CHARLOTTE, NC :: Through the first four races of the 2014 Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model season, fender-to-fender battles and close finishes have been the order of the day. Daniel Hemric, Roger Lee Newton, and DJ Shaw have all tasted the spoils of victory so far this season, while PASS South contenders like Cole Timm, Tyler Church, and Jared Irvan have just fell short of taking their first checkered flags of the year. But, that all could easily change with Friday night’s Ace’s Wild 150 at Ace Speedway.
The Ace’s Wild 150 marks a return for the PASS South Super Late Models to the Ace Speedway for the first time since 2011. A strong field of contenders will be vying to become the fourth different PASS South winner at Ace Speedway in as many races and join Andy Loden, Ryan Blaney, and Clay Rogers as one of a select few who have managed to tame one of North Carolina’s toughest short tracks.
Jared Irvan holds Ace Speedway as one of his favorite tracks on the circuit. Even though this Friday night’s Ace’s Wild 150 will be the first time the third generation racer has ever competed in a PASS South Super Late Model at Ace, it is not the first time he has ever raced there. Irvan raced several times at Ace in recent years in the USAC HPD Midget Series, a division that will ironically be competing on the undercard to the Ace’s Wild 150.
“Ace Speedway is probably my favorite track in all the different types of cars I’ve driven,” said Irvan, after scoring a season-high fourth place finish in the Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory. “That track is just so fun to go around in everything I’ve ever been in and I’ve always ran really, really well there. Hopefully we can go there and get our first win in a PASS Super Late Model.”
While all of the title contenders will be hungry for a win at Ace, Irvan knows a good finish is important as he and his Auramist sponsored team compete for their first PASS South Super Late Model title. With his father, 1991 Daytona 500 winner, Ernie Irvan, firmly behind him, Jared Irvan will be looking toward the big picture as he races for the championship and tries to gain ground on PASS South points leader Tyler Church. Trailing Church by just 54 points, Irvan realizes Ace Speedway provides him with a great opportunity to close ground on the points leader at a track Church has very limited experience competing on.
“Tyler Church has gone out and done what he needs to do to stay in the points lead and it’s going to be tough to beat him for sure,” said Irvan. “But hopefully we can go out and run better than we did last week and better than the week before that and just keep getting better as the season goes on and maybe get us a couple of wins.”
Another full field of racers is expected for the Ace’s Wild 150 in addition to Irvan, including fellow championship contenders Tyler Church, Cole Timm, and Tyler Dippel. Former PASS South and PASS National Champion Preston Peltier will be seeking his first Ace win along with veterans John Batten, Clete Caywood, Jimmy Doyle, and Brandon Ward. Raleigh area racers Joe Heigl and Trevor Noles will each be seeking their first career PASS South wins as well as Tate Fogleman and Brandon Setzer. Georgia’s Lee Hansard and Pennsylvania’s Joe Ryan Osborne will return to the series for the first time since March and rookie Jared Fryar will make his first attempt at competing in a PASS South Super Late Model at Ace.
Entry forms and the Friday schedule for the Ace’s Wild 150 at Ace Speedway can be found at ProAllStarsSeries.com.
Action gets under way on Friday, May 9th at Ace Speedway with pit gates opening at Noon and rotating practice for all divisions from 2 – 5 PM. Qualifying will begin at 5:45 PM and racing will start at 8 PM, featuring the Ace’s Wild 150 for the PASS South Super Late Models, 50 laps for the PASS Pro Late Models, and action for the USAC HPD Midget Series.
