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06/29/07
 

Richards/Francis Photo Finish Highlights Wild Heat-Race Action On Opening Night Of ‘Firecracker 100’ Weekend At Lernerville Speedway

SARVER, PA – June 29, 2007 – A side-by-side battle to the wire between Josh Richards and Steve Francis highlighted Friday night’s intense heat-race action for the inaugural ‘Firecracker 100’ at Lernerville Speedway.
Sixty drivers participated in the opening-night activities of the $140,000 weekend, which concludes on Saturday evening with a $30,000-to-win World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-Main.
Richards, 19, of Shinnston, W.Va., held off a furious challenge from Ashland, Ky.’s Francis to win the third of six 15-lap heat races. The teenage sensation beat his fellow WoO LMS regular to the finish line by a mere 0.075 of a second.
“It was a real fun race,” said Richards, who powered off the cushion in turn four to nip Francis for the victory. “It was close, but I knew I was ahead.”
Francis, 39, was actually more concerned about maintaining second place – the top-two finishers in each heat will redraw on Saturday for the first 12 starting spots in the ‘Firecracker 100’ – than passing Richards for the win.
“Josh and I were just running side-by-side trying to block the road so (Dale) McDowell (who finished third) couldn’t come up and pass us,” said Francis. “I didn’t want to push the issue too hard and lose a redraw spot.”
Of course, both Richards and Francis aren’t overly concerned about where they will start in the main event.
“At this place, you can win from wherever you start,” said Richards. “Your starting spot shouldn’t matter.”
Added Francis: “I’ll bet you that the guy leading on lap 50 won’t win the race. This place will change so much, I don’t think it will matter where you start.”
Other heat-race winners included Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., who has had little luck at Lernerville in WoO LMS events over the past three years; Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., who finished second in Lernerville’s WoO LMS event on April 17; first-time Lernerville visitor Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla.; Steve Shaver of Vienna, W.Va., who overtook Chub Frank of Sugar Grove, Pa., for the lead late in the distance; and Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., making his first Lernerville appearance since April 2005.
Rick Eckert of York, Pa., who enters the weekend with three consecutive runner-up finishes on the WoO LMS, had a tough night. His Raye Vest-owned car was sandwiched in turn four on a botched restart during the third heat, forcing him to the pit area with damage that included a busted radiator and dented fuel cell.
Also involved in the chain-reaction pileup that claimed Eckert was WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill. It was the third incident of the heat for Shirley, who spun out of fourth place on lap six and was involved in a tangle on the seventh lap.
Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., won the National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award with his lap of 15.698 seconds. He earned a total of $600, including $100 from National Interstate and an additional $500 check from No. 1 Cochran Automotive.
The ‘Firecracker 100’ continues with a full day of activity on Saturday.
Kicking off the day at noon will be the first annual Lernerville Speedway ‘Weenie Roast,’ which will feature a horseshoes competition pairing fans with eight dirt Late Model stars.
Following a drivers’ meeting under the grandstand at 4 p.m., all the drivers participating in the weekend’s action will sign autographs from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Racing will begin at 7 p.m. with the C-Main, followed by two B-Mains, the ‘Uncle Sam 30’ – a $3,000-to-win race for the first 24 drivers who miss the A-Main – and the ‘Firecracker 100.’
For more information, visit www.lernerville.com or call (724) 353-1511.

