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The 13th Annual
SO. CAROLINA CLASH 200
Sat.,
February 24th |
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DEREK GRIFFITH -
#12g |
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ROWE - GRIFFITH
- CHRISTIAN |
Griffith Outlasts
Competition For
PASS
National Championship Win
At Dillon Motor Speedway |
DILLON, SC (February
24) - Derek Griffith bested
a strong field of Pro All
Stars Series (PASS) Super
Late Models to win the 13th
Annual South Carolina Clash
200 Saturday afternoon at
Dillon Motor Speedway. While
Griffith has found victory
lane on the PASS North
circuit in the past,
Saturday's opening day win
was his first in the south
in PASS National
Championship competition.
"We knew we had to do
better here than we did last
year and we were able to put
it all together today to get
the win," said Griffith in
victory lane. "The track was
hot and slick, but this win
is big because we need to
get all we can to compete
with Ben [Rowe] for the
national championship."
In qualifying, Tate
Fogleman claimed his second
career quick qualifying time
with a lap of 87.998 miles
per hour around the tough
4/10 mile, egg-shaped
speedway. After the top 10
qualifiers redraw, two-time
defending PASS South
champion, Matt Craig, would
move to the pole, while
Fogleman would slot into the
sixth starting position.
At the drop of the green
flag, Craig quickly jumped
into the lead, but would be
quickly overtaken by rookie
Matt Thomas for the top
spot. Thomas would lead
until lap 21 when he was
passed by Chad McCumbee and
Fogleman.
After
starting 11th, Griffith
would break in to the top
five on lap 33, passing Ben
Rowe for fifth. Another car
on the move in the early
going was the machine driven
by Connecticut's Ray
Christian, III, moving from
the 14th starting position
and into the top five by lap
59.
Following the
first caution flag of the
day for a spin by Charles
Barnes on lap 69, Fogleman
was able to take the lead
from McCumbee on the
restart. Likewise, after a
caution eight laps later for
Jody Measamer's mechanical
problems, Griffth would move
by Fogleman for the lead on
the ensuing restart.
Action began to really pick
up even after a spin by
Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. on lap
100. On the restart, both
Griffith and Fogleman
appeared to spin their
tires, slamming together as
they raced down the
frontstretch. Fogleman's car
broke loose entering turn 1,
collecting the wall and
ending his promising day.
The biggest incident of
the day would occur on lap
116 when the machine driven
by Matt Thomas was pinched
into the front straightaway
wall after contact with
Kevin Floars. Thomas' car
rode up the wall, sliding
down the track on its left
side between Floars' car and
the outside wall. After a
few tense moments and a very
brief fire, both drivers
emerged from their racers
unscathed.
Following
a competition caution to
change two tires, Ray
Christian III emerged as a
contender, leading the field
back to green. Christian and
Griffith would wage a 20 lap
war for the lead, with
Griffith finally able to
take advantage in lapped
traffic. Christian would
continue to ride in second
until being passed by Ben
Rowe with nine laps to go.
Griffith took the checkered
flag to claim the South
Carolina Clash win over
Rowe, Christian, Kodie
Conner, and McCumbee.
Rounding out the top 10 were
Jeff Batten, scoring his
best career finish, Craig,
Jared Irvan, JP Josiasse,
and Sammy Gooden.
The
PASS South Super Late Models
will be in action once again
for the RGS Products 125 on
Sunday, March 11th at
Caraway Speedway, along with
the season opener for the
SMRS Tour Modifieds.
Be sure to "Like" the
Pro All Stars Series on
Facebook or follow us on
Twitter at @PASSSLM14.
