World of Outlaws Late Model Series News & Notes:
Wrapping Up The Three-Race Mid-Atlantic Swing
CONCORD, NC - Aug. 17, 2009 -
WINNING DECISION:
Tim Fuller has made plenty of on-the-money decisions during his
current World of Outlaws Late Model Series win streak, which
swelled to a record-tying four in-a-row with his sweep of last
weekend’s three-race Mid-Atlantic Region swing.
But the Watertown, N.Y., star’s shrewdest call might have come
before Saturday night’s 50-lap A-Main at Hagerstown (Md.)
Speedway – when he made a Hoosier tire choice that ultimately
helped propel him to a runaway victory.
Fuller, 41, carefully considered his options before finally
going with a softer tire-compound selection that snookered his
competition.
“We had 40s (compound tires) ready for the right side and a 1450
and 1425 (compounds) ready for the right side,” Fuller said of
his pre-race thought process for the half-mile oval. “We finally
put the (softer) 1450 and 1425 on. After we dropped the car down
(off the jack), Bob (Wirts of Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic) came
over to me and said, ‘What did you go with?’ I said, ‘1450 and
1425,’ and then he said, ‘You sure?’ I just told him, ‘God hates
a coward.’
“Bob said, ‘You know, you can change (the tires) right now
because everybody’s going with (harder) 1600s,’ but I said, ‘I
don’t care. I’m going for it.’ We aren’t in a points battle for
the championship (Fuller is fifth in the WoO LMS standings, 144
points behind leader Josh Richards), so you gotta know the top
three guys (Richards, Steve Francis and Darrell Lanigan) are
going a little on the conservative side. They don’t think they
are, but they are.”
After decimating the field to equal Rick Eckert’s modern-era WoO
LMS consecutive win record of four (set in 2006), Fuller was
congratulated in Victory Lane by an obviously pumped Wirts.
“He was happy because (Hagerstown) has been known as an American
Racer racetrack and he wants everybody to see that running a
(Hoosier) 1450 can work,” said Fuller. “Guys haven’t dared (use
a 1450) because they thought they’d get beat – and now I win on
a 1450, so it’s kind of a selling point for him.”
PLEASING THE BOSS:
Fuller’s 40-lap triumph last Thursday night at Grandview
Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa., was extra special to him
personally because his car owners, upstate New York trucking
company magnate and major racing supporter John Wight and his
wife Laura, were on hand for the event.
It marked the first time in three years of dirt Late Model
racing that Fuller was victorious in front of the Wights, who
also fielded Late Models at Grandview that were driven by
DIRTcar big-block Modified superstar Billy Decker of Unadilla,
N.Y. (he finished 15th after his night was set back by a broken
right-front shock during heat action) and their 16-year-old son
Larry Wight (DNQ after being involved in a B-Main tangle).
“Winning in front of our owners is a first,” Fuller said with a
smile in Grandview’s pit area. “They have so much going on with
their Modified teams (including cars for Decker, Wight and New
Yorker Pat Ward) and the racetracks (they now own central New
York’s Brewerton and Fulton speedways), the only time they
really ever see me race (the Late Model) is on the (WoO LMS
Great) Northern Tour and down in Florida (in February).
“It was great to have them here. They spend all their
hard-earned money to see their car do something eventually, so
it’s great to win one for them.”
Fuller had also expected to visit at Grandview with his former
DIRTcar big-block Modified owner, Bob Faust, whose home is
Slatington, Pa., is about 35 miles north of the track. But the
animated Faust didn’t show up – and Fuller let his old boss have
it for skipping the event. While still standing in Victory Lane,
Fuller used a friend’s cell phone to leave a message that busted
Faust’s stones.
“He said he was coming, but he got scared of the rain,” quipped
Fuller, who drove for Faust from 1999-2005. “Of course, it
stopped raining here by noon – the clear blue sky chased the
rain out of here. You could’ve got a suntan today, but Bob was
scared of the rain.”
HAGERSTOWN TURNAROUNDS:
The performance of WoO LMS title contenders Josh
Richards and Darrell Lanigan at Hagerstown Speedway last
Saturday night was 180 degrees different than their previous
tour appearance there on May 30.
For Richards, that was a good thing. For Lanigan, that was bad.
Back in the spring 50-lapper, Lanigan finished second and
Richards struggled to a 17th-place finish (one lap down). They
basically flipped fortunes on Saturday night – Richards was a
solid runner-up in the A-Main, while Lanigan finished 17th (one
lap down) after using a provisional to get in the headliner.
