Fast Qualifier and Leader for 145 Laps,
Corey Knocked Out by a Wreck for Another 17th
In
Friday's time trials Corey posted fast time of the
24 Super Late Models on hand for the final of the
four PASS 2009 National Championship events.
The redraw of the top ten put Corey on the outside
pole, next to Heath Hindman.
Wearing the white "Batmobile" paint scheme, the #47
quickly took the top spot at the green flag.
Through one red and four yellow flags, Corey headed
the field. With Cassius Clark trailing behind, Corey
left the rest of the field up to a full straightaway
behind.
On the longer green runs Corey was busy working his
way through lapped traffic.
At lap 145,
while Ryan Blaney and Bradley McCaskill were in a
heated battle just ahead of the #47, Blaney got into
McCaskill sending him spinning and collecting DJ
Shaw and Corey.
Done for the night, Corey was scored with a 17th
place finish, the second in a row
at a PASS South event after outstanding runs.
Hickory - Over the Mountain - Aug. 29th
17th Place for Corey
Thirty-three Super Late Models were trackside for
the Aug. 29th event at Hickory, the 11th race of the
PASS South season. Fast right out of the hauler,
Corey posted the fast time in the second practice
session with a 15.056. That lap turned out to be the
fastest recorded in all three of the SLM practice
sessions.
In time trials, Corey ran a 14.951 for third spot
behind John Stancil with a 14.914 and Chase Elliot
with a 14.935 and just ahead of Ben Rowe's 14.957.
After the redraw, the #47 would start in 6th, with
Corey's friend from the North Cassius Clark on the
pole in the #8.
By lap 7 of the 150 green flag lap feature, Corey
was up to 5th as the first multi-car tangle was
triggered. Up to 4th by lap 30 and 3rd by lap 50,
Corey was battling the #9 of Chase Elliot to hold
his position.
Lap 69 saw the yellow fly as a bunch of cars
including Corey jammed up an spun in turn one. Then
on lap 94 another multi-car incident on the
backstretch heavily damaged the #47. Corey pulled
nose first up to the hauler and retired from the
race, credited with a 17th place finish out of 28
starters.
It was a rough night at Hickory. By lap 110 only 13
cars remained on the track.
Fourteen year old Chase Elliot took the win,
becoming the youngest PASS winner ever in his first
PASS start. Jeff Choquette #33 finished second and
Cassius Clark
placed third.
Corey
and the #47 headed out to doubleheader PASS South
events on the holiday weekend for his third and
fourth PASS South starts of 2009. First up was a 125
race at
Greenville-Pickens
on Friday the 3rd.
After posting one of the fastest couple times in the
final practice session, Corey had the right rear
spring come out of its bucket when he went to
qualify.
With the spring put back in place, Corey was all set
for the feature but had to start 28th and last on
the field.
At the fall of the green, Corey for the front. By
lap 22 he was in 11th. In 5th by lap 40, Speed51
noted Corey was "driving like a man possessed." At
the lap 56 caution, the running order was
Brian Ickler, Ryan Blaney, Corey Williams, Jeff
Choquette, Heath Hindman.
Blaney
grabbed the lead and then Corey went under him for
the lead 72 with
Jeff Fultz on the #47's bumper. Through a
couple of major wrecks and the resulting restarts,
Corey held the lead but on the lap 108 restart Jeff
Fultz took over first place. Then, just
after taking the two laps to go signal from the flag
stand, Trey Mitchell went under the #47, going into
turn one, lost the backend and when he corrected it,
he hit Corey and spun him out. Corey went to the
back and could only get back to 15th place.
Two more lap 124 yellows flew, Fultz blew an engine
on one of the restarts, Jeff Choquette ran out of
gas in the lead, and Jay Folgelman finally grabbed
the win. It took about 26 minutes to complete the
final two laps of the race.
After
a chance for some prep on the car on Saturday, the
team headed out to
Hickory Motor Speedway
on
Sunday the 5th. Corey qualified in 14th spot with a
15.09 - in the middle of a tight bunch of 13 cars
that posted times in the 15.0s.
Unfortunately not showing the speed advantage of
Friday's race, Corey worked his way up into 7th
place at the 100 lap mark of 150 rounds. A couple of
incidents and yellows within the last few laps saw
leader Prestion Peltier spun out and Justin
Wakefield scoring the win. Corey recorded a 7th
place finish.
Coastal Plains: May 30th
Corey Takes a 2nd
Peltier Bests the Field at Coastal Plains for 2nd
PASS Win of Year
Preston Peltier now joins Ben Rowe as two-time
winners on the PASS South circuit after his triumph
Saturday at Coastal Plains Speedway in NC.
