Brief look at some PASS Hickory Double-Header Entered Drivers

Photo courtesy of: Will Bellamy / Racing America

March 16th, 2024

Between the two races to happen today (Easter Bunny 150 & St. Patrick’s 150), the expected entry list includes, among others:

#47 Gabe Brown. Gabe is coming off of a 2023 in which he won the PASS (Pro All Star Series) 400 at Oxford Plains Speedway, along with another PASS feature win, an ACT Tour win, and he also has a GSPSS (Granite State Pro Stock Series) Championship title to his credit.

#39 Max Cookson. not only led 48 laps in his part-time, first PASS season Oxford 250 in 2022, but he led almost half the laps - 118 in his follow-up, earning 5th and 6th places respectively, en route to a PASS Rookie of the Year award, on top of the PASS North Championship, and PASS National Championship in 2023. Last year, he ran runner-up to Cole Butcher in both of these twin-PASS races.

#44 Trevor Sanborn - I just released this piece about him here: https://www.maritimelatemodels.ca/articles/northeast-veteran-trevor-sanborn-interview

#53 Cole Butcher - Cole will be with his family owned team this weekend, sharing racing duties with younger brother Jarrett Butcher, each running one race. I think this piece I wrote covers things well - https://www.maritimelatemodels.ca/articles/cole-butcher-conquers-the-50th-oxford-250-a-victory-born-from-skill-and-teamwork Cole, for as infrequent as he runs PASS races, is in my opinion the hottest PASS driver right now, winning 5 of his last 6 PASS starts, with 4 being marquee races. I will quote this part of the article:

Hottest Driver in PASS
Although the Donnie Wilson team deserves immense credit for their unbelievable success over recent years, Cole still races for his family team Butcher Racing, another fantastic contingent with a deserving driver. While Cole's brother Jarrett Butcher runs 2nd in points and leads the East Coast International Pro Stock Tour in Maritime Canada in season wins, Cole, driving his family #53 has been indisputably the hottest driver in PASS, despite his very limited schedule under that banner.

Ever since returning to PASS Competition (absence due to COVID) in 2022, Butcher has 8 PASS Starts. Starting with a 2nd place finish in the first half of the twin Easter Bunny 150s in 2022, where he led 79 laps. He followed this up with a 19th place finish in the other Easter Bunny 150 race, having led laps, but had to retire early due to an accident. After this, he would win a 150 lapper at Oxford, followed by a 25th place finish at Oxford in a race where he had to retire early. Since then? He is undefeated. First winning the 2022 Oxford 250, then winning both of the twin 150 Easter Bunny races in 2023, and now making history as the first Canadian to repeat as back-to-back Oxford 250 champion. So in 8 starts over the past 2 years in PASS, Butcher has a 2nd, 19th, 1st, 25th, 1st, 1st, 1st, and 1st. His worst finish over 8 races when he finished the race, was one 2nd place finish. - Maritime Late Models

#54 Jarrett Butcher. Jarrett is making his debut at Hickory Motor Speedway, North Carolina. He had a break-out season in 2023 in the East Coast International Pro Stock Tour, winning 3 races (the winningest driver), and fininshing runner-up in points. He has a Snowflake 100 podium (3rd place) racing for Donnie Wilson Motorsports as well. Here is an article: https://www.maritimelatemodels.ca/articles/jarrett-butcher-chase-for-a-championship

#60 DJ Shaw. DJ Shaw is one of the most successful drivers from the US Northeast of this generation. With multiple top-5s in ARCA competition, a runner-up finish in 2012’s Speedway 660 New Brunswick 250, back-to-back Top-5s in Thunder Road Speedbowl, Vermont’s annual Milkbowl in 2022-23, 3 Oxford 250 podiums, a win-rate of nearly 40% in GSPSS, the 2022 PASS National Championship, 5 PASS North Championships, including 3 straight, and winner of the last two ACT Tour Championships.

