Tight PASS North Points Battle to be Decided at Seekonk Finale
NAPLES, ME (October 23) – For only the second time since 2010, the final race for the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) North Super Late Model season will be at a track other than Oxford Plains Speedway. On Saturday afternoon, New England’s fastest Super Late Models will complete for 150 laps at Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts, along with the Haunted Hundred for the Tri-Track Open Modified Series. Last year, the series returned to Seekonk for the first time since 2012, with Travis Benjamin taking the win and DJ Shaw claiming his third PASS North title.
The championship fight for the Northeast’s most prominent Super Late Model championship has come down to a battle between former PASS champions. Defending PASS National Champion, Derek Griffith, took over the points lead from Shaw last weekend at Oxford Plains Speedway by just eight points. 5-Time PASS National Champion, Ben Rowe, still has an outside shot at claiming his fifth north title as he sits 60 points behind Griffith.
After being involved in the same heat race crash at Oxford Plains, Griffith was able to salvage a seventh-place finish, while Shaw struggled to finish 15th, one lap down. Since the Oxford 250 in August, Griffith has consistently outpointed Shaw to move ahead in the standings as they head to Seekonk Speedway on Saturday afternoon.
“I love Seekonk, it’s a fun place for us and we’ve had some good runs there before,” says Griffith, driver of the LCM Motorsports Chevrolet #12G. “The championship would be a cool deal for us. We never try to go out and win a championship, more so we focus on winning races. The points, I would like to think, will play out as they should.”
While the PASS North season will conclude this weekend, the PASS National Championship will finish up on Saturday, November 16 with the highly anticipated Lanier National 200 at Lanier Raceplex in Georgia. Richmond Raceway winner, Mike Hopkins, leads the national championship standings over Griffith, Benjamin, Rowe, Ray Christian, III, and Jake Johnson. Prior to Lanier, however, all of those drivers and more will also be racing for national points at Seekonk this weekend.
Last week’s winner at Oxford Plains, Reid Lanpher, and multi-time Seekonk track champion, Tom Scully, will be among the favorites to challenge the championship contenders on Saturday afternoon at Seekonk. Former Oxford 250 winners, Curtis Gerry, Benjamin, and Rowe will be in the field, along with 2018 Oxford Plains Speedway champion, Gabe Brown. A strong group of drivers from Massachusetts will look to defend their home state honor, including Fred Astell, Dylan Estrella, Jake Johnson, Ryan Kuhn, along with Rhode Island’s Ryan Lineham and New York’s Michael Scorzelli. Entry forms and the complete weekend schedule for Seekonk Speedway and Lanier Raceplex are available at ProAllStarsSeries.com.
On Saturday, practice will run from 10 AM to 12:15 PM, racing for the PASS North Super Late Models, Tri-Track Open Modified Series, and Late Models will begin at 1 PM with heat races and will be followed by feature events.
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 legendary Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway, Easter Bunny 150 at the historic Hickory Motor Speedway, and the PASS Commonwealth Classic at Richmond Raceway. For technical information concerning all PASS divisions please send questions to passracing@roadrunner.com. For media or marketing questions, please contact Alan Dietz at 704-231-2039 or alandietzpass@live.com. And, don’t forget to “Like” the Pro All Stars Series on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @PASSSLM14 to keep up with breaking news as it happens.
Sources: Alan Dietz/PASS PR