Column By: STEPHEN DURHAM / RPW – DERRY, NH – The Pro All Star Series made their way to New Hampshire Motor Speedway last weekend for the Northeast Classic. Following that event, here’s Stephen’s Power Rankings.
1: Eddie Macdonald (previous rank:4):
Eddie Mac is showing speed and consistency early on in 2022, nearly capturing the win at the Northeast Classic. Eddie Mac came from the back of his heat race at New Hampshire Speedway and got into the top 5. That would set him up to start 8th for the 50 lap event around the Magic Mile. Eddie does have one win at Stafford Speedway, back in 2007.
2: DJ Shaw (previous rank: 1) :
The Magic Mile wasn’t too magical for Shaw. He lost a motor on Friday, but thankfully with rain on Saturday, the team thrashed on got a backup motor put into the 60 Pro All Star Series super late model. Shaw would battle with a fuel filter on Sunday, before they fixed it. He would come thundering through the field to capture an 11th place finish and earn the Hard Charger award. Expect Shaw to look to regain momentum and be battling for the win again at Stafford.
3: Johnny Clark (Previous Rank: 3):
Clark decided to head home after the postponed event was moved to Easter and spend the day with family. Clark will be ready for action at Stafford this weekend, looking to regain momentum to defend his 2021 PASS title.
4: Joey Polewarczyk (Previous Rank: 2):
It was a tough weekend for the Richard Moody Racing teams. Pole struggled with handling in the feature at Loudon last Sunday, coming home in 21st. Pole did win at Stafford last April on Spring Sizzler weekend with a different sanctioned super late model series. Expect the Richard Moody team to help get Joey back in contention.
5: Austin Macdonald (Previous Rank: Unranked):
It was a magical Sunday at the Magic Mile for this Macdonald. Capturing his first PASS super late model tour. Macdonald has shown speed in his young career already on the PASS tour, and he is ready to keep on fighting for more wins this season.
6: Brandon Barker (Previous Rank: Unranked):
For Barker, it was nearly sweet redemption for him after a year agos results were taken away from a podium finish. This time around he came home second and things went smoothly. He will look to do one spot better this weekend at Stafford.
7: Gabe Brown (Previous Rank: 7):
The final heat race for the Pro All Star Series tour was a rough one for a few drivers. One of the, being Gabe Brown with contact early on with the start of the heat race. This would ultimately end his day. Brown is listed as an entry for this weekend at Stafford.
8: Jake Matheson (Previous Rank: 8):
Matheson had an identical finish to a year ago at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, coming home in 7th. Matheson put on quite the show in heat race two with Austin Macdonald for the top spot, battling it out till the end.
9: Garrett Hall (Previous Rank: Unranked):
Hall is showing consistency to begin 2022 with a tenth place finish last Sunday. Hall is hungry to get back to victory lane, capturing his last win in June of 2019 at Oxford Speedway.
10: Ryan Kuhn (Previous Rank: Unranked):
Ryan showed speed at the Northeast Classic, running steady near the top 10. Kuhn started the 2022 campaign off with a top ten at Thompson. Kuhn has always been a contender at any track, and will likely be knocking on the door of another strong finish.
On the Radar:
Joe Pastore: Pastore had a strong showing at New Hampshire Speedway, notching a heat race win in the final heat race for the PASS tour. That would set him up to start in third for the main event. Pastore was able to maintain the top five the whole race and come home in third. Pastore raced weekly at the now closed Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and will follow the PASS tour for the 2022 season. Pastore earned two wins in the final season at Beech Ridge.
Ben Rowe: Teammate to Joey Pole, also struggled at the Magic Mile last sunday. Rowe struggled in the heat race, making for him to start deep in the field. Rowe wouldn’t make up for the lost ground in the feature, coming home in 20th.
Dan Winter: Winter started in the back of an already stacked heat race and made up a few spots. Winter did show speed in the first segment of the PASS event, cracking into the top 15 after starting 23rd in the field. Winter was one of only few drivers to make strong gains for the duration of green flag racing on Sunday.