#94 Garrett Hall. Garrett’s #94 is always a car worth keeping an eye on. With a handful of wins in 100+ PASS sanctioned races, a top-5 rate of 25% in 95 PASS North starts, and a 2018 4th place Oxford 250 finish, where he led 166 laps, with the next-closest being Late Model ‘Mount Rushmore’ and now ‘about to race Xfinity for Jr Motorsports’ Bubba Pollard, the winner of that race, leading 33.

#00 Jimmy Renfrew Jr. I just released this: https://www.maritimelatemodels.ca/articles/jimmy-renfrew-jr-racer-on-the-rise - I am trying to work out a follow-up. Renfrew is an up-and-comer who is definitely worth keeping a watchful eye on, and I don’t know if it would be considered a dark horse pick, to pick him to win one, or both of these features. Renfrew has a lot of potential, and a great attitude.

#12G Derek Griffith. Not to be mistaken for “Derek Griffin”, as his name is mispronounced sometimes, and is also a late model racer. Griffith is a twin-150 winner of this event as well, in 2021, it’s first year being run as a double-header, to compensate for the lack of a 2020 edition; after that, the concept just stuck. I just released this: https://www.maritimelatemodels.ca/articles/derek-griffith-seizing-opportunity

#73D Joey Doiron. Joey is not a stranger to Maritime racing, with a win, and 2 top-5s in 3 Speedway 660 New Brunswick 250 starts, leading laps in 2 of those races. Joey also joined Cassius Clark in a companion #13 King Racing Stable car for one of the Mike Stevens’ Memorial races at Petty, New Brunswick. Joey has led laps in 6 of the 8 Oxford 250’s that he has started, including a 2nd place finish, and finishes of 5th, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 2nd in his last 5 attempts. Joey also has 54 top-5s across his 146 PASS North starts.

#15 Mike Hopkins. Mike Hopkins is to me one of my favourite drivers from the region to watch, and someone who always feels underrated to me. It’s not like I am basing it on rankings, conversations, etc. I just get that feeling about him. He has a win and a 2nd in Jennerstown’s Motor Mountain Masters race, leading almost every lap in his win, across 3 starts. In 2023, he swept the first 2 CARS Tour Pro Late Model Series races, looking great, he has 2 wins, and 6 top-5s in 7 Boss Hogg 150’s, which is a Wiscasset Speedway, Maine race taking place right after the Oxford 250, that has been drawing 40, even 50+ entries of competitive fields to qualify through every year in recent times. From 2018-2023, his finishes in the Boss Hogg 150 are: 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 2nd. To add a few more feathers to the cap, he had a top-5 in this years Speedfest Pro Late Model portion, finished 5th in 2 of his last 3 Oxford 250 showings, and finished 2nd in the most prestigious Pro Late Model Race of all, the Snowflake 100 at Five Flags Speedway, Pensacola Florida in 2023.

#88 Brandon Barker. Brandon has less races under his belt than a lot of these drivers, but he has been showing steady improvements, including back-to-back 4th place finishes in last year’s running of this twin-150 PASS Event.

#83 Cory Hall. I just released this: https://www.maritimelatemodels.ca/articles/cory-hall-speed-travel-and-a-story

Cory Hall is fast - really fast. Being near the top of the speed charts through all of the practice sessions, is one indicator of this. The interview below touches on his Hickory experience - don’t expect to see him be a contender today.

#28 Ben Rowe. Benji - Turner Maine’s Ben Rowe. What more can be said about his history. In the sake of keeping things brief, he is the winningest PASS North driver. He has roughly a 50% top-5 rate in his 328 starts in that series. He has a near 60% top-5 rate in his 59 PASS South starts. He’s a 2-time Oxford 250 winner, and a 3 time Scotia Speedworld (Nova Scotia) 250 winner. Ben Rowe, and Father Ben Rowe are legends in Late Model racing.

Tune in today, exclusively on: https://www.racingamerica.tv/ - event is PPV - both features will be today, including heat races, and other divisions in action. Subscription not required to purchase the PPV.