An off weekend for NASCAR is the perfect opportunity for a short track to make some noise. 

For the 12th year, Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, NC, is hosting the Easter Bunny 150 on Saturday, April 15. This Pro All Stars Series Super (PASS) Late Model race has become a staple of Easter weekend.

A combination event for the PASS North and South divisions, the field rapidly fills with strong talent. 

The PASS season kicked off in early February at Dillon Motor Speedway in Dillon, SC, and that race might be a forecast of what fans will see this week. Jared Irvan and Christian Eckes lined up on the front row for the final restart. Both struggled on the restart, but Irvan, son of former NASCAR driver Ernie Irvan, regained control quicker to win the 200-lapper over Eckes. 

"We both spun the tires a little bit on that last restart and ended up going into turn one too fast and I actually thought I went in too high, but he did too and I was able to come off with the lead," Irvan said. "This is really big for our momentum for the rest of the year."



 
Eckes also knows how to find Victory Lane. Last December, he won the famed Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL, after passing John Hunter Nemechek on the final lap. Eckes is a developmental driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports.  

A victory in the Snowball Derby almost guarantees a career in stock cars. Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Steve Wallace, and Nemechek are also recent winners. 

Ben Rowe will be out to prove that experience counts. In 280 PASS races, he has notched 40 victories in the North and 10 wins in the South division. The five-time champion currently leads the national points standings.

Rowe won last year's edition of the Easter Bunny 150 in dominant fashion. He sat on the pole, led 114 laps, and held an advantage of .854 seconds over Riley Herbst at the checkers.

The Easter Bunny 150 marks the fourth race this season for PASS. Matt Craig has been the most successful driver in the South division.

Craig won back-to-back races in the month of March. Victories in the Dogwood 300 at Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, NC, and the Orange Blossom Special in Rougemont, NC, put him on the list of drivers to watch. With this pair of wins, he has doubled last year's output. He won last year's Dogwood 125 at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, NC.

Tyler Church provides the local color this week. His career with PASS started with a lot of promise and an emotional victory in 2013. He won the Over the Mountain 150 in Hickory, which is significant because this is the track on which he first cut his teeth. His late mother is also interred at the cemetery that overlooks the speedway. 

"The car has had speed, but the problem is when we go to these tracks we unload fast, but the longer we go through the weekend, the slower we get," Church said. "I feel like Hickory owes us an Easter Bunny. I think we've finished second twice and should have won one.

"Hickory is home, and I would say I've got more laps around that place than anybody we race with in PASS, so that helps. I've been successful there in PASS and in other divisions. All the Hickory races are the ones I look forward to the most, but I want that Easter Bunny on the trophy. That's the biggest thing. "