Corey Williams,
Justin Wakefield, John Stancill and Jay Fogleman
followed Peltier across the line at lap 150.
Corey had to storm back up through the pack from
last place after pitting for a flat tire.
FULL STORY HERE
April 29,
2008
"Today, Speed51.com, is holding the “5th Annual Short Track
Draft.” This is the “original” short track draft from the #1
Short Track site in America. Of course, since our basis is
pavement racing, there is an asphalt bias to our picks, but dirt
guys and open-wheel USAC drivers were certainly not excluded. To
do this we have assembled a group of experts, more than 25 of
them from all different realms (media, former drivers, series
officials, parts manufacturers, industry leaders) to select
their top draft picks.
They anonymously voted for their top prospects"
#3. Corey Williams
(PASS South, Super Late Models)
When the Atlanta Falcons took Boston College quarterback
Matt Ryan with the third pick, they were looking for someone
to build a franchise around. They wanted a consistent
performer that has proven he can win now and deep in to the
future - just like Ryan did at BC and like Corey Williams
has been in the Super Late Model ranks of the Southeast.
Williams grew up in Boothbay, Maine, not too far from
Boston, where Ryan played college ball. Both have
movie-star good looks and have the ability to stick around
and succeed for many years.
After average performance in PASS North for a couple of
years, Williams moved South, started working for Andy
Santerre's Camping World East team and his Super Late Model
stats started piling up.
In just a little more than a year, Williams has become the
PASS South SLM tour's all-time leading winner. He scored
three wins in '07 and a season-opening tally in the Easter
Bunny 150 this year at Hickory. NASCAR standout David
Stremme recognized Williams' talent and started building his
development franchise around Williams last year; that
pairing won their first ASALM event at Orange County (NC).
The 22-year-old Williams has got the personality to boot.
Like Ryan, he is outgoing and extremely polite. It looks
like Williams could be the first Mainer since Ricky Craven
to make it to the Cup world.
Short track racing these days revolves around money. Let’s be
honest, most rides go to someone writing a check and although a
car owner might not put a total rookie into the driver’s seat,
the days of earning a drive based just on talent are mostly
over.
But not completely. When
Corey Williams
won his first, second and third PASS South races back-to-back,
readers of Speed51.com noticed. So did NASCAR driver David
Stremme, who happened to have a crate-engined Late Model sitting
in his shop. Stremme called Williams and put him into the car to
gain some experience during the ASA Late Model event at Orange
County Speedway. It was his first start in the series.
And Williams won the race after leading every lap. It was a
Hollywood ending to a Hollywood story, so fans voted it by a
comfortable margin as the best story of the year.
Most
Inspiring Moment of the Year
Triumph in the face of tragedy was the central theme of the
fans’ votes for the most inspiring moment of the 2007 short
track racing season.
Fourth was when
Corey Williams
went to the Easter Bunny 150 PASS South race at Hickory.
Williams was quick in practice, but wrecked hard late in the
afternoon. Without a backup, it looked like his day was through.
But Williams’ team refused to give up. They thrashed and got
their car ready for qualifying. They timed in the top group of
cars, but had a mechanical problem in their heat race. They
didn’t give up then though and thrashed some more to get ready
for the feature. Another mechanical problem kept Williams back
again during the main event, but he had one of the fastest cars
on the track.
It should also be noted, that Williams’ team didn’t do this all
for points. He didn’t run the full schedule of PASS South races
due to work commitments. Instead, they did it for the right
reasons – because they came to race and they didn’t want to go
home without doing that.
Most Promising
Driver Over the Age of 21
To those who watched him win countless Legends Car races in New
England and then struggle with set-ups during his first few
years of PASS North racing,
Corey Williams
always had plenty of potential. In 2007, his potential was
finally realized though when he won three PASS South features
and an ASA Late Model event.
The Speed51.com fans recognized that potential as well, as they
voted Williams the Most Promising Driver Over the Age of 21 in
the 51 Awards by a healthy margin.
Most Improved
Driver
Didn’t we see
Corey Williams’
name already in this story? Well, get ready to see it again as
the Maine native, who now calls North Carolina home, was also
voted as the most improved driver for the 2007 short track
season.
Williams, who had won no races in his PASS North career, won his
first PASS South race…and then his second…and then his third.
Then he won in his first ever ASA Late Model start. He also
contended for the victory while driving an unfamiliar car in the
TD Banknorth 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway (ME).
