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(Press Release from New Hampshire Motor Speedway)
Eddie MacDonald celebrates victory in the inaugural Pro All Stars Series Event Sunday at NHMS (Photo: Courtesy New Hampshire Motor Speedway)
LOUDON, N.H. – Eddie MacDonald is no stranger to Sunoco Victory Lane at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. On Sunday, he made his seventh career stop there after winning the AIM 60, a Pro All-Stars Series (PASS) National Championship event. It was the first time the super late models have raced at the 1.058-mile oval.
It was the seventh career late model win at NHMS for MacDonald, a native of Rowley, Mass., who has three NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and three American-Canadian Tour Invitational wins at the Magic Mile.
“I really wanted this one bad today,” said MacDonald, who will return to NHMS for the Granite State 70 K&N Pro Series East and New Hampshire 301 Sprint Cup Series races on July 17 and 19, respectively. He will also be behind the wheel for the Sept. 26 Bond Auto Parts ACT Invitational.
“I’m excited for those events, but I’m also excited for this win here today. So many guys have worked so hard on this car that we won here with. I’m happy for them and it’s always a great feeling to win here.”
While he led most of the race, MacDonald certainly had to earn this one in the later stages. With 20 laps to go, David Garbo Jr. passed MacDonald on the backstretch and pulled away before a caution with just over 10 laps to go tightened the field back up. It was there, on the restart, that MacDonald jumped back ahead for good.
Garbo Jr., Spencer Davis, D.J. Shaw and Derek Ramstrom rounded out the top-five finishers on Sunday.
The race used a competition yellow flag after lap 35 to allow two-tire stops for all teams.
A good crowd was on hand for the series’ debut, which included a North East Mini Stock Tour race as the matinee feature event. Toby Wells picked up the win, edging Emerson Cayer and Ricky Labrecque for the top spot on the podium. The win gave Wells the all-time wins record in NEMST history.
“I forgot all about that, I was just happy to win the race,” said Wells of setting the new record. “Maybe someday when I’m old and gray we can about stats, but right now we’ve won five straight and that’s something to be excited about. This was incredible side-by-side racing here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, so I’m immensely proud of this win.”
Great seats are still available for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series New Hampshire 301 on Sunday, July 19. To purchase tickets please call the NHMS ticket hotline at (603)783-4931 or visit www.nhms.com.
Strong runs by Spencer Davis and Derek Ramstrom.
Glad to see a top-5 run for Ramstrom. The team has been OK with the modified, but this kid really shines in a SLM.
Wow, a second place finish for old Speedbowl regular Dave Garbo Jr.
Shawn – Why are you select at what you cover? The NHMS event had 3 main events and you didn’t cover but one. I know for a fact their were CT drivers in the NEMST event so why not cover them? It appears as though you only cover the premier divisions and forget about the supporting ones. its no wonder people get on your case.
98robdog,
I was not at the event. What was published here that you’re commenting on was the press release from New Hampshire Motor. That is what their staff distributed. The press release from the North East Mini Stock Tour was also published here.
“A good crowd was on hand” LOL. Since when does a 1500 people at a track that seats 100,000 constitute “a good crowd”?
When this race was announced I had no idea why PASS and NHMS were doing it, and now that the results are in, I still have no idea why, it certainly wasn’t a screaming success based on the crowd or number of entries, or even the trace itself.
No mention of the PASS Sportsman race which had a grand total of 4 race cars?
I don’t know a lot about Tom Mayberry, but I see a guy who at least TRIES a lot of stuff.
He’s got a series with a lot of VERY talented drivers, and they usually put on a really good show. But it’s a short track series that has about as much appeal to southern New Englanders as modifieds do for northern New Englanders.
PASS used to run Thompson… they’ve rented out Stafford… Mayberry’s trying to grow a low-buck modified division, which he’s given a home base at Oxford Plains… he’s smart enough to work WITH ACT, instead of butting heads with them, which would benefit neither of them.
Was the PASS race at NHIS a success? Depends what they were hoping to accomplish. They had 29 entries, including one (or two?) from the Kyle Busch operation. That’s pretty good for a series where most events are on 1/4 or 1/3 mile tracks. I’ve seen the MRS draw smaller numbers at some of their events this year.
I have a hunch NHIS had an open date and offered a price for the place that was attractive to PASS. PASS got press out of it. It raised their profile.
Kudos to PASS for trying something new.
For anyone that enjoys great racing (and even moreso for people who have fond memories of the old Busch North series), I really recommend checking out a PASS event at Star or Beech Ridge. Beech Ridge is just south of Portland, and it compares VERY favorably to the quality show you get at Stafford.