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PASS SOUTH/NATL. SLMs at
DILLON
OFFICIAL RACE
RESULTS - 2-24-18 |
1) 12g - Derek
Griffith - 200 Laps
2) 4n
- Ben Rowe - 200
3) 93 -
Ray Christian III - 200
4) 45 - Kodie Conner - 200
5) 16 - Chad McCumbee -
200
6) 49 - Jeff Batten
- 200
7) 54 - Matt Craig
200
8) 21 - Jared Irvan
- 198
9) 24j - JP
Josiasse - 197
10) 01 -
Sammy Godden - 186 |
11) 15 - Roy Hayes -
122
12) 19 - Kevin Floars
- 116
13) 87 - Matt
Thomas - 116
14) 00 -
Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. - 116
15) 8f - Tate Fogleman - 100
16) 22 - Tim Hollis - 77
17) 98 - Jody Measamer - 76
18) 80 - Trevor Sanborn - 35
19) 37 - Charles Barnes - 32
20) 71 - Jimmy Doyle - DNS |
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Entry List - Dillon - 2/24/18 |
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PASS
National Championship
Kicks
Off On Saturday At Dillon |
CHARLOTTE, NC
(February 20) - Following a
three-month offseason, Pro
All Stars Series (PASS)
Super Late Model racers will
kick off the 2018 National
Championship season this
Saturday afternoon at Dillon
Motor Speedway in South
Carolina. The 13th Annual
South Carolina Clash 200
will see the best short
track racers from across
North America converge on
the tough egg-shaped oval
for the $6000 top prize.
While Turner, ME's Ben Rowe
will be on quest for his
sixth PASS National title,
Kannapolis, NC's Matt Craig
will be going for an
unprecedented third straight
PASS South Super Late Model
championship beginning at
Dillon.
One driver
hoping to end Rowe's run of
national championship
success will be Hudson, NH's
Derek Griffith. In his first
go at Super Late Model
racing's only national
championship last year,
Griffith finished third in
points behind Rowe and Dave
Farrington, Jr., nearly
winning at Orange County
Speedway last March.
"It's going to be pretty
important to get going on
the right foot this season,"
says Griffith, driver of the
LCM Motorsports #12
Chevrolet. "We are looking
to run real strong all
year."
After scoring
two wins in 2017 on the PASS
North Super Late Model tour,
Griffith is primed to show
what he can do south of the
Mason-Dixon line this year.
In his first start at Dillon
last year, Griffith finished
eighth and hopes to improve
on that this weekend.
"Last year was our first
time racing down in the
Carolinas," says Griffith.
"Now that we've been down
there [Dillon] once, I'm
looking forward to making my
return this weekend."
Joining Griffith among
the pre-entries will be PASS
South title contenders Matt
Craig, Kodie Conner, Tate
Fogleman, Roy Hayes, and
Jody Measamer. Trevor
Sanborn heads the list of
New Englanders, along with
newcomers Jimmy Renfrew,
Jr., Sammy Gooden, and Ray
Christian, III, while
Charles Barnes will be
attempting his second PASS
South start.
This
weekend, action gets under
way with rotating practice
for all divisions from 2 - 5
PM on Friday. Then, on
Saturday, practice will
begin at 10 AM, followed by
qualifying at 12:30 PM, and
racing for the PASS Super
Late Models, SuperTrucks,
and UCARS beginning at 2 PM.
Entry forms for the next
PASS South Super Late Model
race at Caraway Speedway are
currently posted at
ProAllStarsSeries.com. The
next PASS National
Championship race will be at
Thompson Speedway in
Connecticut on April 8.
The Pro All Stars Series
is recognized as North
America's premier
sanctioning body for asphalt
Super Late Models and boasts
such marquee events as the
legendary Oxford 250 at
Oxford Plains Speedway and
PASS South's Easter Bunny
150 at the historic Hickory
Motor Speedway. And for the
first time ever, PASS will
compete at Richmond Raceway
in Virginia as part of the
inaugural Commonwealth
Classic in October.
For technical information
concerning all PASS
divisions please send
questions to
passracing@roadrunner.com.
For media or
marketing questions, please
contact Alan Dietz at
704-231-2039 or
alandietzpass@live.com.
