Four-time defending Pro All Stars Series North champ Johnny Clark says there is little to no room for error the rest of the war.

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen a points race like this,” said Clark of Farmingdale. “You can’t really get a mulligan from here on out. There are just too many good drivers competing.”

The top six drivers are separated by a mere 16 points.

Travis Benjamin of Morrill leads the congested pack with 852 points. Clark, who was 32 points out of the lead earlier this season, is second with 850.

DJ Shaw (847), Farmington native Cassius Clark (846), Joey Doiron (838) and Lonnie Somerville (836) follow.

“It’s real tight,” said Johnny Clark, who won the second annual John Phippen Memorial race at Unity Raceway on Sunday. “There’s just really good competition out there. There is no room for error because someone is going to have a good year the whole way.”

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Clark, who is chasing a record seventh PASS North title, hopes it’s him.

He’s rebounded from a 16th-place finish in the season opener to earn victories in two of the last three points races. He’s the lone driver on the tour to win more than one race.

The series resumes Saturday night at the Autodrome Chaudiere in Quebec.

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Two weeks ago, car problems — specifically the pulley to the water pump — failed in Pete McCollett’s Mini Stock Volkswagon Golf at Oxford Plains Speedway.

The Readfield driver slipped to a disappointing 16th-place finish that damaged his hopes for a points title.

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“We broke with four laps to go,” he said. “We were running out front. That was tough.”

Redemption came Saturday when McCollett won his first feature of the season.

McCollett led the final 19 of 30 laps to move into second place in the points standings.

“We got into a little wreck in the heat race but we got it fixed for the feature,” McCollett said. “I just set it on the outside and went to the front. We have something figured out in the car now. We’ve done some changes and they’ve worked. It’s good to get the first win.”

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David Folsom I is retiring after a hand accident made it too difficult to compete.

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Folsom of Skowhegan lost two fingers in a table saw accident over the winter.

The 50-year-old driver tried to come back Sunday for the John Phippen Memorial at Unity.

“It was too painful for him,” wife Bonny Folsom said. “He’s been nursing it all winter to see if he could do it. But he’s officially retired. It’s not easy to think it’s over. He would’ve liked to go for another championship.”

Folsom first started racing in 1980 at Unity. He won a track championship in 1987, which he said through his wife was one of his fondest racing memories. He was named rookie driver of the year at Wiscasset Raceway in 2000.

“It’s been in his blood,” Bonny Folsom said. “We’ve been married 27 years. I don’t think he went to too many races that I wasn’t there.”

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The American Canadian Tour resumes this weekend at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H. The tour had been off for about a month.

The green flag couldn’t come any sooner for Pittston driver Ben Ashline, who won the last ACT feature on May 20 at OPS.

“I was itching to get back out there the next day after that race,” Ashline said. “I’m ready to go.”

Ashline, 21, earned his first ACT victory in dominating fashion, winning the Armed Forces 150 by about 7.5 seconds. He is seventh in points.

“Having the races spread out does make it easier on us low-budget guys,” Ashline said. “It gives us time to get things together and regroup for the next race. We’ve been working on the car quite a bit. You can never be satisfied. The car cannot ever be good enough. With this kind of competition, they are are constantly working on their cars. We always try to get better.”

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The Canadian Atlantic Open Wheels circuit will make its first of two stops at Spud Speedway in Caribou this weekend. Eleven drivers are expected to race at Spud.

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com


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