Everyone Loves Canaan and PASS North Heads There Next

    "I like Canaan," said three-time PASS champion Ben Rowe. "It’s a fun place to race."

    "We really like Canaan," said Richie Dearborn, whose PASS career dates back to the first ever tour race in 2001. "We’ve had some good runs there and also some bad luck. We look forward to going back."

    "I think that Canaan is pretty fun," said Rookie of the Year contender Alan Tardiff. "We made our debut at the track last year and had a pretty good set-up going into the race. We made a few adjustments, but I think that the track is a lot like White Mountain. We had a pretty good run going until lap 101 when we went off the backstretch. But overall, we had a fun time."

    All of those drivers agree that enjoying a track is the first step to running well there.

    "If I get to a race track and I actually like it, I usually do alright," said Rowe. "Canaan is one of those tracks where you can get aggressive with the track and with your car. You can get up on the wheel there. It’s fun. You can pass. You carry quite a bit of speed there. Turn four gets a little tight."

    Rowe has a streak of three straight victories at Canaan. We asked him his secret to getting around the place and he didn’t have much to say.

    "I can’t tell you that," laughed Rowe. "I’ve just been fortunate to have good cars there."

    Another driver with a strong record at Canaan is Rowe’s teammate at Richard Moody Racing, Travis Khiel. The young driver took the 2005 season off from driving, but has finishes of fourth and sixth at Canaan in 2004.

    "I’ve always seemed to run well up there," said Khiel. "I can’t really tell you why. The track is really nice. I like racing there and even though we’ve had some really good finishes there, I have no explanation for it."

    The track’s wide corners and high banking lead to some quick lap speeds and close quarters racing.

    "Canaan is like White Mountain stretched out a little bit," said Tardiff. "It has a little bit more of a drag strip on the straightaways and that’s why I think everyone likes it there."

    "It is a fast track," said Khiel. "It’s a fun place to race and that’s because there are two grooves. You can pass on the inside and pass on the outside. I think that is what makes it so fun."

    But be careful not to have too much fun according to Dearborn.

    "You can overdrive it really easy there," said the driver of the #33 car, who has a runner-up finish in 2004 at the track to his credit. "You try not to do that and get what you can out of the car."

    As much as the drivers love Canaan, the fans will probably love a tight race there even more.

    "I think that the track is really competitive and has a lot of racing room," said Tardiff. "We should all get around there pretty well."

    "It should be a good show," said Rowe. "Hopefully, we’ll get 28-30 cars there. I’m sure that we’ll put on a good race."

    The PASS Super Late Model race at Canaan will consist of 150 green flag laps and will get started with heat races beginning at 6:00pm on Saturday, May 27^th.