April 20, 2026 — Loudon, NH — After numerous close calls and what-could-have-beens, Center Conway, NH’s D.J. Shaw permanently etched himself in the history books at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) on Saturday, April 18. Shaw inherited the lead late in the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) North portion of the 6th Annual Northeast Classic after Gabe Brown suffered an electrical failure, then held off Eddie “The Outlaw” MacDonald in a green-white-checkered finish.
Since the Northeast Classic began in 2021, Shaw had posted five top-five finishes between PASS and the Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour (ACT). However, the nine-time PASS champion had yet to win at the hallowed New Hampshire track. But on Saturday, fortune favored the younger Shaw, giving him his 35th career PASS Super Late Model victory in the process.
“It’s unbelievable, really,” Shaw said after the race. “(It’s) more emotional than I would have expected. I’m very proud of the car, the team — everybody behind this thing.”
Mike Hopkins swiped the lead from polesitter Brown on the opening start and led the first 15 laps of the 50-lap event. Brown applied constant pressure, though, and he eventually took the lead back and pulled away as Hopkins, Shaw, and MacDonald sliced and diced for the runner-up spot.
Shaw snared the second position from Hopkins just before a planned competition break at lap 30, where teams changed right-side tires and made adjustments. When the field went back green, Brown leapt away again as Shaw found himself in another scramble, with Ryan Kuhn and Alexendre “Fireball” Tardif joining the mix.
Eventually, Shaw separated himself from the fray and chased down Brown as Kuhn, Tardif, and Hopkins dogged MacDonald for third. Shaw made a bid to the inside entering turn three with five laps to go, but couldn’t make his #60 stick and was forced to regroup.
As the duo exited turn four to complete lap 47, Brown suddenly slowed as his alternator gave out. Shaw alertly darted around him, giving him a huge lead over what was suddenly a battle for second place between the MacDonald-Tardif-Kuhn-Hopkins quartet.
There was one more twist, though, as Brown was unable to coast all the way to the pit area, eventually stopping halfway down the backstretch. That brought out the second caution of the event and set up a two-lap dash to the finish in the PASS North season opener.
MacDonald, a 13-time winner at NHMS, did his best to take advantage of his second chance, getting underneath Shaw as they flew into turn three for the final time. Former PASS champion Kuhn then made it three-wide in the last corner, but Shaw used the momentum on the high side to beat them all in the sprint to the checkered flag.
“I was hoping Gabe could make it around, but (his car) shut down in the worst possible spot to make it back around on a track this big,” Shaw remarked. “So, I kind of prepared myself for that coming and just got in the mindset that we were going to have to fight for it again. I went back to work, and fortunately, this thing was a hot rod today.”
MacDonald settled for second place in back-to-back years at the Northeast Classic. Tardif, who started 14th and needed to borrow a transmission from Shaw after his primary unit gave up the ghost, edged Kuhn by a whisker for third. Hopkins, Cole Robie, Derek Griffith, Jimmy Renfrew Jr., Brandon Barker, and Trevor Sanborn rounded out the top 10.
The PASS North Series is at New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway this Saturday, April 25, for the Stafford County 150, PASS’s first visit to Lee since 2021. Post time is 2:00pm for another action-packed card that includes the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 for the Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour, plus the season openers for the Kennebec Equipment Rental PASS Modifieds, and GoMotorsportsShop.com NELCAR Legends Tour.
Admission is $30 for adults, $10 for juniors aged 6-12, and free for ages five and under. The event will also be live-streamed on the North East Short Track Network (www.nestn.tv) with pay-per-view, monthly subscription, and yearly subscription options.
For more information on the Pro All Stars Series, visit www.proallstarsseries.com.
For more information on Oxford Plains Speedway, visit www.oxfordplains.com.
To take advantage of marketing opportunities at the Pro All Stars Series or Oxford Plains Speedway, or to buy a lap in the Oxford 250, please call 207-577-1836 or inquire at OPSmarketing50@gmail.com.
For technical information concerning all PASS divisions, please contact passracing@roadrunner.com or call Jason Ricker at 704-881-4429.
Don't forget to "Like" the Pro All Stars Series, Oxford Plains Speedway, NESS, and the PASS MODS touring series on Facebook:
facebook.com/ProAllStarsSeries
facebook.com/p/Official-Page-of-Oxford-Plains-Speedway
https://www.facebook.com/NESupers
facebook.com/p/PASS-MODS-Touring-Series
Photo by Jimmy Wiggin/Speedway Images
