Johnny Clark will begin his quest for an unprecedented fifth consecutive Pro All Stars Series North points championship in about two weeks. Oxford Plains Speedway opens its doors in about a month. The American-Canadian Tour opened last weekend.
Oh, and there will be racing Saturday at Unity Raceway.
So, race fans, are you eager for the green flags to fly?
Ready or not, there are plenty of intriguing storylines for the upcoming season.
Here’s a few …
* Clark will try to win a record fifth consecutive PASS North points title.
The Farmingdale driver is as dominating in the series as the Waterville track teams are in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference.
Sometimes, it just seems unfair.
Clark will also try to break the record of eight PASS North victories in a single season. He had seven in just 14 races last season.
That’s right, Clark won half the points races on the PASS North calendar last season.
Impressive work.
“Eventually, some day we’ll get knocked off,” Clark said Monday.
Maybe, but it hasn’t happened in awhile.
The question, of course, is whether Clark can fend off what will be yet another competitive field this year.
One challenger to watch is Farmington native Cassius Clark, who is quietly making some noise since he hooked up with Hight Motorsports in Skowhegan at the end of last season.
Cassius Clark finished fourth in the Easter Bunny 150 last weekend in Hickory, N.C. The PASS South race featured some impressive drivers, including one — Landon Cling — who is part of the Brad Keselowski Racing development team.
“We want to run for it,” Cassius Clark said, “and see if we can give Johnny a run for his money.”
The guess here is that Cassius Clark will give Johnny Clark and Ben Rowe, a perennial contender, all they can handle in PASS North this season.
“Anytime Cassius runs full time, he’s competitive,” Johnny Clark said. “He’s had his dominating seasons. The recipe is brewing for them to have a really good year. They have the backing and the equipment.”
* Frank Moulton is returning to Unity Raceway, where he won three consecutive Late Model points titles from 2008-10.
Moulton, 22, of Burnham, decided to leave Unity last season in favor of Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough.
At the time of his departure, Moulton said, “We wanted to challenge ourselves a little more. We wanted to do something different. There’s going to be a lot more competition. We like the challenge.”
He just didn’t like the rising cost prices and a tire rule change that Beech Ridge implemented this year.
Moulton, who lives no more than five minutes from Unity Raceway, would spend about $100 more a week in tires had he decided to return to Beech Ridge.
It will be interesting to see if Moulton — a 2007 Mt. View graduate — can regain the form he showed at Unity two years ago.
Moulton, a quiet driver who shys away from confrontations on the track, redefined consistency at Unity.
In 2008, Moulton won just twice en route to the Late Model points championship at Unity. He parlayed seven top-three finishes into the title that year. The following year, he won just one race but still took the title because he never fell out of the top five all season.
He again finished in the top five in just about every race in the 2010 season.
* Jeff White is one of the more colorful drivers to grace area tracks. The Winthrop native is the defending Late Model points champ at Oxford Plains Speedway.
When asked if he’d be back to defend his title, White replied, “It took a long time to win one so we’ll go and see if we can win another. Why wouldn’t we?”
White will also run a part-time ACT schedule as well this year.
Bill Stewart — 621-5640
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