2008 PASS South Rewind: Alex Haase Wins Championship
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
