Naples ME ( 10/8/09) The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South super late model teams roll into South Boston (VA) Speedway next weekend for their longest (250 laps) and richest ($44,100 purse) race of 2009 and the PASS National Champion will be crowned when the checkered flag falls.
The Mason-Dixon Meltdown is fast becoming a fall tradition. With 250 laps on tap for the PASS super late models and another 250 lap feature for late model stock cars, the popular event will give the fans in the stands their fill of side by side, nose to tail full fendered short track racing that the Virginia oval is famous for.
The Meltdown is the final round of the four race PASS National Championship series, where Ben Rowe holds a comfortable 57 point lead over Mark Gibson and 71 points over Ryan Blaney for the title. Rowe has been dominant in the series, winning races one and three at Hickory Motor Speedway and Southern National and finishing third at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. Those are numbers that are hard to beat, giving Rowe the inside track for the title.
The PASS National Champion will receive a Leavitt Racing Components super late model chassis and a complete Quarter Master racing clutch, bell housing and starter package in addition to the Champions hardware. That’s an additional $7,500.00 in product awards for the four race series plus all the cash that’s on the line.
Rowe also carries a 56 point lead into race 13 of the 14 race PASS South series standings. Rookie Ryan Blaney, Preston Peltier, Justin Wakefield and Heath Hindman sit second through fifth. The Turner Maine racer has four PASS North super late model titles on his resume and hopes to join his father Mike Rowe, the inaugural PASS South Champion in 2006, as a PASS South title holder.
Practice for both divisions is set for Friday, October 16 from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM. Grandstand gates will open at 3:00 PM on Friday and will be followed by time trials for both races at 4:00 PM.
The Grandstand gates swing open on Saturday October 17 at 11:00 AM. A NASCAR Late Model last chance 50-lap race will get the green flag at noon and will be followed by a Fan Appreciation Session on the four-tenths mile asphalt oval. The first feature race of the day will get the green flag at 3:00 PM.