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Now with all that out of the way.....Let's make some laps!
(Naples, ME – August 13, 2005) It rained most of the day in Halifax, Nova Scotia today, but that didn’t keep almost 7000 race fans away from the annual 250 green-flag lap struggle between the IBG-PASS Series and the best of the Maritime pro stocks in the \Atlantic CAT 250.
After a short and unexpected speech by young Bryan Dumaresq of Beaverbank, NS in which he thanked everyone for inviting him as part of the Make A Wish Foundation program, the engines were fired.
Johnny Clark’s #54 and Shawn Turple of Shubenacadie, NS in the Scott Frazier black and yellow #0 brought the field to the green. Johnny pulled out to a quick lead with Turple right on his heels. They started lapping cars on lap 14, and on lap 20 Shawn trapped Johnny in lapped traffic, but Johnny powered back to the lead on the next lap.
At the 50 lap mark, it was Clark, Turple, Scott Alexander of Dartmouth, NS in the #15, Cassius Clark, Travis Benjamin, Mike Rowe, Ben Rowe, Dave Gorveatt of Charlottetown, PEI, John Flemming of Halifax in the #97, Mike MacKenzie of Dartmouth, NS on the #02.
The pace was fast, and the laps were clicking off. Mike Rowe started to rumble on lap 60 as he moved to fourth, and then to third, a lap later. Turple tried the outside on Johnny Clark on lap 69, but Mike Rowe was closing quickly and drove under Shawn to take second from Turple five laps later after a side-by side battle. Benjamin moved to third on lap 82 with the #0 of Turple back to fourth. Mike took the lead from Clark on lap 84 with Travis following him through.
The first yellow of the night came out on lap 88 for a spin in turn four by Phil Barkhouse of Beaverbank, NS in the #99, and the leaders pitted, except for Benjamin, Gorveatt, and Donnie Lashua of Canaan, NH in the #08.
Benjamin took off on the restart with Gorveatt and Lashua right behind. Mike Rowe, Cassius Clark, Johnny Clark, and Ben Rowe were running them down, but at lap 100 Benjamin was still out front. Mike took second from Gorveatt on lap 103 with Cassius up to third a lap later.
At the halfway mark, it was still Benjamin, Mike Rowe, Cassius, Johnny Clark, Ben Rowe, Gorveatt, Turple, Lashua, Alexander, and Flemming, tenth, the first car a lap down.
On lap 141, Ben Rowe lost a brake line going into turn one and hit Lonnie Somerville of St John, N B in the #23, scattering the field behind them with the #0 of Turple and the #02 of MacKenzie sliding to the infield.
On the resart, the #15 of Alexander and the #0 of Turple led the field to the flag as the last two cars on the lead lap. Mike Rowe was the leader, although he was mired back in traffic, and it took him until lap 145 to reassume the point, with Johnny Clark, Gorveatt, Benjamin, Cassius, and Lashua next.
At lap 200, the third, and final, yellow came out as Johnny Clark lost his brakes and slid hard into the turn four wall. Johnny was through for the night as the car went off on the hook, and he knew he was going to take a hit in the points from his tie for the lead with Ben Rowe coming into the race.
On the restart it was Rowe, Benjamin, Cassius, Gorveatt, and Lashua, with Turple, Ben Rowe, and Flemming a lap down. Flemming smacked the backstretch wall on lap 216 and retired a couple of laps later.
From lap 225 to 233 Turple and Ben Rowe went at it until Turple pulled ahead into sixth, with Ben now seventh, Alexander eighth, Wayne Smith from Timberlea, NS in the #44 ninth, and Stacey Clements of Nubley, NS in the # 72 tenth.
With ten to go, Benjamin was closing on Mike Rowe and let Mike know he was there. But Mike pulled a couple of car lengths away and brought the #24 home at the finish.
Benjamin was second, Cassius third, Gorveatt fourth, Lashua in a great top five fifth, Turple sixth, Ben Rowe seventh, Alexander eighth, Smith ninth, and Alan Wilson tenth after getting by Clements with only three to go.
