by Jay | Sep 10, 2014 | PASS
Peltier Hoping For More PASS South Success At Hickory
CHARLOTTE, NC (September 9) – As Super Late Model teams from across the Southeast prepare for a return to the Hickory Motor Speedway on September 20 for the Over The Mountain 150, one thing is quite clear. In all likelihood, whoever is contending for the win will most likely have to battle Preston Peltier. Throughout the nearly 10 year history of the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model tour, no driver has seen more success at Hickory Motor Speedway than Preston Peltier.
“I think we’ve been so good there, mainly, because it’s so wore out that you have to really drive the car,” said Peltier on why he has been so successful at Hickory. “It’s a momentum racetrack which suits my driving style, but you have to take care of the tires and I think that’s what has made us so good there.”
Peltier is one of the true veterans of the PASS South Super Late Model series, competing regularly on the tour ever since it began at Hickory in 2006. But success was not quick to come to the transplanted Californian who now lives in North Carolina, working for Hendrick Motorsports on the championship rides of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. After learning the ropes at Concord Speedway’s legendary Big 10 Series, Peltier did not achieve success in the PASS South series until a win at Orange County Speedway in 2009. In 2010, Peltier scored his first win at Hickory Motor Speedway in the Easter Bunny 150 before eventually winning both the PASS South and PASS National Championships later that season. Since that first win at Hickory, Peltier has become the driver to beat there, with four wins and five quick qualifying times over the last five years.
“The key there for me is not to slip at all, period,” says Peltier. “When you’re racing somebody, when you’re driving into the corner, through the center, getting back to the throttle, if you don’t slip those tires, you’ll be fine.”
Peltier has a pair of wins in both the Easter Bunny 150 and the Over The Mountain 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway. While the Easter Bunny is usually contested in the relative cool of early Spring, the Over The Mountain 150’s late September date presents quite a different animal to drivers hoping to utilize a similar setup as they tackle the 60-year-old speedway.
“You never can tell with Hickory, you can be there in the middle of Summer or early in February for testing, it doesn’t matter, the place changes on a whim,” said Peltier. “So you never know what you’re going to get there and you’ve just got to be versatile enough to adjust for it.”
As always, another great field of the Southeast’s top Super Late Model drivers are expected at Hickory Motor Speedway for the 8th Running of the Over The Mountain 150. In addition to Peltier, local favorites Brandon Setzer and PASS South points leader and defending race winner Tyler Church will be among the contenders. PASS National Championship series points leader Tyler Dippel will be looking to build on a strong run at Hickory in April, along with championship contenders Jared Irvan, Trevor Noles, and Tate Fogleman. Local standout Taylor Stricklin will be making his PASS South debut, along with PASS Pro Late Model standout Kodie Conner and Spencer Gallagher. Brandon Lynn makes his PASS South return for Woodman Racing as a teammate to Kevin Powell. Veterans Brandon Ward, Jimmy Doyle, Clete Caywood and Ted Mickelson will each be looking for their first Hickory wins, along with up-and-coming racer Trey Jarrell.
Action gets under way on Friday, September 19th with rotating practice for all divisions from 3 -6 PM. On Saturday, September 20th, practice will start at 1 PM, followed by qualifying at 4:30 PM and racing slated to start at 6 PM. The PASS South Super Late Models will race for 150 laps, along with 50 laps for the PASS Pro Late Models, and feature racing for the USAC HPD Midgets and Legends cars.
PASS South Super Late Model entry forms for the Over The Mountain 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway can be found at ProAllStarsSeries.com.
by RacingNews | Aug 31, 2014 | PASS, Speedway 95
Hermon, Maine — Cassius Clark of Farmington survived a rough-and-tumble finish to wrestle victory away from DJ Shaw in Sunday’s Hight Chevrolet 150 Pro All Stars Series Super Late Model race at Speedway 95 in Hermon, Maine.
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by RacingNews | Aug 30, 2014 | New, PASS
Hickory Motor Speedway is a special place for stock car racing fans. A place that has seen greats such as Gwen Staley, Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett, Tommy Houston, Harry Gant, Dennis Setzer and countless others turn lap after lap around a layout that has changed very little since it first opened in 1951.
