CHARLOTTE, NC :: As temperatures across the South continue to hover around the 100 degree mark on the temperature gauge, the racers of the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) are tackling the challenge head on. After being rained out recently on the originally scheduled Saturday night date at Southern National Motorsports Park in eastern North Carolina, both the PASS South Super Late Models and PASS Pro Late Models took to the track to race on an extremely hot and humid Sunday afternoon. On Wednesday night July 3rd, both divisions will take to the track once again under extreme heat, this time in the Upstate of South Carolina at the extremely tight and challenging 3/8 mile Anderson Motor Speedway as part of the 8th Annual Firecracker 150. And, much like the recent challenges posed at Southern National, Anderson will present its own unique set of obstacles to the Nation’s best short track racers.
Last year, Winston Salem, NC native Brandon Ward was up to the test, leading flag-to-flag in a dominant performance to win the Firecracker 150 for his second career PASS South Super Late Model victory. Despite being fifth in PASS South points entering the special mid-week show at Anderson, Ward and his New Day Motorsports team are not happy with their performance thus far in 2013. The car that won at Anderson last year was destroyed in a hard crash back in May at South Boston Speedway. However, Ward thinks his chances are good to become the first repeat winner of the Firecracker 150 based on the performance of the new kpmoto.com/ Foothill Ford machine at Caraway and Southern National.
“It’s all about survival at Anderson, it’s hot, you’ve got to save tires and it’s all about who’s prepared to save the most and have something left physically and in the car at the end,” said Ward. “So far we’re really happy with the new car and we think it will be every bit as good, or better, than what we had there last year.”
For Spencer Davis and Randy Gentry, Wednesday night’s return of the PASS South Super Late Models to Anderson Motor Speedway will give them a chance to race closer to home in front of their families and friends.
Davis is a rookie in the PASS South Super Late Models and is also pulling double duty competing in the PASS Pro Late Model division in which he recently scored his first career victory piloting the team’s brand new Dodge Challenger. The 2013 season has been a whirlwind for the young Georgia racer who debuted with the series in February at the Florida Winter Meltdown at Auburndale Speedway. In addition to his PASS Pro Late Model win at Southern National, Davis led over 80 laps in the PASS South Super Late Model event there before finishing ninth. Davis has experience racing at Anderson Motor Speedway in other series and is excited about the opportunity to race closer to his Peach State home.
“I really like the track and I think I’ve got a good hold on it that will help us with the Super car,” said Davis, who will enter the Firecracker 150 fourth in points. “It’s just going to be real cool racing close to home with the PASS series with the family coming out and hopefully we can get a win there and celebrate closer to home with family and friends.”
On the opposite end of the experience spectrum is Randy Gentry, a veteran with over 15 years of experience racing Super Late Models. A native of Easley, SC, Gentry has a short drive of less than 30 minutes to travel to Anderson Motor Speedway. Being that close to home, Gentry will no doubt have a number of family and friends in attendance who saw him cut his teeth in the Upstate at tracks like Anderson and Greenville Pickens Speedway. And, based on his performance as of late, Gentry has a lot to be optimistic about heading into the Firecracker 150. He led the most laps at Caraway Speedway before finishing tenth and had his best career PASS South finish last time out at Southern National finishing in eighth.
“At Caraway I just made up my mind and said I’m going to show these people we can lead some laps and I think they see we can contend for some wins now,” said Gentry. “It’s going to take a lot of patience because these motors are making anywhere from 580 to 600 horsepower and it’s going to be all about tire management. We haven’t been anywhere like Anderson yet, that’s for sure.”
In addition to the great action on the track Wednesday night, fans are encouraged to come out and get their Independence Day holiday started early with the biggest fireworks show in the Tri-State area presented by Zambelli Fireworks.
Action gets underway on Wednesday for the 8th Annual Firecracker 150 at Anderson Motor Speedway with rotating practice for the PASS South Super Late Models, PASS Pro Late Models, CCS Modifieds, and Legends from 3-6 PM, qualifying at 6:30 PM, main event racing is slated to begin at 8:00 PM and will be followed by the Zambelli Fireworks show.