“I’m just ecstatic with second,” said Richards, who regained the
points lead after Francis blew a right-rear tire running third
with six laps remaining and settled for a 10th-place finish. “We
struggled so bad with a new car in the last Outlaw race here, so
we came in here tonight with our minds clear and did our own
thing.
“That last time here was bad, probably our worst night of the
year. I felt exactly the way Darrell does after leaving here
tonight. We were just out to lunch.”
Lanigan experienced arguably his most frustrating outing of the
season. His chief mechanic, Randall Edwards, said the team “got
behind the eight-ball at the start of the night – and at a place
like this, you’re not gonna catch up.”
SUCCESSFUL RELATIVES:
While Edwards’s weekend ended on a sour note with
Lanigan’s difficult night at Hagerstown, he received great
family news the previous evening when he learned that his nephew
by marriage, Brit Miller, enjoyed a spectacular NFL debut
playing for the San Francisco 49ers in a pre-season game.
An All-Big 10 middle linebacker at the University of Illinois
last season, Miller was signed as an undrafted free agent by the
Carolina Panthers but was cut on June 30. He was picked up off
waivers one week later by the 49ers, converted to a fullback and
played in the team’s pre-season opener last Friday night against
the Denver Broncos. Miller promptly caught a pair of touchdown
passes – a three-yard score in the second quarter and a 40-yard
catch-and-run in the fourth quarter that gave the 49ers a 17-16
victory.
Miller, whose mother is a sister of Edwards’s wife Lauri, called
Edwards on Sunday and said he had watched the telecast of
Lanigan’s ‘Gopher 50’ victory at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring
Valley, Minn., the previous day on SPEED. The conversation, of
course, also moved to the details of Miller’s performance at
Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
“I said to him, ‘Were you nervous?’” related Edwards, who
watched Miller’s second touchdown run on the satellite
television in Lanigan’s hauler after Friday night’s race at
Bedford (Pa.) Speedway. “He told me, ‘I didn’t have enough time
to be nervous. I thought I was supposed to only play the second
half, but halfway through the first quarter they called my name
and said, Brit, get your ass in there.’”
Edwards said that Miller, a native of Decatur, Ill., is a big
race fan. This year, in fact, Miller attended the WoO LMS
‘Illini 100’ at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway along with several of
his teammates from the University of Illinois.
Another familiar face on the WoO LMS scene this season, Rookie
of the Year contender Jordan Bland of Campbellsville, Ky., also
had a relative do some big things away from the racetrack in
recent weeks. Bland’s 19-year-old sister, Jefra, finished sixth
in the Miss Teen USA 2009 pageant held on July 31 at the
Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
With the WoO LMS idle the week of the contest, Bland traveled to
the Bahamas to see his sister compete. He said Jefra, a
University of Kentucky student and aspiring auto racing
broadcaster who gained entry to the national competition by
winning the Miss Kentucky Teen USA pageant, threw out a dirt
Late Model reference during the question-and-answer segment on
stage.
“They asked her, ‘What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done?”
said Bland. “She said, ‘Watch my brother make the World 100 (in
2008 at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway).’”
MAJOR LETDOWN:
The WoO LMS schedule seemed to favor Rick Eckert with
back-to-back events at Bedford Speedway (where he won four
consecutive dirt Late Model championships) and Hagerstown
Speedway (where he’s scored many big wins, including two WoO LMS
events).
But when the weekend was over, Eckert had finishes of 24th at
Bedford and 14th at Hagerstown to his credit. He wasn’t a factor
in either A-Main, leaving him very frustrated.
“The last two nights were definitely disappointing,” said
Eckert, who entered the three-race swing 72 points out of first
in the WoO LMS standings and ended it trailing points leader
Richards by 138 points (and ahead of fifth-place Fuller by a
mere six markers). “We were looking forward to running two
places close to home that we know pretty well, but we weren’t
any good both nights.”
Using a new-style engine at Bedford, Eckert struggled during
qualifying and was an early A-Main retiree due to problems under
the hood. He won a heat race at Hagerstown and drew the fifth
starting spot for the A-Main, but he tumbled backward with an
ill-performing machine and went down a lap to Fuller by lap 36.
YOUNGSTERS TO WATCH:
Austin Hubbard and Gregg Satterlee – two up-and-coming drivers
who are possible WoO LMS Rookie of the Year applicants in 2010 –
flashed some of their vast potential during the Mid-Atlantic
swing.
