into place in order for a series to grow. In addition to garnering fan
support, you have to have places to race and drivers that want to
race. In each of the first two seasons of the Pro All Stars Series
(PASS) South Super Late Model division, the schedule was comprised of
eight races each season. Through a process of trial-and-error, some
tracks have proved to be better venues than others for the 600
horsepower "monsters" that compete in PASS South. The 2008 season will
go down as a time when it was time to grow and expand. The PASS South
schedule was expanded to 12 races. Of those 12 races, six were
contested at tracks that PASS South had never competed on. Expanding
on the theme of growth, numerous drivers came to PASS South either on
a part-time or full-time basis that had never raced with the nation's
top short track series.
PASS South's new and expanded era began, ironically enough, at the
venue that has hosted more events than any other, the Hickory Motor
Speedway. Drivers like John Fleming and Shaun Turple made the long tow
from Canada. Bill Elliott development driver Mitch Cobb made his first
start. And, short track legend Butch Miller made his first foray in to
PASS South racing. The biggest surprise, though, came from a very
unlikely source. John Stancill was a familiar name to fans of Legends
car racing in the Carolinas. After a successful stint in Legends,
Stancill moved up to the Pro Challenge division where more success
followed. Coming into Hickory, the 15-year-old driver had never made a
start in any type of full-bodied stock car, let alone a PASS South
Super Late Model. Stancill started a very unassuming 26^th after
advancing to the Easter Bunny 150 through the consolation race. That's
where Stancill's anonymity ended. Once the green flag dropped,
Stancill made a steady charge to the front racing with the likes of
Ben Rowe, Ryan Lawler, and Corey Williams for the lead. Stancill
eventually finished third and was now on everybody's racing radar. At
the end of the 2008 season, Stancill managed to score two more top
five finishes and just missed out on winning the first ever PASS
National Championship to Cassius Clark.
The second race of the season saw PASS making its deepest trek South
by racing at the Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, GA. Florida's
Perry Brown began racing with PASS at the end of the 2007 season and
had made the decision during the off season to race for the 2008
championship. At Watermelon Capital, Brown dominated to score his
first career PASS South win over Georgia veterans Bubba Pollard and
Ryan Seig, as well as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Ragan.
Brown continued to be one of the most consistent drivers on the
circuit and would finish third in the final point standings.
Race number three was at yet another new venue and would see another
first time winner. Motor Mile Speedway is a beautiful facility nestled
in the hills of southern Virginia and was primed for some PASS South
Super Late Model racing. When the green flag dropped, a great field of
drivers looked to bring the Mom 150 trophy back home as a Mother's Day
present. Alex Haase and Trevor Sanborn waged a war early on for the
lead, but an incident between the two took them out of contention for
the win. Enter Zach Stroupe, who took advantage of their misfortune,
to become the youngest winner in PASS racing at 15 years of age.
Along with the Hickory Motor Speedway, Orange County Speedway has been
a mainstay on the PASS South schedule. But, it was a new winner that
Orange County will be remembered for in 2008. Trevor Sanborn has long
been considered a talent on the rise since he first started competing
in the PASS North Series. However, with plenty of second and third
place finishes to show for himself, the wins seemed to elude Sanborn.
In 2008, Sanborn teamed with the Richard Moody Racing team on a
part-time basis as a teammate to four-time PASS North champion Ben
Rowe. In the Orange Blossom Special at Orange County in June, Sanborn
electrified the crowd by holding off Jason Hogan in a back and forth
battle to the checkered flag. In July, Sanborn was back at Orange
County for the Southern Sizzler, the second of four PASS National
races. Sanborn dominated this time to win the 200 lapper and take the
$10,000 winner's share back to Maine.
Next up, was PASS South's first visit to the Wake County Speedway in
Raleigh, NC. This would also mark the first time that many of the PASS
South competitors had ever raced a Super Late Model on a quarter-mile
speedway. That combination did not worry PASS South points leader
Corey Williams who was used to racing this type of track in his native
Maine. Somebody forgot to tell Alex Haase, though, that Williams was
the favorite. Haase battled from the back of the pack to pass Williams
late in the Capital City Clash for his first win of the 2008 season.
The win also marked the first for Kyle Busch Motorsports and for
Toyota in PASS. Haase came back in the Firecracker 125 at the
Greenville-Pickens Speedway to win his second straight race and signal
his competitors that he would be a contender for the 2008
championship.
As the months of August and September rolled around, three new venues
in three different states were on the slate for PASS South. First up,
was the South Carolina Clash at the Dillon Motor Speedway. Justin
Wakefield held off all his competitors to take his first PASS South
win on a Sunday afternoon that saw temperatures soar to upwards of 100
degrees. Next, it was off the Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, NC, for
the Piedmont Pride Classic. Despite the race being dominated by Mark
Gibson, Wakefield pounced after Gibson and Haase had problems to take
his second straight PASS South win. In September, PASS South headed to
the Volunteer State of Tennessee for the first time. The Daniel Boone
Classic would be contested on the ultra high banked Newport Speedway.
In qualifying, Tennessee native Heath Hindman blistered the track with
a lap of just over 12-seconds. Hindman looked to have the car to beat,
but was eliminated in a crash with Williams. The race would come down
to an unlikely battle between USAR Hooters Pro Cup veteran Jay
Fogleman and Bobby East, subbing for PASS South regular Brandon
Johnson. Fogleman barely held off East to win in just his second PASS
South start in what he called "the most fun racing I've done in
years."
The 2008 PASS South championship would be decided at the Mason Dixon
Meltdown at South Boston Speedway in Virginia between Haase, Williams,
and Brown. While those drivers raced for the championship, 2008 PASS
North champion Johnny Clark would go on to dominate for his first PASS
South triumph. The win at South Boston capped off a phenomenal season
for Clark that saw him win three of Pass's four "big money" races.
Despite a wreck that took him out of contention for the win, Haase
held on to win the PASS South Super Late Model title. Haase's
championship wrapped up a season that will be remembered as a season
of growth for the PASS South Super Late Models. And that growth will
continue in 2009 with new tracks and many new faces expected to try
and make their own share of history next year.
Although the 2008 season is over, it won't be long before the 2009
season begins. The 2009 PASS South season will begin on Saturday,
March 14, 2009, with the Fourth Annual South Carolina Clash at the
Dillon Motor Speedway in Dillon, SC. The 2009 PASS North Super Late
Model schedule is nearing completion and will be released in the
coming weeks.
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