Not even the threat of rain could derail Johnny Clark’s drive to victory in Saturday’s Pro All Stars Series showdown at White Mountain Motorsports Park.
Though it wasn’t for lack of effort.
Clark weathered a brief rain delay to claim his second PASS North win of the year at the North Woodstock, N.H. quarter-mile and his third win at the track in the last four races there.
Saturday’s race was already the casualty of weather before the weekend arrived. Originally planned for a Friday show to better suit fans and racers’ plans for the NASCAR weekend at nearby New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the race had been rescheduled earlier in the week to dodge heavy rain in the forecast.
The rescheduling was a boon for several drivers, who had conflicting plans to race in Lee USA Speedway’s big-money open-competition feature Friday night, but were suddenly gifted with the opportunity for a doubleheader weekend, especially critical to those still in the PASS points race.
Polesitter DJ Shaw led the opening circuits before yielding to Joey Doiron. Shaw’s battle with Garrett Hall for second was not as decisive, with the two drivers making contact to bring out the night’s first caution at lap 17. Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. joined the lead battle out front, dueling with Doiron before Andy Shaw set off a multi-car incident to bring out another yellow.
The yellow flag soon turned red, as rain soaked the track enough to require drying. Doiron and Renfrew brought the field back to green, with Clark joining the party out front. Renfrew had the advantage, but the seven-time PASS North champ kept the young racer on his toes, peeking high and low in his bid for the lead.
Clark finally made the outside work on lap 58, taking the lead and driving away from the field.
Renfrew’s stalled car brought out a caution on lap 128 to bunch up the pack, but Doiron could not displace the Hallowell, Me. veteran on the restart.
A week after struggling to a 13th-place result at Oxford Plains Speedway, Clark charged to his second PASS North win of 2023.
Doiron’s second-place finish, meanwhile, was a huge boost for a driver whose tough season hit a speedbump at Oxford. Doiron dominated last Sunday’s tilt at Oxford but was disqualified in post-race inspection, negating a bright spot for a new opportunity that had yet to produce the expected results. The reigning Granite State Pro Stock Series champion took the same car to Lee USA Speedway Friday night, finishing third behind Derek Griffith and visiting NASCAR star Kyle Busch, then made a quick turnaround to race at WMMP. Saturday’s rescheduling kept Doiron technically alive in the points race.
Third place went to Jeremy Davis, making his second start of the season. The chassis builder earned his first PASS podium since 2020.
Vermont’s Jimmy Hebert, the 2020 American-Canadian Tour champ, debuted a brand-new Super Late Model at WMMP almost a year after making the Oxford 250 field in a converted ACT Late Model. Hebert was fourth in his second-ever PASS start. Rookie Max Cookson was a consistent fifth.
Brian Whalley was the last car on the lead lap in sixth. Early leader DJ Shaw was seventh, with Renfrew coming home eighth. Rookie Garrett Hall was ninth at the stripe, with Shawn Knight rounding out the top ten.
Clark, a six-time WMMP winner, has won three of his last four starts at the North Woodstock, N.H. bullring, dating back to his win last July. Interestingly, Clark is not the only driver to find a hot streak on the high banks. DJ Shaw won in the fall of 2021, then added two wins last year to complete his own three-out-of-four record. Nick Sweet managed the same in 2020, winning three of PASS’ five races at the track that year. Derek Griffith has four wins in six starts at the track between 2017 and 2020.
Saturday’s rescheduling thrust the race back into the position PASS tried to avoid in the first place this year. After inadvertently testing the Friday-night waters with a rain-rescheduled Friday-Saturday WMMP double last July, PASS and WMMP moved the traditional July NASCAR weekend date to Friday night, with PASS’ Super Late Models and Modifieds joined by the New England Supermodified Series and 350 SMAC small-block Supermodifieds.
The move dodged a conflict with New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s schedule, particularly with the popular NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour taking the green flag at 6:00pm. But it created a divisional conflict with Lee’s $10,000-to-win Pro Stock show. The big purse drew a lot of attention, with PASS regulars Doiron and Trevor Sanborn likely to chase victory at Lee over the season-long title run.
Ultimately, the rescheduling kept fans from enjoying a bullring nightcap after a day at Loudon. But for Doiron and Sanborn, Friday’s rainout and two well-prepared teams helped to keep them in the title chase with eight races complete.
An early exit for Sanborn, naturally, will not be beneficial in the short term. Max Cookson remains atop the title race with Clark likely to take second from Sanborn once the final points are tallied. Cookson has yet to finish outside the top ten this year, and whether the red-hot rookie will come back down to earth remains to be seen.
But eight drivers have made every start so far, meaning plenty are on hand to capitalize if he does.
Unofficial Results
Pro All Stars Series North PASS SLM 150
White Mountain Motorsports Park
1. (54) Johnny Clark
2. (73D) Joey Doiron
3. (09) Jeremy Davis
4. (58VT) Jimmy Hebert
5. (39) Max Cookson
6. (02) Brian Whalley
7. (60) DJ Shaw
8. (00NH) Jimmy Renfrew, Jr.
9. (38) Garrett Lamb
10. (25) Shawn Knight
11. (18ME) Miller Buzzell
12. (94) Garrett Hall
13. (47) Gabe Brown
14. (44) Trevor Sanborn
15. (50) Andy Shaw
16. (12) Dennis Spencer, Jr.
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