by Jay | Aug 24, 2009 | PASS
Naples, ME 8/24/09- Saturday August 29th the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South super late models make their third and final trip to the “Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars,” Hickory(NC) Motor Speedway. So far this season, two different drivers have scored wins at the 3/8th mile bullring. First being Ben Rowe who claimed his first Easter Bunny 150 win in March and then on July 5th Justin Wakefield finally broke his string of bad luck to score his first win of the ’09 season. With several new names expected to be in attendance, this year’s version of the Over the Mountain 150 may be the best one yet.
One driver who will be showing up for nothing less than the winner’s trophy will be Riverview, Florida driver Perry Brown who will be making his 2009 series debut. Brown collected his one and only series win at the Watermelon Capital Speedway on his way to a third place finish in the 2008 final championship points standings. Other expected entries include Michael Pope and Alex Yontz who really turned heads in his first ever super late model start at Orange County Speedway on August 8th. Possibly the most anticipated entry will be that of Andy Loden, who has won the last three NASCAR late model stock car championships at the track, proving he knows his way around the place. However; super late models are a new venture for the Stanley, North Carolina based race team as he and his team are coming off of a fourteenth place finish in their first ever super late model start at Five Flags Speedway’s Blizzard series event on August 7th.
Championship leader Ben Rowe can now hopefully turn his focus more on his return to victory lane as he has built a comfortable but not insurmountable fifty-two point lead over second place man Ryan Blaney during the summer months of racing. With just four races before the ’09 season comes to a close, it leaves little time for sixteen year old Ryan Blaney to pick up his first career win. Blaney has been a factor each and every race yet trouble has hit his High Point, North Carolina based race team time and time again. Heath Hindman, who has been a staple in the series since 2007, has come on as of late notching a pair of top fives in the last two races. This recent success mixed with returning to the track where he scored his one and only PASS South series win in 2007 is more than enough motivation for the hard charging Hindman to do it again this year.
Preston Peltier, Jay Fogleman, Mark Gibson, Ryan Moore and a whole pack of the fastest cars and stars in the southeast will be looking to notch a Pro All Stars Series win at the famed Hickory oval.
The super late models won’t be the only PASS sanctioned series in action as the PASS Late Model Trucks will make their third start of the year at the famed track. While the first year series is still growing with each event, this has not taken away from the fact that the quality of racing hasn’t been anything less than stellar. Grant Davidson, who is the championship points leader and four time feature winner, as well as Jody Measamer have each scored wins at Hickory this season.
Tickets still remain for the Over the Mountain 150 at the Hickory Motor Speedway including a great two for one general admission ticket deal. For more information contact the track directly at www.hickorymotorspeedway.com or call 828-464-3655.
PASS time trials roll out at 3:00 PM and the racing action gets the green at 6:15 PM. All the drivers will meet and greet their fans on the front stretch at 7:30 PM, and the PASS South Over the Mountain 150 is scheduled for an 8:15 (approx) start.
For more information including schedules, standings, and results for all PASS sanctioned touring series visit their home on the web at www.racewithpass.com or www.proallstarsseries.com . For marketing or media questions contact Norm Desjardins at 603-539-3368 or for technical information contact Scott Reed at 207-625-3230.
by Jay | Aug 24, 2009 | Beech Ridge, Maine, New England, PASS
Naples ME (8/24/2009) It’s been four months since Ben Rowe captured the first round of the four race Pro All Stars Series (PASS) National Championship Series at Hickory (NC) Motor Speedway, but the series will heat up in earnest when the National Championship trail leads to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on September 12 and 13th for the PASS 300.
There’s still three weeks before the series takes to the beautiful Scarborough Maine oval for their biggest event of the season, but the early entries are already rolling in.
The PASS South super late model contingent is already well represented. Teen sensation Ryan Blaney, three time 2009 PASS South winner Jay Fogleman, PASS South stalwarts Jeff and Jane Day’s entry with Mark Gibson at the wheel and John Batten have already filed entries, and there’s more to come from the south.
Bub Bilodeau has what it takes to race with PASS anytime, anywhere. Bilodeau is a multi-time Beech Ridge Pro Series champion, and he’s the first home track regular to to file an entry for the 300 lap showdown. PASS North touring pro Richie Dearborn cut his racing teeth at the Ridge, and his was the first entry blank to arrive at the PASS office.
Adam Bates has been tough to beat at Beech Ridge; he’s got two wins under his belt and ran a close second to 2008 PASS 300 race winner and series champ Johnny Clark. He’ll be trying to better that by one spot but Clark will be back to try and make it two “300s” in a row.
