Mulkern Racing: PASS North Series
White Mountain Motorsports Park Race Preview
THE STORY
FALMOUTH, Maine – Lonnie Sommerville of Saint John, New Brunswick, tries to rebound from a rough night last time out when the PASS North Series holds the PASS 150 at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., on Saturday, May 26. Sommerville salvaged an eighth-place finish two weeks ago at Star Speedway in an ill-handling No. 48 A.E. McKay Builders Chevrolet, but he believes he can get his season back on track at White Mountain. Last year, in his first two career visits to the track, Sommerville posted a pair of Top-5 finishes.
WHO: Lonnie Sommerville, Saint John, New Brunswick
TEAM: Mulkern Racing No. 48 A.E. McKay Builders Chevrolet
CREW CHIEF: Gary Crooks, Mooresville, N.C.
BEST CAREER WMMP FINISH: 4th (September 2011)
LAST RACE AT WMMP: 4th (September 2011)
WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 150
WHERE: White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, N.H. (.25-mile banked oval)
WHEN: Practice, 12 noon, Saturday, May 26; Qualifying, 4 p.m., Saturday, May 26; Race, 7 p.m., Saturday, May 26
PASS North Series
LAST RACE: May 12, Star 150, Star Speedway, Epping, N.H. (8th)
NEXT RACE: June 3, PASS 150, Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H. (.25-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 2nd
DID YOU KNOW?
Lonnie Sommerville finished fifth and fourth, respectively, in two races held at White Mountain Motorsports Park over a 13-day span last September.
Lonnie Sommerville is part of a parade of new faces atop the PASS North Series standings. 2010 Rookie of the Year Joey Doiron leads Sommerville, Kyle DeSouza (co-2011 ROYs) and DJ Shaw (2008 ROY) in the points after two races. Sommerville trails Doiron by just seven points.
Lonnie Sommerville hasn’t been outside the Top-5 in the PASS North Series standings at any point in his two seasons on the tour.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
LONNIE SOMMERVILLE, Driver of the Mulkern Racing No. 48 A.E. McKay Builders Chevrolet, On looking to rebound this weekend at White Mountain Motorsports Park: “Most definitely. We really want to find a way to get back into the Top-3, that’s for sure, and make some points up while we have an opportunity to gain on the guys that are a little bit back (in the standings).”
On racing at White Mountain Motorsports Park this weekend: “White Mountain takes a little bit of finesse. You don’t overdrive the car, manhandle it, run into guys like you do at a place like Star. But it’s still hard to pass because it’s so fast. You can be running behind a guy and be quicker, but to find that way to get around him and find the line that will work makes it a pretty tough place.
“The atmosphere gets you back in the right mood, too, where Star is probably one of the least favorite tracks on the schedule – unless you win there – of the guys that race on the tour.”
On whether he feels the team is better than it’s run in the first two races this season: “I can actually say that the first two races this year could have been better for us. At Beech Ridge we missed it a little bit, and that’s uncharacteristic of us a bit. Missing most of practice on Saturday (with a broken transmission) didn’t help with that, certainly. At Star, we had a decent car, but we definitely weren’t as good as Travis (Benjamin), but we had a Top-3, Top-5 car. We got shuffled back and found a spot in line to ride and then got turned – knocking the fender in, knocking the toe out, it just got worse for us, for sure.
“I’d like to go back to Star this weekend, because I think we learned some things that would help us. But saying that, you lick your wounds and go forward. Our average finish is off a little bit from where it was after the first two races last year, but saying that, we won a heat race at Star and that’s where Johnny (Clark) made a lot of points last year was in heat racing. If you capitalize on every opportunity to get points, it makes it easier on yourself.”
UP NEXT
The PASS North Series heads to its third consecutive race on a quarter-mile track with the PASS 150 at Riverside Speedway in Groveton, N.H., on Sunday, June 3… Lonnie Sommerville has never raced at Riverside Speedway, though Mulkern Racing finished fourth when the series last visited in July of 2010.
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