Pro All Stars Series North reached the midway point of its schedule, and three-time defending points champ Johnny Clark is submerged in an unfamiliar predicament: Trailing a frontrunner.

Clark of Farmingdale finished sixth last weekend in the Firecracker 150 in Canaan, N.H., which dropped him 12 points behind points leader Ben Rowe.

“We’re not used to this,” Clark said. “It’s been so hard to gain points in this series, and knowing we are 12 behind, it makes it tough.”

Clark, despite three victories in five races, will need a strong finish to win his fourth straight points title.

Rowe, who’s finished in the top five in each race, earned his first victory of the season last weekend.

It didn’t come easy.

Clark raced near the front for much of the night, but with about 20 laps left he got tangled up with Donnie Lashua.

“We went for a little ride,” Clark said. “It happens. It was hard to recover with 20 laps to go. It was tough. We had kind of an off night. There were a few cautions, and that helped us get back into it. But we lost 10 points, so it wasn’t a good day for us.”

The PASS North field for much of the last three seasons have been chasing Clark nearly wire to wire.

But he’s finished outside the top five twice, giving Rowe enough of a window to squeeze into the lead.

The series resumes Saturday at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough. It will also race Tuesday in Lee, N.H.

“We just have to focus on getting wins,” Clark said. “I don’t think we’ve been this far behind in the last few years. We’ll see. We need to stay clean and get some wins.”

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Mike Landry finished sixth in a Pro Series race last weekend at Beech Ridge to move into fifth place in points.

The Oakland driver last season made the transition to the Pro Stock class after competing in the PASS Sportsman series the last three years.

Landry finished second in points in the series in 2009 and last season.

“We’re going all right,” he said. “It’s been an adjustment trying to find the right set-up to make the car go faster.”

Landry, who won a Sport Series points title at Beech Ridge in 2006, has three top-10 finishes at the track this season.

“We’re getting close to getting the right setup,” he said. “A few more adjustments and we’ll be right up there.”

Landry has finished fourth, eighth, 11th and sixth in four Pro Series races this season.

“I’m used to the track, but I’m still not used to the car,” he said. “We’re trying different things. We’re making progress.”

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Second-generation driver Poncho Darveau of Chelsea is not racing this season, citing time constraints.

Darveau, the son of Maine racing Hall of Famer Dave Darveau, competed the last few seasons at Unity Raceway.

“I just don’t have the time,” Poncho Darveau, 46, said. “It still costs a little bit to do it, but time is the big thing. I’ve been hanging around doing this for 31 years.”

When asked if he was retiring from racing, Darveau added, “I don’t know. I won’t own a car anymore, but I may hop in a ride sometime. We’ll see.”

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Pete McCollett pronounced his car fit to race again.

McCollett, 49, of Readfield has been out of action since he wrecked his car in a Pro Fours race June 11 at Unity.

“We didn’t plan on rebuilding a car in the middle of the season, but we did,” he said.

Unity on Saturday will host a 40-lap Pro Fours feature, and McCollett said he is ready to race.

“We’re anxious,” he said. “We waited an extra week to make sure we were ready, and we are. We’ll have a very fast car. We can’t wait.”

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Left turns: Jeff White of Winthrop moved up to second place in the Late Model point standings at Oxford Plains Speedway. White finished seventh in a feature last weekend. … After a three-week hiatus, the American-Canadian Tour will resume Saturday with a 100-lap feature in Claremont, N.H. Brian Hoar of Williston, Vt., leads the series with 479 points. Ben Ashline of Pittston is sixth with 350.

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com