Mulkern Racing: PASS North Series
Oxford Plains Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
FALMOUTH, Maine – Mulkern Racing will field a two-car effort as the PASS North Series puts the final touches on the 2011 season with the rain-delayed PASS Championship 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine, on Saturday, October 15. Lonnie Sommerville sits second in the overall PASS North standings heading into the final race of the year, while team owner Scott Mulkern will make his fifth start of the season. Sommerville, who will lock up the Rookie of the Year title with the start on Saturday, finished second to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch when the series last visited Oxford Plains in July, while Mulkern posted a season-best finish of second in his last outing – in the PASS 300 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway last month.
THE FACTS
WHO: Lonnie Sommerville, Saint John, New Brunswick
TEAM: Mulkern Racing No. 48 A.E. McKay Builders/Community Pharmacies Chevrolet
CREW CHIEF: Gary Crooks, Mooresville, N.C.
WHO: Scott Mulkern, Falmouth, Maine
TEAM: Mulkern Racing No. 84 Southern Maine Motors Dodge
CREW CHIEF: Seth Holbrook, Turner, Maine
WHAT: PASS North Series PASS Championship 150
WHERE: Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (.375-mile oval)
WHEN: 1 p.m., Saturday, October 15
PASS North Series
LAST RACE: September 24, PASS 150, White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. (Sommerville, 4th)
POINTS POSITION: 2nd (Sommerville)
DID YOU KNOW?
Lonnie Sommerville will be the highest finishing rookie in PASS North Series history with a second-place finish in the final overall standings.
Mulkern Racing finished with two cars in the Top-11 when the series last visited Oxford Plains Speedway.
Lonnie Sommerville has a win and 10 Top-5 finishes in 13 series starts this season.
Lonnie Sommerville won a Sportsman race in Canada during the recent break in the PASS North Series schedule.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
LONNIE SOMMERVILLE, Driver of the No. 48 A.E. McKay Builders/Community Pharmacies Chevrolet, On finishing second his last time out at Oxford Plains Speedway: “We probably saved (our car) a little too long. We talked about it before the race started, that we were going to try and run about 80 percent to try and save the tires and keep it under us. We probably didn’t expect as many long green-flag runs as we had.
“I probably used a little bit of it at the end, but I still think we had more left in it. One or two more yellows would have been nice – it was pretty good on old tires. Once we’d get going, I’d get a little tight on the top and a little free on the bottom.”
On how his first full season in the PASS North Series has gone: “It’s been pretty good. This race team is just awesome. Vickie and Scott (Mulkern) give us everything we need, and Andrew McKay from McKay Builders, too. It’s exciting to finish on the podium with these guys as much as we have, but I think we can be even better. Going to a lot of new tracks for me this year has been a challenge, and I feel like we can’t be satisfied – even with as good a year as we’ve probably had. I think it will just help motivate us for next season.
“Everybody on my race team… All my guys just work their butts off.”
SCOTT MULKERN, Driver of the No. 84 Southern Maine Motors Dodge, On racing as a part-time competitor in 2011: “In the big picture, if you look at my style and the way I sometimes shoot myself in the foot, I don’t care about (points). Not at all. Guys like Ben (Rowe) – he likes that. Johnny (Clark) likes that. That’s the challenge for those guys. They like that whole thing, their whole team does, of points racing.
“I don’t think they drive much different than if they weren’t racing for points – that’s not necessarily the way they are. But I personally don’t care about the championship. I want to win races more than that. If you told me I could race all year and not win a race but win the championship, or I could win four races and no championship, I’d want to win four races. We’re trying to do that – but it just goes along with everything else you’re doing.”
SETH HOLBROOK, Crew Chief on the No. 84 Southern Maine Motors Dodge, On racing at Oxford Plains Speedway: “We like going there. It’s a a good place to race, and both of our cars ran well there last time. Hopefully, we can get a win this weekend.”
On racing at Speedway 660: “It’s just a driver’s race track. You can really manhandle the car and not get yourself in trouble. Star kind of reminded me of 660. It’s a two-groove race track. The race could be won by the guy running the top. It’s definitely a two-groove race track in that way.
“You can really get up on the wheel. The harder you drive it the faster you’re going to go, where as a lot of places, it’s a lot more finesse. That’s how I grew up driving.”