by Jay | Nov 1, 2009 | PASS
NAPLES ME (October 28 2009) Pro All Stars Series (PASS) President Tom Mayberry announced today that the touring short track sanctioning body will not promote a non-points Thanksgiving weekend event at Southern National in Kenly, North Carolina.
“It was a difficult decision for us,” according to Mayberry, “As a series, we don’t like to cancel previously announced events. But we felt that the current economic climate and the impending auction of the property shortly before the scheduled race date would make it difficult for us to promote a successful Thanksgiving Classic at this time. I want to thank Kirk Leone, Mike Bushee, Becky Boone and the Wake County Speedway staff for working with us this season, and I hope that we may bring the Pro All Stars back to Southern National in the future.”
The Pro All Stars Series will announce its 2010 PASS North and South schedules in the very near future. Please visit PASS on the web at www.racewithpass.com or www.proallstarsseries.com . for the latest news and schedule updates.
by Jay | Oct 27, 2009 | New England, New Hampshire, PASS
Wayne Whitten nabs Lee USA PASS Mod finale
Scott Grant is the 2009 PASS Mod champion
Wayne Whitten Jr. took off from his front row starting position in Sunday’s Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Mod feature and led all the way to capture his first PASS Mod victory. Jon Brill drove up to challenge Whitten Jr. for the win but it was too little too late and Brill settled for second. Scott McDaniel wrapped up his season with yet another strong run, coming home third.
The victory was Whitten’s first under the Pro All Stars Series banner. He joins Andy Shaw (3 wins), Scott McDaniel (2 wins), Dan Somes, Steve Bennett Jr., Gary Norris Jr. and Sulo Burbank in the PASS Mod win column.
While Whitten was driving off into the sunset, Bill Dixon and Scott Grant were battling it out for the PASS Mod Championship. Grant enjoyed a ten point advantage heading into the finale and those few extra points came in handy Sunday as Dixon finished the day two spots ahead of Grant in fourth. Neither driver had a great set-up for Lee USA Sunday, but they both survived the battle and Scott Grant came away as the titlist, just a handful of points ahead of Dixon.
Grant is the first PASS Mod Champion since the series inaugural 2004 season to capture the crown without a trip to victory lane. (Mark Lucas earned the 2004 title) Grant’s five top five runs were enough to propel the Waterboro Maine racer to his first Championship.
Scott Grant, Carey Martin, Johnny Clark and Ben Rowe will be joined by their fellow racers, family fans and friends at Verillo’s Conference Center in South Portland ME on Friday November 7th to celebrate their respective series championship.
For complete banquet information and final point standings for all six 2009 series visit www.racewithpass.com or www.proallstarsseries.com .
Unofficial Finish PASS Mod 30 lap feature – Lee USA Speedway – 10/25/09
1) 4 Wayne Whitten Jr. Arundel ME 2) 77 Jon Brill Bridgeton ME 3) 14 Scott McDaniel Livermore ME 4) 33 Billy Dixon, North Waterboro ME 5) 50 Sumner Sessions Norway ME 6) 27 Scott Grant Waterboro ME 7) 53 Richard Ferriera Raynham MA 8) 56x Wanderson Oliviera Raynham MA 9) 75 Glenn Boss 10) 36 Wayne Maranda 11) 56 Dan Somes, Belgrade ME
by Jay | Oct 26, 2009 | PASS
PASS South: Johnny Clark is the Man of the Hour at Greenville-Pickens
Ben Rowe claims PASS South title
Naples, ME 10/26/09- The 2009 season finale for the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South super late models is officially in the books and for the second straight year, a driver by the name of Johnny Clark has closed out the southern schedule as the final event winner. Last year the 2008 PASS North champ took the win at the Mason Dixon Meltdown as the tour finished out at the South Boston Speedway while this year he duplicated the feat, claiming both the PASS North title and winning at the PASS South “Howler” finale at Greenville-Pickens Speedway to wrap up the 2009 season. Johnny held off another veteran in Jay Fogleman for the win. Fogleman showed true grit Saturday after starting the day at the hospital with symptoms of the flu. DJ Shaw was third followed by Ben Rowe in fourth and Randy Porter fifth.
The 125 lap “Howler” was only slowed for two cautions, allowing for tons of green flag racing. A pair of veterans in Porter and Fogleman led the field to green after the series’ mandatory redraw of the top ten qualifiers. Justin Wakefield, who was the quickest in qualifying, would start the race from the ninth position. Close racing between the pair provided the majority of the action for the first half of the event until the yellow flag waived for the first time on lap sixty. Many of the top ten took the opportunity to make adjustments to their cars including second place man Fogleman.