Car Owner
of the Year
Placing one car in the top five of the NASCAR Busch East Series
standings is impressive. Owning two entries that finished there
is amazing. But that kind of thing is nothing new for team owner
Andy Santerre, who has won four series titles as a driver.
Santerre fielded cars for Sean Caisse and rookie Jeffrey
Earnhardt in 2007 and both young drivers delivered the goods.
Also, while not owning the car per se, Santerre helped to coach
Earnhardt’s car chief,
Corey Williams,
to breakthrough performances in PASS South and ASA Late Models
(see above…twice)
For those reasons, Santerre squeaked out a narrow victory as Car
Owner of the Year.
Best
Development Team
The fans made this category a blowout. The winner gathered three
times as many votes of the runner-up. Who were those winners?
The boys and girls of Andy Santerre Motorsports.
ASM tackled the NASCAR Busch East (now Camping World East)
Series with returning young driver Sean Caisse and total touring
newbie Jeffrey Earnhardt this season. Caisse finished second in
points, which was no surprise, but Earnhardt was the one who
really turned heads. Despite a limited driving resume of dirt
mini stock and a few Late Model races under his belt, Earnhardt
stayed out of trouble and learned a massive number of lessons
from team owner Andy Santerre, himself a four-time champion in
the series.
Earnhardt finished sixth in his first start of the year at
Greenville and third in the season finale at Dover. In between,
he amassed a total of six top 10 finishes in 13 starts and
secured the fifth position in the point standings.
Also deserving mention is that ASM helped out
Corey Williams
(Earnhardt’s car chief) on his PASS South effort. Williams
scored his first three Super Late Model victories with guidance
from Santerre.
Oddest
Moment
Finishing second in the odd moment category was another strange
finish. That was during the Mason Dixon Meltdown when
Corey Williams
led Ben Rowe going into the final turn. A lapped car spun right
in their path and while Williams wisely avoided danger, Rowe
raced back to the flag under yellow. The move was allowed under
PASS rules and Rowe claimed the victory by only leading a very
short distance.
Best Finish
If you went to the Mason-Dixon Meltdown at Concord Motorsport
Park, it appeared that you either left the track
loving the
finish or hating it.
The race was voted as the second worst race earlier in the 51s
due to a controversial finish. However, the finish was wild
enough to also score a healthy victory in the best finish
category.
The story was this…Ben Rowe passed race dominator and three-time
PASS South
winner Williams
as the white and yellow flags were waving at the same time. PASS
South rules dictate that once the leaders have taken the white
flag, they race to the checkers unless the track is blocked and
officials deem it a red-flag period. Williams came out of the
final turn, went low to avoid a spun car and got out of the gas
long enough to allow Rowe to jump to the outside and take the
checkers in the final 50 feet of the race. Williams recovered
and got back in the gas, but lost the drag race to the finish
line by 0.976 seconds.
Meet Corey
Williams…
Age:
23
Birth date: November 30, 1985
Height:
6’2"
Weight: 175 pounds
Hometown:
Boothbay, Maine
Family:
Single
Years Racing:
12
Series Raced:
Pro All-Star Series (PASS)
ASA Late Model Series
BRMS Modified Karts
WKA Modified Karts
NELCAR Legends
Allison Legacy Car
Hobbies:
Four-Wheeling, Boating, Fishing,
Skiing, Racing
Fast Facts…
Moved to North Carolina from
Maine in 2007 to pursue a career in motorsports; hired as car
chief for Andy Santerre Motorsports on the #1 DEI Chevrolet
driven by Jeffrey Earnhardt in the Busch East Series.
In three starts, Williams won three PASS South races in a row in
the summer of 2007 – Peach State, Orange County and Lanier. They
were the first three PASS victories of his career.
Named 2007 “Toughest to Beat” in Short Track Racing by
Speed51.com.
Won his first-ever ASA race in 2007 in dominating fashion –
leading all 125 laps in a car owned by NASCAR’ NEXTEL Cup driver
David Stremme.
Williams has won multiple championships in Go-Karts and Legend
Cars.
Williams drives and maintains his race cars – he has an
incredible feel for the car and can communicate information
quickly and effectively.
Williams was nominated in 2003 for the Maine “Driver of the
Year” Award.
A Proven Winner…
Corey Williams has proven he has
what it takes to win races, accolades and Championships. His
accomplishments speak volumes for his talent:
2008 2nd in PASS South Points Standings
with 1 Win, 6 Top 5s, 7 Top 10s
and 3 Fast Qualifier in 12 Starts.
