Race Will Serve as a Tune-Up for PASS National SLM Event at OCS on July 18-19
NAPLES, ME (June 4, 2008) – This is one of the biggest prep weeks for the Pro All Stars Series Super Late Models. Saturday’s 3rd Annual Orange Blossom Special at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, NC is a regularly scheduled event on the PASS South Tour. However, many teams will be using this 150-lap extravaganza as a tune-up for round two on the PASS National Super Late Model Tour, which will also be held at Orange County Speedway, just a month later, on July 18th & 19th.
Defending PASS South champion Ryan Lawler has been competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this year, but he plans on making his return to the series this week at OCS. In fact, Lawler is scheduled to pull double-duty by competing on Friday night in the Truck Series race at the Texas Motor Speedway and racing the Orange Blossom Special on Saturday. Colt James will practice and possibly qualify the Super Late Model for Lawler.
“It should be fun,” admitted Lawler, who will compete in the four-race PASS National Super Late Model championship this year. “We would like to win the National Championship and we had a good run in the first race at Hickory (Easter Bunny 150) earlier this year. I like Orange County a lot and I think we have a good shot there as long I can get from Texas to North Carolina.”
Also making a return to PASS South for the first time this season will be veteran Super Late Model competitor and former All American 400 winner Jason Hogan. He too sees this race as a test for the July national event at OCS.
“We figured with the big money race they (PASS) are having in July we needed to go up there and see how good we are out of the box,” commented Hogan, who also competed in the inaugural Orange Blossom Special and finished eighth in the race last year. “I know a lot of guys tested there last week so they may have a little bit of a head start when it comes to tuning the car off the trailer, but we shouldn’t have any problems finding speed ourselves during practice because we ran pretty well there last year.”
These tough competitors will have to compete against the likes of PASS regulars Heath Hindman, Perry Brown, John Stancill and the most recent winner in PASS, 15-year-old Zach Stroupe.
“I love Orange County. It has a bunch of grooves and I think it’s going to be a great race,” said Stroupe, who is a development driver for SPEED’s Bob Dillner. “I think with Ryan (Lawler) and Ben (Rowe) coming, plus guys like Heath, Perry and Alex (Haase), there’s going to be some tough competition. We just hope to have another good run and this, for us, is a big test session for the national race there in July which pays some big money to win.”
Stroupe was one of nearly a dozen drivers that tested at Orange Country Speedway last week. Among the others were 13-year-old Logan Ruffin, Mark Gibson, Clay Jones and Kyle Busch Motorsports development driver Alex Haase.
Pit gates open at 11:30 AM on Saturday at Orange County Speedway with qualifying for the PASS Super Late Models at 6:00 PM. Feature events begin at 7:00 PM with an approximate start time for the Orange Blossom Special at 8:15 PM. Several support divisions will be racing at OCS, including Limited Late Models, Pure Stocks, Grand Stocks and a “Rookie Race” for the Pro Challenge Series. There is an open practice session for Super Late Models at OCS on Friday from 4:00 – 7:00 PM.
Please contact PASS for marketing or press inquiries by emailing passracing@roadrunner.com or call (207) 693-6497.
The PASS South Super Late Models return to action with the third-annual “Orange Blossom Special,” Saturday, June 7th, at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, NC. The following week, the PASS North Super Late Models are in action at Wiscasset Speedway in ME on Sunday, June 15th. Please stay tuned to racewithpass.com for more details, and be sure to contact PASS through the contact page on the website for marketing opportunities.
This June race at Orange County Speedway also serves as a tune-up for the next PASS National Super Late Model Series race on Saturday, July 19th, which is also at Orange County Speedway. It is the second race of a four-race Super Late Model Tour. Corey Williams won the first event in Hickory, NC, in March. The third event is September 21st at Beech Ridge Speedway in Scarborough, ME, and the finale is at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, SC. A driver’s best three finishes will count toward determining a champion.