2010 PASS




			Photos by Norm Marx

Chase Elliott Captures PASS Labor Day
Classic 200 at North Wilkesboro Speedway

14-Year-Old Georgia Racer Puts His Name in
the Record Books 14 Years after Last Major Event
at the Historic North Carolina Track

The PASS South Super Late Models headed to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, for “The Labor Day Classic 200” event at the track on Saturday, September 4th, 2010 - the first major racing event at the facility since Jeff Gordon won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series back in 1996. After Andy Loden set a new track record during qualifying 14-year-old Chase Elliott, son of legendary NASCAR racer Bill Elliott, drove his #9 machine to victory lane as the first major touring series winner in the past 14 years at the track, a place where his father ran strong but never claimed a victory.

“This is pretty cool,” said Chase Elliott in victory lane. “For them (his father’s NASCAR race team) to not get a win here was big because they dominated back in those years. It is really cool to be a part of the names that won here.”

The PASS Super Late Models made their way to the track for qualifying on the 0.625 mile facility under a warm North Carolina sun. Going out eighth in line, Loden broke the track record set on April 17th, 1994 by Ernie Irvan with a lap of 18.815 seconds.

“It’s awesome,” said Loden after qualifying. “The track is in really good shape. I am just glad to be here. Tom Mayberry (PASS President) has done a really good job putting this thing together and I am really glad we got this thing going here at North Wilkesboro after 14 years.”

After the top-10 redraw fifth-place qualifier Kenzie Ruston was to start on the outside pole alongside ninth-place qualifier Jody Lavender, but a problem with her car sent her to the pits before the green flag dropped, moving fourth-place qualifier Devin Jones to the outside front row. When the green flag dropped, Lavender took off and led early with Jones and Ryan Blaney in tow. The driver on the move in the early laps of the race was Elliott, who moved into the fourth spot from ninth before lap 25.

The first yellow flag flew on lap 34 for a heavy amount of fluids on the race track, which came out from underneath of Trey Mitchell’s #47 machine. Mitchell spun in his own fluids in turn two with Samantha Vannoy also going around on the slick track, but both were able to keep their cars out of the wall. Vannoy was able to continue, but Mitchell headed to the garage.

On the restart, Lavender was able to maintain the lead with Jones in second, followed by Blaney, Elliott and Loden.

The second yellow flag flew on lap 36, just a few laps after the first restart, when both Justin Allison and Joey Coulter went for a spin on the front stretch. They were both able to get their cars turned around and tagged the rear of the field.

The following restart almost turned into a disaster for the entire field as Blaney appeared to have missed a shift coming up to speed. The field scattered down the front stretch with cars diving for a spot to go. Blaney was able to get back up to speed, but lost multiple positions in the process.

At the 50-lap mark Lavender continued to pace the field with Jones, Elliott, Loden and Blaney running in the top-five positions. Over the following 30 laps the battle was for second position as Elliott tried everything he could to get around Jones for the spot. Elliott was able to finally get around Jones, putting him into the second spot before the halfway mark. Loden was also able to work his way around Jones for third with Jones and Blaney rounding out the top five at the crossed flags with only 10 cars on the lead lap.

Over the next 28 laps Elliott worked his way to the back bumper of Lavender and multiple times pulled to his inside, but backed out as he seemed content to ride in the second position.

The third yellow flag flew at lap 128 for debris, which set up pit stops for the leaders. Winning the battle off pit road was Elliott, who was followed by Lavender and Loden, but Loden had to pit once again as he left his pits with the fuel can attached to the car. Blaney, Jimmy Weller and Derek Ramstrom were penalized for pulling down too early to pit and had to restart at the tail of the field. Blaney made his way back to pit road before the restart with a problem with his car, taking him off the lead lap and out of contention for the win.

On the restart Elliott jumped out to the lead with Joey Coulter running in the second position. Lavender, Corey Williams and Jones rounded out the top-five running order with only nine cars on the lead lap. For the next 50 laps Elliott set a torrid pace out front, leaving the rest of the field in his wake.

The fourth yellow came out on lap 186 as Brandon Ward slammed the wall in turn two, doing significant damage to his #62 machine, but he was able to get out of his car and was ok.