2007
Three consecutive wins in the Pro All Star Series – PASS South
at Peach State, Orange County and Lanier Speedway.
2007
Won in dominating fashion his first and only ASA Late Model
Start at Orange County.
2006
Set track qualifying record at Riverside Speedway in Antigonish,
Nova Scotia
2004
PASS North “Rookie of the Year” and
3rd in Pro All Star Series standings
2003
Nominated for “Driver of the Year” in Maine.
2003
CHAMPION - NELCAR Legends Cars
2002
CHAMPION - NELCAR Legends Cars
2002
CHAMPION - Maine INEX Legends Champion
2002
CHAMPION - BRMS Thunder Legends Cars
2001
CHAMPION - BRMS Sprint Cage I Division
Career Time
Line…
2007
Pro
All Star Series (PASS) South Super Late Model
- Moved to North Carolina to pursue racing career; hired as car
chief for Andy Santerre Motorsports on the #1 DEI Chevrolet in
the Busch East Series.
- Raced Pro All Star Series – PASS South; Scored three
consecutive wins in six series starts at Peach State Speedway,
Orange County Speedway and Lanier Speedway.
- Raced ASA Late Model Series – Scored a dominating win in his
first and only series start at Orange County Speedway driving
for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Driver, David Stremme.
- Named Top-10 “Toughest to Beat” Drivers in Short Track Racing
on Speed51.com.
2006 - 2005
PASS North Super Late Model Competitor
- PASS North “Most Improved Driver”
- Finished 7th in PASS North point standings.
- Graduate of Finish Line Racing School- Edgewater, FL
- Set track record at Riverside Speedway in Antigonish, Nova
Scotia
- Finished 9th in the Oxford TD Banknorth 250
2004
PASS North Touring & Weekly Pro Stock
- Scored first win in third start in the Pro Stock Division at
Wiscasset Raceway in Wiscasset, Maine
- Finished 3rd in PASS North “Rookie of the Year” standings,
with 11 starts.
2003 - 2002
NELCAR Legends and Allison Legacy
- NELCAR Tour Champion 2002 & 2003
- Nominated for “Maine Driver of the Year”
- 21 victories in 26 starts during 2003 season
- Beech Ridge Legends Track Champion 2002 & 2003
- Sixth in National Points, INEX Pro Division
- Second in Legends National Qualifier Wins
- Second in Points at Legends Winter Nationals
2001
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway Modified Karts
- BRMS Sprint Cage I Division Champion
- BRMS 2nd in points Sprint Cage II Division
2000
BRMS and WKA Modified Karts
- BRMS Sprint Cage I Division Champion
- BRMS Sprint Cage II Division Champion
- Top finisher in major karting events - Pepsi Invitational 2nd,
BRMS Sizzler 1st, - - BRMS Thirst Quencher 1st, New England Fall
Shootout 1st
1999 – 1998
BRMS Modified Karts /Sugar Hill Speedway Karts
- BRMS “Most Improved Driver”
- Won Coca Cola 100 at Sugar Hill Speedway (NH)
- BRMS Restricted Junior II Division Champion
- Finished 3rd in points, BRMS Restricted Junior I Division
- Won Sugar Hill Speedway Fall Classic
Notes of Interest…
Corey Williams is a proven winner and versatile driver – he has
won in every competitive racing series he has competed in since
the age of 11; Go Karts, Legend Cars, Pro Stocks and Late
Models.
Corey Williams has extensive knowledge and experience of
automotive mechanics and has built and prepared every type of
race car he has driven.
Corey Williams is a hands-on racer – since he can build a race
car from the ground he has extensive chassis knowledge and can
relay information to his crew chief quickly and effectively.
Corey
Williams’ integrity, both on and off the track, make him one of
the most respected short track racers in New England and most
recently, in the southeast.
Corey
Williams is a media favorite - always polite and quick to give
an interview.
Corey Williams has been racing competitively for 12 years. He
started racing when he was 11 years old.
What They Are
Saying…
“If the sponsorship was there I would put Corey in my (Busch
East Series) car tomorrow and have every confidence we would
contend for a Championship with no learning curve. He is that
impressive!”
Andy Santerre, Four-time NASCAR Busch East Series Champion & Car
Owner
“Corey impressed me as a driver the first time I saw him race.
Then I met him in person and realized the passion he has for
this sport and his dedication to be successful. He has a great
mentality and is a hard worker; he deserves a shot.”
David Stremme, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Driver
“I have always thought that you are a very talented driver and
have a bright future.”
Tom Mayberry, President Pro All Star Series