Hubbard, a 17-year-old from Seaford, Del., who will soon start
his senior year of high school, registered his third top-five
finish of the ’09 tour with a fifth-place run on Thursday night
at Grandview. He scored his first career WoO LMS fast-time honor
on Friday at Bedford Speedway and finished sixth in the A-Main,
and then on Saturday night he placed a solid eighth at
Hagerstown to join Fuller, Francis, Richards and Vic Coffey as
drivers with a top-10 finish in all three events.
Satterlee, meanwhile, was impressive at Bedford, leading laps
1-27 and finishing a WoO LMS career-best fifth. The 24-year-old
from Rochester Mills, Pa., was only slightly disappointed to
slip backward after pacing more than half the distance.
“I’m real happy with a fifth,” said Satterlee, who competed at
Bedford with his father as his only crewman. “I went a little
too soft with my left-rear (American Racer tire) so the car
didn’t stick as good in the turns as the race went on, but I’m
still pretty satisfied. I haven’t really run that many
50-lappers yet so we’re still learning.”
ETCETERA:
* All the cars in action Friday at Bedford carried stickers that
read ‘Get Well Soon Mary Ann’ in honor of Bedford co-promoter
J.R. Keifer’s wife, who was seriously injured in a highway
motorcycle crash on Aug. 9. With Mary Ann in a Pittsburgh
hospital recovering from leg, wrist, elbow and back injuries,
J.R. was by her side and missing from Bedford’s program.
Drivers collected over $5,100 for Mary Ann’s recovery when they
went through the stands with their helmets prior to the start of
the A-Main, and several competitors donated such items as race
car doors and firesuits that will be auctioned off to raise more
money for Mary Ann’s medical treatment.
* Four-time Bedford Speedway champion and current points leader
Jack Pencil saw his hopes for a magical night at his hometrack
evaporate with the wave of his heat race’s green flag. After
timing sixth-fastest to earn an outside-pole starting spot in
the second heat, Pencil pulled up lame in turn two on the
opening lap with terminal motor trouble.
Pencil did get a chance to start the A-Main using a track
provisional thanks to WoO LMS regular Chub Frank, who pulled out
his backup car for Pencil to use. Ironically, both Pencil and
Frank have experienced shop fires that leveled their garages –
Frank in 2005, and Pencil five months ago.
* Brady Smith was still searching for his first win as a WoO LMS
regular in 2009 after lagging through a three-race Mid-Atlantic
swing that he called “a trip from hell.” His only top 10 was a
ninth at Grandview, and he had to change motors after breaking a
powerplant at Bedford.
UP NEXT: The WoO
LMS returns to action on Thursday night (Aug. 20), contesting
the rescheduled Pepsi 40 at Muskingum County Speedway in
Zanesville, Ohio. Then the tour moves to K-C Raceway in Alma,
Ohio, for the $20,000-to-win Buckeye 100 on Friday and Saturday
nights (Aug. 21-22) and runs a rescheduled 50-lap event on
Sunday night (Aug. 23) at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit
www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Drive For Five: Fuller Goes For World of Outlaws
Late Model Series Consecutive-Win Record Thursday (Aug. 20) At
Muskingum County Speedway
ZANESVILLE, OH - Aug. 18, 2009 - Can anyone stop Tim Fuller on
the World of Outlaws Late Model Series?
That question will be answered on Thursday night (Aug. 20) at
Muskingum County Speedway, where Fuller will bid to set the
tour’s modern-era (2004-present) consecutive win record in the
rescheduled ‘Pepsi 40.’
Fuller, 41, of Watertown, N.Y., is on an absolute roll, carrying
a four-race win streak into the $7,000-to-win mid-week event.
His runaway victory last Saturday night at Hagerstown (Md.)
Speedway allowed him to equal the WoO LMS record of four wins in
a row established in 2006 by Rick Eckert of York, Pa.
The 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year feels confident that he can
make Outlaw history.
“I never would’ve thought we would win four in a row, so
anything’s possible,” said Fuller, a veteran DIRTcar Racing
Northeast big-block Modified standout who switched his focus to
dirt Late Model racing in 2007. “It would be great if we beat
the record, but if we don’t, we don’t. We’ll just move on to the
next race.”
Muskingum County would seem to be a great place for Fuller to
chase the mark. He proved he can get around Ronnie Moran’s
three-eighths-mile oval in the first-ever WoO LMS event held
there in 2008, charging from the 18th starting spot to finish
second. In addition, before rain postponed this year’s ‘Pepsi
40’ on its original July 23 date, he qualified 10th-fastest
among 45 cars in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials.