National Interstate Insurance Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 44M-Chris Madden/Gray Court, SC 15.698
2. 28M-Jimmy Mars/Menomonie, WI 15.802
3. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 15.880
4. 44p-Earl Pearson Jr./Jacksonville, FL 15.884
5. 30-Steve Shaver/Vienna, WV 15.892
6. won11-Robbie Blair/Titusville, PA 15.901
7. 25-Shane Clanton/Locust Grove, PA 15.918
8. 24M-Jeremy Miller/Gettysburg, PA 15.925
9. 43A-Jason Covert/York Haven, PA 15.941
10. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 15.951
11. 99B-Rick Briggs/Bear Lake, PA 15.962
12. E1-Mike Balzano/Parkersburg, WV 15.967
13. 75-Bart Hartman/Zanesville, OH 15.977
14. 46-Doug Horton/Bruceton Mills, WV 16.000
15. 15-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 16.028
16. 23-John Blankenship/Williamson, WV 16.093
17. 20J-Jimmy Owens/Newport, TN 16.124
18. 0-Scott Bloomquist/Mooresburg, TN 16.142
19. 33H-Chris Hackett/Erie, PA 16.163
20. 40-Dutch Davies/Warren, PA 16.169
21. 17M-Dale McDowell/Chickamagua, GA 16.200
22. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 16.229
23. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 16.232
24. 44H-Dave Hess Jr./Waterford, PA 16.234
25. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 16.241
26. 2s-Sam Stile/Charleroi, PA 16.243
27. 1L-Dane Laraway/Irwin, PA 16.255
28. 11H-Josh McGuire/Ashland, KY 16.255
29. 99-Donnie Moran/Dresden, OH 16.280
30. 07R-Brent Rhebergen/Clymer, NY 16.288
31. 361-David Scott/Garland, PA 16.314
32. 20R-Chad Ruhlman/Bemus Point, NY 16.334
33. 1c-Lynn Geisler/Cranberry Twp., PA 16.354
34. 12-Rick Aukland/Zanesville, OH 16.357
35. 15b-Brian Birkhofer/Muscatine, IA 16.358
36. H1-Jared Miley/South Park, PA 16.361
37. 48-John Flinner/Zelionople, PA 16.370
38. 3d-Dan Swartzlander/Sarver, PA 16.384
39. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 16.394
40. 66-Ken Schaltenbrand/Sarver, PA 16.411
41. 00H-Chuck Harper/Beverly, WV 16.492
42. 15J-Nick Jones/Pittsburgh, PA 16.494
43. 1J-Davey Johnson/Latrobe, PA 16.519
44. 5-Mike Blose/New Bethlehem, PA 16.551
45. 3s-Brian Shirley/Chatham, IL 16.557
46. 04-Bob Close/Eldred, PA 16.583
47. 91-Billy Decker/Unadilla, NY 16.584
48. 4-Alex Ferree/Saxonburg, PA 16.596
49. 28b-Dick Barton/Ashville, NY 16.663
50. 21M-Tony Musolino/Scott Twp., PA 16.697
51. 21L-Matt Lux/Franklin, PA 16.711
52. 21d-Dan Stone/Thompson, PA 16.720
53. s1-Rick Strong/Chambersville, PA 16.750
54. 22-Gregg Satterlee/Rochester Mills, PA 16.789
55. 67-Jim Kurpakus/Leachburg, PA 16.963
56. 97c-Jeremy Clements/Spartanburg, SC 17.043
57. 21A-Pete Alspaugh/Russell, PA 17.099
58. 55-Kerry Jackson/New Kensington, PA 17.950
59. 93-Roy Mitchell/Rensselaer, IN 20.661
60. 0z-Mel Minnick Jr./Uniontown, PA DQ-light

Heat No. 1 (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): Clanton, Madden, Fuller, Scott, Hartman, D. Johnson, Barton, Flinner, Hackett, Kurpakus
Heat No. 2 (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): Mars, Horton, J. Miller, Davies, Stile, Ruhlman, Clements, Blose, Musolino, Swartzlander
Heat No. 3 (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): Richards, Francis, McDowell, Geisler, Covert, Lux, Laraway, Eckert, Alspaugh, Shirley
Heat No. 4 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Pearson, C. Smith, Lanigan, Blankenship, Aukland, McGuire, Close, Schaltenbrand, Stone, Jackson
Heat No. 5 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Shaver, Frank, Birkhofer, Owens, Moran, Briggs, Decker, Harper, Strong, Mitchell
Heat No. 6 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Bloomquist, Hess, Blair, Balzano, Ferree, Jones, Satterlee, Rhebergen, Miley, Minnick

Deluge Of Rain Forces Cancellation Of Wednesday Night’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event At Stateline Speedway

BUSTI, NY – June 27, 2007 – A quick-moving thunderstorm deluged Stateline Speedway with heavy rain on Wednesday night, forcing the cancellation of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series ‘Roberts Trucking 40.’
The event will not be rescheduled, WoO LMS officials announced.
Though the downpour struck at 7:20 p.m., on-track action had yet to begin. The start time for the program was already delayed by several hours because track crews had over-saturated the one-third-mile oval’s surface with water before the rain arrived.
“The racetrack wasn’t ready at the scheduled start time, so even without rain we were looking at probably 10 o’clock before we could go racing,” said Tim Christman, the director of the WoO LMS. “After the rain came, we didn’t want to make a bad night any worse by trying to run the track in and start even later.
“It wouldn’t be fair for the fans to watch the Outlaws at three in the morning, so the sensible decision was to cancel the show.”
With a Thursday-night (June 28) raindate for the event not contracted in advance between WoO LMS and Stateline officials, Christman said the tour could not return to the track.
“Without a contracted raindate already scheduled, it was impossible for us to ask all of our teams to come back on Thursday night,” said Christman. “Our teams are focused on making final preparations for the big ‘Firecracker 100’ at Lernerville Speedway this weekend (June 29-30), and several also have commitments with sponsors to make appearances on Thursday in advance of the ‘Firecracker’ event.”
A total of 42 dirt Late Models had signed in for competition on Wednesday night, but only 40 cars would have participated in the program. Rich Gardner of Waterford, Pa., withdrew from action after his car’s engine suffered terminal problems when it was fired up after being unloaded, and Billy Decker of Unadilla, N.Y., was unable to meet his team at the track because the region’s widespread thunderstorms prevented him from flying to western New York.
The WoO LMS resumes this weekend with the huge two-day (June 29-30) ‘Firecracker 100’ at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. A $30,000 top prize from a total purse of over $140,000 is on the line in the inaugural event.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Chub Frank Comes Home To Stateline Speedway On Wednesday Riding A World of Outlaws Late Model Series Hot Streak

