CHARLOTTE, NC :: After two months plagued by rainouts and postponements, the top touring Super Late Model teams in the South are beyond ready to kick off the second half of the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South season with this weekend’s Scorcher 150 at Southern National Motorsports Park. The start of the 2013 season has been highlighted by tight, fast competition between experienced veterans and young newcomers to the series.
For the second year in-a-row, defending PASS South Champion Kyle Grissom and defending PASS National Champion Jay Fogleman are in a tussle for the 2013 PASS South championship. Entering the Scorcher 150, the two have separated themselves from their closest competitors in the standings, rookies Brandon Lynn and Spencer Davis, and are only eight points apart. Between the two, Fogleman might have at slight edge over Grissom having won the first PASS South race there back in April.
Speaking of Fogleman, the Durham, NC veteran comes to Southern National riding high following his third place finish in North America’s biggest short track event, the 40th TD Bank 250 which was recently held at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway. A strong contingent of Southern drivers made the trip North to Oxford this year, including PASS South’s Spencer Davis and Tate Fogleman. Both come to the Scorcher 150 with reason to be optimistic. Davis won the PASS Pro Late Model race at Southern National in July and led the most laps in the PASS South Super Late Model race, while T. Fogleman scored his best career PASS South finish coming home in seventh.
The Scorcher 150 will be the third of four visits by PASS to Southern National Motorsports Park in 2013, but it will be hard to predict the outcome of Saturday night’s race based on the previous events. The first race back in April was held on a cool Spring evening and saw Fogleman get the win after race leader Preston Peltier slipped in oil coming to the white flag. Contrast that with the most recent PASS race at Southern National which was held on a hot Sunday afternoon in June that saw track temperatures reach in excess of 100 degrees. Whatever the case, the Scorcher 150 will not only loom big in the PASS South championship fight, but it will also be the final chance for teams to compete at Southern National prior to the big Mason Dixon Meltdown 200 lapper which will close out the 2013 racing season in November.
Fogleman and Grissom lead a hungry group of drivers to Southern National Motorsports Park on Saturday night set to compete for 150 green flag laps. Ross Kenseth returns to PASS South for the first time since his win at South Boston Speedway back in May. Veteran Preston Peltier has also filed an entry and looks to make his first start in two months after suffering serious injuries in an accident at his home. Hickory, NC’s Tyler Church will be in the second entry for Johnson Motorsports and looks to build on his strong run at Southern National in April. Rookie Jared Irvan hopes to be a contender after finishing third at Caraway in May to score his best career PASS South finish. Motorsports broadcaster Dave Moody and his partner Jim Gallison will field two entries for Minnesota veteran Jerrick Johnson and a driver to be announced. Justin Allison hopes his bad luck at Southern National is behind him while veterans John Batten, Alex Fleming, and Randy Gentry look to build on their strong runs as of late. And, rookie challengers Joseph Mursuli, Karl Weber, Bobby Gower and Tanner Rumburg seek to emulate another rookie, Cole Timm, who nearly stole the show in the closing laps at Southern National in June.
Action gets underway on Saturday for the Scorcher 150 at Southern National Motorsports Park with rotating practice for the PASS South Super Late Models, PASS Pro Late Models, Limited Late Models, Street Stocks andBandoleros from 12:30 PM – 4:30 PM, qualifying begins at 5:00 PM, with main event racing slated to begin at 7:00 PM.
