Lonnie Sommerville: PASS North Series
White Mountain Motorsports Park Race Preview
THE STORY
Lonnie Sommerville of Saint John, New Brunswick, looks to keep his momentum rolling when the PASS North Series competes in the PASS 150 at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., on Saturday, May 21. Sommerville is coming off a fourth-place finish at Star Speedway in Epping, N.H, and the Mulkern Racing driver sits third in the series points after the first two races of the season. Sommerville has never competed at White Mountain, though the team did test there last week..
THE FACTS
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.
BEST CAREER WHITE MOUNTAIN MOTORSPORTS PARK FINISH: N/A
LAST RACE AT WHITE MOUNTAIN MOTORSPORTS PARK: N/A
WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 150
WHERE: White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. (.25-mile oval)
WHEN: 4 p.m., Saturday, May 21
PASS North Series
LAST RACE: May 14, Star 150, Star Speedway, Epping, N.H. (4th)
NEXT RACE: June 11, PASS 200, Speedway 660, Geary, N.B. (.333-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 3rd
DID YOU KNOW?
Lonnie Sommerville is one of only two drivers to finish in the Top-5 in each of the first two PASS North Series races of the season.
Mulkern Racing finished fifth in each of the two PASS races at White Mountain Motorsports Park in 2010 with driver Ben Rowe.
During the week, Lonnie Sommerville spends countless hours operating Lonnie Sommerville Racing, a chassis-building company that prepares race cars for roughly a dozen Canada-based clients.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
LONNIE SOMMERVILLE, Driver of the No. 48 A.E. McKay Builders/Community Pharmacies Chevrolet, On heading from one quarter-mile at Star Speedway last week to another this week at White Mountain Motorsports Park: “I don’t think they’re going to race the same. I think it’s going to be harder to pass (at White Mountain) because it’s just so fast for a tight little place. It’s smoother, but with a little more banking you’re carrying more speed.
“It’s good, though, to be able to have some momentum and keep things going. That’s huge, especially with a new team. The better we run every week, the better we’re going to jell and get along and all that stuff.”
On starting the season with a pair of fourth-place finishes: “Unless you win every week, then you should always think you can do better – otherwise, you’re never going to be better. We have the two fourths and we have some momentum on our side. We’ve got to keep this going.
The worst thing that can happen is two or three bad runs in a row and then having to dig yourselves out of a hole. Sixteen races sounds like a long time, but three bad races, it’s pretty hard to get that back. You just don’t have enough time. We’re running fourth and as good as some of the other cars out there, and if we can improve then we’re going to be that much better.”
On the first two races with Mulkern Racing: “In my opinion, I feel like with these guys it’s like we’re 10 races in, not two. Everyone does get along well, everyone’s having fun. (Crew chief Seth Holbrook) said this is the most fun he’s had in North racing in a long time. That means a lot to me.
“It’s tough when you do this… We all have pressure on us to succeed and to win, and your emotions run high sometimes and you might say things you don’t mean or get hot with one another. The thing is being able to not let those things affect you. I don’t think we have any issues on this team at all, and I don’t think we will.”
SETH HOLBROOK, Crew Chief of the No. 48 A.E. McKay Builders/Community Pharmacies Chevrolet, On racing at White Mountain Motorsports Park: “It’s probably one of the raciest tracks we go to, for the fans and for the racers to have fun racing on. It’s all about turning in the center (of the corners) and having good forward drive off.
“You run pretty close to the same setup (as you do at Star Speedway), but you have compensate for bumps more at Star. White Mountain is really smooth, where Star is way rougher.”
On how the team has performed through the first two races of the season: “We’re on the verge of winning. I feel we’re as good as anybody right now. Between Gary (Crooks), myself, Tony (Ricci) and the guys we have on this team, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
“We’ll be good at The Mountain. We were really happy with the test there, it was really productive. The biggest thing for us as a team is that once we get Lonnie some laps in practice and get him comfortable on the track, we’ll be right there with anybody.”
UP NEXT
The PASS North Series heads north of the border for the PASS 200 at Speedway 660 in Geary, New Brunswick, on Saturday, June 11… Speedway 660 is the home track of Lonnie Sommerville, who is the only-two time champion in the history of the facility’s annual Labor Day weekend Peterbilt 250. Sommerville finished third in the PASS North Series race at the track last June, while Mulkern Racing finished fifth in the same race with its entry.
Read more on the PASS forum – http://www.maineracer.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=17