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Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Farmingdale race car driver finally gets his big opportunity
Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||
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After six days of waiting, stock car driver Johnny Clark of Farmingdale got the call Tuesday that may change his life. Roush Racing, one of NASCAR's top teams, has asked Clark to audition for a ride for next season. "I'm pretty excited," said Clark, 25, from his race shop in Hallowell. "This has been a dream of mine forever." Clark is one of 25 drivers who will compete for the opportunity to race a Roush entry in the Craftsman Truck Series. The drivers will be judged on their ability to race on the short track at Martinsville, Va., and the challenging mile-long speedway at Darlington, S.C. Their character and personality will also be judged. The competition will be seen in 13 segments on the Discovery Channel this fall. The competition, initially called the "Race for the Ride," is better known as Roush Racing's Gong Show. Kurt Busch, the defending Nextel Cup champion, won the Gong Show in 1999. Last year's winner, Todd Kluever, races in the truck series with veteran Maine driver Ricky Craven, who joined Roush Racing before the start of the 2005 season. In fact, it was Craven who pitched Clark at a meeting last week that included team owner Jack Roush and other Roush Racing drivers and crew chiefs. Before walking into the meeting, Craven called Clark to tell him he had survived a process that began with 1,667 applicants. "I actually applied last year," said Clark, the defending Pro All Star Series touring champion and winner of the DNK 250 at Unity Raceway in 2004. "But I didn't make the final cut." Clark applied again after he got a phone call last month from Roush Racing asking why he hadn't applied this year. After speaking with Craven, Clark waited for the next phone call from North Carolina, where Roush Racing is based. Clark won the New England Dodge Dealers Firecracker 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway last Sunday. He checked his phone messages. Nothing. "I stared at the phone all day (Tuesday)," he said. It finally rang late in the afternoon in the race shop. Clark saw the North Carolina area code on his caller ID and rushed outside with the phone in his hand. "I just needed to be someplace quiet where I could hear exactly what someone was telling me," said Clark. He leaves for North Carolina at the end of the month but doesn't know many other details. "I was too excited," he said. "I wanted to get off the phone and make my own phone calls. I've prepared my whole life for this. I'm ready." Staff Writer Steve Solloway can be contacted at 791-6412 or at:
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