HICKORY, N.C. - Preston Peltier took the lead from Derek Scott, Jr. on a lap 44 restart and never looked back to take a dominating win in the 10th Annual Easter Bunny 150 Saturday night at Hickory Motor Speedway in Newton, N.C. for the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Model Series.
The win marked Peltier’s third Easter Bunny 160 triumph and his sixth PASS South win at the speedway. It pushes his series leading wins total to 14.
“I was a little worried that a caution would come out at the end, but thank God it didn’t and we were able to get this Hamke Dodge to victory lane,” said Peltier. “This suits my driving style because Hickory is a momentum racetrack. I learned the hard way how to save tires and we did that tonight. It just feels great to get another Easter Bunny win.”
Texas rookie Scott, Jr. paced the field in qualifying for his first PASS South Super Late Model race with a lap of 80.286 miles per hour around the legendary 3/8 mile speedway. Following the top ten qualifiers redraw, Scott would slot into the seventh starting position, while Peltier and three-time PASS National Champion Ben Rowe moved to the front row.
Peltier would take the early lead, but Scott wasted little time working his way to the front, moving into the lead by lap 17. The first caution flag of the race waved on lap 43 when Trevor Sanborn checked up to avoid Tate Fogleman and was tapped by Jeff Batten, sending Sanborn for a spin in turn four. By this point, 2006 Easter Bunny 150 winner Mike Rowe had made his way into the top 10 after starting in 22nd.
When the green flag waved to resume racing, Peltier was able to power by Scott on the outside for the lead. The caution would wave two more times for a spin on the backstretch by Nick Robinson on lap 78 and again for the stalled car of Jason Stanley on lap 89.
The most serious accident of the night occurred on the ensuing restart when Jody Measamer and Ryan Moore made contact on the backstretch while racing for fifth. Both cars hit the outside wall with Measamer’s Chevrolet briefly going over Moore’s hood and onto two wheels. Walker Yates and Jimmy Doyle both spun in turn three to avoid the accident.
Back underway, Peltier continued to lead over defending series champion Tyler Church, and went unchallenged en route to the victory. Church held on for second, with Mike Rowe in third, Ben Rowe fourth and Brandon Setzer in fifth.
Zane Smith, Fultz, Trevor Noles, Scott and Shane Lee rounded out the top ten.
In other action, Kodie Conner swept both events in a PASS Pro Late Model doubleheader by taking the wins on Friday and Saturday night. In Friday night’s race, Ryan Krachun finished second, with Jordan McCallum in third, Zachary Dabbs fourth and Matt Murphy in fifth. In Saturday night’s 50 lap feature, Chandler Smith finished second over Murphy, Jake Spillers, and Krachun.
Matthew Lundstrom parlayed a big early lead to a win in the USAC Eastern Midgets feature over Scott Hunter and Chris Lamb. Steve Johns, Jr. and Alex Pacheco were the Legends winners and Aaron Pierce took the checkered flag for the Must See Racing Sprint Cars.
The PASS South Super Late Models and PASS Pro Late Models will be in action again on Saturday, April 25 for the Bash At The Beach 2 at Myrtle Beach Speedway in Myrtle Beach, SC, along with the Pee Dee/Coastal Super Trucks and Bell & Bell Vintage Modifieds.
For more info, visit ProAllStarsSeries.com.
PASS South Super Late Model Series
Hickory Motor Speedway – Newton, NC
Easter Bunny 150 (Unofficial) – April 4, 2015
1. 74c – Preston Peltier
2. 7 – Tyler Church
3. 7r – Mike Rowe
4. 4n – Ben Rowe
5. 6 – Brandon Setzer
6. 77- Zane Smith
7. 9x – Jeff Fultz
8. 2 – Trevor Noles
9. 01 – Derek Scott
10. 00 – Shane Lee
11. 9 – Chris Dilbeck
12. H2 – Bret Holmes
13. 8f – Tate Fogleman
14. 4d – Joey Doiron
15. 71r – Nick Robinson
16. 16 – Lucas Jones
17. 12 – Heath Hindman
18. 12j – Trey Jerrell
19. 42qc – Eric St. Gelais
20. 71 – Jimmy Doyle
21. 02 – Walker Yates
22. 8 – Jason Stanley
23. 118 – Dave Mader III
24. 74 – Ryan Moore
25. 98 – Jody Measamer
26. 49 – Jeff Batten
27. 29 – Trevor Sanborn
28. 33 – Roger Lee Newton
DNS: 12 – John Gibson
DNS: 55 – Kevin Floars
DNS: 54 – Matt Craig
DNS: 4x – Kyle McCallum
DNS: 89 – David Latour, Jr.
DNS: 24 – Steve Halpin
PASS Pro Late Models – Friday (Unofficial)
1. 45 – Kodie Conner
2. 29 – Ryan Krachun
3. 3 – Jordan McCallum
4. 23 – Zachary Dabbs
5. 7 – Matt Murphy
6. 55 – Jake Spillers
7. 26 – Chandler Smith
8. 82 – Cameron Burke
9. 77 – Logan Jones
10. 24J – J.P. Josiasse
11. 22 – Wesley Noles
PASS Pro Late Models – Saturday (Unofficial)
1. 45 – Kodie Conner
2. 26 – Chandler Smith
3. 7 – Matt Murphy
4. 55 – Jake Spillers
5. 29 – Ryan Krachun
6. 23 – Zachary Dabbs
7. 82 – Cameron Burke
8. 24j – JP Joiasse
9. 3 – Jordan McCallum
10. 12 – Rikk McMehan
http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/4/301425/peltier-dominates-for-easter-bunny-150-win-at-hickory