And, don't forget to
"Like" the Pro All Stars
Series on Facebook or follow
us on Twitter @PASSSLM14 to
keep up with breaking news
as it happens. |
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KODIE CONNER -
#45 |
PASS Super Late
Model Racers
Prepare To Kick
Off 2018 Season
At Dillon Motor
Speedway |
CHARLOTTE, NC
(February 8) - Racers from
across the country are busy
counting down the days as
the 2018 Pro All Stars
Series (PASS) Super Late
Model season opener at
Dillon Motor Speedway draws
closer. The 13th Annual
South Carolina Clash 200 at
Dillon on Saturday, February
24 will not only mark the
beginning of the PASS
National Championship
Series, but it will also be
the first race of the PASS
South Super Late Model
schedule.
Ever since
the first South Carolina
Clash was held at nearby
Florence Motor Speedway in
2006, the event has been one
of the featured races
annually on the PASS
schedule. Since that first
Clash won by the late
Charlie Bradberry, a stellar
list of drivers have gone to
victory lane including
two-time Clash winner, Ryan
Blaney, as well as Justin
Wakefield, Ben Rowe, Preston
Peltier, Austin Theriault,
Daniel Hemric, and Tyler
Church. In last year's race,
Jared Irvan took advantage
of a late-race restart to
beat Christian Eckes to the
checkered flag at the
conclusion of 200 laps at
Dillon.
Newly turned
17-year-old driver Kodie
Conner from Kannapolis, NC
is excited to return to
Dillon for the 200 lapper
which will begin the South's
oldest Super Late Model
championship. After a second
place finish at Dillon in
2016, Conner was involved in
an accident last year that
he believes played a part in
costing him the series
championship.
"After
last year and falling out of
the race at Dillon to begin
the year, it actually
changed the end of the
season for Team KCR," says
Conner, who owns his team
now following the passing of
his grandfather, Jerry, in
2017. "I felt I was not able
to catch up to Matt [Craig]
after that. We've ran good
at Dillon in the past, and
as an owner-driver now, I
feel we will run good there
in a couple of weeks."
A former PASS Pro Late
Model champion, Conner has
competed the last two
seasons in the Super Late
Model ranks, finishing
second to Matt Craig in the
final standings both years.
With plenty of seat time
behind him and additional
sponsorship support in 2018,
Conner hopes not to only
make a run at the PASS South
title, but to compete for
the PASS National
Championship as well.
"This season is my
year," says Conner. "I and
my father, Shannon, have
worked extremely hard and we
believe we can continue to
compete with teams that have
a bigger budget than we do.
I'm definitely excited about
this upcoming season with
the PASS series."
All
the action gets under way on
Friday, February 23 at
Dillon Motor Speedway with
open practice for all
competing divisions from 2 -
5 PM. On Saturday, February
24, practice will begin at
10 AM with qualifying
starting at 12:30 PM for the
PASS Super Late Models,
SuperTrucks, and U-Cars/FWD,
followed by main events
starting at approximately 2
PM.
PASS Super Late
Model entry forms for the
events at Dillon, Caraway,
and the 45th Annual Oxford
250 can be found at
ProAllStarsSeries.com.
The Pro All Stars Series
is recognized as North
America's premier
sanctioning body for asphalt
Super Late Models and boasts
such marquee events as the
legendary Oxford 250 at
Oxford Plains Speedway, PASS
South's Easter Bunny 150 at
the historic Hickory Motor
Speedway, and the inaugural
Commonwealth Classic at
Richmond Raceway.
For technical information
concerning all PASS
divisions please send
questions to
passracing@roadrunner.com.
For media or
marketing questions, please
contact Alan Dietz at
704-231-2039 or
alandietzpass@live.com.
And, don't forget to
"Like" the Pro All Stars
Series on Facebook or follow
us on Twitter @PASSSLM14 to
keep up with breaking news
as it happens. |
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