Lonnie Sommerville: PASS North Series
Canaan Fair Speedway Race Report
CANAAN, N.H. – Lonnie Sommerville of Saint John, New Brunswick, rallied for a hard-fought fifth-place finish in the PASS North Series Firecracker 150 at Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, N.H., on Saturday, July 2. Sommerville took the lead briefly in the event’s early going after starting fourth, but a broken control arm before the halfway mark significantly hindered the handling on the No. 48 A.E. McKay Builders/Community Pharmacies Chevrolet. Sommerville, who posted his third Top-5 in five races this season in the Mulkern Racing entry, led a total of nine laps on the night. He never dropped lower than sixth in the running order and used a couple of late restarts to crack the Top-5 in his first-ever visit to Canaan.
WHO: Lonnie Sommerville, Saint John, New Brunswick
TEAM: Mulkern Racing No. 48 A.E. McKay Builders/Community Pharmacies Chevrolet
CREW CHIEF: Seth Holbrook, Turner, Maine
TEAM MANAGER: Gary Crooks, Mooresville, N.C.
WHAT: PASS North Series Firecracker 150
WHERE: Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. (.333-mile oval)
STARTED: 4th
FINISHED: 5th
LAPS LED: 1 time for 9 laps
PASS North Series
LAST RACE: June 25, Habitations Dany Lagace 150, Autodrome Chaudiere, Vallee-Jonction, Que. (19th)
NEXT RACE: July 9, Southern Maine Motors 150, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval)
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LONNIE, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CAR?
“We had a great car, but we just found out the left front upper control arm came loose and all the camber shims came out. That explained our bottoming out. As soon as I’d get out of the gas, it would hit the race track. I was just hanging on – it was even hitting the race track getting off the turn.
“I thought I had a flat (tire); then I thought I had a (brake) caliper sticking. The whole time – the last 100 laps – we were just trying to figure out what the heck it was. That’s what it was, but we salvaged a fifth out of it.”
DO YOU KNOW WHAT CAUSED IT?
“No, it just started getting tight. There was no reason for it – it was good all day, and it never showed any signs of being tight. It just started getting tighter and tighter, and then it started getting loose as it was falling out.
“At one point, I thought I had a flat, but it never got any worse… When we pushed it through the tech line, you could hardly roll it because it was binding up on the caliper.”
DO YOU FIND A POSITIVE IN TONIGHT’S FINISH?
“We’re still having bad luck, but at least we got a Top-5 out of it. It’s frustrating. We had a good car. We were pretty sure we were pretty good on the speed charts (in practice).
“I’m happy with the way we ran, happy with all the teamwork. I’m pretty excited about going back to Beech Ridge (next weekend).”
Read more on the PASS forum – http://www.neracingforum.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=17