BUSTI, NY – June 26, 2007 – Chub Frank has never rolled into a World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at his hometown Stateline Speedway quite like he will on Wednesday night (June 27).
When Frank’s legion of local supporters see him take to the one-third-mile oval for the ‘Roberts Trucking 40,’ they’ll be looking at arguably the hottest driver on the hyper-competitive national tour.
The 45-year-old Frank, whose Bear Lake, Pa., residence is just a few short miles from Stateline Speedway, is carrying plenty of momentum into the $7,000-to-win mid-week special. He won Sunday night’s WoO LMS stop at Cayuga County Fair Speedway in Weedsport, N.Y., giving him four victories in the last 11 tour events and leaving him just six points behind series co-leaders Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., and Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.
“Hopefully we can keep it going at Stateline,” said Frank, who is tied with Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., for the most wins on the 2007 WoO LMS (both have four). “It would be nice to win in front of the home crowd. You hate to go there and look bad, because then everybody wants to know why you’re struggling.”
Frank has struggled in the two previous WoO LMS events at Stateline, finishing 14th in 2005 and 15th in 2006. He never contended in either race, disappointing performances he attributed at least partially to track conditions that didn’t allow much passing.
The popular racer known as ‘Chubzilla’ thinks Wednesday night will be different. He competed in the track’s ‘Stateline Memorial’ program on May 26 – Twin 25s honoring the memories of Chub’s mother Janet Frank as well as Leonard Briggs and Lloyd Williams – and was impressed with the surface improvements made for 2007 by track owner Francis Seamens.
“When I was there a few weeks ago, the track was really nice,” said Frank. “They re-clayed it this year and the track’s a lot better. We got spun out and had to go tail on the second lap (of the night’s second feature), but we came back up to (finish) third – and if we had one more lap, we would’ve had a shot at winning it.
“I hate that all these (WoO LMS) guys have come up (to Stateline) the last two years and haven’t had a real racy track, but I think it’ll be different this year. I think it’ll be a good track that they can race all over.”
Frank, whose father Jerry helped build Stateline Speedway over 50 years ago and co-owned it until 1984, is ready for the swarm of family members, friends and area fans that will surround him on Wednesday night. He’s only entered a handful of events at Stateline each season since leaving the local circuit over a decade ago to pursue a career as a fulltime touring dirt Late Model driver, so there’s a lot of people who will clamor for a chance to talk to him.
“We know from experience that you better have your stuff (equipment) ready from the garage, because you’re not gonna get much of a chance to work on it at the racetrack,” Frank said of racing at Stateline. “Everybody wants a piece of your time, and that’s tough when you’re trying to get stuff done at the track.”
Frank has had two full days at his shop – a rare luxury during the travel-filled months of June and July for the WoO LMS – to prepare his Lester Buildings Rocket cars for duty at Stateline. His garage has actually been a mini WoO LMS pit area for the last two days, with his two primary rivals for the title – Smith and Francis – among the series regulars who accepted Frank’s invitation to spend the off days working on their cars at his place.
Stateline Speedway’s gates are scheduled to open at 3 p.m. on Wednesday and racing will begin at 7 p.m.
General admission to the ‘Roberts Trucking 40’ is $20 for adults and $15 for kids. The track’s weekly divisions will also be part of the card, competing in features-only.
All of the stars of the WoO LMS will be on hand for the night’s action, plus a host of top regional and local racers. One area favorite ready to do battle is Dick Barton of Ashville, N.Y., who will try to repeat his huge victory in last year’s WoO LMS event at Stateline.
A raindate of Thurs., June 28, has been established for the event.
For more information, visit www.stateline-speedway.com or call 814-489-7866 (office) or 716-664-2326 (track).
Additional info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Chub Frank Outduels Eckert For Cayuga County Win To Continue World of Outlaws Late Model Series Superiority In Central New York