With WoO LMS rules dictating that Thursday’s program will start
from scratch, Fuller will have a whole new set of time trials to
perhaps put him in even better position for a fifth straight
checkered flag.
“I feel pretty good about going there,” Fuller said of Muskingum
County. “We were pretty good there last year – we gambled on a
tire (compound) in the feature and it worked out for us – and I
think we were gonna be O.K. there last month if it wouldn’t have
rained.
“But it’s no secret how you win these races. You gotta time
trial well. You gotta draw (starting spots for the A-Main) well.
You gotta make good choices.
“Right now everything we’re doing is right,” he added. “For some
reason all my dials are pointing up. We’re just gonna try to
keep riding the wave as long as we can.”
Fuller started his sizzling summer streak with his first WoO LMS
win of the season on July 25 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford,
Ohio. He went on to enjoy a big weekend at Cedar Lake Speedway
in New Richmond, Wis. – winning a WDRL event on July 30 and
scoring a $20,000 second-place finish in the USA Nationals 100
on Aug. 1 – before sweeping last weekend’s three-race WoO LMS
Mid-Atlantic swing, which made him the first driver in the
tour’s modern era to win A-Mains at three different tracks on
consecutive nights.
Throw in Fuller’s two lucrative DIRTcar big-block Modified
outings on off weekends – a $6,000 runner-up finish on July 19
in the All-Star 100 at Cayuga County Fair Speedway in Weedsport,
N.Y., and a $6,000 victory on Aug. 8 in the Super DIRTcar Series
100 at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway – and his earnings for the
past five weeks total over $76,000.
“My best stretch of racing ever was in 2004 when I won the
Victoria 200 (at New York’s Fulton Speedway) and Syracuse (the
Rite Aid 200 at the one-mile New York State Fairgrounds) in the
same week,” said Fuller, remembering back-to-back big-block
Modified triumphs worth $25,000 and $50,000-plus, respectively.
“But as far as racing at this level, against the best dirt Late
Model drivers in the country, nothing tops what we’re doing
right now.”
How did Fuller and his Gypsum Express team suddenly get on such
a roll? He has no real answer for that question.
“We have been good since Ohsweken (Ontario on June 18) but just
hadn’t been able to close the deal,” said Fuller, whose outburst
has moved him to fifth in the WoO LMS points standings, just six
points behind fourth-place Eckert. “I think we had a good enough
car to win at Ohsweken but we broke a shock. We broke leading at
Canandaigua (on June 23). We were fast at Lernerville (the
Firecracker 100 on June 27) but got tangled up with (Brian)
Birkhofer.
“Now we have luck on our side, we’re getting all the breaks. I
don’t know what changed. Why do you win on a slot machine? It’s
just your time. When it’s on, it’s on.”
Fuller will face a star-studded lineup of drivers at Muskingum
County, including the top three in the current WoO LMS points
standings – leader Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., last
year’s MCR winner Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., and defending
tour champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.
Other World of Outlaws travelers ready for Muskingum’s raindate
include Eckert, Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., Brady Smith
of Solon Springs, Wis., Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., Clint
Smith of Senoia, Ga., and Rookie of the Year contenders Russell
King of Bristolville, Ohio, Jordan Bland of Campbellsville, Ky.,
Brent Robinson of Smithfield, Va., Dustin Hapka of Grand Forks,
N.D., and 14-year-old Tyler Reddick of Corning, Calif.
MCR’s talented field is also expected to include O’Reilly
All-Star Late Model Series points leader Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs of
Bear Lake, Pa., 17-year-old Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del.,
Gregg Satterlee of Rochester Mills, Pa., Bart Hartman of
Zanesville, Ohio, Rick Aukland of Zanesville, Ohio, Eddie
Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va., Robbie Blair of Titusville,
Pa., Doug Dodd of Cambridge, Ohio, and Doug Drown of Wooster,
Ohio.
And of course, dirt Late Model legend Donnie Moran and his
14-year-old son Devin – the son and grandson, respectively, of
track owner Ronnie Moran – will be ready to defend their home
turf. Donnie has several victories at MCR this season and Devin
recently captured his first career win behind the wheel of a
dirt Late Model at the track.
Thursday’s program, which also includes Muskingum’s Modified and
Pure Stock classes, will see pit gates open at 2 p.m. and the
spectator gates unlocked at 4 p.m. Racing is scheduled to begin
at 7 p.m.
