Johnny Clark: PASS North Series
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway 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.
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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.