WEEDSPORT, NY – June 24, 2007 – Just call him Mr. Central New York.
Chub Frank continued to show an uncanny superiority over the competition in World of Outlaws Late Model Series events run near Syracuse, winning Sunday night’s 50-lap A-Main at Cayuga County Fair Speedway.
It was the second straight year that Frank was victorious in WoO LMS action at CCFS, and his fourth overall triumph in tour events contested in central New York over the past three years. He also won twice in 2005, at Fulton Speedway and Rolling Wheels Raceway in Elbridge.
“There’s something about New York State that works for us,” smiled Frank, whose fourth WoO LMS victory of 2007 tied him with Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., as the season’s winningest driver. “I just hope that whatever it is, it keeps working (on Wed., June 27) at Stateline (Speedway). We’ll still be in New York (Busti) for that (WoO LMS) show.”
Frank, 45, of Bear Lake, Pa., earned $10,000 for capturing one of the most entertaining features of the ’07 tour. He outdueled Rick Eckert of York, Pa., slipping by Eckert for the lead on lap 42 and then checking out over the remaining circuits.
Eckert, 42, settled for second place, 1.705 seconds behind Frank. It was his third runner-up finish in as many ‘Great Northern Tour’ events and fifth overall – without a win – of 2007.
Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., finished third in the Valvoline Rocket after leading laps 1-28. He lost ground during the race’s second because his car got “real loose” entering the corners.
Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., placed a WoO LMS career-high fourth in the Sweeteners Plus Rocket, earning him the $500 WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ cash for being the highest-finishing driver who’s not ranked among the top 12 in tour points and has never won a WoO feature.
Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., claimed fifth in the RSD Enterprises Rocket. He reached the position by the halfway mark after starting eighth.
Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who entered the event leading the WoO LMS point standings, finished sixth for the second straight night. He fell into a tie for the points lead with Francis after 24 events.
Frank, who started sixth, had some anxious moments en route to the checkered flag – specifically, a bad lap-24 restart that cost him second place to Eckert.
”Francis didn’t take off, and Eckert did,” described Frank. “When Eckert was side-by-side with Francis when we came off the corner, I said, ‘This isn’t gonna be good.’
“I knew I had a good car, but I just didn’t know if I could get by Eckert and Francis after that.”
In retrospect, Frank need not have been worried. He passed Francis for second on lap 32, then caught Eckert and grabbed the lead from him with a pass amid lapped traffic on lap 42.
“I hit the (inside) wall about five times getting in the corner, but I could stay right there and shoot out in front of those cars where (Eckert) couldn’t,” said Frank. “He finally got pinned behind a lapped car (in turn two) and I took the line away from him.”
Frank stayed on the charge in the race’s closing stages, driving his Custom-powered Lester Buildings/Corry Rubber Rocket hard to stay in front.
“I had to run as hard as I could in lapped traffic because I wasn’t givin’ (the race) away,” he said. “I’ll only give it away if I wreck; I’m not giving it away to lapped cars.”
Eckert conceded that Frank “had a better car,” but he knew he had an opportunity to steal his long-awaited first WoO LMS victory of the season.
“I only got by Chub (on lap 24) because he picked the wrong lane on that restart,” said Eckert, who led laps 29-41 after starting seventh in Raye Vest’s MasterSbilt mount. “He gave me that outside and I was able to get a run down that hill (the banking).
“Once I got the lead, as long as we weren’t in traffic, I think we were O.K. But I had to use the whole racetrack because I was really tight, so once we got to (lapped) traffic, I couldn’t turn under them like (Frank) could.”
Eckert fought hard to end his frustrating victory drought, but he remained winless since July 8, 2006, when he was triumphant at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.
“I drove about as hard as I ever drove, I can tell ‘ya that,” said Eckert. “I could hear (Frank) back there. I was changing lanes to try and keep him busy, but when I got to a lapped car (on lap 42) I just couldn’t get turned. I got a little bit of a push and left the door open for him into (turn) three.
“The racetrack was excellent,” he added. “If it wasn’t so good, I might have won. When the racetrack is two or three lanes wide the best race car is gonna win, and it did tonight.
“We still have to get a little bit better to win one of these things.”
Frank registered his 11th career WoO LMS victory, tying him with Francis, who captured the previous night’s event at Quebec’s Autodrome Drummond, for fourth on the tour’s alltime win list.
Two caution flags slowed the event – on lap nine when Kirk Bradley of Great Valley, N.Y., dropped a driveshaft on the track, and lap 24 when Robbie Blair of Titusville, Pa., slowed with a flat tire after scraping the wall.
Blair, who earned his first $100 National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award earlier in the night, saw his encouraging run go bad even before a flat tire struck him. He was running second behind Francis on lap nine when he ran over the driveshaft that fell out of Bradley’s car.
“The driveshaft hit everything in the right-front (of the car) and then ripped right through the interior sheet metal on the right side,” said Blair, who turned a quick time-trial lap of 15.365 seconds. “The car was toed-out after that.”
Finishing in positions 7-10 was Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., who fell just short of passing Smith for sixth at the finish line; Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who started 23rd after using a provisional spot because a heat-race engine problem forced him to run his backup car; Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., who registered his first top-10 finish in a WoO LMS show this season; and Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who raced with no power steering for the race’s final 30 laps.
Twenty-six cars entered the program, which draw a near capacity crowd to the longtime home of DIRTcar big-block Modified racing.
Heat winners were Frank, Francis and Coffey, and Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., captured the B-Main.
The WoO LMS ‘Great Northern Tour’ continues on Wed., June 27, at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y., and June 29-30 with the inaugural $30,000-to-win ‘Firecracker 100’ at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Results of WoO Late Model Series at Cayuga County Fair Speedway: (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (6) Chub Frank/50 $10,000
2. (7) Rick Eckert/50 $5,000
3. (1) Steve Francis/50 $3,000
4. (3) Vic Coffey/50 $3,000
5. (8) Shane Clanton/50 $2,000
6. (5) Clint Smith/50 $1,700
7. (12) Tim Fuller/50 $1,650
8. (23) Darrell Lanigan/50 $1,300
9. (16) Dan Stone/50 $1,200
10. (9) Josh Richards/50 $1,100
11. (4) Billy Decker/50 $1,050
12. (10) Dutch Davies/50 $1,000
13. (17) Chad Ruhlman/49 $950
14. (19) Brian Shirley/49 $900
15. (13) Bob Close/49 $850
16. (15) Dave Hess Jr./49 $800
17. (11) Dave Zona/49 $770
18. (14) Brent Rhebergen/49 $750
19. (20) Greg Oakes/48 $730
20. (24) Bud Phillips/47 $700
21. (2) Robbie Blair/24 $850
22. (22) John Lobb/21 $700
23. (18) Rick Briggs/21 $700
24. (21) Kirk Bradley/8 $700

