HERMON – Turner’s Ben Rowe was apologetic after winning the Pro All Stars Series Pine Tree 150 at Speedway 95 Saturday evening.

He was running second to Cushing’s Chuck Lachance with 10 laps left when he hit Lachance after Lachance had checked up to avoid a lapped car.

Lachance slid up the track and Rowe sailed by him to take the lead for good and post his first victory of the season. He pocketed $4,000 for the win.

“I was running a little extra hard and I didn’t have time to check up. I picked his rear tires up off the ground,” said the 26-year-old Rowe, who won both the International Pro Stock Challenge and Northeast Pro Stock Association series points titles last season.

“Chuck’s one of the best in the business. Me and him get along good. I’d finish second to Chuck any day,” Rowe said. “I would never [willingly] do that to Chuck. I wouldn’t do that to anybody. I wouldn’t even do that to Ralph Nason as much stuff as he gets in to. I don’t race like that and I don’t expect to be raced like that.”

Rowe apologized to Lachance and his crew after the race.

Lachance, who wound up finishing fifth, said he doesn’t question Rowe’s assertion that the bump was unintentional. But he also admitted that he was still “a little hot under the collar” about the incident.

“We all see lapped cars coming. I drive far enough ahead of me so that doesn’t happen. I’ve got a brake pedal in my car and I can drive further than the front of my hood. I don’t think he should have turned me. But that’s racing. Things happen when you’re racing. We’re all pretty competitive,” added Lachance.

“Ben is a great racer. He really is. And he’s a great guy to race with. That’s why it really surprised me. I never expected that. We had good racing [against each other] all evening.”

Rowe had started eighth and Lachance had made his way up to the front from a 15th-place starting spot.

“[Crew chief Brian Burgess and his crew] told me they were going to hold me back until there were 30 laps to go. Then we were going to turn on the heat,” explained Rowe, who conserved his tires and his engine while running conservatively in the top eight until the last 30 laps.

Rowe’s Monte Carlo was followed across the finish line by Bangor’s Gary Smith and Scarborough’s Larry Gelinas.

Smith and Gelinas each drove Monte Carlos.

Rounding out the top 10 in the 29-car field were series points leader Sam Sessions of South Paris, Lachance, Daren Ripley of Appleton, Richie Dearborn of Hollis, pole-winner Louie Mechalides of Tyngsboro, Mass. Kenny Wright of Woolwich and Detroit’s Adam Friend.

Four drivers failed to qualify. Eleven cars finished on the lead lap.

Brewer’s Aaron St. Peter, a pro stock regular at Speedway 95, qualified second but ran into early car trouble. He finished 26th.

Three-time Oxford True Value 250 winner Ralph Nason was involved in an early wreck and finished last.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said the 45-year-old Smith. “I would have been a little happier if I had won but not much. Ben Rowe has the best of the best and to be able to run with him [is a significant accomplishment]. Larry’s great, too. We had a good car. The guys had it set up good.”

But it didn’t appear anybody would catch Gelinas, who took the lead on lap 28 and held it until he got trapped behind a lapped car with 17 laps left, which allowed Lachance to move past him.

“We went to go around the lapped car and Chuck went underneath and got me,” said Gelinas, who was particularly good on restarts.

“I bided my time and when Larry finally made a mistake, I was able to get by him. I was running low and he was running high and we split the lapped car. That messed him up,” said Lachance.

Gelinas said, “I was happy with a third. I was hoping for a top five. But when you lead for that many laps, it would have been good to get a win.”

Gelinas also said his tires “went away” at the end of the race.

“I wish they counted the yellows,” said Gelinas.

There were 10 caution flags in the race but the laps don’t count toward the 150.

“If they counted the yellows, we never would have caught him,” said Rowe.