General admission is $25, with kids 6-11 admitted for $5 and
children 5-and-under free of charge. Reserved seats are
available in the top two rows of the grandstand, and pit passes
will be $40.
For more information, visit
www.mcspeedway.20m.com or call 740-754-9199 (track) or
740-763-3991 (office).
The event kicks off four straight nights of racing for the WoO
LMS, which will contest the $20,000-to-win ‘Buckeye 100’ on
Friday and Saturday (Aug. 21-22) at K-C Raceway in Alma, Ohio,
and a rescheduled Ohio Speedweek show on Sunday (Aug. 23) at
Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit
www.worldofoutlaws.com.
World of Outlaws Late Model
Series News & Notes: Wrapping Up The Four-Night Swing To Ohio &
Pennsylvania
CONCORD, NC - Aug. 24, 2009 -
HE’S BACK: Chub
Frank entered the four-night swing of rescheduled World of
Outlaws Late Model Series events – Aug. 20 at Muskingum County
Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio, Aug. 21-22 at K-C Raceway in Alma,
Ohio and Aug. 23 at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa. – riding a
15-month-long, 62-race winless streak and with just three
top-five finishes in 30 A-Mains this season.
Yes, the tour’s fifth-winningest driver since 2004 has been in a
full-fledged slump.
But Frank, 47, of Bear Lake, Pa., got his groove back in
dramatic fashion. He won the 40-lap A-Main at Muskingum County
on Thursday night and roared back to capture Saturday night’s
‘Buckeye 100’ at K-C, bringing him $28,200 in dearly-needed
earnings.
The key to Frank’s sudden turnaround? A 2005-vintage Rocket
chassis he “borrowed” from western Pennsylvania racer Chad
Valone.
In search of something to jerk him out of his struggles, Frank
decided that parking his new-model machines in favor of an older
style he’s familiar with might be the ticket. He remembered that
Valone still had an ’05 chassis sitting in his garage, so he
placed a call on Monday afternoon.
“He’s got two new cars he’s been racing this year, so I just
told him I was taking it (the ’05 car),” Frank cracked when
asked about his conversation with Valone, who bought the chassis
through Frank four years ago. “We went over to his shop to get
it and then we put it together with our stuff. We started on it
Monday night and finished it up Thursday morning before leaving
(for Muskingum).
“I had to go back to something I knew,” he continued. “Your
confidence gets down when you struggle. You’re making mistakes
all the time – on what to choose for tires, what setup to run,
whatever you’re doing – and you just keep getting further
behind. Doing this, it just gets you back in the game.”
That’s certainly an understatement. With Frank returning to the
WoO LMS limelight with an ’05 machine, he has no interest in
relinquishing it.
“I told (Valone), ‘Good luck getting that car back,’” Frank said
with a mischievous smile. “I feel so comfortable in it. I’d like
to find a few more (older) cars like it.”
Valone, who crossed paths with Frank during Sunday night’s
rain-doomed program at Eriez, said he was happy to help out a
veteran driver who has provided him plenty of assistance over
the years.
“You can just see in his face that the old Chub is back,” said
Valone. “He’s been struggling, and that’s not like him. He just
needed something to get his confidence back and that old car did
it.”
DARN RAIN: There
were plenty of disappointed people after showers following heat
action forced the postponement of Sunday night’s show at Eriez
Speedway to Tues., Sept. 1, but Valone and 2007 Eriez champion
Mike Knight of Ripley, N.Y., were probably a bit more perturbed
at Mother Nature.
Valone, 37, of Warren, Pa., and the 22-year-old Knight timed
second- and third-fastest in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials and both
drivers won heat races. They were anxiously awaiting the redraw
for starting spots in the A-Main, but now they’ll have to spend
two weeks stewing over their fates.
Knight entered Sunday’s program one week after making a hospital
visit north of the border. He crashed hard into the turn-four
wall at Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway on Aug. 16 during the
finale of a three-race Canadian weekend with the Ontario Dirt
Late Model Series, ringing his bell and leaving him with some
neck pain. Track safety workers decided to transport him to a
nearby hospital for tests, but no problems were found and he was
discharged in less than two hours with a diagnosis of a mild
concussion.
TWO-HORSE RACE?:
The WoO LMS points battle remained tight after the Muskingum
County and K-C events – but now there’s two drivers
neck-and-neck rather than three.