Time of Race: 23 Mins., 10.554 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.705 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 2 (Laps 9, 24)
Lap Leaders: Francis (1-28); Eckert (29-41); Frank (42-50)
Provisional Starters: Lanigan, Phillips
Rookie of the Race: Tim Fuller ($250)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Vic Coffey ($500)
National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award: Robbie Blair ($100)
National Interstate Insurance Hard Luck Award: Robbie Blair ($50)

Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. won11-Robbie Blair/Titusville, PA 15.365
2. 15-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 15.594
3. 32c-Vic Coffey/Leicester, NY 15.681
4. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 15.688
5. 91-Billy Decker/Unadilla, NY 15.971
6. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 15.984
7. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 16.018
8. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 16.025
9. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 16.036
10. 40-Dutch Davies/Warren, PA 16.058
11. 25-Shane Clanton/Locust Grove, GA 16.072
12. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 16.223
13. 04-Bob Close/Eldred, PA 16.376
14. 99z-Dave Zona/Montrose, PA 16.446
15. 1*x-Rick Briggs/Bear Lake, PA 16.528
16. 21d-Dan Stone/Thompson, PA 16.539
17. NO7-Jason Dupont/Cyclone, PA 16.550
18. 44H-Dave Hess Jr./Waterford, PA 16.565
19. 22-Greg Oakes/Franklinville, NY 16.613
20. 07R-Brent Rhebergen/Clymer, NY 16.617
21. 28J-John Lobb/Frewsburg, NY 16.637
22. 3s-Brian Shirley/Chatham, IL 16.652
23. 23-Bud Phillips/Susquehanna, PA 16.718
24. 5b-Kirk Bradley/Great Valley, NY 16.754
25. 4D’s-Chad Hollenbeck/Kingsley, PA 16.755
26. 20-Chad Ruhlman/Beemus Point, NY 17.071

Heat No. 1 (10 laps - Top 6 Transfer): Frank, Blair, Eckert, Davies, Close, Stone, Oakes, Shirley, Hollenbeck
Heat No. 2 (10 laps - Top 6 Transfer): Francis, Decker, Clanton, Zona, Rhebergen, Ruhlman, Dupont, Phillips, Lanigan
Heat No. 3 (10 laps - Top 6 Transfer): Coffey, Smith, Richards, Fuller, Hess, Briggs, Lobb, Bradley
B-Main (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Shirley, Oakes, Bradley, Lobb, Phillips, Hollenbeck (DNS) Dupont, Lanigan

2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of June 24 - 24 features completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):
1. (tie) Clint Smith 2-11-19-$65,650-3,294 (-0)
1. (tie) Steve Francis 1-12-21-$56,250-3,294 (-0)
3. Chub Frank 4-12-19-$72,030-3,288 (-6)
4. Rick Eckert 0-8-17-$49,670-3,232 (-62)
5. Josh Richards 1-7-15-$46,590-3,212 (-82)
6. Shane Clanton 1-7-15-$48,110-3,200 (-94)
7. Darrell Lanigan 2-3-17-$48,340-3,131 (-163)
8. Shannon Babb 4-10-13-$68,340-2,812 (-482)
9. Tim Fuller 1-5-6-$42,250-2,645 (-649)
10. Eddie Carrier Jr. 0-2-4-$22,720-2,439 (-855)
11. Brian Shirley 1-2-6-$29,340-2,231 (-1063)
12. Chris Madden 1-6-10-$53,390-2,083 (-1211)
13. Billy Moyer 1-9-10-$38,625-1,904 (-1390)
14. John Blankenship 0-0-0-$10,460-1,513 (-1781)
15. Brian Birkhofer 0-1-5-$15,210-1,500 (-1794)
16. Jimmy Mars 0-4-6-$20,430-1,202 (-2092)
17. Roy Mitchell 0-0-0-$5,450-1,186 (-2108)
18. Dennis Erb Jr. 2-4-6-$30,800-1,173 (-2121)
19. Billy Decker 0-0-1-$6,030-997 (-2297)
20. Adam Hensel 0-0-0-$3,710-840 (-2454)

Francis Ends Long Victory Drought In First-Ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event At Canada’s Autodrome Drummond

