Early Entries Pouring In for PASS South Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory

Since the inaugural Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model season concluded last fall, racers from all over the East Coast have been anxiously counting down the days until April 7th, 2007. On that day, all of the hard work that each Super Late Model team has put into their racecars in the off-season will be put to the test in the season-opening PASS South race at Hickory Motor Speedway, the second-annual Easter Bunny 150.

Entries have been pouring in to PASS headquarters in Maine, with an impressive lineup of past Super Late Model champions and up-and-coming young stars from the North and South already registered for the Easter Bunny 150. Defending PASS South Champion Mike Rowe will be there, as will 2006 PASS Outlaw titlist Derek Ramstrom and a host of other Super Late Model racers from North and South.

A healthy number of drivers have already signed on to visit Hickory to start the second PASS South season, but the distinction of being the first entrant for the race belongs to Center Conway, New Hampshire driver Dale Shaw. Shaw is a former NASCAR Busch North Series champion and a Late Model standout in various series throughout New England. He even competed in several NASCAR Busch Series events in the 1990’s, scoring three top-five finishes, including a second-place finish at a track similar in size and shape to Hickory; South Boston Speedway in 1997.

Now Shaw brings years worth of Late Model and other short-track racing knowledge to a historic track that will put his experience to a test.

“To be honest, I don’t know much about Hickory,” said Shaw. “It’s one of the tracks that I wasn’t fortunate enough to race at when I was running Busch South (today’s NASCAR Busch Series). I’m hoping for the same success I had a South Boston when I ran there with the Busch car.

“But I like the older tracks because I think they’re more of a driver’s track. I think that’s where I’ll get my advantage because that’s what I’ve heard Hickory is.”

Shaw will be heading down to Hickory for his first PASS South race of his career. He is a past PASS North winner who will be progressively handing the driving reigns over to his son, D.J. The younger Shaw won last year’s Late Model track championship at White Mountain Motorsports Park in New Hampshire and will be making the step up to a Super Late Model class at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway (ME) this year in a car that his dad will be running at Hickory in the Easter Bunny 150.

But that doesn’t mean that the elder Shaw will be out there just making laps to make sure the car runs well for D.J.

“I’m going to Hickory to win. I’m not shaking down the car for nobody,” laughed Shaw.

If Shaw is going to get the win at Hickory, it will have to come against a crop of veteran racers like himself, as well as a formidable amount of young racers. In the most recent PASS South race at Hickory Motor Speedway last August, a newcomer to the series made an impressive first impression. Brian Scott, under the tutelage of short track great Freddie Query, led a good portion of the 2006 “Over the Mountain 150” at Hickory, eventually finishing fourth. This year, the former dirt racer Scott will be out to wrap up an even stronger run now that he’s got some experience at Hickory under his belt.

“For some reason I just adapted to it a lot faster than any place I’ve been,” said Scott. “It’s a short track, you keep it on the bottom and you’ve got to work the throttle coming off. It’s like you’re constantly in a turn. I don’t know if it’s from my Mini-Sprint experience just always

being on a short track in the turns, but Hickory really reminded me of the dirt tracks I first started off at. I don’t know if that was the factor in me adapting well, but we obviously did well at that track.

“We ran up front and were leading the race, but lost it on a restart. We got shuffled back, but we worked back up to third and we lost third on a late restart, but we were still able to finish fourth. That was probably, in itself, the most experience I gained in a single race.”

Shaw and Scott will have their chance to get their first victory at Hickory Motor Speedway on April 7th along with a strong field of PASS South Super Late Models. But, once again, fans will see much more than just the PASS South stars at Hickory. In addition to the 150-lap feature for the Super Late Models, the fans will also be treated with a 50-lap Aaron’s Pro Challenge Series event, a 25-lap Redneck Racing Series event and a 50-lap Allison Legacy Series race.

Fans will once again also be encouraged to bring their kids to Hickory Motor Speedway to see the Easter Bunny and participate in an Easter Egg Hunt.

Pit gates on Saturday, April 7th, will open for competitors at 11am. Practice for the PASS South Super Late Models will begin at 1, with qualifying going off at 4:15pm. Racing will start with the PASS South heats at 6pm. Spectator gates will open for fans at 4pm. The Easter Egg hunt and visit from the Easter Bunny will begin at 6:30pm on the track.

For more information on the PASS South Series, contact Jeremy Troiano at (704) 455–2051 and be sure to visit www.racewithpass.com and also be sure to visit the official website of PASS North, www.proallstarsseries.com.