PASS South Announces October Race at Greenville-Pickens

During its 60-year history, there has been plenty of action that has taken place on the asphalt of Greenville-Pickens Speedway. Legendary racers like Ralph Earnhardt, David Pearson and Butch Lindley have made their mark on the track through the years by putting on some great races at the South Carolina oval.

They’ve also made their mark on the track’s hallowed walls as well. Not by hitting those walls, but because of the fact that the track’s former champions all have their names painted on the concrete walls that surround the racing surface.

Now, the PASS South Super Late Model series will get the chance to race within those hallowed walls and start a new chapter in the history of Greenville-Pickens. PASS officials have announced today that the tour will visit Greenville-Pickens Speedway for the inaugural running of “The Howler” on Saturday, October 27th.

“We’re really excited about going to Greenville-Pickens Speedway,” said PASS President Tom Mayberry. “It’s a very prestigious track and there is a lot of history there. We want to be a part of its future now and hope to start a long-term relationship between the track and PASS South starting this fall. The race is on Halloween weekend and we’re looking for this to be a family-oriented event that everyone can enjoy.”

The history of Greenville-Pickens goes back to July, 1946 when Ed Samples won the track’s inaugural event in a 1937 Ford that was mostly stock. When the PASS South Super Late

Models go there, the cars will be anything but stock. The low and sleek racecars feature purpose-built chassis’ and powerful V-8 engines wrapped with stock-appearing Chevrolet Monte Carlo or Ford Fusion bodies.

For 20 years, starting in 1951, the track hosted a number of NASCAR Grand National [Now known as NASCAR Nextel Cup] events. The final one in June, 1971 was won by Richard Petty. When the PASS South competitors visit the track, there will be a number of drivers with connections to the highest level of NASCAR racing today. Preston Peltier, the driver of the #5 entry, works at Hendrick Motorsports during the week. Ted Musgrave, Jr. is an employee at the Ginn Racing team. And many of the series sponsors, such as Sunoco Race Fuels, BSR and Racing Electronics, can be seen ever weekend at the NEXTEL Cup events.

“The Howler” should attract a star-studded field of Super Late Model competitors from all over the map. In addition to the regular PASS South crowd, the event is likely to attract several PASS North teams who will have their regular season end earlier in October.

“The Howler” presented by PASS South at Greenville-Pickens Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, October 27th. There will be an optional practice day on Friday, October 26th and a full schedule for the race weekend will be released as the event draws closer.

The 2007 PASS Super Late Model schedules will be highlighted by two major fall events. The PASS 400 weekend at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway (ME) is set for September 23rd-24th and the Second Annual Mason-Dixon Meltdown is scheduled for Concord Motorsport Park on November 16th-17th.

For more information on the PASS South Series, contact Jeremy Troiano at (704) 788-2134, and for news regarding the PASS North Series, contact Mike Twist (207) 590-1786. For more information on PASS contingency programs and for technical questions, contact Scott Reed at (207) 625-3230 and be sure to visit www.racewithpass.com, as well as the official website of PASS North, www.proallstarsseries.com.

The long run at the end also hurt Clark, who was having a tire go flat late in the event. The 2006 PASS North champion ended up finishing fourth.

“I honestly thought that we would have been able to beat Lawler,” said Clark. “If we had a restart with 10 laps to go, he would have been mine. I was just trying to keep him in my sights. That tire didn’t help the situation, but hey, we’re going home fourth with a car that’s in one piece.”

The PASS rulebook allows teams to use several different engine and chassis combinations to compete in the series. Lawler’s winning car was powered by an ASA-style crate engine. He enjoys racing in a series where the rulebook sets up a level playing field, although he also believes that his combination was definitely the way to go at Hickory.

“They have a great rules package - they absolutely do,” said Lawler. “This car worked for us. We qualified sixth, and it was a little bit tough for qualifying, but at the end of the race I don’t think that you can beat a crate motor when it comes to saving tires. That’s true at this place at least, since it’s a tough old racetrack.”