One of the most popular topics of discussion on the Winston Cup series revolves around the young guns like Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch and the success they’ve been having this season.

Rookies Johnson and Newman and second-year racer Busch have combined for 25 top-10 finishes through 16 races. Johnson has two wins and Busch has one.

The Pro All-Stars Series tour has its own list of young guns and leading the pack is Hallowell’s Johnny Clark.

The 22-year-old’s sixth-place finish at the Clay GMC 150 at Hermon’s Speedway 95 Sunday meant he has finished eighth or better in all five PASS races so far this season.

He has a fifth, two sixths, a seventh and an eighth.

He is second in points to Turner’s Ben Rowe entering Saturday night’s race at Star Speedway (N.H.). Clark trails Rowe by 16 points.

“We’ve been doing well,” said Clark, who drives a Chevy Monte Carlo. “We came into the season wanting to run in the top 10 every week. We knew that’s what it takes to win a championship.

“But we still haven’t finished in the top three in a PASS race and we’re looking to do that. We’re also hoping to get a win,” added Clark, who missed much of last season with a broken left wrist suffered during a crash at Wiscasset Raceway.

Clark is a second-generation racer. His father, John, raced in the pro stock division for several years at Wiscasset until he handed the steering wheel over to his son.

“I ran one year of street stocks at Wiscasset in 1995 and won four races. In ’96, my dad was working on a new car and let me race his old pro stock car. Then he stopped driving and got involved in what I was doing,” said Johnny.

“He did so well that I scrapped my plan to run the new car,” recalled father John.

But John, Johnny and Johnny’s younger brother Bobby worked on the new Monte Carlo over the winter with some friends and Johnny won four races with it in 1997 including the prestigious Coastal Challenge 150.

He is still driving the same Monte Carlo although he took the 2000 season off to race trucks on the now-defunct New England truck tour. He finished second in points that year.

He credits his success this season to his “maturing” as a driver and the work put in by his crew.

Brother Bobby is his crew chief.

“These cars are like mini-space ships and you have to work on them to make them go fast,” said Johnny. “It’s like a full-time job keeping one of these cars going, especially if you’re running a touring series.”

He said his crew makes sure he has a fast and competitive car every week and he applies the driving instincts he learned from watching and competing against the likes of Woolwich’s Kenny Wright, Wiscasset’s Scott Chubbuck, Cushing’s Chuck Lachance and Town Hill’s John Phippen.

All of those Wiscasset Raceway regulars have also raced against Johnny’s dad.

“Those guys took me in. I never felt out of place,” said Clark. “They made me feel at home. They taught me how to race.”

His father concurred.

“They’ve always been friendly and I think it’s because they’ve always considered Johnny a clean racer,” said John.

He added that “it only makes sense to be friendly with your dance partners anyway.”

John feels his two sons are “very focused” and credits their extensive hockey careers with playing an important role in their auto racing success.

“A lot of their competitiveness comes from their hockey backgrounds. We had them both on the ice when they were four. They played on travel teams,” said John who also feels it benefited his sons’ hand-eye coordination.

Both went to Hall-Dale High School and played high school hockey for Win-Dale [a combination of Hall-Dale and Winthrop high schools].

“It had to help,” agreed Johnny.

As long as he can remember, Johnny Clark wanted to be a stock car racer.

“I’ve been going to races ever since I can remember and I always loved it. My dad got me into it. I remember at one point that the only reason he kept racing was because I wanted to race so bad and I wasn’t old enough yet,” said Johnny.

His dad remembers drawings his son did in school that featured his No. 54 car leading a race.

Racing is definitely a family affair in the Clark household.

John’s brothers, Charlie and Richard, were also stock car racers and his wife, Diane, is Johnny’s scorer during races. Sister Angela, her husband Chris Corbin and their son Cam attend the races.

Charlie Clark is one of the owners of D.N.K. Select Used Cars in Farmingdale, which is Johnny’s primary sponsor.

Dirt track racing starts July 7

Dirt track auto racing will make its debut at Bullwinkle’s Raceway in the Moosehead Industrial Park at Moosehead Junction Township beginning Sunday, July 7 at noon.

Four classes will compete over the quarter-mile track: little enduro, big enduro, ladies and a pick-up truck division.

The will be racing on 10 Sundays between July 7 and Sept. 8.

A 50-lap little enduro feature will headline the opening day card with the winner $500.

The track was created out of a 28-acre lot bought by Doug Whitney of Harfords Point.