CHARLOTTE, NC (March 2) – As the thermometer rises, so does the excitement level of eastern North Carolina race fans as the “Big Boys With The Bad Fast Toys” head back to Southern National Motorsports Park in Kenly, NC. This Saturday afternoon’s Dogwood 300 will see the South’s original Super Late Model tour compete for 150 laps, along with a 150 lapper for the NASCAR Late Model Stock cars. It also marks the return of the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Models to Southern National for the first time since 2014. PASS will be the exclusive sanction for Super Late Models at Southern National with another event scheduled for July 15.
To show how tough the high-banked, 4/10 mile speedway is, look no further than the record books and some of those who came away with checkered flags at Southern National in the past. Freddie Query won the inaugural event in 2006 and Ben Rowe in 2009, two of the best to ever race Super Late Models.
In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, drivers like former PASS regular, John Batten, as well as John Jones, Shelton McNair and others were the men to beat when it came to Super Late Model racing at Southern National. But, as car counts in the region began to struggle, PASS President Tom Mayberry stepped up to create the South’s original Super Late Model tour with tracks like Southern National, Hickory Motor Speedway, and Orange County Speedway coming on board.
Just a year after the track reopened in 2012, PASS returned and it has been a priority of speedway owner Mike Diaz to keep Super Late Model racing strong in the region. Daniel Hemric leads an impressive list of drivers, a list that includes Jay Fogleman, Austin Theriault, and Preston Peltier, with two PASS South Super Late Model wins at Southern National.
Several drivers who have pre-entered for this weekend’s Dogwood 300 have tasted victory at Southern National with PASS. Fuquay-Varina, NC’s Trevor Noles returns to the Randy Renfrow led Coulter Motorsports #2 this weekend for his first start of 2017. In 2014, Noles scored his lone PASS victory at Southern National Motorsports Park in the Mason-Dixon Meltdown 200. Noles will be joined by another fellow winner, Hickory, NC’s Tyler Church. Church took the Meltdown win at Southern National in 2013 and followed that up by securing the series championship at the track a year later. And, while Spencer Davis has yet to win a PASS South event, he won a PASS Pro Late Model race at Southern National in 2013 and has always performed well in his Super Late Model there.
Joining these drivers will be PASS South points leader and local favorite Bradley McCaskill, as well has fellow home track favorite Jeff Batten. Former PASS South champions, Tate Fogleman and Matt Craig have also entered along with title contenders Kodie Conner and Kyle Desouza. Former USAC National Midget champion, Tanner Thorson, will be back after a strong run at Dillon. Jay, ME’s Dave Farrington, Jr. will make his first start for the Woodman Racing team, while Canadians JP Josiasse and Sarah Cornett-Ching will also be looking for strong runs at Southern National.
Action gets under way on Friday, March 3 for the Dogwood 300 with rotating practice from 3 – 6 PM for the PASS South Super Late Models and NASCAR Late Model Stocls. On Saturday, March 4, pit gates open at 8 AM, with rotating practice for from10 – 11:40 AM, qualifying at 12:15 PM, and feature racing set to begin at 2 PM.
Entry forms for the Dogwood 300, along with the 44th Annual Oxford 250 and upcoming events at Orange County Speedway, Thompson Speedway, Hickory Motor Speedway, and Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, can be found at ProAllStarsSeries.com. The 2017 license forms for the PASS Super Late Models are also available at ProAllStarsSeries.com. Drivers purchasing licenses for the 2017 season will receive bonus points for each race they are pre-registered for and will also save money towards any events that they enter early.