The pit stops gave Johnny Clark track position, allowing him to get around Preston Peltier on lap seventy-eight for the lead and he never looked back. Several hard charges by DJ Shaw were answered each and every time by Clark. Just as in the first half, Jay Fogleman stole the show in the second half as he was the highest finishing car who pitted during the lap sixty caution period.
The man of the hour might have been Johnny Clark but the man of the year was Ben Rowe. Rowe captured the PASS South super late model Championship in a way unheard of in all forms of auto racing. The Maine driver made sixteen round-trips south wheeling cars for four different race teams over the fourteen race schedule on his way to becoming the 2009 PASS South series champion. PASS South Rookie of the Year Ryan Blaney impressed with second in the final standings, and Preston Peltier parlayed three race wins to a strong third place in the points.
Rowe capped off a dream season with his second Pro All Stars Series title in as many weeks. Seven days prior he earned his fourth PASS South win of the season on his way to capturing the four race PASS National Championship series. Rowe chased Johnny Clark for the PASS North title all season long as well, eventually finishing second to Clark with two PASS North wins and twelve top ten finishes along the way.
While this weekend’s Howler 125 closed out the action for the Pro All Stars Series in 2009, fans won’t have to wait near as long as they have in the past to see the stars of the series back in action. On January 29th and 30th 2010 the first ever PASS Florida Winterfest will take place at New Smyrna, Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway. Details of the event will be announced in the coming weeks.
For more information including schedules, standings, and results for all PASS sanctioned touring series visit their home on the web at www.racewithpass.com. For marketing or media questions contact Norm Desjardins at 603-539-3368 or for technical
information contact Scott Reed at 207-625-3230.
Unofficial Results – PASS South super late model “Howler” 125 – Greenville Pickens Speedway 10/24/2009
1
54
Johnny Clark
2
4S
Jay Fogleman
3
60
DJ Shaw
4
4N
Ben Rowe
5
32
Randy Porter
6
47
Corey Williams
7
98
Justin Wakefield
8
32x
Corey Gibson
9
2
Ralph Carnes
10
62
Brandon Ward
11
23
Lonnie Sommerville
12
10
Ryan Blaney
13
5
Preston Peltier
14
48
John Batten
15
91
Heath Hindman
16
02
Tim Nooner
17
71
Jimmy Doyle
18
88
Tom Stokes
19
8
Cassius Clark
20
29
Austin Northcutt
21
28
Terry Horak
22
80
Shannon Mines
23
20
Steven Legendre
24
35
Devin Jones
25
93
Tayla Orleans
by Jay | Oct 23, 2009 | NASCAR, New England, Thompson
Whelen Modified Tour Championship To Be Settled This Sunday At Thompson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 22, 2009) – When the green flag drops on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s season finale – the World Series of Speedway Racing presented by Xtra Mart – this Sunday at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway, the waiting game will finally be over.
Donny Lia took his fourth checkered flag of the season last time out on Oct. 4 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway and moved into the championship points lead for the first time this year. The 2007 titlist has little breathing room atop the standings, however, as Ryan Preece crossed the line third that day to sit a mere 26 points out of first.
After a scheduled off week, the 2009 championship was to be settled at Thompson on Oct. 18, but rain and snow forced the event to be postponed. Now with a more promising forecast, the World Series of Speedway Racing looks likely to take the green flag this Sunday, and the Whelen Modified Tour champion will finally be crowned. The three-week layoff has led to heightened anticipation for both title contenders.
“I’m really pumped up and excited to go to Thompson,” Lia said. “It’s been about three weeks since we raced, and it was supposed to be two weeks, so you just get amped up. You want to go to the race track and race. These three weeks off has seemed like forever.”
Preece – like Lia – has avoided getting impatient, but is likewise anticipating returning to the track.
“I’m ready to race,” Preece said. “You get all these people talking about the championship – who they want to win, who wants to win – that kind of deal. You kind of just want it to come, and get it over with. I’m just looking forward to the race, and seeing if we can pull it off.”
While both have not lost sight of the big picture, they intend to bring the same mentality to the track this weekend that they have each and every race this year: race to win.
“You go to every race to win the race,” Preece said. “That’s what you’re paid to do. That’s what we want. We’re definitely going [there] to win the race, and we have the car and the team capable of doing it. I’m definitely going there looking to win the race, and let the points fall wherever they do.”
