CHARLOTTE, NC (September 22) – In order to become a championship
contender, you first have to race well and hopefully win a race or two
along the way. Well for the drivers in contention for the 2008 Pro
All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model championship that is
true, with a few notable exceptions. In particular, the last two
races. At both the Caraway (NC) Speedway and the Newport (TN)
Speedway, the championship chasers have been eliminated due to a
myriad of problems.
Perhaps the hardest hit driver in PASS South points has been the point
leader Corey Williams…literally. Williams has been involved in hard
crashes at Caraway and at Newport. And, Williams was challenging for
the lead late in both races when the accidents have occurred. It's
been a tough month, full of late nights and lots of work for Williams
and his underfinanced team. With the Over The Mountain 150 on the
horizon this weekend at the Hickory Motor Speedway, Williams looks to
get back and stretch his points lead at the site of his only 2008 win.
Alex Haase comes to Hickory second in points and trailing Williams by
only 24 points. However, Haase probably would be leading the points
had he not his own share of problems. Over the last three races,
Haase's Kyle Busch Foundation Toyota has suffered flat tires at Dillon
and Newport while in a position to have at least a top three finish in
both of those races. Haase comes to Hickory in a much different
position this weekend than he did for the Easter Bunny 150 back in
April. In April, Haase finished 21st after being involved in a couple
of different incidents. In that first race at Hickory, Haase was only
competing in his second PASS South event and now has two wins heading
back there on Saturday.
The last month for Perry Brown has seen a mix of adversity and a sense
of triumph. First, the adversity. On lap one of the Piedmont Pride
125 at Caraway, Brown slammed his Ford hard into the turn two wall,
nearly sending the machine onto its lid. The car was almost destroyed
and Brown finished in 22nd. The Floridian and his team spent all week
in North Carolina, burning the midnight oil, in an effort to get the
machine fixed in the short week leading up to the Daniel Boone Classic
at Newport. After struggling through qualifying and the early part of
the race, Brown was able to get his problems corrected and managed an
eighth place finish. With all the ups and downs he has experienced,
Brown is still third in PASS South points, 36 points out of the lead.
Mark Gibson and Heath Hindman have had their own opportunities to move
up within the top five only to have their hopes destroyed. At
Caraway, Gibson had the best run of his PASS South career leading 99
laps, sometimes as far ahead as a straightaway over his nearest
competitor. Gibson would lose the lead to Haase on a late restart and
was then sent to the back of the field by PASS officials after contact
with Haase sent him spinning. Still, Gibson rallied to a strong
fourth place finish. Gibson's hopes for a repeat performance were
dashed the following week at Newport due to a blown engine in
practice. After starting Jason Grant's machine to get valuable PASS
South points, Gibson finished with a disappointing 15th place finish.
Defending Over The Mountain 150 winner Heath Hindman was one of the
fastest cars in practice at Caraway and Newport but had less than
expected finishes in both races. A mechanical problem knocked Hindman
out early at Caraway sending him back to Tennessee with a 20th place
finish. At Newport, Hindman blistered the field in qualifying and
seemed to have the car to beat. A late race skirmish, a wrecked race
car, and an upsetting 12th place finish were all Hindman was left with
leaving Newport.
Justin Wakefield appeared to have the hot hand with back to back wins
at Dillon and Caraway, but an early accident at Newport has slowed
Wakefield's momentum. Despite that setback, Wakefield should rebound
and be hard to contend with heading to Hickory.
All of the top contenders have had their moments in the sun in 2008,
but the Hickory Motor Speedway will have a list of its own new
challenges for them this weekend. The real Super Late Models of the
PASS South series will use every groove imaginable around the .363
mile stock car racing icon. Over the years, it has been common place
to see the PASS South Super Late Models use both the bottom line and
the high line and there is no clear answer to which groove is really
the best. And the championship contenders are not the only drivers
looking for a win at the Hickory Motor Speedway. Alex Fleming, John
Batten, Tim Pinion, Bradley McCaskill, John Stancill, and Brian
Royalty should all be contenders in the Over The Mountain 150.
Stancill finished third in the Easter Bunny 150 and returns after a
few races off in PASS South. Royalty brought out a brand new engine
and took it to a fourth place finish at Newport. All the PASS South
regulars will also have to battle a full field of Super Late Model
contenders looking to get into Hickory's hallowed victory lane.
Real Super Late Model action returns to Hickory this weekend as the
PASS South Super Late Models return for the 3rd Annual Over The
Mountain 150. It all starts on Friday, September 26th at Hickory
Motor Speedway for the PASS South Super Late Models with practice from
4 PM to 7 PM. On Saturday, September 27th, pit gates will open at
12:30 PM, qualifying will be at 6 PM, with racing starting at 7 PM.
No comments:
Post a Comment