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PASS North
Champions Give Thanks at Awards Banquet
Rowe, Rosenfield, Hammond, Staples and McKeage
Honored for Their
’07 Titles |
NAPLES, ME (November 10,
2007) – Thanksgiving won’t take place until later this month,
but that fact didn’t keep the Northern champions of the Pro All
Stars Series (PASS) from expressing their gratitude a little bit
early.
All five Northern champions were honored on Friday night in
Westbrook, Maine, at the annual PASS Awards Banquet. That gave
the chance for the racers to thank everyone, and anyone, who
helped to make them a champion in 2007.
“I can’t thank my crew enough,” said PASS North Super Late Model
Champion Ben Rowe. “These guys bust their tails and I just show
up and drive…”
“…I’d like to thank [PASS President] Tom [Mayberry] and all of
his officials,” said PASS Outlaw Central Division champion Walt
Hammond. “It’s a real joy to go to all of these racetracks and
get in and out so quickly…”
“…I’d like to thank [runner-up] Jerry Harrison and his crew,”
said PASS Sportsman Champion Dan McKeage. “They proved us with
some tough competition all year long…”
“…I’ve got to thank my crew – all two of them…” said PASS Outlaw
Northern Division and overall champion Jimmy Rosenfield.
“…I’ve got to thank my parents for paying the bills,” said PASS
Modified champion Chris Staples. “I wouldn’t be racing without
them…”
“…I’ve got to thank my wife for putting up with me all of these
years...” continued Rosenfield.
“…Thanks to the officials,” continued Rowe. “I don’t think that
anyone realizes just how much work they do. Four or five years
ago, everyone was soaking tires and these guys cracked down and
got a handle on that...”
“…and I really need to thank all of you, too,” ended Rosenfield,
pointing out towards the assembled audience of PASS drivers, car
owners, crew members, family, friends and fans.”
If you put together those snippets from each champion, you’ll
get a feel for the dozens of people behind each winner that
contributed to their titles. The speeches were similar and the
thank-yous were heartfelt. There was also some humor and some
news that was spoken about during the festivities.
Ben Rowe joked that racing his father Mike Rowe for the PASS
North SLM championship “wasn’t the easiest thing to do.” He also
expressed a little bit of surprise that even though he was
hoping for a few days off from the family business of Rowe and
Sons Trucking to celebrate his title, his boss, father and
toughest competitor didn’t quite allow that to happen this year.
PASS president Tom Mayberry discussed the state of the PASS
divisions after giving thanks of his own to those who have made
the series successful. Mayberry told those in attendance that
the PASS North schedule for 2008 looks to be either 14-15 races
in length, with 14 of those dates announced already. He also
spoke of a planned eight to nine PASS Sportsman races and
indicated that the series is real close to putting together an
end-of-season $10,000-to-win event at Wiscasset Speedway (ME).
Mayberry went on to tell teams that the PASS Outlaw slate for
2008 will likely be eight to nine races in length and that the
Central and Northern divisions will likely be merged into one
series. He also predicted that the official schedule for the
PASS Modifieds will have 12-14 events on it.
Super Late Model racing could get a boost in 2008, with a three
to four event National SLM championship series in the works,
according to Mayberry. Beech Ridge’s PASS 300, the Mason-Dixon
Meltdown, an event at North Carolina’s Orange Country Speedway
and possibly one other race could make up that mini-series.
As for 2007, there were dozens of awards and contingency prizes
given out to teams on all of the Northern tours thanks to a list
of presenting sponsors that included Northern Race Tire, Sunoco
Racing Fuels, SafetyFX, Five Star Race Car Bodies, The Joie of
Seating, Butlerbilt, Bassett Wheels, 2nd Life Tools, AP Brakes,
Performance Friction Brakes and Tiger Rear Ends.
The 2008 PASS North season is scheduled to kick off at Beech
Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on April 19th. Other
PASS division schedules will be released shortly.
2007
PASS North Awards:
PASS North SLM Champion – Ben Rowe
PASS North SLM Northern Race Tire Rookie of the Year – Trevor
Sanborn
PASS North SLM Sportsmanship Award – Travis Benjamin
PASS North SLM Hard Luck Award – Adam Bates
PASS North SLM Most Improved Driver – Derek Ramstrom
PASS Outlaw LM Overall Champion – Jimmy Rosenfield
PASS Outlaw LM Northern Division Champion – Jimmy Rosenfield
PASS Outlaw LM Central Division Champion – Walt Hammond
PASS Outlaw Northern Race Tire Rookie of the Year – Gunnar Lee
Joselyn
PASS Outlaw Sportsmanship Award – Jay Sands
PASS Outlaw Hard Luck Award – Alan Wilson
PASS Outlaw Most Improved Driver – Jeremy Davis
PASS Modified Champion – Chris Staples
PASS Modified Northern Race Tire Rookie of the Year – Chris
Smith
PASS Modified Sportsmanship Award – Jason Taylor
PASS Modified Hard Luck Award –
Richie Morse
PASS Modified Most Improved Driver – Greg Ellis
PASS Pullen Heavy Industries Sportsman Champion – Dan McKeage
PASS Pullen Heavy Industries Sportsman Sportsmanship Award –
Robert Emery, Jr.
PASS Pullen Heavy Industries Sportsman Hard Luck Award – Nate
Weston
PASS Appreciation Award – Bruce McMahon and Jack Gerbrands
PASS Commitment to Excellence Award – Norm Marx
Lifetime Achievement Award – Don Hoenig, Thompson International
Speedway
SafetyFX Gift Certificate, PASS Sportsman – Dan McKeage
SafetyFX Gift Certificate, PASS Outlaws – Jay Sands
SafetyFX Gift Certificate, PASS Modifieds – Chris Smith
Joie of Seating Gift Certificate, PASS Sportsman – Mike Landry
Joie of Seating Gift Certificate, PASS Outlaws – Mike Thomas
Joie of Seating Gift Certificate, PASS Modifieds – Richie Morse |
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