CHARLOTTE, NC (January 6) - Since the inception of the Pro All Stars
Series (PASS) South Super Late Model division in 2006 the series has
seen a varied group of drivers claim the championship. In 2006, PASS
North veteran Mike Rowe made the long trek down from Maine to compete
in every race that season, winning two races to become the first ever
PASS South champion. Last year, Texas native Ryan Lawler used
experiences gained from his championship battle with Rowe the previous
year to win two races and bring the championship back to the South.
Coming into 2008, most racing minds agreed that the 2008 championship
could very well go to Corey Williams. After all, he was coming off a
season that saw him win three PASS South races in just seven starts.
And, at the 2008 PASS South season opener at Hickory Motor Speedway,
Williams dominated the second half of the Easter Bunny 150 to take his
fourth career win. It looked to be a long season for anybody else
hoping to win the title in 2008, but along the way, somebody forgot to
tell Alex Haase.
Haase came to the PASS South Super Late Model division after a long
tenure of racing on the West Coast. Wins in the Bandoleros and
Legends Car division led to races and wins driving Super Late Models
at The Bullring at Las Vegas and at the Irwindale Speedway in
California. It was his Legends Car racing, though, that led to
Haase's opportunity with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch
"His dad and my dad worked at a Ford dealership in Las Vegas years and
years ago," said Busch of his relationship with the Haase family.
"Alex started racing Bandoleros and I sort of helped him out and was
talking to him about maybe doing more. I was looking for something
that was a good series to put him [Haase] in and something that he
could go after a points championship with and get some recognition out
of and that's why we decided to go with PASS."
Coming into the 2008 season, Haase had little PASS South experience to
fall back on having attempted only one race and failing to qualify for
that one (the 2006 Mason-Dixon Meltdown at South Boston Speedway).
Being a virtual rookie with PASS South in 2008, the results showed in
Haase's first two starts. Haase finished 21st at Hickory after being
involved in a couple of accidents and followed that up with an eighth
place finish at the Watermelon Capital Speedway in Georgia. From
there, Haase began to find his stride. Haase finished third at the
Motor Mile Speedway despite an incident with Trevor Sanborn that sent
him to the rear of the field and followed that up with a sixth place
finish in his first trip to Orange County Speedway.
Entering the summer months, Haase was fully entrenched as a
championship contender along with Williams. In June, the PASS South
Super Late Models made their first trip to the tight quarter-mile Wake
County Speedway just outside of Raleigh, NC. The race looked to be a
duel between former Wake County Speedway champion Alex Fleming and
Williams, who was used to racing on this type of track from his days
back in Maine. Surely enough, Fleming led the early laps before
fading back, handing the lead to Williams. All the while, Haase was
methodically making his way up from the middle of the field. Near the
halfway point, Haase would take the lead from Williams and never
looked back to take his first PASS South victory in the Capital City
Clash.
From there, PASS South teams and drivers headed to the legendary
Greenville-Pickens Speedway for the Firecracker 125. In front of a
packed house, Haase looked to gain points on Williams after Williams
had to start in the back after a problem in qualifying. At the drop
of the green flag, Justin Wakefield established himself as the driver
to beat opening up a straightaway lead over Haase. While this was
going on, Williams wowed the crowd by passing cars on the extreme
outside groove of the flat half mile track. Wakefield would be
eliminated in a crash on a late race restart leaving Williams and
Haase to duel it out for the win. Despite being the stronger of the
two cars on long runs, Williams did not have enough laps on the
green-white-checker restart and Haase would go on to score his second
straight victory.
The middle of the year would see Haase and all of the championship
contenders struggle. Haase was eliminated in an early crash at Orange
County's Southern Sizzler and would finish 24th. At Dillon, Haase
suffered a flat tire while leading forcing him to pit under green
which resulted in a ninth place finish. Haase came back from a spin
at Caraway to finish second and at Newport another flat tire resulted
in a disappointing tenth place finish.
Coming back to Greenville-Pickens for the Howler 150, the championship
battle was down to a three man fight between Williams, Haase, and
Perry Brown. The weekend started badly for Haase after he lost an
engine in practice and had to qualify his back-up car with very little
practice in it. In qualifying, Haase was barely able to crack the top
20. The early stages of the race would be dominated by Greenville
regulars Toby Porter and Randy Porter. Williams' championship hopes
took a nosedive when he had to retire his car due to a mechanical
issue. Meanwhile, Haase had been slowly making his way to the front
to challenge new front runners Adam Bates and Jeff Fultz. The three
drivers waged war over the final 15 laps with Haase nearly losing
control down the back straightaway. Haase managed to take the lead
and hold on for his third win of the 2008 season. Haase's win coupled
with Williams' problem allowed Haase to take the points lead heading
into the final race at South Boston.
Early on in the Mason Dixon Meltdown at South Boston, Haase and
Williams had strong runs going behind race leader and PASS North
champion Johnny Clark. Haase made a charge on Clark prior to the
halfway mark, but a mechanical problem heading into turn one sent
Haase's Toyota hard into the outside wall. Despite a setback that
could have cost him the championship, Haase's Kyle Busch Foundation
crew worked hard to get their car repaired for the second half of the
race. The hard work paid off when Williams' championship hopes were
dashed due to a crash just past the halfway break. Haase soldiered on
to finish 12th and would win the 2008 PASS South championship by 16
points over Williams.
Haase looks to defend his title in 2009, but it will be a tall order
indeed with many new teams coming to PASS next year and many existing
teams upgrading their equipment for the new season. On behalf of
everyone with PASS, we wish you a Happy and Safe New Year and look
forward to seeing all of you in 2009!
Although the 2008 season is over, it won't be long before the 2009
season begins. The 2009 PASS South schedule was recently released and
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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