Joey Doiron: PASS North Series
Riverside Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
Joey Doiron of Berwick, Maine, takes the PASS North Series points lead into the PASS 150 at Riverside Speedway in Groveton, N.H., on Sunday, June 3. Doiron has posted one win, two Top-5s and three Top-10s in three races thus far this season and holds an 11-point lead atop the standings as the series heads to its third straight event on a New Hampshire quarter-mile track. Doiron made one appearance at Riverside during his 2010 Rookie of the Year campaign, finishing 14th. Despite a second-degree burn on his hip suffered in the last race at White Mountain Motorsports Park, Doiron expects to suffer no ill-effects from the injury this weekend.
WHO: Joey Doiron, Berwick, Maine
TEAM: Joey Doiron Racing No. 73 JBJ Machine/Scarborough Downs Chevrolet
CREW CHIEF: John Doiron, Berwick, Maine
BEST CAREER FINISH AT RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY: 14th (July 2010)
LAST RACE AT RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY: 14th (July 2010)
WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 150
WHERE: Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H. (.25-mile oval)
WHEN: 1:30 p.m., Sunday, June 3
PASS North Series
LAST RACE: May 26, PASS 150, White Mountain Motorsports Park, N. Woodstock, N.H. (8th)
NEXT RACE: June 9, PASS 200, Speedway 660, Geary, New Brunswick, (.333-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 1st
DID YOU KNOW?
Joey Doiron is one of 10 drivers selected as one of the “Maine Young Guns” in 2012 competing for a chance to race a Go Green Racing car in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East New Hampshire 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 22.
Joey Doiron had never led the PASS North Series standings in his career before winning the season opener at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway earlier this month.
With Top-5 finishes in each of the first two races of the season, Joey Doiron has matched his previous career total for Top-5 finishes in PASS.
Joey Doiron won Rookie of the Year honors in both the ACT Late Model Tour (2009) and PASS North Series (2010).
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
JOEY DOIRON, Driver of the No. 73 JBJ Machine/Scarborough Downs Chevrolet, On heading to Riverside Speedway this weekend: “It’s definitely not one of my favorite tracks. It’s as rough as Unity (Raceway) and not very wide. It’s just not a well-designed track, I don’t think.
“It’s a little bit faster (than Star Speedway). I think the best way I can describe it is it’s a rougher version of a place like Thunder Road, but it’s not as wide. It’s a tough place to race.”
On how he approaches a race on a track like Riverside: “We knew going into the year, it wasn’t going to be a track we could expect to go and win at. We tested there in the spring and got a lot better than we thought we’d be, but we’re still not quite where we need to be.
“There probably won’t be a lot of cars entered this weekend, so really my goal is to just get out of there and not get wrecked. We want to show up, get what we can with the car – get a Top-5 or a Top-10 – and get the biggest wildcard track for us out of the way so we can go and attack the rest of the schedule.”
On whether or not he’s surprised to be the PASS points leader through three races: “Not really. I guess I thought we were good enough to do it. I think we’ve turned a lot of heads, but there’s still a lot of people that don’t consider us a legitimate (championship) contender. That fuels my fire a little more.
“I think we’re a legitimate threat. After (winning) at Beech Ridge, I don’t know what more we’d have to prove. We backed it up at Star (finishing fourth), and I don’t think many people can say they’ve done that this year. I think they’re all starting to take notice.”
On what caused the excessive heat inside the race car at White Mountain Motorsports Park last weekend: “We’re thinking it was a carburetor problem, something causing too much air and fuel to burn off in the muffler. We think that’s what was causing the fire, but we’re not 100 percent positive. Hopefully that was it, because if it’s not, it’s going to be another long day (on Sunday).
“I should be fine for Riverside. The blister on my hip is working its way back down, so I’m good to go.”
UP NEXT
The PASS North Series takes a break from three consecutive races on quarter-mile tracks and heads north of the border for the PASS 200 at Speedway 660 in Geary, N.B., on Saturday, June 9… Joey Doiron finished ninth at Speedway 660 in 2011, the last of only nine cars to finish on the lead lap.
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