CHARLOTTE, NC (April 21) – Durham, North Carolina's Jay Fogleman has
spent more nights than he can count over the years racing and winning
at Orange County Speedway. After all, it is where he began his racing
career in 1982 and is located in Rougemont just a few miles from where
he lives. But, in all the races Fogleman has competed in at Orange
County, perhaps he has never looked forward to an event like this
weekend's 4th Annual Orange Blossom Special. Fogleman will return
after a long absence from Orange County Speedway on Saturday night to
battle the best field of Super Late Model drivers in the country.
Over the better part of the last decade, Fogleman has been a regular
in the USAR Pro Cup Series and has not had the chance to compete at
Orange County. After finishing third in Pro Cup points in 2008,
Fogleman has made the switch to the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South
Super Late Model division and will have the opportunity to race twice
at Orange County this year. In a limited PASS South schedule in 2008,
Fogleman managed to win one race and has elected to go for the PASS
South championship in 2009. Although the season has gotten off to a
slow start with Fogleman stuck in 15th place in the PASS South point
standings after two races, many look to Orange County as the place
that the veteran can turn it around. Nobody racing in the Orange
Blossom Special has as much experience at Orange County as Fogleman
does. And, Fogleman will not be the only driver with local ties to
Orange County looking to defend the home turf.
Mark Gibson from Winston-Salem, NC finished fourth in PASS South
points in 2008 and is looking for his first top 10 finish in 2009.
Duane Linville of Kernersville, NC made his return to PASS South at
Orange County last year and has been knocking on the door of finishing
in the top ten. Bradley McCaskill and Alex Fleming of Raleigh are
best friends off the track and the toughest of competitors on the
track. Both McCaskill and Fleming scored top five finishes with PASS
South in 2008 and are hoping to give the hometown fans something to
cheer about at Orange County.
Perhaps the best chance of scoring a win for the locals could come
from one of the series youngest competitors. 14-year-old driver Ryan
Blaney from High Point, NC has impressed since making his PASS South
debut at Orange County in 2008. In his first start in a PASS South
Super Late Model, Blaney stormed through the field and made it all the
way up to third before a mechanical problem took him out of contention
for the win. After poor qualifying runs in the first two races of the
season at Dillon and Hickory, Blaney again charged through the field
to score top five finishes in both races. Blaney comes to Orange
County a surprising third in PASS South points behind veterans Ben
Rowe and Jeff Fultz. Maine's Rowe hopes to make it three for three in
PASS South for 2009 while Fultz looks for his first win in the series
after four straight top five finishes dating back to last year.
While locals hope to steal the show at Orange County, a couple of PASS
South rookies hope to join Blaney in the "phenom" category. Most
short track observers would say Pensacola, Florida's Johanna Long has
already achieved that status. Last year, Long became the first female
to win a Pro Late Model race at her home track, the Five Flags
Speedway. Earlier this year, she made more history by becoming the
first female winner at Five Flags in the Super Late Model division.
Long looks to her crew chief, veteran racer Freddie Query, and
teammate Trey Mitchell to help speed her learning curve in PASS South
as she makes the transition from racing in Florida.
Texas rookie Bryce Walker will also make his PASS South debut in the
Orange Blossom Special as a teammate to Jeff Fultz. Walker was
virtually unbeatable in INEX Legends car racing and has scored a
couple of top tens racing Crate Late Models thus far in 2009.
Veterans, rookies, and locals will be joined by the strongest Super
Late Model drivers in the South including Justin Wakefield, Heath
Hindman, Michael Pope, Clay Jones, Hal Goodson, John Batten, Devin
Jones, and many, many more.
Joining the PASS South Super Late Models at Orange County Speedway for
the first time will be the PASS Late Model Trucks. Through two races,
Grant Davidson has a second place finish at Dillon and a win at
Hickory. Those finishes have given Davidson a slight edge in points
over Marty Griggs and Jody Measamer. Ben Ebeling led several laps at
Hickory until an accident took him out of the running for the win.
This weekend, Ebeling will be joined in a team truck by Allen Huffman.
2008 Pro Challenge National Champion Clint King continues to impress
in his first season racing PASS Late Model Trucks and will be joined
by another Pro Challenge alum Justin Crider. The PASS Late Model
Trucks continue to grow and will compete along side the PASS South
Super Late Models at the next three events before taking the month of
June off when PASS South travels down to the New Senoia Raceway in
Georgia. In addition to the 4th Annual Orange Blossom Special for the
PASS South Super Late Models and the PASS Late Model Trucks, the
Allison Legacy cars and Limited Late Models will be in action this
weekend at the Orange County Speedway.
Action gets under way on Friday, April 24th at Orange County Speedway
with gates opening at 1 PM and rotating practice for all divisions
from 3 PM to 7PM. On Saturday, April 25th , pit gates open at 11 AM,
rotating practice for all divisions from 1 PM to 4 PM, PASS South
qualifying at 5 PM, and racing starts at 7 PM. Orange County Speedway
is located off NC Highway 57 near Rougemont. For more information go
to ocstrack.com or racewithpass.com. For marketing or media questions
contact Alan Dietz at 704-231-2039 or for technical information
contact Scott Reed at 207-625-3230
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