PASS Doubleheader Weekend Begins At Concord And Ends At Thunder Road
CHARLOTTE, NC (May 23) – A busy Memorial Day weekend for short track racing fans all along the East Coast is on tap as the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) gets set to embark on another memorable doubleheader of action. Southeast race fans will get a treat on Friday night in the Old Glory 125 at Concord Speedway when the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Models and Southern Modified Racing Series (SMRS) Tour Mods compete together in a rare doubleheader. While New Englanders will get to see the Northeast’s best Super Late Models tackle the high banks of Thunder Road Sunday afternoon in the 56th Annual Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic 150.
The Memorial Day weekend kickoff will see the two most powerful asphalt series in the South compete together for only the second time this year on Friday night at Concord Speedway when PASS South and the SMRS Tour Mods hit the half-mile, along with the MASS Street Stocks and Challenger cars.
The Southeast’s oldest and most prestigious Super Late Model tour will be led to Friday night’s Old Glory 125 by Kannapolis, NC teenager, Matt Craig. Craig leads the PASS South Super Late Model points as he seeks an unprecedented third straight series title. He began racing at Concord Speedway’s quarter-mile in Legends cars. The family-owned C&C Boilers #54 has a long and storied history at Concord Speedway, piloted by drivers like Rodney Childers, Clay Rogers, and Jeff Fultz. Craig comes to Concord this year full of optimism following his first at win there in last year’s North-South Shootout.
“I love racing at Concord because that track is so hard that you really have to race the racetrack,” says Craig. “I think Friday night will be a great race because there is going to be some tough competition and that makes for tight racing.”
In Vermont on Sunday afternoon, PASS North competitors will tackle a completely different animal from Concord’s triangular half-mile. Thunder Road International Speedbowl is almost literally a bowl, a tight quarter-mile, with some of the highest banks in the region. Former champions, Travis Benjamin and last year’s Thunder Bowl winner, DJ Shaw, are locked in a tight battle for the championship, Reid Lanpher and Derek Griffith remain in close contact with the leaders.
It all gets under way this weekend on Thursday afternoon at Concord Speedway, with rotating practice from 4 – 7:15 PM. Then on Friday, rotating practice goes from 1:30 – 4:25 PM, followed by qualifying at 5 PM, and features at 7 PM for the PASS South Super Late Models, SMRS Tour Modifieds, MASS Street Stocks, and Challenger cars. At Thunder Road, rotating practice begins Sunday morning at 10 AM, followed by heat races at 1:30 PM, and features for the PASS North Super Late Models, Late Models, Flying Tigers, Street Stocks, and Road Warriors.
PASS Super Late Model entry forms for, Concord Speedway, Thunder Road International Speedbowl, Petty International Raceway, and Speedway 95, along with the 45th Annual Oxford 250, can be found at ProAllStarsSeries.com.
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, PASS South’s Easter Bunny 150 at the historic Hickory Motor Speedway, and the inaugural PASS Commonwealth Classic at Richmond Raceway.
