PASS NorthThe Pro All Stars Series (PASS) will kick off it’s twelfth northeast racing season on Saturday May 5 at Scarborough Maine’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, and its an event that racers and race fans alike have looked forward to since the final checker of 2011. Southern Maine Motors.com has returned as presenting sponsors for all three PASS appearances at the Cusack’s immaculate speed plant

PASS North’s three touring series are slated for competition, and all three series defending champions will be back to try and duplicate their 2011 titles.

Johnny Clark captured the super late model segment of this event in 2011 on his way to an unprecedented sixth PASS super late model title. The Farmingdale Maine speedster won seven of the series’s fourteen 2011 events and only landed outside the top five on one occasion. He’ll be looking for a fifth straight championship when the season wraps up in October, but on opening day every team is tied in the point standings and there are plenty of drivers who’d like nothing better than to break Clark’s streak.

Bristol Motor SpeedwayLonnie Sommerville earned a Beech Ridge win and Co-Rookie of the Year honors (with Kyle DeSouza) on his way to second in the final 2011 PASS North rankings and his team has all the tools to challenge Clark. Ben Rowe captured his second PASS National title in 2011 and won in both the North and South series en route to a third place finish in the northern point standings. The man with four PASS North, one PASS South and two PASS National titles under his belt won’t be satisfied until he’s on top of the PASS North heap once again. Quebec’s Alex Gingras and Travis Benjamin both have the talent to capture the crown, and their top fives in 2011 could translate to an even better results in 2012.. DJ Shaw is back for a full season, and Cassius Clark has had the off season to get his ride ready for a run at the title.

Beech Ridge ‘s own weekly Pro Series competitors have what it takes to beat the PASS touring pros and you can expect a number of home track heroes to take up the challenge.

There’s a slew of new names on the PASS Mod licensed driver list and the open wheelers turnout at Beech Ridge could be a record for the class.

Seekonk veteran and 2011 Classic Lites champ Rusty Bryant, Bill Lake, Dave Sprague, Gary Thorne and Mike Carignan are but a few of the challengers set to take on returning veterans like Bill Dixon, Dana Reed and Mark Lundblad. Dale Shaw has signed on for a full season of Mod racing and the 1994 Busch North title holder will try and end his nephew Andy Shaw’s championship streak at two.

PASS Sportsman license applications have been rolling in as the second race of their 2012 season approaches. J.R. Baril claimed the season opener at Lee USA after a 75 lap war with defending PASS Sportsman champ Carey Martin, and the Lee master has signed up for a PASS license. Perennial contender and two time Sportsman champion Dan McKeage didn’t fare well at Lee but you can be sure that he’ll claw his way to the top of the standings before season’s end. There’s twenty five licensed Sportsman teams to date, a good sign for the class that consistently puts on a great show.

There are two days of open practice for all competing divisions on tap Thursday May 3 and Friday May 4 from 2:00 PM until 6:00 PM each day. On race day May 5 practice gets under way at 11:30 AM and the first green flag waves at 3:00 PM.

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