Veterans Share Excitement With Youth For Chance To Race At Richmond
NAPLES, ME (October 10) – While some of the best young drivers in North America are excited for the opportunity to race at Richmond Raceway as part of the inaugural PASS Commonwealth Classic on Saturday, October 20, veterans share that same since of anticipation. Grassroots racing greats like Rowe, Nasse, Fogleman, Laperle, Coby, Bonsignore, McCaskill, and Locklair are synonymous with winning in their respective disciplines of grassroots racing, but each will be making their first starts at Richmond. As a matter of fact of fact, only a handful of drivers competing in the PASS Commonwealth Classic, among those, Tour-Type Modified stalwart, Jamie Tomaino, have ever had the chance to race there.
Another of those who have raced at Richmond and will be competing with the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models is Mike Wallace. The middle brother of the famed Wallace racing clan from Missouri last competed in the 2015 Daytona 500. Since then, he has been mentoring his son, Matt, who claimed the PASS South Super Late Model win earlier this year at Concord Speedway. But, when the opportunity came to race at one of his favorite tracks, Mike Wallace could not resist the temptation to get back behind the wheel.
“When I saw PASS announced the race at Richmond earlier this year, I had to do a double-take to make sure what I was seeing was real,” says Wallace, who will be driving his son’s Unker’s Theraputic/Lucas Oil Chevrolet #6. “Matt was originally going to race there in a Late Model Stock car, but when I realized how much I missed racing he said why don’t you drive the car and I will crew chief. We tested at South Boston recently and just want to go to Richmond and be competitive and have fun.”
With nearly 50 starts at Richmond between Cup, Xfinity, and Trucks, Wallace has no lack experience when it comes to racing on the 3/4-mile speedway. But, he will be on an even playing field when it comes to racing PASS Super Late Models on the D-shaped track.
“Richmond is going to be incredibly fast for all the divisions racing there, especially a PASS Super Late Model,” says Wallace. “The last time I was in a Super Late Model was when I raced in Missouri and won the NASCAR regional points in 1990, so a lot has changed. Richmond is a great racetrack to race on because it’s mulit-grooved like a superspeedway, but it has all the classic characteristics of a short track. As long as everybody races smart and shows respect, it should be a great race.”
Entries continue to come for next weekend’s race with Boris Jurkovic, Wes Burton, and a yet-to-be named driver for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the PASS Super Late Model division. Rob Summers is the latest Tour-Type Modified entry, while several Solid Rock Carriers Late Model Stock entries have come in including Ryan Wilson, Terry Brooks, Jr., Matt Cox, Chad McCumbee, Will Burns, Chris Throckmorton, Casey Wyatt, Adam Cosgrove, and Grayson Cullather.
A solid group of Virginia drivers have recently entered in the Limited Late Model division, including Cole Bruce, Reid Murphy, Eric Bishop, Franklin Caricofe, Jason Myers, and North Carolina’s, Josh Lowder. While Street Stocks continue to enter from all around including North Carolina’s Gary Ledbetter, Jr. and Stephen Sharp, South Carolina’s Ricky Locklair, Sr., Georgia’s Jeff Sparks, and Virginia’s Justin Brown.
The weekend will begin on Thursday, October 18 with hauler parking and safety inspection for all divisions from 11 AM – 5 PM. A practice day for the PASS Super Late Models, Tour-Type Modifieds, Solid Rock Carriers Late Model Stocks, Limited Late Models, and Street Stocks is scheduled for Friday, October 19, starting with gates opening and more parking at 7 AM and practice from 10AM – 5 PM. On Saturday, October 20, practice will begin at 9 AM, qualifying at 1 PM, and features starting at 4 PM with 100 laps for the PASS Super Late Models, 75 laps for the Tour-Type Modifieds and Solid Rock Carriers Late Models Stocks, 50 laps for the Limited Late Models, and 40 laps for the Street Stocks.
Entry forms for all divisions, the complete weekend schedule, and additional information is available at ProAllStarsSeries.com.
Fans can purchase tickets online at RichmondRaceway.com leading up to the PASS Commonwealth Classic or at the speedway the weekend of the event. And, as an added bonus, fans will be able to access Richmond’s brand new, state-of-the-art Fan Zone and watch everything going on in the garage area throughout the weekend with a paid general admission ticket.