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Ben Rowe Takes PASS Cabin Fever 150 at White Mountain
(Naples, ME – April 17, 2005) Opening day is always special, especially when the snow is finally gone, the temperature is in the low 70s, the pits are full of shiny new cars, and there’s a great crowd in the grandstands.
Mike Rowe thought it was pretty special too as he put his #24 Pullen Heavy Industries Chevrolet on the pole with a 12.282 second lap around the high-banked quarter mile, with 2004 PASS Rookie of the Year Donnie Whitten right behind with a 12.325. The rest of the top five were Tracy Gordon at 12.339, 2004 Champion Johnny Clark at 12.382, and Ge Ge Gravel at 12.401.
After the draw for the ten-lap Dash to set the first five rows, Mike Rowe drew the pole with Richie Dearborn who timed in at a 12.420 for seventh drew the outside, but it was Johnny Clark who drew the third spot and moved to the outside pole at the finish as Rowe held the point. The second row was Tracy Gordon and Ge Ge Gravel with Dearborn’s’ #33 inside of Whitten’s # 83 in the third row. Ben Rowe in the #00 was next followed by Scott Mulkern in the Community Pharmacies #84, with Donnie Lashua and Patrick Laperle of St. Denis, PQ in the fifth row.
Before the 150 lap feature, the cars were lined up on the front stretch with the drivers out, and the fans were invited down for a 20-minute autograph session. It ran a little long, but no one seemed to care on a sunny Sunday afternoon under a blue northern New England sky.
At the drop of the green, Rowe took off but Clark stayed on the outside for three laps before Rowe held tough in turn one and pulled ahead. By lap 30, Mike started lapping the back markers and was pulling away. At lap 50, Tracy Gordon had made his way to second with Ben Rowe and Mulkern in tow. Johnny Clark had fallen back to fifth, with Dearborn next and Cassius Clark in the EJ Prescott #8 up to seventh from his 14th-place starting spot.
On lap 61, however, the day took a turn for the worse for Mike Rowe as he tangled with Ricky Rolfe’s #72 as he was lapping the #72, bringing out the first yellow. Mike and Rolfe both spun, but Mike got back going and fell into line around eighth as Rolfe made his way to the pits for a quick check.
On the restart it was the #00 of Ben Rowe and the #14g of Tracy Gordon going at it for four laps before Ben pulled ahead. At the halfway mark, it was Rowe, Gordon, Johnny Clark, Cassius Clark, Mike Rowe back up to fifth, with Mulkern sixth.
The second caution came on lap 84 as the 47X of Corey Williams and the #08 of Donnie Lashua got together in turn two with Lashua getting the worst of it.
After a quick yellow on lap 87 for a spin by the #17 of Travis Benjamin after contact with the #97 of Walt Hammond, the field settled down for a long green-flag run with the #00 at the point. However, Cassius in the #8 was coming after getting by Gordon’s #14g on lap 92.
Benjie and Cassius ran nose to tail and opened up a slight lead, but by lap 142 Mike Rowe had made his way up to third and was only a car length behind Cassius Clark and the #00 when the #97 developed a leak and wet down the inside groove through turns three and four with less than ten laps to go. Scott Mulkern who was five car lengths behind Rowe in fourth at the time went to the outside and powered past both Rowe and Clark as they both slipped a little, with Johnny Clark trying to follow Mulkern. With two to go, Mulkern was challenging the #00 on the outside but Benjie held on for the win by less than a car length. For a guy who spent most of the early afternoon in the men’s room loosing the battle to the flu bug, it was quite a show of determination and will.
After Mulkern it was Cassius Clark, followed by Johnny Clark, Mike Rowe in fifth, Richie Dearborn, Tracy Gordon, Patrick Laperle, Travis Benjamin, and Ge Ge Gravel rounding out the top ten. Alan Wilson in the T & K Concrete # 53 was 11th and was named the Northern Tire Rookie of the Race
P Car # Driver Hometown Laps Best Lap Owner(s) Sponsors
1 00 Ben Rowe Turner, ME 150 12.527 Tom & Eileen Estes Mechanical Services, Titan Mechanical, Aero Heating & Ventilating
2 84 Scott Mulkern Falmouth, ME 150 12.590 Scott Mulkern Community Pharmacies
3 8 Cassius Clark Farmington, ME 150 12.607 Ed Chapman EJP, S&S Trucking, Chapman Trucking, Nichols Trailers
4 54 Johnny Clark Hallowell, ME 150 12.555 John Clark III Clark's Cars & Parts, DNK Select Used Cars
5 24 Mike Rowe Turner, ME 150 12.443 SP2 Motorsports Pullen Heavy Industries, LUX Enterprises
6 33 Richie Dearborn Hollis, ME 150 12.540 Dick & Deb Dearborn Chadwick BaRoss, Dearborn Construction
7 14g Tracy Gordon Strong, ME 150 12.500 Tracy Gordon Cap Trust Financial, SNF Crane
8 91 Patrick Laperle St. Denis, QUE 150 12.591 Julio & Rita Miglioli Precision JLM Inc, Patriote Auto
9 17 Travis Benjamin Morrill, ME 150 12.676 Travis Benjamin Belfast Variety, Morrill General
10 54g Gege Gravel Groton, MA 150 12.618 BGRL Mototsports -
11 53 Alan Wilson Hebron, ME 150 12.720 Tim & Cathy Douglas T & K Concrete
12 72 Ricky Rolfe Albany, ME 149 12.725 Scott Robbins Rowe Auburn.com
13 73 Chris Ross Malta, NY 148 12.770 Team King Ent. Inc Archibee Construction
14 66 Bobby Cabral Kingston, NH 146 12.719 Steve Webster WDW Machine, Market America
15 81 Michael Ruttkamp Wilton, CT 146 12.748 Stephen Ruttkamp Blue Buff Co.
