Naples, ME 6/22/09- It took just twenty two laps for Preston Peltier to make his way to the front Saturday night at Georgia’s New Senoia Raceway and from there he never looked back, leading the next 128 laps en route to his second consecutive Pro All Stars Series ( PASS) South super late model win in the Dixie 150. Keeton Hanks, making his PASS South debut, finished second followed by Texas native Trey Mitchell who grabbed his first career podium finish. A pair of Georgia natives, Justin Wakefield and Bubba Pollard, rounded out the top five at the inaugural series event.
After starting fifth Peltier, piloting the #26 Johnson Motorsports entry, quickly dropped into third position behind series regular Heath Hindman and newcomer Chris Whorton. Then on lap twenty two Peltier made his move to the front while two drivers Bubba Pollard and Keeton Hanks methodically made their way to the front of the field. A lap eighty caution brought the field back together for just the second of three times that night and allowed Justin Wakefield among others to bring their cars to pit road, opting for chassis adjustments over track position.
Not only did the caution allow teams to make adjustments to their race cars but it put both Pollard and Hanks within striking distance of the leader Peltier. The two battled side by side over the next forty plus laps allowing Peltier to pull away with the race lead before contact was made bringing out the night’s final caution. The contact sent both competitors to the pits for minor repairs and opened the door for Trey Mitchell to take his shot at the top spot. The final twenty two laps proved to be some of the best racing of the night as the fans watched Hanks shoot his way through the field to finish second and saw two and even three wide racing right down to the strip between Pollard, Wakefield, and a hungry Mitchell.
“This is awesome making it two in a row,” explained an excited Peltier after the race. “To go from winning my first PASS race at Orange County to now having won two of the last three races this season feels unreal. I can’t thank Harold (Johnson-team owner) enough for putting this deal together and I just hope we can keep it up and keep gaining points to have a shot at the championship come the end of the season.”
Next up for the PASS South series will be a Forth of July weekend double header starting off Friday July 3rd with the Firecracker 125 at the Greenville-Pickens Speedway followed up by the Independence 150 at the Hickory Motor Speedway on Sunday July 5th. The PASS North super late models make their second appearance of 2009 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough Maine on Friday June 26th.
For more information including schedules, standings, and results for all PASS sanctioned touring series visit their homes on the web at www.racewithpass.com or www.proallstarsseries.com .