DRUMMONDVILLE, QUE – June 23, 2007 – The drought is over.
Steve Francis won his first World of Outlaws Late Model Series event in over a year on Saturday night, capturing the historic ‘Quebec 50’ at Autodrome Drummond.
“We needed this,” a relieved Francis said after taking the checkered flag in the first-ever WoO LMS program run in Canada.
With a huge crowd looking on from the three-eighths-mile track’s tall grandstand, Ashland, Ky.’s Francis passed Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., for the lead on lap 21 and never looked back. He dominated the A-Mains’s second half en route to pocketing $10,000 for his first WoO LMS triumph since May 6, 2006, at Bruschcreek Motorsports Complex in Peebles, Ohio.
Rick Eckert of York, Pa., chased Francis for the race’s final 24 laps but never made a serious bid for the lead, finishing 1.599 seconds back in second place. It was Eckert’s second consecutive runner-up finish and fourth overall – without a win – of the 2007 WoO LMS season.
Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., finished third after losing contact with Eckert in the closing stages because his Gypsum Racing Rocket was “too free” to perform perfectly on the ample cushion. He started third and got as high as second, on lap 22, but Eckert overtook him just two circuits later.
Completing the top five in Race 2 of the five-event WoO LMS ‘Great Northern Tour’ was Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., in his Lester Buildings Rocket and Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., in the RSD Enterprises Rocket.
Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., maintained his WoO LMS points lead with a sixth-place finish in his J.P. Drilling GRT, but he lost two spots on the final lap after a broken spindle caused his car to fall off the pace.
Francis, 39, ended what was the longest winless streak of his career on the WoO LMS. He went a total of 45 races between victories.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been that long,” said Francis, reflecting on his locked door to Victory Lane. “We’ve run so good but just hadn’t won an Outlaw show, so it really feels good to finally get that win.
“This is definitely one of the most relief-filled wins I’ve ever had. It feels like I got a bunch of pressure off me now.”
Francis showed the strength in his Custom-powered Valvoline Rocket right from the initial green flag, vaulting from the fourth starting spot to second. He chased Richards, who immediately grabbed the lead from the outside pole in the Mark Richards Racing Rocket, through five caution flags in the first seven laps before turning up the pressure as the halfway point approached.
When Richards left the inside lane open off turn two on the 20th circuit, Francis swept into the lead for good.
“Josh’s car was really good all night,” said Francis. “You can’t take anything away from him, but he got to entering the corner in that hole at each end of the track. I didn’t know what was going wrong, but I saw his car would hit the hole, bounce the nose and push, so I started running the bottom and I was in the right lane when he did it (on lap 20).”
Richards watched Fuller and Eckert pass him one circuit later. Then, on lap 27, he slowed on the homestretch while holding fourth place and brought out a caution flag, his night dive-bombed due to a broken part in his car’s rear suspension. He returned many laps down in an attempt to pick up a few additional points.
Eckert, 42, was drawing close to Francis when Richards triggered the caution flag, but he didn’t get within striking distance again after the race restarted.
Francis didn’t know he held a solid half-straightaway edge, however, so he drove like Eckert was hot on his tail.
“I was thinking Rick was running the bottom because that’s where he was earlier in the night,” said Francis. “So I figured I’d just drive in around the bottom and drift out to the cushion, thinking if he was down there, I’d kill his momentum a little.”
Eckert was done in by his tire choice.
“I gambled on tires and it didn’t work out,” said Eckert, whose Raye Vest-owned MasterSbilt carried slightly harder-compound Hoosier tires than his rivals. “I was a little bit too hard. “After a long green I could run back to (Francis) – when that caution came out after that long green (from laps 7-27), I was right back up to his quarter. I just needed it to stay green longer.
“I should’ve know with a field like this (all entrants qualified) that there would’ve been more cautions, but I was stupid. I just put these tires on and everybody else put the other stuff on, and it didn’t pan out for me.”
But Eckert didn’t pout about a $5,000 payoff.
“Second is better than finishing 14th,” said Eckert, who moved up to fourth in the WoO LMS point standings. “At least we made some money.”
Francis registered his 11th career WoO LMS triumph, moving him out of a tie with 2006 series champion Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., for fourth on the tour’s alltime win list. He also drew within six points of Smith in the 2007 point standings after 23 of 48 scheduled events.
“We might go tomorrow and start (a win drought) all over again,” said Francis. “But a few years ago (2005) we were running kinda like we were this year, running good but not winning, and then we rolled off three wins in five races and went on to tie for the championship (he lost a tie-breaker to Billy Moyer).
“If we can get something like that going on, we’ll be tickled to death.”
Seven caution flags slowed the feature, all for minor incidents.
Finishing in positions 7-10 was Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who rallied after pitting to change a flat left-rear tire on lap 32; Billy Decker of Unadilla, N.Y., who earned the $500 WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ cash for being the highest-finishing driver who’s not ranked among the top 12 in tour points and has never won a WoO feature; John Mason of Millersburg, Ohio; and Clint Smith’s crew chief Johnny Cloer Jr. of Chatsworth, Ga., who drove Smith’s second car.
Twenty-two cars entered the tour’s first international event.
Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., earned $100 for his first National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award of the season after lapping the oval in 15.884 seconds.
Heat winners were Eckert, Richards and Frank.
No B-Main was run, but a special $500-to-win ‘All-Canadian Dash’ was added to the program. The 5-lap event was won by DIRTcar Modified star Pat O’Brien of Kingston, Ont., who made his dirt Late Model debut in Fuller’s backup Gypsum Racing No. 19.
Chasing O’Brien under the checkered flag in the dash was Kayle Robidoux of St-Constante, Que., a Drummond 358-Modified regular who drove Mason’s second car; Drummond promoter/358-Modified standout Yan Bussiere of Drummondville, Que., who picked up a ride in Chub Frank’s second machine; and Peter Mantha Jr. of Gatineau, Que., a 358-Modified competitor who made his first dirt Late Model start in a self-owned car.
A fifth Canadian, Niagara Frontier 358-Modified racer Luke Carleton of Port Colbourne, Ont., did not start the dash due to mechanical trouble with his Stan Miskin-owned No. 7.
The WoO LMS ‘Great Northern Tour’ continues on Sun., June 24, at Cayuga County Fair Speedway in Weedsport, N.Y.; Wed., June 27, at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y.; and n June 29-30 for the $30,000-to-win ‘Firecracker 100’ at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.
For more info on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Results of WoO Late Model Series ‘Quebec 50’ (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (4) Steve Francis/50 $10,000
2. (1) Rick Eckert/50 $5,000
3. (3) Tim Fuller/50 $3,250
4. (5) Chub Frank/50 $2,500
5. (6) Shane Clanton/50 $2,000
6. (10) Clint Smith/50 $1,700
7. (8) Darrell Lanigan/50 $1,400
8. (9) Billy Decker/50 $1,800
9. (12) John Mason/50 $1,200
10. (16) Johnny Cloer Jr./49 $1,100
11. (14) Dan Stone/48 $1,050
12. (11) Pat O’Brien/48 $1,500
13. (19) Kayle Robidoux/48 $950
14. (2) Josh Richards/33 $950
15. (7) Brian Shirley/27 $950
16. (13) George Lee/23 $800
17. (15) Yan Bussiere/20 $770
18. (21) Peter Mantha Jr./17 $750
19. (17) Luke Carleton/14 $730
20. (18) Jason Dupont/12 $700
21. (20) Jason Jameson/11 $700
22. (22) Jim Stine/7 $700

