Tyler Church Claims Hometown PASS South Win at Hickory
HICKORY, NC — Part-time competitor and hometown favorite Tyler Church claimed his first career Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model win Sunday afternoon at Hickory Motor Speedway in the 7th running of the Over The Mountain 150 Presented By CV Products. Church took the lead with 13 laps to go from Johnson Motorsports teammate and 4-time Hickory Motor Speedway winner Preston Peltier and held on the rest of the way to take an emotional victory in front of the hometown fans.
“I wasn’t going to give up, but I owe a lot to Preston [Peltier] because he’s got these cars figured out and I’m privileged to get to drive one,” said an emotional Church in victory lane. “Man, this is home. Mama’s buried in the cemetery on the hill. This is special.”
Peltier and Church set the rest of the field on notice during qualifying as they claimed the top two spots. Following the mandatory redraw for the top 10 qualifiers, Peltier would start sixth and Church would start tenth, while Bobby Measmer, Jr. and Colt James moved up to the front row.
[Photo Gallery] by Brad Newman
At the drop of the green flag, James and Kyle Grissom moved around Measmer, who would settle into third at the start. But, Peltier wasted little making his move towards the front moving around Measmer for third and by Grissom for second on lap 8. The first caution of the day waved on lap 15 after contact between rookies Joseph Mursuli and Tyler Audie sent Audie for a spin in turn one.
On the ensuing restart, Peltier would bypass James for the lead. Several cars were making their way to the front on the slick, old racetrack though, including Ryan Moore, who started 17th, and PASS South points leader Jay Fogleman, who started 21st after having to race his way into the feature via the last chance race. Moore was in third by lap 53 and Fogleman moved into the top five after passing Rodney Brooks on lap 75.
While Peltier continued to lead, early race leader James struggled, spinning from 10th with 49 laps to go. Although Grissom managed to pass Peltier on the restart, his stay up front was short lived as Peltier moved back around to take the lead just two laps later. Grissom would struggle in the final third of the race, falling out of the top 10 at one point before eventually finishing ninth.
With Peltier still out front, his teammate Church was making his push towards the leaders passing Moore for second with 26 laps to go. Following a caution for a spin by John Batten in turn one with 14 laps to go, Peltier and Church would line up on the front row for the restart. Heading into turn one after the green flag, Peltier had to get out of the gas as his car pushed up the speedway allowing Church to take the lead on the high side. Church would lead the final 14 laps, holding off a spirited charge by Peltier to join Austin Theriault and Daniel Hemric as first time PASS South winners in 2013. Fogleman edged out Moore to finish third, in front of Roger Lee Newton, Trevor Noles, Brooks, Brandon Ward, Grissom, and Jared Irvan in the top 10.
In the PASS Pro Late Model division, points leader Trevor Noles took the lead at the drop of the green flag and never looked back for his sixth win of the season. Erik Nash finished second in front of Kodie Connor, fast qualifier Austin Reed and Kerry Lawrence.
In other feature racing action, Gary Young, Jr. edged out Jonathon “John Boy” Brown, and Josh Nichols in the CCS Modified division. Ryan Mackintosh held off Kyle Beattie and Ryan Shattuck to win the Legends feature.
The PASS South Super Late Models will be in action again on Saturday night, October 5th at Dillon Motor Speedway for the Wildcat 150 along with the PASS Pro Late Models, Legends, Chargers and Street Stocks.
UNOFFICIAL PASS SOUTH SLM RESULTS
150 Laps – HICKORY – 9/22/13
1. 7 – Tyler Church – 150 Laps
2. 26 – Preston Peltier – 150
3. 4 – Jay Fogleman – 150
4. 74 – Ryan Moore – 150
5. 33 – Roger Lee Newton – 150
6. 2 – Trevor Noles – 150
7. 30 – Rodney Brooks – 150
8. 62 – Brandon Ward – 150
9. 31 – Kyle Grissom – 150
10. 28 – Jared Irvan – 150
11. 198 – Russell Fleeman – 150
12. 15 – Colt James – 150
13. 13 – Joe Ryan Osborne – 150
14. 129 – Spencer Davis – 150
15. 51– Bobby Measmer, Jr. – 150
16. 71 – Jimmy Doyle – 148
17. 1 – Justin Allison – 148
18. 12 – Mark Reedy – 148
19. 09 – Randy Gentry – 147
20. 48 – John Batten – 147
21. 98 – Jody Measamer – 143
22. 14 – Clete Caywood – 124
23. 8 – Joseph Mursuli – 106
24. 77 – Ted Mickelsen – 102
25. 57 – Cole Timm – 100
26. 22 – Tyler Audie – 68
27. 8f – Tate Fogleman – 59
28. 66 – Brandon Setzer – 49
29. 104 – Kevin Powell – 3
UNOFFICIAL PASS SOUTH PLM RESULTS
50 Laps – HICKORY – 9/22/13
1. 16 – Trevor Noles
2. 1x – Erik Nash
3. 45 – Kodie Connor
4. 14 – Austin Reed
5. 03 – Kerry Lawrence
6. 49 – Jeff Batten
7. 02 – Walker Yates
8. 7 – Matt Murphy
Sources: PASS PR