Although Lia has a points cushion entering the weekend, don’t expect him to ride around on Sunday either.
“You kind of stick to the same principles and same goals, which is to win the race,” Lia said. “We always just go for the win and get the best finish we can. Just take the same approach to it, try to win the race and let everything else fall into place from there.”
Lia can clinch his second NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour crown in three years by finishing fifth or better at Thompson, but with Preece so close behind, there are a number of scenarios that will make every lap important in the season finale.
The World Series of Speedway Racing presented by Xtra Mart is scheduled to commence for the Whelen Modified Tour with practice and qualifying on Saturday, Oct. 25. The 150-lap race is set to go green on Sunday, Oct. 25 at approximately 3:30 p.m.
by Jay | Oct 23, 2009 | New Hampshire, PASS
Naples ME (October 22, 2009) There’s two title battles on tap for the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) this weekend, and the tightest is in the PASS Mods where Scott Grant leads Andy Shaw by a scant eight points heading into the season finale at Lee (NH) USA Speedway’s Oktoberfest .
The top three are only separated by ten markers with Bill Dixon holding down the third spot. It would take some doing for Steve Bennett Jr. or Scott McDaniel to capture the cro0wn; the pair is nineteen and twenty seven points back respectively. Certainly they both have a shot at advancing in the standings, if not capturing the championship outright.
There are fourteen divisions of racing on tap at Lee USA this weekend. The weekend kicks off on Friday October 23rd with practice from 3:00 to 7:00 PM, with a Pizza/Karaoke party to follow. On Saturday October 24th the action gets underway in earnest with practice from noon until 2:00 PM and qualifying races right after practice. Sunday October 25th it’s feature racing only and the first feature of the day will roll off at noon.
For all the details on Oktoberfest, point your browser to www.leeusaspeedway.com . The Pro All Stars Series is on line at www.racewithpass.com or www.proallstarsseries.com
by Jay | Oct 22, 2009 | PASS
Brandon Ward to Pilot #62 for New Day Motorsports in PASS South finale at Greenville-Pickens
CHARLOTTE, NC (October 20) – New Day Motorsports owner Jeff Day announced today that veteran driver Brandon Ward will take over the #62 Yarbrough Transfer/Texas Pete Chevrolet in this weekend’s Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South regular season finale. In a one race deal, Ward will pilot the car formerly driven by Mark Gibson in Saturday night’s Howler 125 at the Greenville-Pickens Speedway.
“I’m really excited to have this opportunity to drive the Yarbrough Transfer/Texas Pete Chevy this weekend at Greenville,” said Ward. “Jeff [Day] and I have worked together this year with my Pro Cup car and I’m glad we’ve been able to put this deal together. I’ve driven a lot of different types of cars over the years, but not a Super Late Model. The PASS series is one of the most competitive in the country and I can’t wait to see what I can do with those guys.”
The relationship between Jeff Day and Brandon Ward goes back several years, but stepped up a level when Day began consulting in 2009 on Ward’s Mac Hill Motorsports ride in the USAR Pro Cup Series. Although highlighted by a second place finish in this year’s PASS National Series with Mark Gibson behind the wheel, an otherwise disappointing season led Day to make a change with his team.
“I felt like the chemistry between Mark [Gibson] and I just wasn’t there,” said Day. “We’ve worked hard the last few years and I appreciate Mark and his entire family for the effort we put forth, but I think to grow we both needed to go in a different direction. Brandon’s a heck of a talent and I think he will be a great addition to the PASS family.”
Brandon Ward’s racing career started in Go-Karts in 1989 where he won multiple championships over the next ten years. Ward then moved to the NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series finishing a career high third in points in 2004. Ward won three races in his NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series career at Bristol Motor Speedway, Motordrome Speedway, and Kentucky Speedway. From there, Ward moved on to the UARA-STARS Late Model Stock series where he won the championship in 2006. Ward currently competes in the USAR Pro Cup Series driving the #56 Mac Hill Motorsports Chevrolet. After winning Rookie-Of-The-Year honors in 2007, Ward is a championship contender with two wins so far in 2009.
New Day Motorsports has been an integral part of the PASS South Series since 2006. The team scored it’s best finish with the series last year in the Piedmont Pride 125 at the Caraway Speedway finishing fourth after leading the most laps. New Day Motorsports finished in the top ten in PASS South points in 2007 and 2008 and finished second in this year’s PASS National Series behind champion Ben Rowe.
