CHARLOTTE, NC (January 6) – Since the inception of the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model division in 2006 the series has seen a varied group of drivers claim the championship. In 2006, PASS North veteran Mike Rowe made the long trek down from Maine to compete in every race that season, winning two races to become the first ever PASS South champion. Last year, Texas native Ryan Lawler used experiences gained from his championship battle with Rowe the previous year to win two races and bring the championship back to the South. Coming into 2008, most racing minds agreed that the 2008 championship could very well go to Corey Williams. After all, he was coming off a season that saw him win three PASS South races in just seven starts. And, at the 2008 PASS South season opener at Hickory Motor Speedway, Williams dominated the second half of the Easter Bunny 150 to take his fourth career win. It looked to be a long season for anybody else hoping to win the title in 2008, but along the way, somebody forgot to tell Alex Haase.
Haase came to the PASS South Super Late Model division after a long tenure of racing on the West Coast. Wins in the Bandoleros and Legends Car division led to races and wins driving Super Late Models at The Bullring at Las Vegas and at the Irwindale Speedway in California. It was his Legends Car racing, though, that led to Haase's opportunity with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch
"His dad and my dad worked at a Ford dealership in Las Vegas years and years ago," said Busch of his relationship with the Haase family. "Alex started racing Bandoleros and I sort of helped him out and was talking to him about maybe doing more. I was looking for something that was a good series to put him [Haase] in and something that he could go after a points championship with and get some recognition out of and that's why we decided to go with PASS."
Coming into the 2008 season, Haase had little PASS South experience to fall back on having attempted only one race and failing to qualify for that one (the 2006 Mason-Dixon Meltdown at South Boston Speedway). Being a virtual rookie with PASS South in 2008, the results showed in Haase's first two starts. Haase finished 21st at Hickory after being involved in a couple of accidents and followed that up with an eighth place finish at the Watermelon Capital Speedway in Georgia. From there, Haase began to find his stride. Haase finished third at the Motor Mile Speedway despite an incident with Trevor Sanborn that sent him to the rear of the field and followed that up with a sixth place finish in his first trip to Orange County Speedway.
Entering the summer months, Haase was fully entrenched as a championship contender along with Williams. In June, the PASS South Super Late Models made their first trip to the tight quarter-mile Wake County Speedway just outside of Raleigh, NC. The race looked to be a duel between former Wake County Speedway champion Alex Fleming and Williams, who was used to racing on this type of track from his days back in Maine. Surely enough, Fleming led the early laps before fading back, handing the lead to Williams. All the while, Haase was methodically making his way up from the middle of the field. Near the halfway point, Haase would take the lead from Williams and never looked back to take his first PASS South victory in the Capital City Clash.
From there, PASS South teams and drivers headed to the legendary Greenville-Pickens Speedway for the Firecracker 125. In front of a packed house, Haase looked to gain points on Williams after Williams had to start in the back after a problem in qualifying. At the drop of the green flag, Justin Wakefield established himself as the driver to beat opening up a straightaway lead over Haase. While this was going on, Williams wowed the crowd by passing cars on the extreme outside groove of the flat half mile track. Wakefield would be eliminated in a crash on a late race restart leaving Williams and Haase to duel it out for the win. Despite being the stronger of the two cars on long runs, Williams did not have enough laps on the green-white-checker restart and Haase would go on to score his second straight victory.
The middle of the year would see Haase and all of the championship contenders struggle. Haase was eliminated in an early crash at Orange County's Southern Sizzler and would finish 24th. At Dillon, Haase suffered a flat tire while leading forcing him to pit under green which resulted in a ninth place finish. Haase came back from a spin at Caraway to finish second and at Newport another flat tire resulted in a disappointing tenth place finish.
Coming back to Greenville-Pickens for the Howler 150, the championship battle was down to a three man fight between Williams, Haase, and Perry Brown. The weekend started badly for Haase after he lost an engine in practice and had to qualify his back-up car with very little practice in it. In qualifying, Haase was barely able to crack the top 20. The early stages of the race would be dominated by Greenville regulars Toby Porter and Randy Porter. Williams' championship hopes took a nosedive when he had to retire his car due to a mechanical issue. Meanwhile, Haase had been slowly making his way to the front to challenge new front runners Adam Bates and Jeff Fultz. The three drivers waged war over the final 15 laps with Haase nearly losing control down the back straightaway. Haase managed to take the lead and hold on for his third win of the 2008 season. Haase's win coupled with Williams' problem allowed Haase to take the points lead heading into the final race at South Boston.
Early on in the Mason Dixon Meltdown at South Boston, Haase and Williams had strong runs going behind race leader and PASS North champion Johnny Clark. Haase made a charge on Clark prior to the halfway mark, but a mechanical problem heading into turn one sent Haase's Toyota hard into the outside wall. Despite a setback that could have cost him the championship, Haase's Kyle Busch Foundation crew worked hard to get their car repaired for the second half of the race. The hard work paid off when Williams' championship hopes were dashed due to a crash just past the halfway break. Haase soldiered on to finish 12th and would win the 2008 PASS South championship by 16 points over Williams.
Haase looks to defend his title in 2009, but it will be a tall order indeed with many new teams coming to PASS next year and many existing teams upgrading their equipment for the new season. On behalf of everyone with PASS, we wish you a Happy and Safe New Year and look forward to seeing all of you in 2009!
Although the 2008 season is over, it won't be long before the 2009 season begins. The 2009 PASS South schedule was recently released and will begin on Saturday, March 14, 2009, with the Fourth Annual South Carolina Clash at the Dillon Motor Speedway in Dillon, SC. The 2009 PASS North Super Late Model schedule is nearing completion and will be released in the coming weeks.
For information on any PASS division go to racewithpass.com. For additional information contact Alan Dietz at 704-231-2039 or for technical information contact Scott Reed at 207-625-3230