Ryan Blaney Takes PASS South Points Lead Into North Wilkesboro Weekend
Ryan Blaney was second at South Boston. (Pro Photo Productions)
Dale Earnhardt holds the NASCAR record as the only driver to win Rookie of The Year honors and the Cup Series championship in consecutive seasons. Ryan Blaney hopes to accomplish that feat on the short track level after his second-place finish at South Boston Speedway (VA) in the PASS South Series event on Saturday gave him the outright point lead. The 2009 PASS South Rookie of the Year has had a summer hot streak that has propelled him to the top and made him the eyes on favorite for the Championship.
“It’s great to have the points lead,” said Blaney. “We really put together a solid run to chase down Preston Peltier for the top spot. We are doing what we need to with wins at Greenville and Newport and now we have to stay consistent. We have been really good this year and were on a roll as we head to North Wilkesboro.”
With only three races remaining in the season, the highly competitive PASS South Super Late Model Series heads to North Wilkesboro for the running of The Labor Day Classic 200. This will be one of the first race at the facility since its final NASCAR Cup event in 1996. Blaney, along with several other teams, have already take practice laps on the historic oval.
“It’s a really big track with sweeping corners and it’s different then what we are used too,” said Blaney. “The track is really abrasive on tires so you have to watch how hard you push it. The race will be an eight-tire race, so we can split the laps on rubber.”
The 200 lap event is a tune up for next spring’s PASS 300 at North Wilkesboro where the winners share will be a minimum of $75,000. With such a big event on the horizon it leaves this weekend as an open test for teams planning on racing that event on April 9th.
The momentum that Blaney is carrying into North Wilkesboro is huge for both him and his teammate Jimmy Weller. At the most recent race, Weller scored his first-career PASS South win while Ryan was second.
“We had a really good night at South Boston,” said Blaney. “The only way it could have been better was if we had won the race. That would have made the night perfect. It was really nice to see Jimmy get a win. He’s been working hard all season long and he worked hard to help our efforts and it’s nice to see him get rewarded with his first PASS win.”
Blaney will get more testing laps in on Friday, September 3rd at North Wilkesboro. The following day will consist of practice sessions, qualifying and the 200-lap Labor Day Classic – which is scheduled to take place in the afternoon.
For more information on Ryan Blaney, contact Matt Kentfield at matt@51sports.net. Be sure to check out the his website at RyanBlaney.com
