Clark takes Wiscasset feature Hallowell driver wins two-lap finish, $30,000 first prize

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WISCASSET – The Pro All-Stars Series North Super Late Model Toyota Tundra 250 boiled down to a two-lap finish between the driver who led the most laps over the first half of the race and the driver who led the most laps over the second half.

Johnny Clark of Hallowell had led 117 of the previous 136 laps entering the final restart while Boothbay’s Corey Williams had led the race’s first 110 laps before pitting.

Clark took advantage of his inside starting spot, surviving a side-panel bump from Williams on that final restart and pulling away for a five car-length win over Williams.

“Anything can happen on a restart. We were racing for $30,000 [winner’s purse]. My stomach was in knots,” said the 28-year-old Clark. “On the restart prior to the last one, I missed a shift. I haven’t missed a shift in six months. That could have cost me the race.”

Clark knew he had a dominant car and it showed on the restarts, including the last one.

Williams said he felt it would take a miracle to catch Clark.

“He was really good,” said Williams.

Clark took the lead on lap 112 but surrendered it to take tires on lap 198, the race’s 10th caution.

With fresh tires, Clark raced to the front in lightning fashion. He went from 13th to second in just 16 laps and three laps later, on lap 217, Clark took the lead for good by passing D.J. Shaw on the inside lane.

“Once we took the lead, I knew we were sitting pretty. The car was so good,” said Clark.

In fact, it was a brand new car. Clark had never driven his new Chevy Monte Carlo until practice Saturday.

Clark, who started 13th, called it the biggest win of his career.

“It’s my home track. I came here in my mother’s stomach. I used to play in the sand piles as a little kid,” said Clark, who won his first-ever pro stock race at Wiscasset Raceway in 1997.

He has now won five of his last seven races at the track.

Steve Knowlton of Ipswich, Mass., was third with Wiscasset’s Scott Chubbuck fourth and Randy Turner of Freedom fifth.

Rounding out the top 10 were Adam Bates of Warner, N.H., Paul White of Corinna, Chuck Lachance of Cushing, Richie Dearborn of Hollis and Bangor’s Gary Smith.

There were 14 cautions.

Williams took the lead from pole-sitter Fred Astle Jr. on the first lap and pulled away from the pack on green flag laps as well as restarts. There were three cautions in the first 30 laps and nine in the first 129 laps.

Williams, the PASS SLM South points leader, led the first 110 laps before making his scheduled pit stop. He never led again.

“We took on a bad set of tires,” explained Williams, who rectified the situation by putting on two new tires on lap 198 and making his way up to challenge Clark.

“We had a few [other] issues,” said the 22-year-old Williams. “The throttle was sticking.”

The fabricator for Camping World East driver Peyton Sellers and the North Carolina-based Andy Santerre Motorsports team added that he was happy with his second-place finish.

Dresden native Stan Meserve, who does the setups for JR Motorsports (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and points contender Brad Keselowski in the Nationwide Series, got involved in a wreck on lap 63 that cost him any chance of winning. The 66-year-old Meserve, a former Sprint Cup driver, has won points championships at four of Maine’s six tracks.

Meserve started 20th and finished 32nd.

Farmington’s Cassius Clark, sixth in the PASS North Points, developed car trouble and exited early. He returned but was several laps down. He finished 27th.

Two other potential winners, Mike Rowe and Derek Ramstrom, both of whom have won PASS North races this season, got tangled up and both sustained damage that rendered them nonfactors.

A few laps later, Rowe and Chad Dow were involved in an accident between turns one and two on lap 110 and Rowe had more trouble 18 laps later.

Rowe wound up 17th, Ramstrom was 30th and Dow ended up 28th.

Ben Rowe, the PASS North points leader and four-time series points champ, had his right front tire go flat on lap 120 and had to go the the pits. He returned five laps down and finished 18th.

Morrill’s Travis Benjamin, second in the PASS North points and coming off his first win in the tour last weekend in the Atlantic Cat 250 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, had car problems throughout the race and pitted several times.

However, he managed to stay on the lead lap and his car became significantly faster for a stretch before fading in the end. He wound up 12th.

Town Hill’s John Phippen finished 20th and Winterport’s Ryan Deane was 21st.

lmahoney@bangordailynews.net

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