Lonnie Sommerville: PASS North Series
Seekonk Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
Lonnie Sommerville of Saint John, New Brunswick, looks to start the season’s final stretch on a high note when the PASS North Series competes in the PASS 150 at Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, Mass., on Saturday, August 6. Sommerville has never competed at Seekonk Speedway, though the tight .333-mile layout is very similar to his home track in Speedway 660 where he is a multi-time race winner. The Mulkern Racing No. 48 A.E. McKay Builders Chevrolet is coming off a third-place finish at Oxford Plains Speedway in its most recent outing.
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.
LONNIE SOMMERVILLE’S BEST CAREER SEEKONK SPEEDWAY FINISH: N/A
LONNIE SOMMERVILLE’S LAST RACE AT SEEKONK SPEEDWAY: N/A
WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 150
WHERE: Seekonk Speedway, Seekonk, Mass. (.333-mile oval)
WHEN: 6 p.m., Saturday, August 6
PASS North Series
LAST RACE: July 23, Brackett Mechanical 150, Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (3rd)
NEXT RACE: August 28, PASS 150, White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. (.25-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 3rd
DID YOU KNOW?
Lonnie Sommerville has one win and six Top-5 finishes in nine starts this season, his first full season in the PASS North Series.
Lonnie Sommerville has moved up three spots in the PASS North Series standings to third over the last four races. In that span he’s posted one win, two Top-3s and three Top-5s.
Lonnie Sommerville still has an outside shot at the series title in his first full season on tour, sitting 92 points out of first and just 28 points out of second with five races remaining.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
LONNIE SOMMERVILLE, Driver of the No. 48 A.E. McKay Builders/Community Pharmacies Chevrolet, On heading to Seekonk Speedway for the first time: “I’m excited about it. I’m assuming it’s a hard place to get around, because there’s not too many PASS (regulars) that win there. A lot of local racers win there when PASS shows up – so either the locals are really good, or the PASS teams haven’t quite gotten a handle on the place
“Looking at it, it does remind me a bit of (Speedway) 660. It looks like there’s not a lot of straightaway. You’re always turning the car.”
On how tracks like Seekonk Speedway suit his driving style: “It’s pretty much what I’ve grown up on. Everything in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia – other than (Riverside Speedway in Antigonish, N.S.) – are small little bullrings. You really have to get up on the wheel and really throw the car around. I can relate a little more to places like that, maybe give better feedback to Gary (Crooks) and Seth (Holbrook).
“I haven’t been to that many big tracks, so maybe I’m just more comfortable on the smaller ones. You’ve got to dissect corners more at the bigger tracks – as opposed to just entry, middle, exit on the shorter ones. At the smaller tracks, you’re either tight in or loose off. I think from that standpoint, the small tracks are a little bit easier to adjust on.”
On how he’s approaching the final five races of the season: “There’s five races left, so we’re going to go every time and try and win five more races. At the start of the year, I had a goal that I wanted to win three races and win a championship. The championship is kind of out of reach a little bit right now – Johnny (Clark) needs to have some bad luck, but we can still go to try and win those two more races.”
UP NEXT
The PASS North Series takes a couple of weekends off before heading to White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., for the PASS 150 on Sunday, August 28… Lonnie Sommerville will be making his debut under race conditions at White Mountain, after this race was rained out in May. Sommerville and the Mulkern Racing team did test the No. 48 at White Mountain. back in the spring.
Read more on the PASS forum – http://www.neracingforum.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=17