PASS North Series: Mulkern Racing
Oxford Plains Speedway Race Report
OXFORD, Maine – Scott Mulkern of Falmouth, Maine, led the Mulkern Racing charge in the PASS North Series season finale, finishing second in the Ripley & Fletcher Ford 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine, on Saturday, September 28. Mulkern’s best finish of the season was part of a two-car effort that also saw teammate Bobby Timmons III of Windham, Maine, finish 8th to give the team two cars in the Top-10 at the checkered flag. Mulkern led on two different occasions for a total of 62 laps, taking the lead for the second time with a three-wide pass around the outside of the leaders following a three-lap battle.
WHO: Scott Mulkern, Falmouth, Maine
TEAM: Mulkern Racing No. 84 Southern Maine Chrysler Dodge Jeep/Community Pharmacies Dodge
CREW CHIEF: Gary Crooks, Mooresville, N.C.
WHAT: PASS North Series Ripley & Fletcher Ford 150
WHERE: Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (.375-mile oval)
STARTED: 7th
FINISHED: 2nd
LAPS LED: 2 times for 62 laps
WHO: Bobby Timmons, Windham, Maine
TEAM: Mulkern Racing No. 48 Southern Maine Chrysler Dodge Jeep/Timmons Machine Dodge
CREW CHIEF: Bobby Timmons Jr., Windham, Maine
WHAT: PASS North Series Ripley & Fletcher Ford 150
WHERE: Beech Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (.375-mile oval)
STARTED: 25th
FINISHED: 8th
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SCOTT, YOU HAD A TREMENDOUS DAY IN THE NO. 84.
Boy, we had a really good car. That was a lot of fun, and I thought we had a shot at it. I was trying to be really respectful of all those guys that I was racing with. It was probably the best car I’ve had here, but (the No. 60) just got me on that last restart.
I just want to thank all the guys that worked on this thing. We had a chance there, just couldn’t quite get back to the front.
BOBBY, HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP YOUR RUN?
I’ll take that, considering where we’d been all day. We were really good in the morning and I thought we were going to be in really good shape, but it just kept fading as the day went on. I drew last in my heat, and that never helps. I got up to seventh but we were chasing a looseness, and then we thought we fixed that and got in the consi and we were fighting tightness. I didn’t know where we were at at that point – we were only making subtle changes, but they were changing the car drastically.
We put two tires on and they dropped the green (in the feature), and I just rode around the white line and got up to eighth. That’s about as far as I got.
DID YOUR CAR GO AWAY AT THE END, OR WAS IT JUST A MATTER OF ONCE YOU GOT TO THE TOP-10 IT WAS HARDER TO GAIN TRACK POSITION?
It’s a pecking order. The good cars prevail, and the bad cars don’t. I can’t lie – we were definitely fading at the end. We weren’t as good. I might have used it up or whatever. But even still – every year, it’s late-race restarts. (The No. 4) got by me on the restart and trucked by me like I was standing still, and then after five laps I’d get back to him – inch, inch, inch – and get by him. I started to reel in the rest of the pack, but I just ran out of laps. Starting 25th doesn’t help that.
Maybe one of these times we’ll qualify up front and get to race for a win like Scott did. I was happy for him.