE: Saturday, June 12, PASS 200, Speedway 660, Fredericton, N.B.

Race Preview
Johnny looks to bounce back in the PASS 150 at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., on Saturday, May 22. Clark, who is attempting to become the first driver to win three straight PASS titles, finished 6th in the season-opener at Beech Ridge. He's never won at the high-banked quarter-mile White Mountain track despite finishing second there on numerous occasions -- making it just one of two tracks on the schedule where he's never won a Super Late Model race. Last season, Clark locked up the 2009 PASS North championship with a 5th-place finish at White Mountain.

BEST CAREER WMMP FINISH: 2nd (several times; most recently: September 2008)
LAST RACE AT WMMP: 5th (September 2009)

PASS NORTH SERIES
LAST RACE: Saturday, May 1, PASS 150, Beech Ridge, Scarborough, Maine (6th-place finish)
NEXT RACE: Saturday, June 12, Speedway 660, Fredericton, New Brunswick
POINTS POSITION: 5th

JOHNNY, YOU MAKE NO SECRET ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS IS NOT ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE TRACKS. HOW DO YOU APPROACH THIS WEEKEND?

We're not giving up, that's for sure. We're going with something a little different setup-wise, something similar to what we've done before but think we've been just a little off with.

There's no track we go to that's that small and that fast for as small as it is. It's extremely high-banked. A place like Thompson (Conn.) is high-banked, too, but White Mountain's still just a quarter-mile. But it's fast for a quarter-mile.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THE LONG DAY AT BEECH RIDGE EARLIER THIS MONTH TO OPEN THE SEASON?

I was really hoping we were going to find some things when we got back that we could put a finger on for why we were so off at Beech Ridge. But, when you think about it, it tells you a lot about this team -- how many other teams would be as disappointed as we were with a 6th-place finish? It was just kind of a typical day there for us.

I know that I'd take a win at White Mountain any way possible. I don't care if at end of the day I didn't have a car that was the fastest car out there. I just want to win there, period.

WHAT'S THE KEY TO SUCCESS AT WHITE MOUNTAIN?

I can tell you more about what won't work at White Mountain than what will work at White Mountain.

The car's got to turn in the middle of the corner. If the car doesn't turn, you're going to push up in the middle and never get any traction going down the straightway. If you miss that corner, it's going to mess up your whole lap, and it will probably take you another lap or two just to get back in your rhythm.

		Beech Ridge Sat. 5/1 6th Place



				Photos by NormMarx.com

Multi-time PASS North Series champion Johnny Clark finished 6th in the season-opening PASS 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 1. Clark started 20th after drawing the dead-last starting spot in his heat race and then had to fight through heavy traffic for most of the event.

STARTED: 20th - FINISHED: 6th - LED: 0 times for 0 laps

JOHNNY, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR DAY?

It was kind of typical Beech Ridge for us. We're either off or on -- we were kind of really in the middle. We were OK all weekend, and we just never could find everything we needed. To come home sixth and the car is somewhat in one piece, it's good. We'll go on to the next one.

SEEMS LIKE YOU MADE A BIG JUMP IN TRACK POSITION FOLLOWING RESTARTS.

There was a wreck going into one, and I was able to pick up six or seven spots, and that was kind of the turning point for us in the race. Started picking off some positions after that and got by (Richie) Dearborn. I thought we had a real good chance at running for a third or fourth-place finish, and probably would have but we got held up quite a bit by lapped traffic and that hurt us.

NEXT RACE: Saturday, May 22, PASS 150, White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H.

		Beech Ridge Sat. 5/1 Race Preview
4-time PASS North Series champion Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, opens the 2010 season with the PASS 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Saturday, May 1. The series schedule was originally slated to start last month at Speedway 95 before inclement weather intervened. Clark is attempting to become the first driver in series history to win both three consecutive championships and five total titles. Clark won PASS North titles in 2008 and 2009 and sits second on the all-time win list with 19 career victories -- including the 2008 PASS 300 at Beech Ridge. WHO: Johnny Clark, Farmingdale, Maine TEAM: Clark's Car Crushing/Port City No. 54 Chevrolet BEST CAREER BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY FINISH: 1st (September 2008) LAST RACE AT BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY: 4th (September 2009) WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 150 WHERE: Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval) WHEN: 3 p.m., Saturday, May 1 PASS NORTH SERIES LAST RACE: N/A NEXT RACE: Saturday, May 22, White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. JOHNNY, AFTER HAVING THE RACE AT SPEEDWAY 95 RAINED OUT IN APRIL, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT OPENING THE 2010 PASS NORTH SERIES SEASON AT BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY THIS WEEKEND? Really, when you're talking about the top race track in the state, you couldn't ask for a better place to start the year. I love it there. What's actually very interesting about the place is you think maybe you've got the place conquered one time, and the next time you go back you can't get out of your own way. It's not my best race track, but it's also not my worst one by any means. I really like it. WHAT'S THE KEY TO HAVING SUCCESS AT BEECH RIDGE? I think it's going to be an interesting race, because it's just such an up and down place for everyone. You never know who you're going to be racing for the win there. It's so up and down for everybody there that you really don't know what's going to happen until the race gets underway. I like that it's a huge challenge trying to get the car right and get it to go for 150 laps on one set of tires. You've got to have the car on a rail for the whole race and be good. You're not going to take a 10th-place car and win at Beech Ridge. The driver just can't make up that much there. TALK ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS ON MAKING A RUN AT AN UNPRECEDENTED THIRD STRAIGHT PASS NORTH SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP THIS SEASON. We go to every race with the number one goal being to finish first. I couldn't think of a better way to start off a year than by winning this weekend. It's the first PASS North race of the year and winning would be a great way to start our campaign for a third consecutive championship.

