Early Entrants Abound For Expanded PASS Winter Meltdown at Greenville-Pickens
CHARLOTTE, NC (January 20) – With the release today of the complete weekend schedule for the upcoming PASS Winter Meltdown 150 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Super Late Model teams from across North America are beginning to make their final preparations. This year’s third running of the early-season event looks to be the biggest yet as the Meltdown moves to its new home in the Palmetto State. Northern drivers have dominated the two previous runnings of the PASS Winter Meltdown in Florida with New Hampshire’s Brad Leighton taking the checkered flag at New Smyrna Speedway in 2010 and Maine’s Joey Doiron claiming the victory at Auburndale Speedway in 2013.
Being on Super Bowl weekend, the PASS Winter Meltdown will be short track racing’s first major points event of 2016 and will also feature a 100 lap event for the South East Limited Late Models (Non-Winners), a 75 lapper for the Southeast Supertrucks, both paying $3,000 to win, and a 40 lap event for the Mini Stocks paying $2,000 to the winner. Rookie Hayden Humphries recently tested at Greenville-Pickens Speedway and plans to do “double-duty,” competing in both the PASS Super Late Model and Southeast Limited Late Model races. The PASS Winter Meltdown 150 lapper will go green on Saturday afternoon, February 6 at 2 PM and will serve as the first race of 2016 for the PASS South Super Late Models and the PASS National Championship Series.
The first batch of PASS Super Late Models entries has been released and includes drivers from all over the United States. Northwest short track legend Garrett Evans will pilot the famous #64 in the PASS Winter Meltdown. The Washington state driver will compete in several PASS events throughout the season, with an eye towards possible competing for the PASS National Championship. Texas youngster Derek Scott, Jr. will make his first trip to Greenville-Pickens Speedway for the Winter Meltdown. Scott competed in three PASS South events last year, including the Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway, where he was the fastest qualifier and led the most laps. Michigan driver Vinnie Miller returns in 2016 after several impressive runs late last year. Miller has already announced his intention to compete on the full schedule as he races for the PASS South Super Late Model championship this year.
A strong group of contenders from North Carolina have also pre-entered, including two former PASS champions. Tate Fogleman from Durham claimed his first PASS South Super Late Model championship in 2015 and hopes to become the first driver in series history to repeat. Fellow teenager Kodie Conner from Kannapolis moves up to the PASS South Super Late Model division full-time in 2016 after taking the PASS Pro Late Model title last year. Matt Craig, another teenaged driver from Kannapolis, looks to build on a strong finish to the 2015 season in the C&C Boilers machine which saw him finish fourth in points. Veteran Jimmy Doyle of Hendersonville finished fifth in PASS South points in 2015 and will be seeking his first career win. And, North Carolina’s Jeff Batten has filed an entry for the Meltdown, following a career-best sixth place finish in the final PASS South Super Late Model standings last year.
Action gets underway at Greenville-Pickens Speedway on Friday, February 5th with gates opening at 9 AM and rotating practice for the PASS Super Late Models, Southeast Limited Late Models, Southeast Supertrucks, and Mini Stocks from 11 AM – 5 PM. On Saturday, February 6th, gates will open at 8 AM, with rotating practice from 10 AM – 12:05 PM, qualifying at 12:30 PM, and feature events set to go green at 2 PM.
The complete weekend schedule and entry forms for the PASS Winter Meltdown at Greenville-Pickens Speedway can be found at ProAllStarsSeries.com. The 2016 license forms for the PASS Super Late Models are now available at ProAllStarsSeries.com. Drivers purchasing licenses for the 2016 season will receive bonus points for each race they are pre-registered for and will also save money towards any events that they enter early.
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 Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway and the legendary Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway. For media or marketing questions, please contact Alan Dietz at 704-231-2039 or alandietzpass@live.com. Please visit ProAllStarsSeries.com for more information and don’t forget to “Like” the Pro All Stars Series on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at @PASSSLM14 to keep up with breaking news as it happens.
Sources: Alan Dietz/PASS PR