With the start of a new Pro All Stars Season (PASS), season less than a month away, Sanford, NC’s Jody Measamer became the first Super Late Model driver to file an entry for the upcoming 10th Annual South Carolina Clash on March 7 at Dillon (SC) Motor Speedway.
The tough 4/10 mile, egg-shaped speedway in South Carolina’s famed Pee Dee region presents a definite challenge to drivers hoping to get their seasons started off on the right foot. And, for Measamer, you might say he has a “love-hate” relationship when it comes to Dillon Motor Speedway. Of all the tracks on the 2015 PASS South Super Late Model schedule, Measamer has as much experience at Dillon as anyone. He raced Late Models and Supertrucks there on numerous occasions over the last decade before graduating to PASS South Super Late Models in 2012. But, in last year’s South Carolina Clash, Measamer experienced one of the worst crashes of his career barrel rolling down the front straightaway in a multi-car crash and destroying a brand new car. Despite that, Dillon Motor Speedway is still one of Measamer’s favorites and a place that he knows handling will be key for anyone looking to go to victory lane.
“Dillon is a tricky place because both ends of the track are totally different,” says Measamer of the track’s unique layout. “It is so important to get the car to rotate in the center of turns 3 and 4 and still have enough forward bite to get up off of turn 4. That’s the case at a lot of tracks, but to me, the banking transition and sharpness of the corners make it tough. The goal is to have the car good enough through the corners to have enough tires left at the end of the race to contend for the win.”
Measamer knows that a strong start at Dillon will go a long way towards propelling a driver towards the South’s most prestigious Super Late Model championship. Reflecting back again on 2014, Measamer destroyed a second machine in the very next race at Orange County Speedway when a mechanical failure sent the car careening into the turn one wall. With those early setbacks, Measamer and the Aquavapor team skipped several races in the middle of the season with the hopes of getting back on track and focusing towards 2015. The strategy paid off with Measamer equaling his best career finish of third at Caraway Speedway’s North-South Shootout in November. Strong runs late last year have Measamer focused on scoring his first career win this year and competing for the PASS South Super Late Model title.
“I’m looking forward to 2015, we built a new car last year and it was competitive and fast the last several races we ran,” said Measamer. “Racing luck and circumstances kinda played a roll in the end result, but I feel if we can put races together and finish them, that we have the car to finish near the front. A lot of hard work has went into the car, team, and people over the off season and I would have to say that I am really pumped to unload the AquaVapor Cigarettes Chevrolet for the season opener at Dillon.”
The 2015 season will begin on Saturday, March 7 with the 10th Annual South Carolina Clash at Dillon Motor Speedway with rotating practice starting at Noon, followed by qualifying at 3:30 PM, and feature racing at 5 PM for the PASS South Super Late Models, PASS Pro Late Models, Challengers/Chargers, and Legends. Please go to ProAllStarsSeries.com for entry forms and the complete weekend schedule.