		Speedway 95 Sun. 4/18 Race Preview POSTPONED BY RAIN
4-time PASS North Series champion Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, opens the 2010 north season with the PASS 150 at Speedway 95 in Hermon, Maine, on Sunday, April 18. Clark is attempting to become the first driver in series history to win both three consecutive championships and five total titles. Clark won PASS North titles in 2008 and 2009 and sits second on the all-time win list with 19 career victories. He's won two of the last three series' events held at Speedway 95. WHO: Johnny Clark, Farmingdale, Maine TEAM: Clark's Car Crushing/Port City No. 54 Chevrolet BEST CAREER SPEEDWAY 95 FINISH: 1st (April 2009) WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 150 WHERE: Speedway 95, Hermon, Maine. (.333-mile oval) WHEN: 1:30 p.m., Sunday, April 18 JOHNNY, WHY ARE YOU ONE OF THE FEW DRIVERS WHO ACTUALLY ENJOYS RACING AT SPEEDWAY 95? I don't really know what it is about the place, but I like it. It's rough and it's a lot like Unity Raceway, because it's the kind of place where you have to get up on the wheel and really hustle the car around. It's in the driver's hands. WHY IS THE FIRST RACE OF THE SEASON IMPORTANT? It's important to get off to a good start this weekend. All we can control is what we do in the shop by preparing for every race, and that's what we've been doing. Obviously, you don't want to get too far behind early in the year, so you want to come out of this race with a good finish. TALK ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS ON MAKING A RUN AT AN UNPRECEDENTED THIRD STRAIGHT PASS NORTH SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP THIS SEASON. We go to every race with the number one goal being to finish first. I couldn't think of a better way to start off a year than by winning this weekend. It's the first PASS North race of the year and winning would be a great way to start our campaign for third consecutive championship.

SPEED51 TRACKSIDE NOW at HICKORY HERE

JOHNNY CLARK GIVING HICKORY ANOTHER TRY

FARMINGDALE, Maine -- Johnny Clark will head back to Hickory Motor Speedway next week hoping that the third time is the charm.

After a pair of races at the North Carolina short track in which Clark felt he had a much better car than the final results showed, he's set to turn things around in the second round of the PASS National Series. Clark has entered the PASS Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory on April 3, the second of five PASS National Series events in 2010.

"Hopefully, we'll go down there and have a good run and see if we can't get the (National) points lead," said Clark, who finished second in the Winterfest 150 at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway in January and trails Brad Leighton on the PASS National standings.

Clark, a four-time PASS North Series champion who ranks second all-time with 19 career victories, qualified second in the Easter Bunny 150 in 2009 but faded to an 11th-place finish with an ill-handling car over long runs. In 2007, he was again fast early but was hindered by a broken bleeder valve that left him struggling to a 4th-place finish.

"I don't know what it is about that place," Clark said of Hickory. "I like it -- I really do. We always seem to have a really fast car there, but for whatever reason it's never fast at the end."

But Clark's struggles at Hickory have paid dividends. He's never taken his primary car -- the one he drove to his fourth title last season in the North -- to Hickory, and he believes that things he learned at Hickory last time around will help when the No. 54 Port City/Clark's Car Crushing Chevrolet rolls into the speedway this year.

"I think we're going to be a lot better this time around," Clark said. "We're excited to go."

The race serves as the final tune up for Johnny Clark Motorsports' PASS North Series efforts. That season kicks off on April 18 at Speedway 95 in Hermon, Maine. Clark is the defending champion of that event.

Hickory Motor Speedway Race Preview

Reigning PASS North Series champion Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, will compete in the PASS Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, N.C., on Saturday, April 3. Clark is second in the 2010 PASS National Series standings after one of five events.

WHO: Johnny Clark, Farmingdale, Maine
TEAM: No. 54 Port City/Clark's Car Crushing Chevrolet

WHAT: PASS Easter Bunny 150
WHERE: Hickory Motor Speedway, Hickory, N.C. (.363-mile oval)
WHEN: 8 p.m., Saturday, April 3
BEST CAREER FINISH AT HICKORY MOTOR SPEEDWAY: 4th (2007)

PASS NATIONAL SERIES
LAST RACE (Jan. 31): Finished 2nd (New Smyrna Speedway, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.)
POINTS POSITION: 2nd (after one of five races)

JOHNNY, TALK ABOUT FINISHING SECOND AT NEW SMYRNA IN JANUARY AFTER LEADING MOST OF THE 150-LAP EVENT.

"I was pretty bad on restarts all day. I was just a sitting duck.

"It would take me four or five laps to catch the guy in front of me (on restarts), I just didn’t have enough time at the end to get the lead back."

WHAT'S BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE AT HICKORY MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN THE PAST?

"I don't know what it is about that place. I like it -- I really do. We always seem to have a really fast car there, but for whatever reason it's never fast at the end.

"We learned a lot of things the last time we were there. I feel like we learned enough to have a car capable of winning when we go back."

DO YOU HAVE A GOAL IN MIND FOR THIS WEEKEND?

"Hopefully, we'll go down there and have a good run and see if we can't get the (National) points lead."

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

Photos by
NormMarx.com

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

PREVIOUS RESULTS & PHOTOS HERE