NickHolt Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 Northerners hope to take home Mason-Dixon Meltdown hardware again CHARLOTTE, NC (November 18) – As this weekend’s 8th Annual Mason Dixon Meltdown approaches for the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Models, several teams are already ready to make their way south to North Carolina’s Southern National Motorsports Park. Since the event’s inception in 2006, some of the best PASS North Super Late Model teams from New England have made the trip south to escape the increasingly cold weather in the north and get one more big race in before the season ends. And the northern contingent has fared quite well traditionally, especially in the early years of the Meltdown. In the first four editions, PASS North drivers took the checkered flag led by Ben Rowe, who won at Concord Speedway in 2007 and South Boston Speedway in 2009, while fellow New Englanders Cassius Clark and Johnny Clark took the checkered flag in the other two. While the south has prevailed in the last three runnings of the Mason Dixon Meltdown, many believe this year’s race at Southern National could see the big money heading back north on I-95. Rowe leads a strong group of fellow New Englanders to this year’s Meltdown which includes Joey Doiron, Kyle Desouza, Derek Ramstrom, Joey Polewarczyk, and Steve Legendre. The All-Time PASS Super Late Model wins leader is quite familiar racing in the south with 8 PASS South wins to his credit and the 2009 PASS South Super Late Model championship. Rowe recently ended a long dry spell with his win in the North-South Shootout at Caraway Speedway and is looking forward to heading back to Southern National Motorsports Park where he took one of his five wins during his championship season. “I love Kenly, it’s a great racetrack, great for us racers and great for the fans,” said Rowe. “The fans are great to me down here in the south. It make the 16-18 hour trip worthwhile. I learned a lot following Preston Peltier at Kenly in 2009. We followed him for about 50 laps and then came in and flip flopped the right front and right rear tires and passed him with about 10 to go to win the race. Can’t wait to get to Kenly again, it’s fast.” One northern racer has already taken a trophy from the south back home to New England this year. Maine’s Joey Doiron served notice way back in February that he would not only be a threat for the PASS North title, but that he would also be formidable in the PASS National Championship fight following his win in the Winter Meltdown at Auburndale Speedway. Doiron’s win in Florida propelled him into the 2013 season and saw him go on to win two PASS North Super Late Model races and lead the points much of the season, before falling just four points shy of winning the championship. While this will be Doiron’s first trip to Southern National Motorsports Park, he feels his team has a good chance for the win and possibly overtaking Jay Fogleman for the PASS National Championship. “We haven’t really had any great finishes in the south at the high banked, high grip racetracks, but I feel like we’ve made gains and will be in a good position this weekend,” said Doiron, who sits third in points just 40 points behind Fogleman in the race for the PASS National Championship. “However, it will be tough for us since this is the fourth time the PASS South teams have raced at Kenly this season. I still feel the north has the advantage though and hopefully we’ll be able to bring the trophy back north with us like we did in February.” In addition to seeing the best in stock car racing, fans will have an added attraction that has a definitely created a buzz in racing circles. The Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Cars will tackle Southern National for the first time as part of the Meltdown. It will be the first time 410 Winged Sprint Cars have raced in North Carolina on asphalt in nearly 25 years and many believe the 900 horsepower machines will have a great opportunity to break Southern National’s overall track record. Entry forms and the complete weekend schedule for the 8th Annual Mason Dixon Meltdown at Southern National Motorsports Park can be found at ProAllStarsSeries.com. Action gets under way on Friday, November 22nd at Southern National with practice for all divisions from 2-5 PM. On Saturday, November 23rd, pit gates will open at 9 AM, with practice from 10:45 AM – 1 PM. Qualifying will begin at 1:30 PM and racing will start at 3 PM, featuring 200 laps for the PASS South Super Late Models, 75 laps for the PASS Pro Late Models, 20 laps for the Mini Cups, and 30 fast and furious laps under the lights for the Must See Racing Xtreme Winged Sprint Cars. The Pro All Stars Series is recognized as North America’s premier sanctioning body for asphalt Super Late Models and boasts such marquee events as the PASS Northwest Triple Crown at Wenatchee Valley Super Oval, PASS South’s Easter Bunny 150 at the historic Hickory Motor Speedway, the Autobus La Quebecoise Triple Crown at Autodrome Chaudière, and the legendary Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway. For technical information concerning all PASS divisions please send questions to passracing@roadrunner.com. For media or marketing questions, please contact Alan Dietz at 704-231-2039 or alandietzpass@live.com. Please visit ProAllStarsSeries.com for more information. And, don’t forget to “Like” the Pro All Stars Series on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to keep up with breaking news as it happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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