In his first season driving for the Biddeford-based Petit Motorsports team in the Pro All-Stars Series Super Late Model North tour last summer, Morrill’s Travis Benjamin got off to a tough start.
The driver from Morrill didn’t finish in the top 12 through his first five races.
He actually failed to start the first race after he wrecked his car during qualifying.
Benjamin went on to post nine top-five finishes over the final 11 races, including two wins, to wind up fifth in the points standings. He hopes to ride that momentum into this season as the tour opens its 17th season at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Thompson, Connecticut on Sunday afternoon.
The Ice Breaker had been scheduled for last weekend but was postponed due to inclement weather.
After running his own team for years, Benjamin said he likes the fact he “just has to drive” for Petit Motorsports and doesn’t have to worry about working on the race cars every night.
“It’s a great deal for me. I have a brand-new car and three new engines,” said the 38-year-old Benjamin, the 2012 PASS North points champion. “We have a great team. We have two full-time people (working on the cars) and everyone works their butts off.
“I like my chances (of winning the championship). I think we’ve got a good shot at it,” added Benjamin, who won back-to-back Oxford 250s in 2013 and 2014.
Benjamin noted that he will benefit from having another year under his belt with crew chief Mark Lyden.
There will be 17 PASS North points races including four at Oxford Plains Speedway, three at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough and one at Speedway 95 in Hermon. There will also be a non-points race at Oxford.
D.J. Shaw of Center Conway, New Hampshire, is the defending champ. He also won the title in 2014.
Mike Rowe of Turner won it in 2015 while driving for the Petit Motorsports team.
Farmingdale’s Johnny Clark, who has a series-high six points titles, was second in points a year ago followed by four-time champ Ben Rowe of Turner, Glen Luce of Turner and Benjamin. Rounding out the top 10 were Mike Rowe, Derek Griffith of Hudson, New Hampshire, Jeremy Davis of Tamworth, New Hampshire, Hermon’s Mike Hopkins and Scarborough’s Garrett Hall.
Joey Polewarczyk Jr. of Hudson, New Hampshire, won a series-best three races last season in his nine starts. Benjamin had two wins as did Luce, Hall and Pelham, New Hampshire, native Wayne Helliwell Jr.