Josh Richards ended the weekend leading the standings by 14
points over Steve Francis, but defending champion Darrell
Lanigan fell 58 points out of first place after finishing 15th
in the Buckeye 100 because a leaking oil line caused his car’s
motor to seize up.
Richards had the steadiest swing, following up a quiet
eighth-place finish at Muskingum County with a solid runner-up
outing in the Buckeye 100. He’s swapped the points lead with
Francis after each of the last three WoO LMS A-Mains.
Francis arrived at K-C with the points lead after finishing
second at Muskingum County – his sixth bridesmaid finish in the
last eight events – but experienced a rough weekend. A broken
oil-pump belt on Francis’s Beitler Motorsports No. 19 knocked
him from the lead in a Friday-night qualifying heat and
necessitated an engine change, and on Saturday he had to use a
provisional to start the A-Main and struggled to a 12th-place
finish (last car on the lead lap) in the Buckeye 100.
COOLED OFF: Tim
Fuller wasn’t disappointed after his WoO LMS win streak ended at
a record-tying four in-a-row with a third-place finish at
Muskingum County, but he had a long look on his face after the
Buckeye 100.
The Watertown, N.Y., driver was running just outside the top 15
when his car’s engine broke a rod on lap 21, prompting him to
slide off the track in turn three to get away from the onrushing
pack. Flames belched from the motor, which had carried Fuller to
all four of his recent victories.
Despite seeing his hot streak crash-and-burn with a 23rd-place
finish, Fuller gladly ceded the title of Hottest World of
Outlaws Driver to his good buddy Frank. Fuller freely admitted
that he provided Frank some valuable insight into the secrets of
his successful run – assistance for which Frank thanked Fuller
during his Victory Lane comments.
“I have no problem helping Chub get going again with some stuff
we’ve been doing,” said Fuller. “He was really the first one who
helped me along when I got started (in dirt Late Model racing),
so it’s like repaying a favor.”
ETCETERA:
* Vic Coffey had a rough weekend at K-C Raceway. After a
heat-race scrape with R.J. Conley while battling for the final
transfer spot left him spun in turn four on the final lap, the
2008 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year came back to qualify through a
B-Main but was eliminated after being involved in a multi-car
tangle on lap 21.
“It was like (Jimmy) Mars dropped from the sky on top of my
front end,” said Coffey, whose car sustained a significantly
crushed nose in the incident. “Somebody lifted his rearend off
the ground and I went right underneath him.”
* Russell King was the lone WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender
to qualify for the Buckeye 100. His 14th-place finish allowed
him to extend his lead in the rookie standings to 51 points over
Jordan Bland.
* The 20-year-old Bland had to return to Rowan Cabarrus
Community College in Concord, N.C., to take an exam on Monday
morning.
* Following another frustrating trip that included an early
departure from the Buckeye 100 due to his involvement in the
lap-21 wreck and a heat-race tangle at Eriez that will force him
to run a B-Main on Sept. 1, WoO LMS regular Brady Smith
immediately headed home to Solon Springs, Wis., to attend his
daughter’s third birthday party.
* Rookie Brent Robinson loaded up and left K-C Raceway on Friday
night after his backup car was sidelined by a broken engine
piston during hot laps. The malfunction came after the
powerplant in his primary machine over-revved due to a broken
pinion shaft as he led a B-Main on Thursday night at Muskingum
County.
With no backup engine available, Robinson did not return to
Eriez for Sunday’s rescheduled event. He’s hoping to regroup in
time for this Friday night’s show at Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor
Speedway, a track he’s run often during his young career.
* Two sons of winning dirt Late Model racers – 14-year-old Devin
Moran (son of Donnie) and 20-year-old Zach (son of Tim) –
qualified for the Muskingum County A-Main in their first-ever
WoO LMS starts. Devin finished 16th and Dohm placed 24th.
NEXT UP: The WoO
LMS now heads south for dates on Fri., Aug. 28, at Fayetteville
(N.C.) Motor Speedway and Sat., Aug. 29, at Screven Motor
Speedway in Sylvania, Ga. Both events feature 50-lap A-Mains
paying $10,000 to win.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit
www.worldofoutlaws.com.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across
the country by many important sponsors and partners, including
Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All
(Official Car Care Products), Crane Cams (Official Valvetrain),
Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Fusion Energy
Boost (Official Energy Boost), SuperClean (Official
Cleaner-Degreaser) and VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in
addition to contingency sponsors Champ Pans, Eibach Springs,
Hoosier Tires, Integra Shocks, Jake’s Custom Golf Carts, Ohlins
Shocks, Racing Electronics, Quarter Master and Wrisco Aluminum;
Crane Cams Engine Builder's Challenge participants Cornett
Racing Engines, Custom Race Engines and Pro Power Racing
Engines; and Chassis Builder Challenge participants Rocket
Chassis and Team Zero by Bloomquist.