On the restart with fewer than 15 laps remaining, Elliott and Lavender lead Jones, Coulter, Williams, Loden, Alex Fleming and Ramstrom to the green flag as the only cars on the lead lap. Lavender was able to get the jump on the outside, reclaiming the top spot, but a yellow just a few laps later for a spin in turn four by Preston Peltier reset the field once again. This time Lavender was on the inside of Elliott for the restart. Showing power at the end of the race, Elliott ran on the outside of Lavender for two laps before finally clearing him, putting himself back into the lead and into victory lane.

“Early in the race I was just there running with what the car would give me,” said Elliott. “I didn’t want to wear the tires out and we just wanted to see what we would have for the second half of the race. The car was good, but we still need to work with it. I think everyone needs to get a race here to get the cars where we need them for when we come back. There is nothing that simulates what we do in the race.

“The restart where I lost the lead, I lost sight of the flagman. I just screwed it up. I thought I had a shot there after I got going since there were still about 15 laps to go, but then we got the second caution.”

Lavender was looking for the checkered flag first in the closing laps, but had to settle for second.

“All in all, I can’t complain,” said Lavender. “I thought I had him, but he passed me clean and got me on the high side. At the end I was spinning my tires and got sideways. I told my guys there at the end that tire conservation went out the window and I was going for the win. Unfortunately Chase was a little bit better than us in the end.”

Even though Loden wanted the win, he was satisfied with setting the track record and finishing third.

“It was a pretty good run,” said Loden. “It was a good points day for us and I know we gained some. Having the track record is a bonus for being able to race here.”

Coulter and Jones rounded out the top five.

In the 50-lap Limited Late Model division feature, Jesse Little took the lead on the start of the race from pole-setter Mack Little III, but a few laps later, Mack Little took the top spot and never looked back to take the first victory of the afternoon, prior to the PASS South race. Rock Harris, Ryan Robertson, Andy Favre and Jesse Little rounded out the top five.

In the 25-lap Stadium Stock feature, Randy Freeze took the early lead from the pole without much of a challenge during the first half of the race but during the second half Wayne Hill made his presence known, taking the top spot. With fewer than five laps remaining, Michael Tucker worked his way to the front and held on to win the feature. Hill, Freeze, Chuck Wall and Brandon Brendle rounded out the top five.

In the 35-lap Allison Legacy Series feature, Justin Allison led early from the pole position and looked like he was on his way to victory lane, but a torrid battle midway through the race shuffled him out of the top spot, putting Garrett Bunch in the lead. After a late-race restart, Bunch went for a ride after battling hard for the win with Gus Dean, receiving damage, taking him out of the chance for the victory. Dean was able to take the green flag with just a few laps to go, holding on to win the event. Allison, Tyler Hill, Jantzen Stirewalt and Quinn Fowler rounded out the top five.

Round four of the five-race PASS National Championship series gets the green on Sunday September 12th at Scarborough Maine’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. The PASS 400 weekend will see qualifying take place on Saturday September 11.

The PASS South Super Late Model Series will be back in action Saturday, September 25th, at Hickory Motor Speedway (NC) for the “Over the Mountain 150.”

Unofficial Results - PASS South Labor Day Classic 200
North Wilkesboro (NC) Speedway – 9/4/2010

1 - 9 - Chase Elliott - 200
2 - 115 - Jody Lavender - 200
3 - 29 - Andy Loden - 200
4 - 16 - Joey Coulter - 200
5 - 35 - Devin Jones- 200
6 - 05 - Alex Fleming - 200
7 - 35n - Derek Ramstrom - 200
8 - 1x - Corey Williams - 200
9 - 23 - Jimmy Weller - 199
10 - 4s - Jay Fogleman - 198
11 - 74 - Justin Allison - 197
12 - 60 - DJ Shaw - 197
13 - 91 - Heath Hindman - 197

14 - 10 - Ryan Blaney - 195
15 - 26 -Preston Peltier - 194
16 - 80 - Dean Clattenburg - 19
17 - 19 - Chris Bohlman - 186
18 - 62 - Brandon Ward- 183
19 - 42 - Tim Pinion - 79
20 - 98 - Justin Wakefield - 52
21 - 48 - John Batten - 46
22 - 47 - Trey Mitchell - 33
23 - 14 - Samantha Vannoy - 32
24 - 20 - Steven Legendre - 22
25 - 39 - Kenzie Ruston - 2

*Friday Practice at North Wilkesboro*






*Photos by Norm Marx*

Allison Brothers Named Grand Marshals as
PASS Brings Racing Back to North Wilkesboro

CHARLOTTE, NC (September 1) – Few motorsports events have generated as much buzz as the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) plan to bring racing back to the Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway slated for this weekend. The PASS South Super Late Models will race for 200 laps and will be the featured division in this weekend's Inaugural Labor Day Classic. In addition to the PASS South Super Late Models, Limited Late Models, Stadium Stocks, and the Allison Legacy cars will also be competing on a weekend celebrating the history of short track racing. It is only fitting that racing legends Bobby and Donnie Allison have been named Grand Marshals of short track racing's newest tradition.