There’s a whole lot of racing on tap over the course of the weekend. On Saturday all divisions will qualify and the Wildcats, Road Runners and Legends will have their feature events. Sunday kicks off with the PASS 300 “B” main for the super late models. Then it’s 100 laps for the PASS Sportsman division, a 50 lap shootout for the PASS Mods and the $10,000.00 to win PASS Super Late Model 300.
Entry blanks for the Wildcats, PASS Sportsman and PASS Super Late Models are available now at www.racewithpass.com .
The races go green at noon on both Saturday and Sunday. Check out the complete PASS 300 entry list by visiting www.racewithpass.com or www.proallstarsseries.com . Beech Ridge Motor Speedway is on line at www.beechridge.com .
by Jay | Aug 23, 2009 | ACT, New England, New Hampshire, Riverside Speedway
St-Croix, QC – Donald Theetge of Boischatel, QC scored his second win of the season at the Riverside 150 at Riverside Speedway in St-Croix, Quebec. Theetge is now the all-time win leader for the Serie ACT Castrol with 14 career wins. Theetge was chased to the line by Sylvain Lacombe and Patrick Hamel, the only other two on the lead lap.
Jacques Poulin came home fourth followed by Karl Allard, Dany Ouellet, Patrick Cliche, Eric St-Gelais, Stephane Descoste, and David Michaud to complete the top ten respectively.
Unofficially Theetge now moves back into the point lead after Patrick Laperle had rearend issues. Laperle had to replace his rearend after it broke in his heat race. His crew got it repaired in time for the feature, but Laperle had to start in 25th. Laperle moved from his 25th starting position through the field and into the lead by lap 22. He then led until lap 98 and lapped the majority of the field in the process. On the 99th circuit his rearend let go again and he was done for the day.
Sylvain Lacombe then inherited the lead. After battling Stephane Descoste for about 17 laps, Theetge moved into the lead and held on until the checkers. Theetge has already qualified for the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19th. Therefore the number of qualifiers remains at 14 including a representative from 8 different states/provinces. Over 50 teams will be at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this Tuesday, August 25 and Wednesday, August 26 for a “Test and Tune” session to prepare for the historical event.
Next weekend, Saturday, August 29, is the Coors Light Showdown 200 at Autodrome Chaudiere. The all-star race includes 11 of the best ACT Tour competitors against 11 of the best Serie ACT Castrol drivers. The Showdown kicks off the American Canadian Tour’s Money Month, where $250,000 in purse money will be rewarded to late model teams from August 29 to September 27 in the biggest five races of the year.
Unofficial Serie ACT Castrol Riverside 150
Riverside Speedway, St-Croix, QC
Pos Car # Driver Laps
1 80 Donald Theetge 150
2 3 Sylvain Lacombe 150
3 51PQ Patrick Hamel 150
4 97PQ Jacques Poulin 149
5 48QC Karl Allard 149
6 28QC Dany Ouellet 149
7 5QC Patrick Cliche 149
8 42 Eric St-Gelais 149
9 10QC Stéphane Descoste 148
10 40QC David Michaud 148
11 92 Jonathan Desbiens 148
12 25 Marco Savoie 147
13 99 Derek White 146
14 27 Alexandre Gingras 145
15 30 Stéphane Durand 131
16 21QC Jean-François Déry 123
17 15QC Kevin Roberge 115
18 9PQ Yvon Bédard 111
19 03 Martin Lacombe 105
20 91 Patrick Laperle 99
21 2 Daniel Descoste 95
22 12QC Etienne Lemay 89
23 17ON Justin Holtom 88
24 26QC Valerie Chiasson 63
25 98 Brandon White 16
26 11PQ Claude Leclerc 4
by Jay | Aug 21, 2009 | NASCAR, New England, Thunder Road
Waterbury, VT – NASCAR Sprint Cup rising star David Ragan, driver of the UPS car for Rousch-Fenway, will race at Barre, Vermont’s Thunder Road in the Vermont State Employees Credit Union (VSECU) 100-lap final Thursday summer event on August 27th.
Ragan, who represents the new generation of racers, joins NASCAR veterans Bobby Allison, Richard Petty and current point leader Tony Stewart who have made appearances during the 2009 season to help celebrate Thunder Road’s 50th Anniversary. Ragan will drive a Pete Duto-prepared, Phil Scott Ford ACT race car, and will compete in the VSECU 100-lap event. Ragan plans to arrive early to get some seat time on the tricky high banks of Thunder Road.
Unadilla, Georgia’s Ragan is an accomplished short track racer. “I have heard so much about Thunder Road that I really jumped at the opportunity to race there this summer. I love the short tracks, and from what I hear, the atmosphere at Thunder Road is fantastic. I hope I get it figured out by the end of the 100 laps,”said Ragan.
