After a long off season for many teams, especially those in the Northeast and Canada, the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) National Championship Series is set to kick off Saturday, March 21 with the Peach Blossom Special 125 at Anderson Motor Speedway. This year’s event will mark the first time PASS has raced at the Upstate South Carolina facility since veteran Brandon Ward took the checkered flag there in 2012.
This will also be the first time the defending PASS AIM Recycling Super Late Model champion, DJ Shaw, has ever raced at Anderson Motor Speedway. The Center Conway, NH native is a coming off a career year that saw him finally capture that first elusive PASS title, including a series leading three wins along the way. Although Shaw is new to Anderson Motor Speedway, he is excited about the opportunity to once again race in the South in the Peach Blossom Special.
“I enjoy coming down South to race like this early in the year,” says Shaw, driver of the Precision JLM/Dale Shaw Race Cars/Mulkern Excavating #60. “For one thing, it gets the season started sooner and that’s always a good thing. We’re using this more as a test for a car we built during the offseason that has a lot of new ideas and is kind of experimental.”
Shaw is no stranger to early season success in the South, however. A late race pass in the Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway last year propelled him to one of the biggest wins of his career. A win that ultimately kick started his season and got his team focused on competing for the championship in the PASS AIM Super Late Models presented by Kenny U-Pull.
“To start off with a good run would be huge to give us confidence in the car and a little bit of a notebook heading into the North season,” said Shaw. “It’s one of those things where we need to have a good run or we need to do some work on the car to get it back to more of what we’re used to working with before the North season starts.”
Shaw will be joined by several of his Northern counterparts at Anderson Motor Speedway including three-time PASS National Champion, Ben Rowe, who competed in the inaugural event there in 2007 and Quebec’s Eric St. Gelais. Local favorite Randy Gentry will be making his first start of 2015, along with PASS South Super Late Model rookie Lucas Jones. PASS South championship hopefuls Zane Smith, Jody Measamer, Tate Fogleman, and Jimmy Doyle will also be looking to take home the title of Peach Blossom Special winner.
Action begins on Friday, March 20 with optional practice starting at 3 PM for the PASS Super Late Model, PASS Pro Late Models, USAC Eastern Midgets, and Legends cars. OnSaturday, March 21 pit gates open at Anderson Motor Speedway at 10 AM with rotating practice starting at Noon, followed by qualifying at 3:30 PM, and feature racing at 5 PM for the PASS Super Late Models, PASS Pro Late Models, USAC Eastern Midgets, and Legends. Please go to ProAllStarsSeries.com for entry forms and the complete weekend schedule.