“I can't think of a better way to get this great event started than to have the Allison brothers as Grand Marshals of the Labor Day Classic,” said Mayberry. “Both Bobby and Donnie are known around the country for their ability on short tracks and I think it is wonderful that they can share racing's return to North Wilkesboro with all of our racers and fans."

Bobby Allison has four wins at North Wilkesboro, 24 top five's, and 29 top ten's in 41 starts from 1966 through 1988. Donnie Allison is well known for his versatility behind the wheel finishing fourth in the 1971 Indianapolis 500 and for his part in making the 1979 Daytona 500 one of the most memorable in racing history. In 1988, Donnie, along with his sons Donald, Ronald, and Kenny founded the Allison Legacy Series and helped jump start the careers of drivers such as Joey Logano, David Ragan, and Brian Vickers. One of the newest stars to come from the Allison Legacy Series is Donnie's grandson, Justin Allison. Justin began racing in the Allison Legacy Series in 2006. He is the current series point leader and has won six races so far in 2010. In July, Justin began his climb up the racing ladder by stepping into Robert Hamke's powerful PASS South Super Late Model at the Greenville-Pickens Speedway finishing 17th in the Firecracker 125. Allison followed that up at PASS South's Daniel Boone Classic at the Newport Speedway by running in the top ten much of the race eventually finishing 11th. This weekend Allison faces his toughest challenge yet ...200 green flag laps at the .625 mile North Wilkesboro Speedway.

While the support divisions will have single-file restarts, fans can expect the same exciting brand of PASS racing on Saturday afternoon when they will once again be treated to the nation's best Super Late Model drivers bumping and gouging on double-file restarts and making live pit stops throughout the race.

"By having live pit stops, teams will have the opportunity to make their own strategy throughout the course of the race," said Mayberry. "Some teams will pit early, some will pit late and try to charge hard for the win, all of these scenarios will play out and it should be great for fans to see how it will all turn out."

Fans can look forward to a perfect day for racing Saturday with mostly sunny skies and a forecasted high temperature of 79 degrees

The Labor Day Classic weekend will kick off on Friday, September 3rd with gates opening at 11 AM. There will be a rotating practice for the PASS South Super Late Models, Allison Legacy, Limited Late Models, and Stadium Stocks beginning at 2 PM. Practice will run until 7 PM and gates will close at 8 PM. On Saturday, gates will open at 7 AM with rotating practice from 9:30 AM to 11:25 AM. Qualifying will begin at 11:30 AM for the Allison Legacy cars, Limited Late Models, and PASS South Super Late Models. The Stadium Stocks will draw for their feature starting positions if there are less than 36 cars and will run heat races if there are more than 36 cars in attendance. Racing will begin at 2 PM with a 25 lap main event for the Stadium Stocks, to be followed by the last chance race for the PASS South Super Late Models, a 35 lap event for the Allison Legacy cars, and a 50 lap event for the Limited Late Models. The PASS South Super Late Models will compete in the final event of the weekend racing for 200 laps in the Inaugural Labor Day Classic. The complete weekend schedule can be found at ProAllStarsSeries.com.

The PASS South Super Late Models will utilize the Labor Day Classic as a tune-up for next year’s North Wilkesboro 300, which will pay $75,000 to the winner. PASS eligible drivers could take home $100,000 if they are the first to reach the checkered flag. The North Wilkesboro 300 promises to be one of the biggest events in Super Late Model history and will take place April 7-9, 2011.

For more information please visit www.historicnws.com

PASS Labor Day Classic at North Wilkesboro
to Celebrate Short Track Racing

CHARLOTTE, NC (August 20) – Ever since Pro All Stars Series (PASS) officials announced their intentions to bring racing back to the Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway earlier this year it has created quite a buzz in the racing world. After all, the upcoming Labor Day Classic to be held September 3-4 will mark the return of racing to North Wilkesboro after a 14 year hiatus. And, if that was not enough, PASS President Tom Mayberry shocked the short track racing community when he announced that the 63-year-old facility will host a 300 lap Super Late Model event paying at least $75,000 to the winner April 7-9, 2011.

