(From series press release)

THOMPSON, Conn. – After a long winter break, one that got extended a week due to nearly a foot of snow, Pro All Stars Series (PASS) North Super Late Model drivers from across New England and Canada are ready to tackle Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park this weekend for the first race of 2017.

In addition to being the first action of the season for New England’s top short trackers, The 43rd Annual Icebreaker also serves as part of the PASS National Championship Series. Following the first two events held in the south at Dillon in February and Orange County in March, 4-Time PASS National Champion, Ben Rowe, finds himself out in front of the standings, but one driver believes Thompson could be his chance to cut into that advantage. Hudson, NH’s Joey Polewarcyzk currently sits sixth in the PASS National Championship and feels optimistic for his opportunity at The Icebreaker.

“It’s exciting, I’ve never raced a Super Late Model there before,” said Polewarcyzk, returning to the seat of the family-owned Pole’s Automotive Ford #97 this weekend. “It’s fast, there’s a lot of history there, and I’m excited to run one of these Super Late Models there. It should be a lot of fun and it’s always good to get the season going.”

Polewarcyzk is coming off his best ever season competing in PASS, having won three North races in just a limited number of starts in 2017. But it is at the big tracks, like Thompson, that Polewarcyzk believes he can stake his claim for a PASS National Championship.

“We’ve been fortunate and had some good runs at some of the bigger tracks and hopefully we can do the same at Thompson,” says Polewarcyzk. “It’s got kinda short corners and long straightaways, so you’ve gotta get into the corners just right and come off the banking and drive it back down. We’ve been there with a couple of cars, different types of cars, so hopefully that plays in a little bit and we can have an edge with experience.”

In addition to Rowe, Polewarcyzk will be joined by fellow National Championship contenders Dave Farrington, Jr., Derek Griffith, and Sarah Cornett-Ching. Defending Thompson winner, Garrett Hall, will be back looking for another win along with Oxford 250 winners, Travis Benjamin and Glen Luce, as well as former champions, Johnny Clark and DJ Shaw, and contenders Derek Ramstrom and Joey Doiron.

Action gets under way at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Saturday, April 8 with rotating practice for all divisions. On Sunday, April 9, gates will open at 9 AMand feature events set to go green at 12:35 PM.

Entry forms for The Icebreaker at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, along with the Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory, events at Oxford Plains Speedway, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, and the 44th Annual Oxford 250, can be found at ProAllStarsSeries.com. The 2017 license forms for the PASS Super Late Models are also available at ProAllStarsSeries.com. Drivers purchasing licenses for the 2017 season will receive bonus points for each race they are pre-registered for and will also save money towards any events that they enter early.

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 Easter Bunny 150 and the Mason-Dixon MegaMeltdown 300 at Hickory Motor Speedway and the legendary Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway. For media or marketing questions, please contact Alan Dietz at 704-231-2039 or [email protected]. 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 at @PASSSLM14 to keep up with breaking news as it happens.

(VMM file photo)