Preston Peltier survived a second half duel with local favorite Shane Lee to claim the victory in the 13th Annual Easter Bunny 150 Saturday night at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway.
Peltier’s fifth Easter Bunny 150 triumph pushed his overall PASS South Super Late Model win total to 16, the most of any driver in series history.
“To be honest, the car was really fast on a short run, but the whole setup was a little too stiff and I thought we had messed up,” said Peltier, who hauled his machine from Colorado where he now lives. “This place is just incredible, I’ve never felt it have this much grip before. This is the first race my daughter, Jocelyn, has been at, she’s only eight weeks old, and I know where this Easter Bunny’s going, that’s for sure.”
In qualifying, Peltier set a new track record with a lap of 14.470 seconds (90.255 MPH) for his 22nd career quick qualifying time in PASS, bettering 39 other competitors in the process. After the top 10 qualifiers redraw, Peltier would move all the way back to the 10th starting position, while Tate Fogleman and Shane Lee would move up to the front row.
At the drop of the green flag, Fogleman would move into the lead over Lee and Jerick Johnson. The first caution flag of the night would wave on lap 17 when Jimmy Renfrew and Gracie Trotter collided on the front straightaway.
Following the restart, Fogleman would continue to lead, while Trevor Noles made his way into the top five, passing Johnson for fifth on lap 25. Just 10 laps later and after a slight tap by Jeff Fultz in turn two, Johnson would spin, while Jeff Batten, Wyatt Alexander, and Bryan Kruzek all made hard contact with the wall as they tried to avoid Johnson’s spinning car.
Fogleman continued to lead until lap 41, when two-time PASS South Super Late Model champion, Matt Craig, would take the top spot on a restart. A few laps later, Derek Griffith would also attempt to overtake Fogleman for second, but Griffith would spin while racing hard as he entered turn one to bring out the fourth caution of the night.
Fogleman would return the favor to Craig on the next restart, taking the lead on lap 62 for the second time in the race. But, just five laps later, Peltier would make his presence know, taking the lead away from Fogleman. On lap 70, Roy Hayes made contact with the backstretch wall, resulting in Kodie Conner and several others colliding to bring out the sixth caution of the night.
With Peltier still out front, Lee would make his way into second, applying heavy pressure to the leader. Despite two late cautions, Peltier would hold on to take the win over Lee, with Brandon Setzer finishing third, D.J. Shaw in fourth, and Fultz in fifth.
Garrett Hall, Craig, Griffith, Noles, and Ben Rowe rounded out the top ten.
The PASS National Championship Super Late Models will be in action next up on Sunday, April 8 for The Icebreaker at Thompson Speedway in Connecticut. The PASS South series will hit the track again on Friday, May 25 at North Carolina’s Concord Speedway as part of the Old Glory 125.
PASS South Super Late Model Series
Hickory Motor Speedway – Newton, NC
Easter Bunny 150 – March 31, 2018
Unofficial Race Results
1. 48 – Preston Peltier
2. 00L – Shane Lee
3. 6 – Brandon Setzer
4. 60 – D.J. Shaw
5. 54x – Jeff Fultz
6. 94 – Garrett Hall
7. 54 – Matt Craig
8. 12g – Derek Griffith
9. 22 – Trevor Noles
10. 4n – Ben Rowe
11. 8f – Tate Fogleman
12. 24j – J.P. Josiasse
13. 2b – Gabe Brown
14. 00k – Bryan Kruczek
15. 16me – Travis Stearns
16. 2s – Lonnie Sommerville
17. 98 – Jody Measamer
18. 01 – Sam Gooden
19. 08 – Nicholas Naugle
20. 76 – Jerick Johnson
21. 35 – Derek Ramstrom
22. 78 – Corey Heim
23. 15 – Roy C. Hays III
24. 03 – Joe Squeglia, Jr.
25. 45 – Kodie Conner
26. 71f – Harold Fair, Jr.
27. 7c – Tyler Church
28. 49 – Jeff Batten
29. 96 – Wyatt Alexander
30. 2t – Gracie Trotter
31. 00 – Jimmy Renfrew
32. 26 – Bubba Pollard
