Matt Craig leads wire-to-wire in PASS Caraway

Matt Craig led flag-to-flag Sunday afternoon to score his third straight Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model win at Caraway Speedway in the RGS Products 125.

Craig’s win moves him to fourth on the all-time PASS South winners’ list, just one win behind Jay Fogleman.

In qualifying, Tate Fogleman bested Brandon Setzer for his second quick qualifying time of the season with a lap of 16.473 seconds (99.435 MPH). But, the top 10 qualifiers redraw would not be kind to Fogleman, moving him back to the ninth starting position, while fellow championship contenders, Craig and Kodie Conner, would move to the front row for the start.

At the drop of the green flag, Craig would quickly move to the point, while Fogleman was dicing his way up through the field. The first caution of the day would wave on lap 14 for a solo spin by rookie Charles Barnes in turn four.

Craig would lead after the restart, but by lap 20, he was being closely pursued by Roy Hayes and Fogleman. The top three stayed that way until Setzer joined the fray, taking second from Hayes with 40 laps to go.

Fogleman’s early season misfortune continued as he began to drop back in the second half of the race, falling to ninth by lap 90. The second caution of the day would wave with 14 laps to go when Fogleman slowed to a stop with mechanical problems in turn three.

After the final restart, it was all Craig, as he would lead the rest of to take the win over Setzer, Ryan Moore, Conner, Lee Tissot. Rounding out the top ten were Gracie Trotter, Jody Measamer, Max McLaughlin, Hayes, and Jimmy Doyle. Trotter’s sixth place finish on Sunday equals Kenzie Ruston, Tayla Orleans, and Sarah Cornett-Ching as the best finish by a female in PASS competition.

The PASS South Super Late Models will be in action again on Saturday, March 31 for the 13th Annual Easter Bunny 150, along with the SMRS Tour Modifieds, in one of the biggest races of the season.

1. Matt Craig
2. Brandon Setzer
3. Ryan Moore
4. Kodie Conner
5. Lee Tissot
6. Gracie Trotter
7. Jody Measamer
8. Max McLaughlin
9. Roy Hayes
10. Jimmy Doyle
11. J.P. Josiasse
12. Blaise Rutherford
13. Greg Burgess
14. Jeff Batten
15. Tate Fogleman
16. Charles Barnes
17. Fletcher Whaley

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