Ragan is a supporter of the Shriners organization. He donates all the proceeds from the sale of his die cast Shriner’s cars to the Shriner’s Hospital. They will be on sale at the Thunder Road event.
The ‘’King of the Road” title will also be settled at the VSECU 100 . Jean-Paul Cyr from Milton, VT, who is chasing his first Thunder Road title and sits in a comfortable first place going into the final event of 2009, has battled former track champions David Pembroke, Phil Scott, and Cris Michaud all season. Cyr, a seven-time American Canadian Tour Champion said, “ Our goal was to try and win the Thunder Road title. I sure didn’t get off to a great start, but Jeff (Laquerre) and the guys have really gotten the car to work well lately. It is some different trying to win races at Thunder Road in 50 laps from what I have been used to on the ACT Tour over the years, but it has been fun and unbelievably competitive.”
The final Thursday night of the season will also be celebrated with the largest fireworks in Thunder Road history. In addition, over 100 ‘old timers’ will help bring the curtain down on the 50th year of Thursday night racing.
Post time for the VESECU 100 is 6:00 and front gates open at 3:00 for the VESECU 100. Adult tickets are only $12.00 and a family ticket for two adults and two children between 6-12 is only $25.00. Kids under 6 are free.
The American Canadian Tour (ACT) $40,000 Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 will take place over the Labor Day weekend, on Sunday, September 6, 2009.
by Jay | Aug 20, 2009 | NASCAR
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Donny Lia overcame a late-race miscue to capture the inaugural UNOH Perfect Storm 150 at Bristol Motor Speedway Wednesday night.
Lia led 40 of the final 43 laps en route to his second NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win of the season. He jumped a restart on lap 138 and briefly lost the lead to Ted Christopher when race officials ordered him to give his advantage back. However, Lia drove back by Christopher three laps later to take the lead for good.
Lia, who won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June, beat Christopher to the line by 3.126 seconds in the first event for the NASCAR Whelen Modified and Whelen Southern Modified Tours at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.”
Ryan Preece finished third while George Brunnhoelzl III was the top finishing NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour driver in the combination race. Woody Pitkat rounded out the top five.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour proved once again to be strong in the combination race format, which sees both Tours compete for one purse, but receive points based on their finish against other drivers on their tour. Including Lia and Christopher, eight of the top 10 cars across the line were from the Whelen Modified Tour.
Brunnhoelzl will be credited with first-place points and a win for the Whelen Southern Modified Tour standings.
The rest of the top 10 consisted of Todd Szegedy, Rowan Pennink, Ed Flemke Jr., Burt Myers and Erick Rudolph.
It appeared to be Christopher’s race to win the majority of the race. Fastest in the first two practice sessions, the defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion led the first 107 circuits.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman finished 28th and 37th, respectively. Newman was caught in an accident on the second lap of the race and Kahne retired on Lap 100 with engine failure.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will next race Saturday, Aug, 29 at Chemung (N.Y.) Speedrome. The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified will also return to the track Saturday, Aug. 29 at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C.
by Jay | Aug 20, 2009 | NASCAR
BRISTOL, Tenn.—Kyle Busch ended Ron Hornaday Jr.’s five-race winning streak, capturing Wednesday night’s O’Reilly 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Busch took the lead on Lap 124 after a lengthy side-by-side battle with Jason White and was a comfortable 2.721 seconds ahead of runner-up Matt Crafton by the time the checkered flag appeared.
“It’s a fun place to race,” Busch said after collecting his third truck win of the season. “I knew we would come here with a fast truck; we’ve been fast every time we’ve come here. … It’s good to be back, finally.”
Hornaday, polesitter Ryan Newman and Brian Scott rounded out the top five.
“Anytime Kyle and I get together, we know we can win races,” crew chief Richie Wauters said. “We thought about (pitting a second time), but the tires are so hard here, they’re not falling off. … We decided to stay out, and it was the right call.”
Wauters replaced Doug George atop the pit box heading into this week’s race.
Busch led twice for 82 laps en route to his 12th career win in the series. White led one time for 86.
Hornaday, running in the top 10, restarted in 17th after pitting during the night’s first caution. He worked his way back into the top 10 and was safely inside the top five at the finish. After winning five consecutive races, Hornaday said he was “just glad (the streak) is over so you guys will stop asking me about it.”
“Bristol is the toughest one. (I) just left a lot out there,” Hornaday said. “Top five is what we needed for points. It’s been pretty cool.”
Hornaday remains atop the standings and leads Crafton by 211 points. Mike Skinner, who had to pit late under green, finished 20th and remained third in the standings.
