Ben Rowe: PASS North Series
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway Race Preview
4-time PASS North Series champion Ben Rowe of Turner, Maine, begins his drive for a fifth series title 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. Rowe is making his PASS North debut with Mulkern Racing after several seasons with Richard Moody Racing. Rowe owns more victories than any driver in PASS history with 39, more than twice his closest competitor. He’ll debut a brand new Mulkern Racing car built by Distance Racing this weekend.
WHO: Ben Rowe, Turner, Maine
TEAM: Community Pharmacies No. 48 Chevrolet
BEST CAREER BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY FINISH: 1st (September 2006)
LAST RACE AT BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY: 3rd (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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BEN, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON BEECH RIDGE MOTOR SPEEDWAY?
I love it there — the facility, the track are beautiful and the people and fans are great there. But the last two or three years we’ve struggled there bad. We tested at Oxford (Plains Speedway) so we feel like we’re going to be ready.
We haven’t changed a whole lot. It almost seems like if if don’t run there weekly, it’s hard to get a handle on the place. At least I’ve got my dad (reigning Beech Ridge Motor Speedway track champion Mike Rowe) there to fall back on if I need it. I’m sure I’ll be running back and forth to ask him for information.
HOW ANXIOUS IS THE TEAM TO GET THE SEASON STARTED?
I’m really ready to go, especially after testing the new car. Everybody’s ready to go. All the crew’s been working all winter on it, and we’re anxious to get the new stuff on it and get going. It seems like it’s been a while since we raced.
IS THIS NO. 48 TEAM GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN ITS FIRST SEASON TOGETHER?
I think so. Right now, the cars I have been running (in PASS National Series races), are the older equipment that (team owner Scott Mulkern’s) had. Now we’ve got all the eggs in one basket with a brand new car — putting together everything that I’ve used and (crew chief Seth Holbrook) have used in the past. What Seth does to his shocks and springs, it’s about me getting used to that — having the car all sucked down against the track, right on the bump. It feels pretty good. We were really happy the first time we tested over at Oxford.
(The setup) is kind of foreign to Scott, but if we can get together and have it 100 percent, I don’t see why we can’t compete right out of the gate.