Time of Race: 35 Mins., 40.624 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.599 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 7 (Laps 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 27, 32)
Lap Leaders: Richards (1-20); Francis (21-50)
Provisional Starters: None
Rookie of the Race: Tim Fuller ($250)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Billy Decker ($500)
National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award: Brian Shirley ($100)
National Interstate Insurance Hard Luck Award: Josh Richards ($50)

Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 3s-Brian Shirley/Chatham, IL 15.884
2. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 16.016
3. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 16.103
4. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 16.112
5. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 16.121
6. 25-Shane Clanton/Locust Grove, GA 16.131
7. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 16.155
8. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 16.214
9. 91-Billy Decker/Unadilla, NY 16.266
10. 15-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 16.344
11. 19x-Pat O’Brien/Kingston, ONT 16.348
12. 1*x-Yan Bussiere/Drummondville, QUE 16.424
13. 21-George Lee/Loudonville, OH 16.503
14. 21d-Dan Stone/Thompson, PA 16.751
15. 72-John Mason/Millersburg, OH 16.769
16. 72x-Kayle Robiodoux/St-Constante, QUE 16.843
17. 7-Luke Carleton/Port Colbourne, ONT 16.989
18. NO7-Jason Dupont/Cyclone, PA 17.192
19. 41-Johnny Cloer Jr./Chatsworth, GA 17.259
20. 1x-Jason Jameson/Lawrenceburg, IN 17.319
21. 1M-Peter Mantha Jr./Gatineau, QUE 17.852
22. 11s-Jim Stine/Middleburg, PA 18.278

Heat No. 1 (10 laps): Eckert, Francis, Shirley, Smith, Lee, Cloer, Robidoux, Stine
Heat No. 2 (10 laps): Richards, Fuller, Lanigan, O’Brien, Stone, Carleton, Jameson
Heat No. 3 (10 laps): Frank, Clanton, Decker, Mason, Bussiere, Dupont, Mantha

All-Canadian Dash (5 laps): O’Brien, Robidoux, Bussiere, Mantha (DNS) Carleton

2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of June 23 - 23 features completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):
1. Clint Smith 2-11-18-$63,950-3,156 (-0)
2. Steve Francis 1-11-20-$53,250-3,150 (-6)
3. Chub Frank 3-11-18-$62,030-3,138 (-18)
4. Rick Eckert 0-7-16-$44,670-3,086 (-70)
5. Josh Richards 1-7-14-$45,490-3,082 (-74)
6. Shane Clanton 1-6-14-$46,110-3,060 (-96)
7. Darrell Lanigan 2-3-16-$47,040-2,997 (-159)
8. Shannon Babb 4-10-13-$68,340-2,812 (-344)
9. Tim Fuller 1-5-5-$40,600-2,509 (-647)
10. Eddie Carrier Jr. 0-2-4-$22,720-2,439 (-717)
11. Brian Shirley 1-2-6-$28,440-2,109 (-1047)
12. Chris Madden 1-6-10-$53,390-2,083 (-1073)
13. Billy Moyer 1-9-10-$38,625-1,904 (-1252)
14. John Blankenship 0-0-0-$10,460-1,513 (-1643)
15. Brian Birkhofer 0-1-5-$15,210-1,500 (-1656)
16. Jimmy Mars 0-4-6-$20,430-1,202 (-1954)
17. Roy Mitchell 0-0-0-$5,450-1,186 (-1970)
18. Dennis Erb Jr. 2-4-6-$30,800-1,173 (-1983)
19. Billy Decker 0-0-1-$4,980-869 (-2287)
20. Adam Hensel 0-0-0-$3,710-840 (-2316)

