News Archives for 2026-04

Barker Goes Wire to Wire at Lee USA for First PASS Victory

April 27, 2026 — Lee, NH — After 11 years and nearly 90 starts, Westbrook, Maine’s Brandon Barker became a Pro All Stars Series (PASS) winner on Saturday, April 25, at New Hampshires, Lee USA Speedway. The veteran started on the pole of the Strafford County 150 and never let go en route to a monumental victory over a stout field.

It was a fitting venue for Barker to post an inaugural PASS win, as he already had triumphed in multiple series at the track. However, he had yet to score a victory in a PASS North or National event in a career that dates to 2015. That all changed in the Lee USA Speedway season opener that also kicked off a new PASS-ACT lease agreement.

“Finally!” Barker exclaimed after the event. “I’m not really a points racer — I want to win races…and to say I’ve won along with the greats like Johnny Clark, Mike Rowe, Ben Rowe, D.J. (Shaw), Joey (Doiron), you know, it took me a few years, but I finally got it done.”

After earning the pole in qualifying, Barker ran off and left the field early. But Joey Doiron, another Lee USA Speedway standout, worked his way from seventh on the grid to second and eventually ran down Barker under a long green-flag run.

A lap-48 caution for Wayne Helliwell Jr.’s broken shock and subsequent flat tire slowed the event, as did a lap-66 yellow for a tangle involving Travis Stearns and Bobby Baillargeon. Barker showcased his short-run speed following each, pulling away from Doiron on the restart. Doiron was beginning to reel Barker back in when his left-rear tire let go in turn four on lap 99, sending him for a spin that ultimately took him out of contention for the victory.

That handed Gabe Brown the runner-up position, and he did his best to put pressure on Barker through several more cautions. They included a double-yellow when Corey Bubar crashed out of the fourth spot with 29 laps remaining, then Johnny Clark spun through the infield on the restart. Barker had the answer every time, though, and with Brown fighting a tight race car, Barker drove to his first PASS win in convincing fashion.

Brown’s second-place finish came despite having to replace a clutch following qualifying, giving him some redemption after a tough couple of weeks to open the PASS North season. Cole Robie out-dueled reigning champion D.J. Shaw on the final restart to finish third, marking his first podium effort with PASS.

After switching to a backup car due to a transmission failure in final practice, Garrett Hall methodically drove from the 21st starting position to come home fifth behind Shaw. Derek Griffith, Alexendre Tardif, Doiron, Ryan Kuhn, and Baillargeon completed the top 10.

In the 2026 lid-lifter for the Kennebec Equipment Rental PASS Modifieds, teenager Reed Reno of West Bath, Maine earned his second career victory in nearly as dominating fashion as Barker. Reno started third in the 50-lap event and stalked polesitter Bill Penfold in the early stages before ducking underneath him on lap 15 to take over the point.

Reno sailed out to a huge lead, but a flurry of yellows between laps 34 and 38 closed the field up, giving Spencer Morse, Jacoby Maines, and others multiple cracks at the lead. The youngster was too strong, though, and pulled away down the stretch.

Morse held off Maines for second, with Maines finishing third after starting 12th. Jeremy Davis came in fourth while Bobby Seger charged from last on the initial start to take fifth. Bill Penfold, Mike Penfold, Robert “Beaver” Norton, Tyler Fiscus, and Cody Macomber rounded out the top 10.

After a one-week break, the PASS North Super Late Models and Kennebec Equipment Rental PASS Modifieds return to the track at Epping, NH’s Star Speedway on Saturday, May 9 at 4:30pm. The Mother’s Day Weekend special also features the season opener for the New England Supermodified Series and the Coastal Clash 150 for the Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour.

General admission pricing is TBA. 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

Shaw Finally Achieves Magic Mile Glory at 6th Annual Northeast Classic

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