Sessions’ strategy successful at Community Pharmacies 150

HERMON – South Paris’ Sam Sessions said Speedway 95 “is the only place where the preferred groove is on the outside.”

Sessions proved his theory on lap 104 of the Community Pharmacies 150 Pro All-Stars Series race Sunday.

Sessions was second on the restart following the 13th caution and used that outside groove to sail around race leader Johnny Clark of Farmingdale.

“I prayed there were no more cautions. The leader is at a disadvantage on a restart [because he’s on the inside],” said Sessions whose prayers were answered.

He finished eight car-lengths ahead of Clark. Bangor’s Gary Smith was third.

All three drove Chevy Monte Carlos.

“When we unloaded the car today, it was a rocket ship,” said the 47-year-old Sessions, who started sixth. “And with every adjustment we made, it kept getting better and better. This was the best car I’ve ever had as far as feeling comfortable.”

Clark was closing the gap with 10 laps remaining “but I picked up a little push in the center. It started skating out a little bit and I started overdriving it.”

The 24-year-old Clark said he was “tickled” to finish second at a track where he hasn’t been very successful.

“This is definitely the best finish I’ve ever had here. I have a fifth- or sixth-place car every time I come here. I’ve never had a great car [like today’s],” said Clark who started second.

Smith, who started 10th, said he was “very happy” with his finish.

“The car was excellent,” said Smith who tried valiantly to pass Clark for second over the final 20 laps but couldn’t pull it off.

“I couldn’t quite get underneath him. He was a little bit loose and I was a little bit tight,” said the 48-year-old Smith.

Smith added that Sessions had “the fastest car all day.”

Strong’s Tracy Gordon finished fourth and defending two-time PASS points champ Ben Rowe of Turner wound up fifth.

Rounding out the top 10 were Falmouth’s Scott Mulkern, Scarborough’s Larry Gelinas, Rick Martin of Westport, Mass., Denmark’s Travis Khiel and Hollis’ Richie Dearborn.

Twenty-six of the 32 entrants started the race.

There were accidents galore and two late-race victims were Louis Mechalides of Tynsboro, Mass., and Mulkern, who were running fourth and fifth when Mulkern spun Mechalides out.

“I went down into the corner a little harder than he did and I misjudged. I bumped him,” said Mulkern.

Mechalides bumped Mulkern’s car during the caution laps and Mulkern retailiated.

Both were then pulled over and scolded by PASS official Paul Johnson.

Mechalides eventually developed car trouble and wound up 16th.

Gordon said he would have had an awesome car “but I did my own tires and I missed my stagger. So I was a little tight there. I put an extra round on my sway bar which I shouldn’t have done right off the bat. Between that and my stagger, I kind of screwed it up.”

Rowe said he and his crew tried a new setup but the car wound up being “tight.”

“We were decent. We just didn’t have anything for the top three or four,” said Rowe.