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by RacingNews | Aug 16, 2014 | New England, PASS
Throughout the stock car racing fraternity, there are families that are synonymous with certain speedways. That is certainly the case with the Burton family and South Boston Speedway. Jeff Burton and his older brother Ward honed their skills at their hometown track throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s as they began their ascent up the racing ladder. Likewise, Ward’s son, Jeb, was a staple in the track’s Late Model Stock division in recent years and has since moved on to the Truck Series. On Saturday night, Jeff’s 13-year-old-son, Harrison will continue the family tradition as he competes with the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model division in the South Boston 150.
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by Jay | Aug 15, 2014 | PASS
Harrison Burton Looking For More In PASS Return To South Boston
CHARLOTTE, NC (August 13) – Throughout the stock car racing fraternity, there are families that are synonymous with certain speedways. That is certainly the case with the Burton family and South Boston Speedway. Jeff Burton and his older brother Ward honed their skills at their hometown track throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s as they began their ascent up the racing ladder. Likewise, Ward’s son, Jeb, was a staple in the track’s Late Model Stock division in recent years and has since moved on to the Truck Series. On Saturday night, Jeff’s 13-year-old-son, Harrison will continue the family tradition as he competes with the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model division in the South Boston 150.
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by Jay | Aug 1, 2014 | PASS
It’s All About Parity As PASS South Prepares For South Boston Return
CHARLOTTE, NC (July 30) – Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model teams are currently enjoying a much needed summer break, but they are also busily preparing for the final third of the 2014 season. And one word more than any other can be used to describe the action seen so far this year…parity.
As the PASS South Super Late Models look towards their upcoming event on August 16 at South Boston Speedway in Virginia, fans and racers alike are excited to see what will happen next. Only Daniel Hemric has been able to win more than one PASS South Super Late Model race this year, and of those wins, Hemric took the lead with 12 or fewer laps to go in each of them. As a matter of fact, with the exception of Preston Peltier’s recent win at Southern National Motorsports Park and Hemric’s win in the season opener at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, there has been at least one lead change in the final five laps of every race so far this year.
Championship contenders Tyler Church and Cole Timm each have one win in 2014, with Church just 28 points ahead of Timm in the battle for the title. And, South Boston could play well into Timm’s championship hopes since he edged out Peltier there for his first career win back in June. Other winners this year include PASS North Super Late Model front runner DJ Shaw’s exciting win over Church in the Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway and Concord, NC’s Roger Lee Newton taking the checkered flag at Orange County Speedway back in April.
But, when looking even harder at the numbers, you will realize that the parity in PASS South this year goes even deeper. Of the 75 drivers who have raced in at least one PASS South event in 2014, 14 have led laps. In three of those races, Garrett Campbell at Greenville-Pickens, Gus Dean at Dillon Motor Speedway, and Brandon Ward at Southern National, each led the most laps in their respective events, but failed to take home the victory.
Add to that, several other drivers have been knocking on the door to victory, but just have not quite gotten there. Championship contenders Jared Irvan, Tyler Dippel and Trevor Noles have all led laps this year and raced in the top five. Brandon Setzer has been one of the hottest drivers in the series as of late finishing in the top 5 in four of the last five events, while fellow rookie Harrison Burton has also shown strength during the summer, leading the most laps at South Boston in June and recording a career best second place finish at Greenville-Pickens in July. Add to the mix, third generation racer Tate Fogleman who has finished in the top 10 in two of the last three races, including a strong third place finish at Southern National.
When you put all of these factors together, it is very likely that we will see even more different winners this year and, possibly, several first time winners. And, you can’t ask for much more than that when you go to see a great short track race.
Action gets under way on Friday, August 15th at South Boston Speedway with rotating practice for all divisions. On Saturday, August 16th, practice goes from 2 to 4 PM, followed by qualifying at 4:45 PM. The PASS South Super Late Models will race for 150 laps, along with Twin 75’s for the NASCAR Late Model Stocks slated to start at 7 PM.