World of
Outlaws Late Model Series News & Notes: Previewing This
Weekend’s Southeast Swing To Fayetteville & Screven
CONCORD, NC - Aug. 26, 2009 -
HEADED SOUTH: The
World of Outlaws Late Model Series returns to the southern
states this weekend for the first time since mid-April, visiting
Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Friday night (Aug. 28) and
Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga., on Saturday night (Aug.
29).
Absent from Dixie since an April 17-18 doubleheader at
Fayetteville and Virginia Motor Speedway, the national tour will
contest a pair of 50-lap, $10,000-to-win events to close out a
busy month of competition.
Fayetteville is hosting the WoO LMS for the second time this
season – making the four-tenths-mile oval one of just six tracks
with multiple tour events scheduled in 2009 – and third time in
series history, while the three-eighths-mile Screven has an
Outlaw date for the second time. Both tracks were part of the
WoO LMS for the first time in 2008.
WHO’S HOT: No
driver enters the weekend with more momentum than Chub Frank of
Bear Lake, Pa., who has won the last two WoO LMS A-Mains.
Frank, 47, busted out of 15-month-long, 62-race winless slump on
the tour with back-to-back victories last week, on Aug. 20 at
Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio (the Pepsi 40) and
Aug. 22 at K-C Raceway in Alma, Ohio (a $20,600 score in the
Buckeye 100). His checkered-flag explosion came after he decided
to park his newest equipment in favor of a 2005-vintage Rocket
chassis borrowed from western Pennsylvania racer Chad Valone – a
machine he’ll continue to drive this weekend.
The driver known as ‘Chubzilla’ will attempt to build the first
three-race win streak of his WoO LMS career at Fayetteville, a
track where he’s enjoyed success in the past. He won a Hav-A-Tampa/UDTRA
event there on April 21, 2001, and finished third in the
speedway’s inaugural WoO LMS event on Oct. 7, 2008.
Frank didn’t fare as well at FMS earlier this season, finishing
a quiet 10th on April 17. He also struggled at Screven in his
only previous appearance there, placing 12th in the tour’s
50-lapper on Aug. 16, 2008.
WHO’S COLD:
Defending WoO LMS champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., is
experiencing a rare slump – and if he hopes to hold his title,
he needs to get back on track this weekend.
Since finishing third on Aug. 14 at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway,
Lanigan has seen his deficit to the WoO LMS points leader swell
from 14 to 58 points. He has just one top 10 in his last three
starts, which include a frustrating lap-down, 17th-place finish
on Aug. 15 at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway and a 15th-place run in
last Saturday night’s Buckeye 100 after retiring on lap 61
because a leaking oil line caused his car’s motor to seize up.
Lanigan, who still sits third in the points standings, has WoO
LMS finishes of 11th (2008) and 13th (April 2009) at
Fayetteville. He was much stronger in last year’s event at
Screven, finishing second in the A-Main.
HOMETRACK ADVANTAGE:
Former Fayetteville track champion Jeff Smith of Dallas,
N.C., turned back the Outlaws earlier this season, scoring one
of the biggest victories of his career on April 17 when he was
handed the lead heading to the white flag as a result of New
Yorker Vic Coffey’s flat tire.
Can the 43-year-old Smith do it again with Mike Menscer’s Star
Leasing Rocket? He should have plenty of confidence based on his
solid 2009 season, which includes nine overall feature wins
(four at Fayetteville) and the current FMS points lead.
REDD’S PLACE:
James ‘Redd’ Griffin, who owns and promotes Screven Motor
Speedway and the adjoining Savannah River Dragway, continues to
build his oval’s stature in the dirt Late Model world by
bringing in the WoO LMS for a return engagement.
Last year’s inaugural Outlaw show was a blockbuster for the
high-banked, red-clay oval. A capacity crowd filled the track’s
bleachers – including a new section that had just been erected
for the event – and watched Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., sweep
the evening, setting fast time, winning a heat race and
capturing the A-Main in his first-ever start at Screven.
