Pro All Stars Series

Lore & Background

The Pro All Stars Series started with the PASS North Pro Stock in 2001, founded by former stock car racer Tom Mayberry as a successor to the Northeast Pro Stock Association and International Pro Stock Challenge. The first race was held on 20 May 2001 at Lee USA Speedway, where Jim McCallum qualified on pole and Dale Shaw won the 150-lap event over 32 qualifiers from 45 total entrants. Ben Rowe won six of ten races that season, but Sam Sessions became the first series champion due to consistent top-five finishes. Rowe then won the next two titles.

In 2004, a touring-style modified racing series was introduced at White Mountain Motorsports Park, with ten drivers starting the first race, won by PASS regular Ben Rowe. Two years later, in 2006, PASS founded the Super Late Model Touring Series South, based in North Carolina and also racing in South Carolina, Virginia, and other southern states. This series kept Super Late Model and Pro Late Model racing alive in the mid-south until it was disbanded in 2018.

Not all ventures succeeded. The PASS Outlaw Late Model series was introduced in 2006 as a breeding ground for new drivers, but it was canceled during the 2008 season after just two races due to very small grids—nine drivers at Speedway 95 and twelve at Riverside Speedway—and the 2008 financial crisis. The PASS Late Model Truck Series was also short-lived, canceled after only six drivers appeared at Southern National Raceway Park, with one round remaining at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. In late 2012, a group including Tom Mayberry bought Oxford Plains Speedway, shifting its focus from American Canadian Tour Late Model sanctioning to PASS Super Late Model sanctioning; the Oxford 250 became a PASS points race for the North and National championships starting in 2013. New for 2022 is a big block super series (NESS) aiming to revive big block super modifieds in New England.

Reader's Guide

The Pro All Stars Series has been a significant force in regional stock car racing, particularly in the northeastern United States and Canada. Its founding by Tom Mayberry filled a void left by the dissolution of earlier organizations, and the series quickly established a competitive North tour. The introduction of a modified tour in 2004 and a southern tour in 2006 expanded its reach, with the southern division helping sustain Super Late Model racing in the mid-south for over a decade. The series' acquisition of Oxford Plains Speedway and the Oxford 250 in 2013 integrated a historic event into its championship structure, enhancing its prestige. However, the series also experienced failures, such as the Outlaw Late Model and Late Model Truck series, which struggled with low car counts and were canceled early. These episodes illustrate the challenges of maintaining multiple touring divisions in a fragmented market. The 2022 launch of the NESS big block super modified series shows ongoing efforts to revive niche classes. Overall, PASS has provided a stable platform for Super Late Model competition and has adapted to changing economic and competitive conditions.

Did You Know?

• The first PASS race was held on 20 May 2001 at Lee USA Speedway, with Dale Shaw winning over 32 qualifiers from 45 total entrants.
• The PASS Outlaw Late Model series was introduced in 2006 but canceled during the 2008 season after only two races due to small grids and the financial crisis.