Naples, ME — The upcoming PASS 400 weekend at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway (ME) will be the third installment of the event. In just a short amount of time, the race has already developed an identity of its own and a reputation as one of the fall short track events in New England not to be missed. From the Thursday night entry-level racing showdowns to the Sunday afternoon 300-lapper for the PASS North Super Late Models (the PASS 400 weekend also features a 100-lap feature for the PASS Outlaw Late Models]), there will be non-stop action throughout the weekend of September 22nd-24th.
“We’re entering our third year of the race and it’s building into a fall racing tradition,” said PASS President Tom Mayberry. “The whole weekend is turning into a major event. In the Wildcat/Strictly race, and the PASS Sportsmen race, we expect to see cars from all of the tracks around. The Thursday night 50 lappers [for several entry-level classes of racecars] are attracting a lot of interest and the Super Late Model show will be big. We expect to have around 40 entries with some of the best drivers in New England trying to win the race.”
In the 2005 and 2006 editions of the headlining PASS North Super Late Model race, one name has dominated the headlines of the Super Late Model feature. That name is Rowe.
In 2005, Mike Rowe and his SP2 Motorsports team won the inaugural PASS 300 to put an exclamation point on a season that also included victories in the Atlantic CAT 250 at Scotia Speedworld (NS) and the Oxford 250 (which featured PASS-style Super Late Models at the time).
Last year, Mike’s son Ben Rowe went on a tear to close out the 2006 PASS North season. He won his first PASS victory of the year at Beech Ridge and then backed that up with victories at Riverside Speedway in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and Unity Raceway (ME).
But while the Rowes are the only two drivers who have won the PASS 300 so far, they have not enjoyed a cakewalk to those victories. A diverse group of challengers have fought hard to try and win the race.
Those challengers have included a number of PASS regulars. Cassius Clark, who finished fourth in the first PASS 300, but got caught in an early wreck not of his doing in 2006. Alan Tardiff got an early start on his 2006 PASS North Rookie of the Year season by finishing in the top five of the 2005 PASS 300 at Beech Ridge. Trevor Sanborn made a name for himself last season by finishing second to Ben Rowe in the race as another pre-rookie. Travis Benjamin finished fourth in the 2006 running of the race.
The list of contenders has also included a few names that might not be as familiar to followers of the PASS North circuit. Ageless Canadian Rollie MacDonald finished on the podium in 2005 with his crate-engined machine. Jeff Taylor headed to Beech Ridge after winning the Oxford Plains Speedway championship last season and led laps before finishing sixth. Part-time PASS North competitor Chris Kennison had one of the best cars in the 2006 race and finished in the top 10. Former PASS North regular Scott Mulkern might have passed the most cars all day in finishing third last season in the PASS 300.
There are also a number of very capable drivers who have not finished up front in the PASS 300 and are highly capable of doing so. That list includes two-time PASS North champion Johnny Clark, former Beech Ridge regular and third-place PASS North point-man Richie Dearborn, the winner of the season-opening PASS North race at Beech Ridge Joey Porciello, former NASCAR Busch North champions Kelly Moore, Brad Leighton and Dave Dion, as well as a talented crop of PASS North rookies that includes Derek Ramstrom, Adam Bates and Steve Berry.
Bubba Pelton (2005) and Dennis Spencer, Jr. (2006) are the two drivers who have won the 100-lap Outlaw Late Model race during the PASS 400 weekend.
The 2007 PASS Super Late Model schedules will be highlighted by two major fall events. The PASS 400 weekend at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway (ME) is set for September 21st-24th and the Second Annual Mason-Dixon Meltdown is scheduled for Concord Motorsport Park on November 16th-17th.
For more information on the PASS South Series, contact Jeremy Troiano at (704) 788-2134; for information on the PASS North Series, contact Mike Twist at (207) 499-2565, and for technical and rules information on all of the PASS tours, please contact Scott Reed at (207) 625-3230.
Also, be sure to visit the official PASS South website at www.racewithpass.com and the official website of PASS North, www.proallstarsseries.com.
Sources: Mike Twist/PASS PR