PASS National Championship Kicks Off On Saturday At Dillon
CHARLOTTE, NC (February 20) – Following a three-month offseason, Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Model racers will kick off the 2018 National Championship season this Saturday afternoon at Dillon Motor Speedway in South Carolina. The 13th Annual South Carolina Clash 200 will see the best short track racers from across North America converge on the tough egg-shaped oval for the $6000 top prize. While Turner, ME’s Ben Rowe will be on quest for his sixth PASS National title, Kannapolis, NC’s Matt Craig will be going for an unprecedented third straight PASS South Super Late Model championship beginning at Dillon.
One driver hoping to end Rowe’s run of national championship success will be Hudson, NH’s Derek Griffith. In his first go at Super Late Model racing’s only national championship last year, Griffith finished third in points behind Rowe and Dave Farrington, Jr., nearly winning at Orange County Speedway last March.
“It’s going to be pretty important to get going on the right foot this season,” says Griffith, driver of the LCM Motorsports #12 Chevrolet. “We are looking to run real strong all year.”
After scoring two wins in 2017 on the PASS North Super Late Model tour, Griffith is primed to show what he can do south of the Mason-Dixon line this year. In his first start at Dillon last year, Griffith finished eighth and hopes to improve on that this weekend.
“Last year was our first time racing down in the Carolinas,” says Griffith. “Now that we’ve been down there [Dillon] once, I’m looking forward to making my return this weekend.”
Joining Griffith among the pre-entries will be PASS South title contenders Matt Craig, Kodie Conner, Tate Fogleman, Roy Hayes, and Jody Measamer. Trevor Sanborn heads the list of New Englanders, along with newcomers Jimmy Renfrew, Jr., Sammy Gooden, and Ray Christian, III, while Charles Barnes will be attempting his second PASS South start.
This weekend, action gets under way with rotating practice for all divisions from 2 – 5 PM on Friday. Then, on Saturday, practice will begin at 10 AM, followed by qualifying at 12:30 PM, and racing for the PASS Super Late Models, SuperTrucks, and UCARS beginning at 2 PM.
Entry forms for the next PASS South Super Late Model race at Caraway Speedway are currently posted at ProAllStarsSeries.com. The next PASS National Championship race will be at Thompson Speedway in Connecticut on April 8.
The Pro All Stars Series is recognized as North America’s premier sanctioning body for asphalt Super Late Models and boasts such marquee events as the legendary Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway and PASS South’s Easter Bunny 150 at the historic Hickory Motor Speedway. And for the first time ever, PASS will compete at Richmond Raceway in Virginia as part of the inaugural Commonwealth Classic in October. For technical information concerning all PASS divisions please send questions to [email protected]. For media or marketing questions, please contact Alan Dietz at 704-231-2039 or [email protected]. Please visit ProAllStarsSeries.com for more information. And, don’t forget to “Like” the Pro All Stars Series on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @PASSSLM14 to keep up with breaking news as it happens.
