Ward And New Day Motorsports Look For Old Magic In PASS Return To Southern National
CHARLOTTE, NC — From the time Southern National Raceway Park first opened as Southern National Speedway in 1993, Super Late Models have been an intricate part of what made the speedway special. While other tracks in the Carolinas were abandoning Super Late Models, Southern National held firm with a dwindling pool of speedways to keep the division alive.
At that same time, a young crew chief from Winston-Salem, NC named Jeff Day was forming a Super Late Model team with one of the region’s heroes, John Paul Linville. A union that would prove fruitful for the two men at opposite ends of their respective careers in racing. For the duo, checkered flags and victory lane celebrations became commonplace at Southern National.
“When I first started working with Super Late Model cars I was with John Paul Linville at Kenly,” said Day. “He was at the end of his career and he wanted to do something fun so we ran Super Late Models down there and I crew chiefed for him for several years, won some races and had a great time.”
Linville and Day continued to race together for a number of years, before Linville eventually retired. Ed Berrier and Scott Riggs, among others, stepped into the #62 with similar results as Linville. They battled the likes of Southern National favorites like John Batten, Randy Renfrow, Shelton McNair, and “Big” Jim Kelley. It is that lineage of racing, and the fan base that comes along with it, that has Day excited about the return of the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Models to Southern National Raceway Park on Saturday, April 13.
“The eastern North Carolina race fan is accustomed to seeing the Super Late Model at Southern National and other tracks around the area,” said Day. “They understand Super Late Models and how they race. I look to see a big crowd when PASS returns and I’d say we’ll have a good shot there.”
PASS South has not raced at Southern National since 2009, but that does not mean the history books are empty regarding the Nation’s top short track series racing there. The second PASS South race ever held was at Kenly in 2006 and saw Freddie Query take his one and only series win over local favorite Clay Jones. In 2009, PASS returned for the only race held at Kenly that year. Ben Rowe pitted late, swapping the left and right side tires, to win over Jones and Preston Peltier.
The current driver of the New Day Motorsports #62 is Brandon Ward, coming off a 2012 season that saw the team score wins at Wake County Speedway and Anderson Motor Speedway. Ward hopes he and Day can tap into some of the old magic that gave the team such great success throughout the 1990’s and early 2000’s.
“Jeff’s got a lot of experience at that track, it’s where he got started with these Supers,” said Ward, driver of the Foothill Ford/kpmoto.com Ford. “He’s looking forward to going back so hopefully it’ll be a good show for the 62 team.”
Ward feels, based on his experiences at Southern National in other types of cars, that this race will provide a distinct set of challenges for the PASS South stars compared to the first three events of the season.
“One thing you’re going to see different from any track we’ve been to so far this year is the banking,” said Ward, referring to Southern National’s high banks. “Southern National is a super nice facility with a lot of grip, but you carry a ton of speed off into the corners, so it’s still going be a tire management game for these guys to run 150 laps. It’s gonna be a good racetrack…should be able to pass pretty good, move around some, and I think it will be a great show for the fans.”
Action gets under way on Friday, April 12th with rotating practice from 1 – 6:30 PM for the PASS South Super Late Models, PASS Pro Late Models, Limited Late Models, Chargers, Mini Mod Mayhem and Bandoleros. On Saturday, April 13th, pit gates open at 10 AM, with rotating practice for all divisions from 12:45 PM – 4:20 PM, qualifying at 4:45 PM, the pit party at 6:30 PM and feature racing at 7 PM.
PASS South Super Late Model entry forms for Southern National, the Apple Blossom 200 at Wenatchee Valley Super Oval and TD Bank 250 as well as the 2013 PASS license forms for all divisions can be found on HERE.
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 PASS Northwest Triple Crown at Wenatchee Valley Super Oval, PASS South’s Easter Bunny 150 at the historic Hickory Motor Speedway, the Autobus La Qubecoise Triple Crown at Autodrome Chaudiere, and the legendary TD Bank 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway.
For technical information concerning all PASS divisions please contact Scott Reed at 207-625-3230 or scottreedpass@yahoo.com. For media or marketing questions, please contact Alan Dietz at 704-231-2039 or alandietzpass@live.com.
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Sources: PASS PR