CONTACT: Matt Kentfield, 51 Sports

Winchester 400 Winner Ryan Lawler Crowned 2007 PASS South Champion

Breakout Season Continues With South Super Late Model Series Championship

CONCORD, NC (November 19, 2007) – After the 2006 season, a lot of people in the racing industry were starting to learn the name Ryan Lawler. He has come out of nowhere to win a couple of PASS South Super Late Model races and even took the checkers in one of the preliminary events at the Toyota All Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway in California.

So if the 2006 season was a name recognition season for Lawler, then the 2007 season was a breakout season for the Texas-native.

Despite getting involved in a mid-race accident in Saturday night’s PASS South finale, the Mason-Dixon Meltdown at Concord Motorsport Park, Lawler was able to clinch the 2007 Pro All Stars Series South Championship. It nearly put the bookend on a phenomenal season for Lawler, who won two PASS South races and the 36^th Annual Winchester 400 along the way. Lawler has one more race planned for the 2007 season; the 40^th Annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.

However, the PASS South Championship is the crowning jewel of it all.

“This Championship means a lot. This is awesome,” said Lawler on Saturday night, celebrating his title with his entire #31 Hamke Race Cars & Parts team. “I can’t say enough about my guys. They work hard and give me these great cars week after week. There wasn’t anywhere we went this year we weren’t fast. I just love the PASS South Series.”

The Championship didn’t come to Lawler easily, though. He was involved in an accident on lap 93 of the Mason-Dixon Meltdown, which knocked him out of the event. Lawler and his team had to patiently wait for the remainder of the event to see if any of his closest competitors would be able to catch him. They couldn’t, and Lawler celebrated his Championship after the event.

“Last year, we came so close to winning the PASS South Championship in our first year of racing. Going into the Meltdown, we had a shot at the title and had a rough day. It is rough coming into the last race knowing you have a shot to win the Championship and not close the deal. We didn’t close the deal today. Everything just played out and we still won the championship.”

Lawler ran a conservative race in trying to lock up the championship on Saturday night at Concord. After earning the pole for the event and finishing second in the Dash, Lawler jumped out to an early lead. But once Lawler fell back in the pack, he turned to a conservative role, letting faster cars go while keeping within sight of the leaders.

However, on lap 93, Lawler got run into from behind by another competitor, causing Lawler’s car to spin and back into the turn one wall. The damage to the car was terminal, and Lawler and the team had to wait out the rest of the race to see if they would hold onto the title.

After the 200 laps were completed, Lawler’s 23^rd-place finish was enough to earn him the 2007 PASS South title.

“I knew a car had gotten inside of me and I was going to let him go,” added Lawler. “I just didn’t know there was a whole line of cars on the inside of me. It ended up I had to let five cars go to get back down, but that is ok. I was just trying to run a smart race and stay out of trouble. Obviously, the 88 (Alan Tardiff) wasn’t. It was just an unfortunate deal.”

Lawler finished the 2007 PASS South season with two wins, four top-fives and six top-10s. He also earned one pole, which came at the Meltdown.

“We run good everywhere we go. We just haven’t had a lot of luck this year. We had no luck in ASA this year. If we wouldn’t have had our bad luck at Hickory (Motor Speedway in PASS South) and over here, I don’t think we would have had to worry about this championship. But then again, that is why we race. I guess it made it exciting.

“We are going to go and try to win the (Snowball) Derby now. I don’t see why we can’t. We just need to go down there and get dialed in and run a smart race.”

The Snowball Derby is set for December 2^nd at Five Flags Speedway in Florida.

For more information on Ryan Lawler, contact Matt Kentfield at (704) 788-2134 x 5 and be sure to check out ryanlawler.com.