Catchfence

Young meets old on as sixteen year-old Joey Gase travels from his Iowa home to one of the oldest, most historic racetracks in the country; the Hickory Motor Speedway on April 3rd when the Pro All Star Series visits the historic 3/8-mile track in Hickory, NC.

Hickory, known as “The Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars” has a long list of Champions including Ralph Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, Harry Gant, Jack Ingram, Tommy Houston and Ned Jarrett. Gase takes to the historic track a Championship of his own as the reigning champion of the Hawkeye Downs Speedway in his home state of Iowa.

With several of the top series having off for the Easter holiday a large field is expected including many of the top late model drivers in the country. It is not uncommon for several NASCAR drivers to enter the holiday event; Sprint Cup regular David Ragan is among the pre-entries for the event.

Gase is up for the challenge of the fifty-nine year old racetrack. “I know there is a lot of history at Hickory, but being from the Midwest I honestly don’t know that much about it. I’m sure I’ll learn about the history when we get to the track this week. My goal is to prove we can run with these guys in the PASS series, we had our day cut short when we raced with them in New Smyrna and I’m looking to change our fortunes.”

Butch Miller will make the long trek from Nashville Superspeedway following the NCWTS on Friday night to the Hickory Speedway to call the shots for Gase at the Easter Bunny 150. “This should be a very competitive race. Some of the best late model drivers in the country will be there,” Miller said. “We’re are going to bring our newest Port City crate engine car and try to take advantage of the weight break for Joey, I’m excited to see him run against this level of competition.”

Gase will run an A-B-C style multi-series schedule with the SS Green Light Racing team in 2010 including races in the Pro All Star Series, the Sunoco National Tour and the team plans to enter Joey in two K & N Pro Series East races later in the season.

On Friday March 2nd there will be an open practice from 2:00 PM until 6:00 PM. Saturday, April 3rd the gates swing open at 10:00 pm, practice gets underway at noon and PASS time trials are scheduled for 4:00 pm. Racing goes green at 6:00 pm, with the Easter Bunny 150 starting around 8:00 pm Eastern.

- SS Green Light Racing Press Release