D.J. Shaw arrived at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park this past weekend with the Pro All Stars Series points race firmly in hand.
And after Saturday’s race, not even a Herculean effort from runner-up Johnny Clark will be able to dethrone the provisional titlist.
Shaw dominated Saturday’s PASS-sanctioned portion of the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing, taking his second win of 2024 and securing an unassailable advantage in the season-long standings with one race to go.
The Center Conway, N.H. native overpowered Dominic Curit on lap 8, leading the final 43 circuits around the legendary Connecticut oval to take the checkered flag in a shortened 50-lap feature.
Shaw entered the penultimate race of 2024 on the heels of his worst result of the season. The five-time PASS North champ found himself on the losing end of a fierce battle for the race lead, ending his night three laps short of the finish. A short field spared Shaw the ultimate misfortune, and indeed he finished one position worse at Star Speedway two races prior, but Thunder Road was Shaw’s first DNF of the year and the first time he had finished off the lead lap all season.
None of that could deter Shaw, already a three-time winner on Thompson’s high banks. The veteran made quick work of the field in a single qualifying heat. Lining up deeper in the field due to his win at Seekonk Speedway earlier in the year, Shaw and the pack followed Michael Scorzelli and Curit to the green flag.
Curit took the top spot from Scorzelli in a hurry, but Shaw was coming fast. Curit held on for the first seven laps before Shaw drove past to take the lead on lap eight. From there, Shaw never looked back.
Eddie MacDonald, reversing his usual car number to pay tribute to former crew member Steve Vasey, carved through traffic on his own terms. A winner for car owner Dale Drew in a one-off Granite State Pro Stock Series appearance a week ago, “The Outlaw” hoped to follow his short track win with one on the big track where he has excelled.
But by the time MacDonald got to second, there were not enough laps left to run down Shaw. The points leader coasted to a 2.181-second win over MacDonald for his second win of 2024 and the 31st win of a PASS North career that dates back to 2007.
MacDonald was second in the renumbered No. 71, honoring the late Vasey’s tenure as the hauler driver for his NASCAR East Series efforts for car owner Rob Grimm.
Connecticut native Cory Casagrande finished third, scoring his first career PASS podium on one of his favorite tracks.
Surprise second-place Thunder Road finisher Alex Quarterley was fourth at the line, with polesitter Scorzelli hanging on for a career-best fifth-place finish. Scorzelli, who has received help from former PASS champ Ryan Kuhn in recent weeks, earned his second-straight top-ten finish and his first lead-lap performance since New Hampshire Motor Speedway in April.
Championship standings runner-up Johnny Clark finished sixth, ahead of Rusty Poland and early leader Curit. Kevin Folan was a lap back in ninth. Wayne Helliwell, Jr.’s car gave up the ghost 14 laps in, leaving him as the only car not to finish.
After only eleven cars took the green last week at Thunder Road, this week’s ten-car grid was the smallest turnout for a PASS points race this season. What was planned as a 75-lap feature was shortened shortly before the green flag, also helping to move along a busy eight-race program for the evening.
PASS races at Thompson have always drawn modest fields, and this year’s tilt was exacerbated by extenuating circumstances. Trevor Sanborn’s Richard Moody Racing team lost their second car of the year at Thunder Road. April winner Derek Griffith had a personal conflict, and veteran Joey Doiron remains sidelined with a broken foot. And even with the equalizing element of crate engines, certain teams always rise to the top at Thompson. With the season-ending 300-lap contest at Oxford Plains Speedway only a week away, many teams likely directed their remaining budgets and equipment to the PASS 400 weekend instead.
It stands to recall that PASS floated a non-points race at Thompson as part of last year’s World Series, but nixed the idea due to a lack of entries.
One race remains on the PASS calendar in 2024, though the points race is all but closed out. Shaw, who clinched the PASS National Championship honors at Thompson, carries a 222-point lead to Oxford, assuring his sixth PASS North championship over seven-time titlist Clark.
Two other drivers, Poland and Scorzelli, have started every race this season, with Poland holding a significant lead in the race for third in the standings.
Sunday’s PASS 400 finale, run in three 100-lap stages and scored in a manner similar to Thunder Road’s iconic Vermont Milk Bowl, offers up one last chance for victory. And the unique format could well introduce a new winner to the mix.
But the championship spoils will be Shaw’s and Shaw’s alone.
Unofficial Results
PASS North | Sunoco World Series 50
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson, Conn.
1. (60) D.J. Shaw
2. (71MA) Eddie MacDonald
3. (7CT) Cory Casagrande
4. (32Q) Alex Quarterley
5. (18) Michael Scorzelli
6. (54) Johnny Clark
7. (19) Rusty Poland
8. (5) Dominic Curit
9. (17) Kevin Folan
10. (27NH) Wayne Helliwell, Jr.
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