“It’s a great honor for everyone associated with PASS, from the teams to the officials to the fans, to join Speedway Associates in bringing true short track action back to North Wilkesboro,” said Mayberry. “North Wilkesboro Speedway presents many unique challenges to our competitors and we think the fans that attend our races this year and in 2011 will see some of the most unbelievable racing they’ve ever witnessed.”

In addition PASS officials recently announced that the Limited Late Models, Stadium Stocks/Four Cylinders, and Allison Legacy will also join the PASS South Super Late Models September 3-4 to celebrate the return of short track racing to North Wilkesboro Speedway.

“When you look back at the origins of stock car racing, you don’t have to look any further than Wilkes County and the cat-and-mouse game that went on between bootleggers and revenuers,” said Mayberry. “Short track racing came from those roots and we couldn’t be more pleased to have the Limited Late Models, Stadium Stocks, and Allison Legacy cars join PASS in reviving short track racing at North Wilkesboro. You can’t have short track racing without those blue collar racers who do it purely because they love it and we’re glad to have them as part of the Labor Day Classic.”

Veteran driver Brandon Ward and his New Day Motorsports team have tested extensively at North Wilkesboro in recent months to prepare for the Labor Day Classic. Ward was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the track, especially considering how long it had sat dormant.

“The racetrack is in relatively good shape. I was surprised how good the surface was for as long as it’s been sitting idle,” said Ward, driver of the #62 Yarbrough Transfer/Miller Welders Chevrolet. “The track doesn’t have a lot of grip, but it didn’t have grip the last time there was a race there in 1996. The driver that wins is going to have to save tires and have something left late in the run.”

And, with both team and driver hailing from just down the road in Winston-Salem, NC, the Labor Day Classic has been a race Ward and his teammates have had on their radar all year long.

“It’s huge to win a race in PASS South because the competition is the absolute toughest you will find in the Southeast,” said Ward. “It would be huge to win at a track that is just coming back. Also, it’s relatively close to home and we’ll have a lot of friends and family there so it would be great for New Day Motorsports to get a win at North Wilkesboro.”

Another driver who has tested at the legendary race track is 20-year-old Texas native Trey Mitchell. In his first full season racing in PASS South, Mitchell has scored four top ten finishes and sits eighth in points. And, he would love nothing more than to put his name in the record books alongside the notable list of winners at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to be the next winner at North Wilkesboro since Jeff Gordon was the guy who won the last race there,” said Mitchell, driver of the #47 Mangum’s Oilfield Service/SponsorTrey.com Ford. “It’s going to be all about tire management. The place fits my driving style and I think it’s pretty sweet because it still looks a lot like it did when they ran the last race there.”

The Labor Day Classic weekend will kickoff on Friday, September 3rd with gates opening at 11 AM. There will be a rotating practice for the PASS South Super Late Models, Allison Legacy, Limited Late Models, and Stadium Stocks beginning at 2 PM. Practice will run until 7 PM and gates will close at 8 PM. On Saturday, gates will open at 7 AM with rotating practice from 9:30 AM to 11:25 AM. Qualifying will begin at 11:30 AM for the Allison Legacy cars, Limited Late Models, and PASS South Super Late Models. The Stadium Stocks will draw for their feature starting positions if there are less than 36 cars and will run heat races if there are more than 36 cars in attendance. Racing will begin at 2 PM with a 25 lap main event for the Stadium Stocks, to be followed by the last chance race for the PASS South Super Late Models, a 35 lap event for the Allison Legacy cars, and a 50 lap event for the Limited Late Models. The PASS South Super Late Models will compete in the final event of the weekend racing for 200 laps in the Inaugural Labor Day Classic. The complete weekend schedule can be found at ProAllStarsSeries.com.

The PASS South Super Late Models will utilize the Labor Day Classic as a tune-up for next year’s North Wilkesboro 300, which will pay $75,000 to the winner. PASS eligible drivers could take home $100,000 if they are the first to reach the checkered flag. The North Wilkesboro 300 promises to be one of the biggest events in Super Late Model history and will take place April 7-9, 2011.