Ben Rowe: PASS North Series
With his fifth-place finish in the season finale at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., last weekend, Ben Rowe of Turner, Maine, locked up a second place in the 2010 PASS North Series final standings. The finish marked Rowe’s eighth in the Top-2 at season’s end in the PASS North Series, and the winningest driver in series history (36) has never finished worse than third overall. This marked his first season with Mulkern Racing.
WHO: Ben Rowe, Turner, Maine
TEAM: No. 48 Community Pharmacies Dodge
PASS NORTH SERIES
LAST RACE: September 17, White Mountain Motorsports Park, N. Woodstock, N.H. (5th-place finish)
FINAL POINTS POSITION: 2nd
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BEN, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SEASON YOU JUST COMPLETED?
It went well. I think anytime you have two wins and finish second in the points, it’s a good season. I figured all year long we were a second-place car behind (Johnny Clark), and that’s right where we ended up.
Obviously, everyone wants to win more races and win the championship — but I think the year was as good as any of us could have expected. Everything about the team was totally, totally new — new team owners (Scott and Vickie Mulkern), new crew chief working with a new driver.
WHEN YOU LOOK BACK, ARE YOU GOING TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE EFFORT THIS SEASON?
I am. Johnny has been with all of the guys on his team for so long, it’s like second nature for them. We did a lot of testing this year — a lot — and we still couldn’t quite get on the same page. It’s not just about setups. It’s about communication and spending time working together.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DIFFERENT NEXT YEAR IN ORDER TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?
I thought we were better at the end of the year. Right up until we went to Beech Ridge (for the PASS 300), I thought we were making pretty good strides.
The biggest thing for us is to get things in order as soon as we can (in the offseason). I really feel like we have to have things rolling along by the time the first race (of 2011) gets here, so we don’t go to North Wilkesboro in April still trying to figure things out.