Mike Rowe wins PASS North thriller at Beech Ridge
Scarborough ME — Mike Rowe, Ben Rowe and Travis Benjamin staged a short track battle royal in the Pro All Stars (PASS) North super late model opener at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, and when the dust settled Mike Rowe was in victory lane by one-one hundredth of a second . Ben Rowe came up inches short for second with Benjamin half a car length back in third. PASS Sophomore Adam Bates scored a career best fourth place finish and Beech Ridge master Bub Bilodeau rounded out the top five.
Cassius Clark and Benjamin were out front early on, swapping the lead several times per lap and battling side by side on restarts. Ben Rowe was next to challenge Benjamin and he held the top spot for laps 59 to 73 before Benjamin took over once again. At the crossed flags it was Benjamin out front with Ben Rowe second, Steve Berry third, Richie Dearborn fourth and Cassius Clark fifth.
Mike Rowe must have seen those crossed flags ad decided it was time to go as the P.T. Watts black deuce was now coming to the front. Mike worked his way by Ben for second on lap 80 and took the lead from Benjamin 20 laps later.
Ben Rowe was clearly fading, and the RMR team brought him to pit road on a lap 104 caution with two tires going down. On the speedway Cassius Clark was making his own charge to the point. Clark wrestled away the lead on lap 113 and kept the top spot until a lap 127 restart, slipping back to sixth behind Mike Rowe, Benjamin, Bates, Chubbuck and Bilodeau. Ben Rowe was charging back through the pack from his pit stop and he cracked the top three with two to go. The day’s final caution on lap 148 set the stage for the wild green-white-checker finish.
Cassius Clark, Scott Chubbuck, Kirk Thibeau, Derek Ramstrom and Richie Dearborn rounded out the top ten. D.J. Shaw was the rookie of the race in eleventh. Heat race wins went to Cassius Clark, Travis Benjamin and Scott Mulkern.
In PASS Mod Action, Andy Shaw made a successful return to PASS racing, wiring the 40 lap feature event. Shaw and past champion Mark Lucas staged a great restart battle throughout the first three quarters of the event, with Shaw getting the best of Lucas each time Gary Norris Jr. came up to challenge Lucas and grabbed the second spot with nine to go. At the stripe it was Shaw, Norris Jr., Lucas, Tom Oliver and youngster Ron Gooden with his best ever PASS Mod run fifth. Tom Oliver and Shaw both earned heat race wins.
The Pluffybilt Racing Tractors Sportsman feature saw Terry Merrill inherit the lead from Dan McKeage on lap 43 to win the fifty lap feature. Ron Smith came home second, with Richie Morse third, veteran Duane Seekins fourth and Shane Tatro fifth. It looked like it would be McKeage’s day before a blown engine sent the defending series champ pit side. McKeage and Mike Landry were the sportsman heat winners.
All four PASS North divisions (Super Late Models, Outlaws,Mods and Pluffybilt Racing Tractors Sportsman) will be in action on Saturday May 3rd at Speedway 95 in Hermon Maiine
Vist the Pro All Stars Series on the web at www.proallstarsseries.com and www.racewithpass.com .
Sources: Norm Desjardins/PASS PR