Concord, NC — The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) North Super Late Model season is now complete and teams just barely made their season finale in among the threat of rain and snow on October 14th at New Hampshire’s White Mountain Motorsports Park.
So now what is a true racer to do? Wait for 2008 to come around or find somewhere else to race? Well, the answer for several of the top names up North is simple – they all know that it is time to start looking South for more racing opportunities before the end of the calendar year. Some PASS North teams are looking towards November’s Mason-Dixon Meltdown at Concord Motorsport Park (NC) and some are also looking at running the Snowball Derby in Florida this December. Others can’t even wait that long. At least three, and as many as five or six, Northern teams will be heading to Greenville-Pickens Speedway (SC) on October 27th for the Howler 150 PASS South Super Late Model event.
Newly-crowned PASS North champion Ben Rowe and his father Mike are definitely going, as is teenaged rookie standout Derek Ramstrom. The two quickest drivers from the White Mountain finale, Cassius Clark and Trevor Sanborn, are strongly considering entering the event as well.
“We’re going to go to Greenville-Pickens,” said Ramstrom. “I’ve never even seen the track yet. I can’t wait. It’s great to run with the guys down there and to see their different driving styles. I learn who I can trust and who I can’t. Mostly everyone on these Tours, I can trust, so it’s fun to race with them. They treat me well and I enjoy racing down South.”
There will be another PASS North newbie at Greenville too. The facility is a rare place that Mike Rowe has not raced at in his career of over 30 years.
“We’re definitely going to Greenville,” said Rowe, one of the winningest drivers to come out of Maine short track racing, and the 2006 PASS South champion. “I’ve never been there and that’s why I wanted to go. [Sponsor] Mike Lux helped us a lot to be able to do that and we’re going to head down there and see if we can run with those guys.”
“Now we’ll go South and represent down there,” said Ben Rowe shortly after winning this year’s PASS North championship. “They’ve been kicking my butt down there [Rowe raced in several early season PASS South shows without a victory yet], so I need to go and try to get a win.”
And even though each of the Northern racers want to be the one standing in victory lane at the end of the Howler, they also share a sense of pride that comes from putting their own region of racing on the map against the best of the Southern Super Late Model stars.
“We wish everyone well who is going down there,” said Mike Rowe. “Cassius [Clark] and Trevor [Sanborn] might go too. That’s going to be good. We’ll have some real good cars down there and we’ll see if we can all get dialed in when they start practice on Friday.”
“Hopefully, we can get Cassius down there too,” said Ben Rowe. “Johnny [Clark] might go down too. We’ll go to Greenville-Pickens and see how we stack up. Then we’ll definitely go to the [Mason-Dixon] Meltdown.”
The final two races of the PASS South season will be The Howler at Greenville-Pickens Speedway (SC) on October 27th and the second annual Mason-Dixon Meltdown, which will take place at Concord Motorsport Park (NC) on November 16th-17th.
For more information on the PASS North and South Series, please contact 51 Sports at (704) 788-2134 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: Jeremy Trojano/PASS PR