Reed, Hopkins Take PASS Commonwealth Classic Wins At Richmond
RICHMOND, VA (March 30) – Austin Reed and Mike Hopkins split Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Model wins in the Inaugural PASS Commonwealth Classic Saturday afternoon at Richmond Raceway.
“The crew made some awesome adjustments at the halfway break and then the car was on rails,” said Reed after the biggest win of his career. “To win at Richmond is just amazing. I can’t believe we won yet, but I can’t wait for it to sink in.”
In qualifying, both PASS Crate pole sitter Ray Christian, III and Heim, the PASS Open fast qualifier, were quicker than Kevin Harvick’s pole time at Richmond last fall, with Heim posting a lap of 126.152 miles per hour.
Heim jumped to the lead at the start for the PASS Open Super Late Model race, while Tate Fogleman settled into second. The car on the move early was Matt Craig, who started sixth, but moved past Fogleman for second on lap 30. The two made slight contact at the exit of turn two causing damage to the right rear of Craig’s Camaro. Craig was able to repair the damage during the competition caution on lap 40.
On the restart, Craig appeared to get the advantage on Heim entering turn one, but Heim would rocket back by him down the backstretch. The battle for second between Craig and Fogleman would heat up again, literally. As Fogleman looked ready to take the position, a fire would erupt from under the hood of his car to bring out the second caution of the night on lap 48.
Following the restart, Craig continued to struggle a bit as Ben Rowe looked to try and take second. But, after the two made contact in turn three, Jared Irvan was able to jump up to the outside and pass both of them for second. The fastest car on the racetrack, though, was Austin Reed as he was making his way up from the rear of the field. Reed would take second from Irvan with three laps to go, but would run out of time as Heim led flag-to-flag to apparently take his first career PASS Super Late Model win. But, in post-race inspection, Heim’s car was disqualified, handing the win to Reed. Irvan would finish second, followed by Craig, Rowe, and Augie Grill. Rounding out the top ten were Eddie MacDonald, Derek Griffith, Eddie Van Meter, Mike Wallace, and Kyle Reed.
At the drop of the green flag for the PASS Crate Late Models, Christian jumped out to the lead from the pole. After a caution for debris from Garrett Hall’s machine on lap 10, Martin Latulippe was able to grab the lead from Christian on the restart. It would be short-lived though as Christian reassumed the top spot three laps later. The caution would wave again on lap 24 when Hall slammed the turn four wall after spinning in fluid from the car of Reid Lanpher.
Prior to the competition caution on lap 40, Hopkins would snag the lead from Christian. But just two laps after the restart, Christian would move back by to take the lead. Christian looked to be driving away for the win, but would fall off the pace with just 12 laps to go with mechanical issues. Hopkins moved back up front and led the rest of the way for his second career PASS win over Jake Johnson, Matt Craig, Latulippe, and Gabe Brown. Rounding out the top ten were Ben Rowe, Kyle Reed, Devin O’Connell, Dan McKeage, and Derek Ramstrom.
“I can’t believe that we just won at Richmond,” said Hopkins in victory lane. “We really struggled with the car yesterday in traffic, but we put our heads together and worked on the car and it handled flawlessly today. I’m honestly a little emotional, this is just awesome!”
Joey Polewarcyzk, Jr. was the ACT Late Model winner and Matt Hirschman was the Tour-Type Modified victor, while Jason McDowell took the MASS Street Stock win and Daniel Bentley claimed the NEMST Mini Stock win.
The PASS National Championship Super Late Models will be in action next up on Sunday, April 7 for The Icebreaker at Thompson Speedway in Connecticut. Entry forms are currently available at ProAllStarsSeries.com. Be sure to “Like” the Pro All Stars Series on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at @PASSSLM14.
Sources: Alan Dietz/PASS PR
Photo Credit – Speed51
PASS Crate Late Model – PASS Commonwealth Classic – Unofficial Results
- 15 – Mike Hopkins 75
- 15MA – Jake Johnson 75
- 54 – Matt Craig 75
- 84QC – Martin Latulippe 75
- 47 – Gabe Brown 75
- 4N – Ben Rowe 75
- 42 – Kyle Reed 75
- 43 – Devin O’Connell 75
- 40ME – Dan McKeage 75
- 35 – Derek Ramstrom – 75
11. 40 – Bryan Shipp 75
12. 7 – Travis Benjamin 74
13. 00 – Bryan Kruczek 74
14. 93CT – Ray Christian, III 62
15. 59 – Reid Lanpher 24
16. 94 Garrett Hall 23
DNS 00 – Jimmy Renfrew, Jr.
PASS Open Super Late Model – PASS Commonwealth Classic Unofficial Results
- 14 – Austin Reed 75
- 28 – Jared Irvan 75
- 54 – Matt Craig 75
- 4N – Ben Rowe 75
- 84 – Augie Grill 75
- 17MA – Eddie MacDonald 75
- 12G – Derek Griffith 75
- 23 – Eddie Van Meter 75
- 6 – Mike Wallace – 75
- 42 – Kyle Reed – 75
11. 93CT – Ray Christian, III 75
12. 9 – Brandon Watson 75
13. 45 – Kodie Conner 69
14. 24J – JP Josiasse 68
15. 24 – Collin Garrett 62
16. 84QC – Martin Latullipe 48
17. 8 – Tate Fogleman 47
18. 7 – Travis Benjamin 28
19. 60 – DJ Shaw 9
20. 60 – DJ Shaw 9
DNS 59 – Reid Lanpher
DNS 7 – Justin Crider
DNS 08 – Nicholas Naugle
DQ 78 – Corey Heim