Rowe Repeats As Maine Champion
New England legend defends state title in close battle
Daytona Beach, FL — Even in a self-professed down year, Mike Rowe was able to add to his championship resume.
The 60-year-old from Turner, Maine, collected his second straight NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Maine championship. Rowe, who has won multiple track and series championships throughout New England, brought home his first NASCAR title last year. He successfully defended that crown by a slim five-point margin over Dan McKeage.
Rowe had one win, seven top fives and 11 top 10s in 12 starts at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine. While he finished third to track champion McKeage and runner-up David Oliver in Beech Ridge’s Pro Series Division, Rowe was able to accumulate enough points to claim the state title.
“We didn’t have the season we had in 2009,” said Rowe. “We had some flats and some mechanical issues and we were lucky to squeeze out a state championship.”
The NASCAR Maine champion was determined by the driver’s highest 18 finishes at NASCAR sanctioned tracks within the state.
The crowning of champions in a U.S. state or Canadian province continues a tradition of honoring the best short-track racers which dates back to the earliest days of NASCAR. Red Untiedt was the first Iowa champion in 1953.
Rowe’s long career racing record includes 10 track championships and eight career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East wins. He joined the Fowler team to compete full-time at Beech Ridge, a .333-mile asphalt oval, for the first time in 2009, and collected seven wins.
Like last season at this time, the plans for next season have yet to be made. But even at age 60 and a driving career of more than 40 years, Rowe is reluctant to use the “R word,” as in Retirement just yet.
“We’ve really enjoyed racing at Beech Ridge the last two years,” Rowe said. “Andy Cusack and the Cusack family are great people and they run a great race track.”
During the season, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to defend his title and return to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet in December. He ran into Dick Berggren, who has served as the banquet’s host along with his NASCAR On FOX announcing partner Mike Joy, when Berggren was being enshrined in the track’s Hall of Fame.
Rowe gave Berggren a message to pass along.
“If I didn’t make it back there to the banquet,” Rowe recalled, “I just asked him to tell the people how much the experience meant to us last year and that I wished every driver could enjoy what we enjoyed. We’ve been racing a long time and NASCAR just rolls the red carpet out for you.
“Berggren just said, ‘Ah, you’ll make it.’ ”
Berggren was right.
Rowe will be honored Friday, Dec. 10 at the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet at the Charlotte (N.C.) Convention Center’s Crown Ballroom in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion, U.S. state and Canadian provincial champions, track champions, rookies of the year, and special award winners will be recognized.
Members of the RJF Motorsports team include owner Dickie Fowler, crew chief Mike Fowler, Jason Fowler, Danny Morgan, Dave Grigsby and Jason Welch. As team owner, Fowler has won nine track championships and two NASCAR state championships.
The Chevrolet race car is based on a Distance Racing Chassis and powered by a P.T. Watts engine. Sponsors include Lus Enterprises, RJF Motorsports, Rowe & Sons Trucking, and Roy’s All Steak Hamburger.
The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series is the grassroots, foundation of NASCAR and consists of more than 50 short tracks across North America. Since its inception, NASCAR Home Tracks have served as a springboard in the careers of many NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers. Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, and Jamie McMurray are among the drivers who began their careers racing in NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
Sources: Paul Schaefer/NASCAR WA-AS PR