PASS Veterans Excited For Opportunity To Race in All American 400 - Speedway Digest

With Fall now upon us, sports fans around the country are filled with bliss. As the days continue to grow shorter and temperatures start to cool, football stadiums are packed full with fans in jerseys and sweatshirts. The stick-and-ballers are frenzied with visions of a World Series championship. Racers around the country are no different knowing that this is the time of year for “big” events. For the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models, the months of October and November are what competitors and fans live for. This weekend, the PASS North Championship will go deservedly to either Travis Benjamin or Cassius Clark, fittingly at New England’s most famous short track, Oxford Plains Speedway. In November, the PASS South and PASS National Champion will be decided at two major events in the Tarheel State. One of short track racing’s greatest events, the North-South Shootout at Caraway Speedway, will host the PASS South Super Late Models on November 10^th. Then, just two weeks later, a Thanksgiving weekend tradition continues at Concord Speedway with 200 laps set to make the distance for the Mason Dixon Meltdown.

But with all due respect to these great races, the most talked about spectacle of 2012 has to be the All American 400 at the legendary Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, TN. For the first time in over a decade, the race will again be 400 laps and the winner will take home over $22,000. And true to the original concept of the All American 400, drivers from all over North America will converge on Nashville set for a battle to see just who is the best short track racer. Muti-time PASS North Champions Ben Rowe and Johnny Clark never dreamed they would have the opportunity to race in America’s greatest short track race. But thanks to the hard work of PASS and the Fairgrounds Speedway, they will have the chance to showcase their talents to a much broader audience.

“If you look down the list of names who have won this race, you have no idea what it would mean for me to go to victory lane in the All American 400,” said Clark, a former 6-Time PASS North Champion. “We’re using a lot of money and manpower on flights, hotels, and everything else, to make sure we’re prepared for this race. This is the only race we have left this year to be able to turn our season around.”

For Rowe, the All American 400 has extra special meaning. He was with his dad, New England short track legend Mike Rowe, when he competed against the best of the best at the Fairgrounds in 1987. And despite everything he has done in his accomplished career, this will be the first chance Ben has had to try his hand on taming the tough .596 mile oval.

“It means a lot to me to race at Nashville. I remember being there to watch my Dad race back in the day when Darrell Waltrip won it,” said Rowe, the All-Time winningest driver in PASS history. “We always wanted to race in the All American 400. Now PASS lets us go with rules we’re familiar with, so it’s going to be a good time. It’s not easy, we’ve hired another guy to get the Nashville car ready, along with our Oxford car. But, to race at two tracks like that in less than a week, it’s really amazing.”

John Batten has been racing Super Late Models in North Carolina for the better part of a decade and was a beneficiary of PASS South’s inception in 2006. A perennial top ten finisher in PASS South points, Batten was one of many competitors around the country who never thought he would have a chance to race at the Fairgrounds. And, ironically enough, Batten is a native of Nashville…North Carolina, that is.

“We are from the original Nashville,” said Batten with a chuckle. “I’m gonna take a picture of the sign in Nashville, NC that says it’s the original so I can prove it if anybody asks. Really though, if you look at the people that have raced in the All American 400 over the years, it’s a pretty big deal.”

On track activities kick off on Thursday, October 4th at 8:30 AM with PASS South Super Late Model practice for the 28th All American 400 and will be followed by championship racing on the quarter mile later that evening. On Friday, October 5th, PASS South Super Late Models and Hunter’s Sand & Gravel Pro Late Models will practice in the morning and qualify at 5:30 PM. The O’Reilly Sportsmans, SEC Limited Late Models, and Open Wheel Modifieds will have championship racing slated to begin at 8 PM. On Saturday, October 6th, grandstand gates open at 11:30 AM, with Last Chance Races for the PASS South Super Late Models at 1 PM, a 125 lap championship race for the Hunter’s Sand & Gravel Pro Late Models at 2:30 PM, and the green flag for the 28th All American 400 at 6 PM.

All Nashville competitors please note that mufflers are MANDATORY at the Fairgrounds Speedway. It is recommended that you use either Brzezinski or Howe mufflers without modifications. The track is in the process of renewing their lease and the noise restrictions are strictly enforced. If your car does not meet the requirements, you will be required to make changes in order to compete. If you have any questions regarding these requirements you may contact either PASS (Scott Reed at 207-625-3230 or scottreedpass @yahoo.com) or Fairgrounds Speedway. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

PASS Racing PR

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