PASS South Ready to Heat Up the Track in Return Trip to Anderson
CHARLOTTE, NC (June 16) – As temperatures soar with the approach of summer, the stars and cars of the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) are busily preparing for this Friday night’s Electric City 125 at Anderson Motor Speedway. The PASS South Super Late Models will be joined in action by the PASS Pro Late Models, Legends, BM Modifieds and Front Wheel Drives on Friday night at Anderson. As the South’s oldest and most prestigious Super Late Model championship heads to the upstate of South Carolina this weekend, drivers and teams are hoping they will have the right setup to deal with a very hot and very slick Anderson Motor Speedway.
In 2012, Winston-Salem, NC’s Brandon Ward led flag-to-flag to score a very memorable win at Anderson in similar conditions to what are expected for Friday evening. Ward and the New Day Motorsports team dominated for their second win that season and briefly took over the PASS South Super Late Model points lead along the way.
“The win in 2012 at Anderson was a big one for us,” says Ward, driver of the Foothill Ford/kpmoto.com/Miller Welders #62. “We had just won at Wake County and then we were able to back that win up at Anderson. It’s a unique race track with very little grip.”
As Ward mentioned, Anderson Motor Speedway presents a unique challenge to the PASS racers. The 3/8 mile speedway has relatively tight corners that are banked at 14 degrees. But, perhaps the bigger test will come from the elements themselves. With daytime temperatures expected to be in 90s, the aged and worn surface will be extremely hard to find grip on for the 600-plus horsepower PASS South Super Late Models.
“This will be my first trip back to Anderson since our win and I feel the conditions will be much the same,” says Ward. “No grip and very hot temperatures should make for an exciting race for the fans. I think you will see different strategies and a lot of passing throughout the field.”
Despite a late start to the season, Ward and the New Day Motorsports team have been competitive in their first two races back on the tour. At Concord Speedway, Ward ran in the top five before coming out on the wrong end of a late race restart and finishing in 11th. Ward followed his Concord performance up by just missing out on being fast qualifier at South Boston Speedway behind eventual race winner Kaz Grala. After a late race pit stop to make adjustments, Ward worked his way back through the field to finish fifth. Ward believes his three-year winless streak could end this weekend at the place he scored his most recent win at, Anderson Motor Speedway.
“As a team, I feel that we are in the best position at New Day Motorsports that we have been in since I came here to drive for them in 2010,” said Ward. “With Will Spaugh as crew chief and Jeff Day being able to focus on managing our entire program, we have had fast race cars with the PASS car and the Modified everywhere we’ve raced this season. All the guys have worked very hard and with only running two PASS races so far this season, I feel like we are already in a position to win again.”
Joining Ward among the pre-entries are PASS South Super Late Model points leader Zane Smith and his teammate, Matt Craig. Former PASS South winners Clay Rogers and Cole Timm will be looking for a return trip to victory lane. Lee Hansard returns after leading the most laps at Anderson in the spring. Defending PASS Pro Late Model champion Walker Yates will be joined by veterans Jimmy Doyle and Jeff Batten in seeking their first career PASS South Super Late Model wins at Anderson.
Action begins on Friday, June 19 at Anderson Motor Speedway with pit gates opening at 2 PM followed by practice for the PASS South Super Late Models, PASS Pro Late Models, Legends, BM Modifieds, and Front Wheel Drives from 4-6:30 PM. Qualifying is set to start at 6:50 PM and main event racing featuring the Electric City 125 will go green at 8 PM. PASS South Super Late Model and PASS Pro Late Model entry forms for this weekend 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 AIM Recycling Oxford 250 Presented By Kenny U-Pull at Oxford Plains Speedway and PASS South’s Easter Bunny 150 at the historic Hickory Motor Speedway. 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.
Sources: Alan Dietz/PASS PR