The local fans had plenty to cheer about last year thanks to
some strong performances by Screven favorites, including Chesley
Dixon of Swainsboro, Ga., who led laps 1-5 of the A-Main but
finished 20th after spinning out of third place on lap 16, and
Jeremy Faircloth, also of Swainsboro, Ga., who led laps 6-10 and
finished fourth. Both drivers are expected to challenge the
Outlaws once again on Saturday night.
HOMESTATE DEFENDERS:
Shane Clanton and Clint Smith – the two WoO LMS regulars who
reside in Georgia – weren’t happy with the outcome of last
year’s tour stop at Screven.
With Locust Grove’s Clanton finishing third and Senoia’s Smith
placing 13th, it marked the first time in WoO LMS history that
Clanton or Smith didn’t emerge victorious when the tour raced at
a Georgia track. The two drivers had defended their territory
well when they got the rare opportunity to run a WoO LMS show in
their backyard; Clanton won tour A-Mains on May 1, 2004, at
North Georgia Speedway in Chatsworth and Oct. 26, 2005, at
Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, and Smith was best in a
season-opening program on Feb. 4, 2006, at Golden Isles.
POINTS BATTLE:
Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., leads the WoO LMS points
standings by a slim 14-point margin over Francis with 11 A-Mains
remaining on the 2009 schedule.
The 21-year-old Richards won last year’s tour event at
Fayetteville, charging from the 18th starting spot to get the
job done. His last visit to FMS in April, however, was a race
he’d like back; he was attempting to clear Coffey’s slowing car
on the final lap to secure a second-place finish but got tangled
with the New Yorker and dropped all the way to 23rd in the final
rundown. Richards finished fifth, meanwhile, in last year’s
A-Main at Screven.
Francis is one-for-one at Screven, but he’s had no luck in his
last two starts at Fayetteville. Mechanical trouble left him
with a 23rd-place finish last year, and in April he settled for
19th place after a late-race flat tire knocked him from fifth.
WINNERS: The top
seven drivers in the current WoO LMS points standings have won
23 of the season’s 32 A-Mains to date, led by Richards’s seven
victories. Francis (five), Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y. (four),
Lanigan (two), Frank (two), Rick Eckert of York, Pa. (two) and
Clanton (one) account for the other checkered flags claimed by
WoO LMS regulars.
WoO LMS travelers who have entered all 32 events this season but
are still looking for their first win include Clint Smith and
Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., as well as Rookie of the
Year contenders Russell King of Bristolville, Ohio, Jordan Bland
of Campbellsville, Ky., Brent Robinson of Smithfield, Va.,
Dustin Hapka of Grand Forks, N.D., and 14-year-old Tyler Reddick
of Corning, Calif.
YOUNG TALENT: Joining
the Outlaws for both weekend events will be Austin Hubbard, 17,
of Seaford, Del., and Tony Knowles, 22, of Tyrone, Ga., two
drivers who have flashed their potential on WoO LMS road trips
this season and have their eyes on following the entire tour in
the future.
Hubbard has entered 20 events this season, with an impressive
three top-five and seven top-10 finishes to his credit. Knowles,
who races under the same RSD Enterprises banner as WoO LMS
regular Shane Clanton, owns three top-10 finishes in seven ’09
starts.
Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., meanwhile, also plans to
enter both events in the Barry Wright House Car. He won a heat
race for last weekend’s Buckeye 100 at K-C Raceway but was
eliminated in an early tangle.
FAYETTEVILLE MOTOR SPEEDWAY EVENT INFORMATION: Pit
gates are scheduled to open at 2 p.m. and the grandstands at 3
p.m. on Fri., Aug. 28, with on-track action set to begin at 6:30
p.m.
General admission is $30, with children 5-12 charged $10 and
kids under 5 admitted free of charge. Pit passes are $40.
FMS’s regular classes will also be in action.
For more information visit
www.fayettevillemotorspeedway.net or call 910-223-RACE.
SCREVEN
MOTOR SPEEDWAY EVENT INFORMATION: Gates will open at 3
p.m., hot laps are scheduled for 6 p.m. and racing is set for an
8 p.m. start time.
Admission to the grandstands is $25, with children 12-and-under
admitted free of charge. Pit passes are $35 and $15 (children
12-and-under).
Screven’s Moonrunner (Super Street), Mini-Stock, Road Warrior
and Renegade 4 divisions are also slated for action.
Screven Motor Speedway is located between Mile Markers 6 and 7
on GA Route 21 in Screven County, GA
For more information visit
www.screvenmotorspeedway.com or call 912-547-1777 (‘Redd’
Griffin) or 912-754-5882 (track).
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit
www.worldofoutlaws.com.
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