Fuller Comes ‘Home’ A Winner For Sunday’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event At Cayuga County

WEEDSPORT, NY – June 21, 2007 – Tim Fuller isn’t a DIRTcar Modified driver trying to beat the dirt Late Model boys anymore.
Now he’s officially a member of the dirt Late Model clan.
When Fuller comes ‘home’ on Sunday night (June 24) to compete in the 50-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at Cayuga County Fair Speedway, he’ll still be riding the momentum of a recent career-first victory on the national tour that gave him new status with the full-fender crowd.
Of course, ask the Watertown, N.Y., star if he thinks he’s arrived as a dirt Late Model driver after winning a WoO LMS show on June 12 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.Dak., and he’ll respond with a modest shrug of his shoulders.
“I don’t know about that,” said Fuller, who is chasing the 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Award after running DIRTcar big-block and 358-Modifieds fulltime since the mid-‘90s. “Maybe when I get a couple more wins.”
Make no mistake, though – Fuller, 38, is developing into a solid dirt Late Model racer faster than he ever imagined.
The 2005 Mr. DIRTcar Modified champion and 2004 winner of the Super DIRT Week Eckerd 200 big-block classis at the Syracuse (N.Y.) Mile, Fuller has gone on the WoO LMS road this season with a dirt Late Model effort owned by Gypsum Racing’s John Wight and supported by Fuller’s primary DIRTcar Modified sponsor John Lazore. He failed to finish among the top 10 in the season’s first 13 events, but he broke out with a fourth-place finish on May 18 at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich., and has been a serious contender ever since; he followed up his win in the Dakotas with runner-up finishes on June 15 at the famed Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway and June 16 at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kans.
“I’m trying to convert over (from Modified racing), but it’s tough,” said Fuller, refusing to get too high on his recent success. “The win was a boost for everybody, but we still have a long way to go. All we’re doing right now is learning, and next year we can take it more serious as far as running for points and stuff. Next year I’ll be a full-fledged Late Model driver.
“We basically built this whole Late Model deal that I’m running in two or three weeks, so it’s been a lot of catching up. We went to Florida in February on a whim and weren’t there the right way, but we decided to pursue it and now we’re getting to where we need to be.
“Right now we’re just not as consistent as these (regular WoO LMS) guys are,” he added. “Every now and again you gotta hit it right, and we’ve done that a few times lately, but we’re still not consistent enough. All these guys have been to these tracks and have a lot more laps and experience in these cars than me.
“I’m more confident in every race we get in, but I have a lot more to learn about Late Models.”
What Fuller has already learned should help him out a bunch at Cayuga County, the three-eighths-mile oval that’s he toured many times over the years in his big-block Modifieds.
Last year, as a specials-only dirt Late Model driver for Wight, Fuller turned third-fastest time and won a heat race for the inaugural WoO LMS show at Cayuga County. But he missed the setup in the feature and finished one lap down in 15th – a mistake he doesn’t plan to make again on Sunday.
“Last year I didn’t even know enough about a Late Model to straighten it out, and it showed in the feature (at Cayuga County),” said Fuller. “Now I’m a little more familiar with the cars, and I know Weedsport and what it’s gonna do.
“And luckily for me, I’ve been getting a lot of help from Chub (Frank, who won last year’s WoO LMS 50 at Cayuga County), and Chub knows Weedsport and what tires to run. He’s a good guy to partner up with, and I’m going to follow his lead.”
Making a rare dirt Late Model start in front of family, friends and fans who know him well from his Modified exploits does present a challenge to Fuller.
“The beauty of being out on the road and trying to learn (with the Late Model) is that there’s nobody around that you know,” smiled Fuller. “You can go and make your silly mistakes, and nobody sees them.
“But you’re gonna have everybody there at Weedsport that you know. Everybody’s gonna be watching, and you don’t want to look bad.
“Hopefully now we’ll have the experience to make the right adjustments.”
Cayuga County Fair Speedway’s pit gates are scheduled to open at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, with spectator gates opening at 5 p.m. Warm-ups begin at 6 p.m., followed by time trials at 6:30 p.m. and racing at 7:00 p.m.
Adult general admission is just $25 for adults (15-64 yrs.), $23 for Seniors (65 yrs. & older) and $8 for youths (10-14 yrs.), while children 9 yrs. and under are free. Pit admission is $25 for DIRTcar members and $35 for non-members.
The BRP CanAM Series for 360 Late Models and the Street Stock division will participate in the program, which last year drew a virtual capacity crowd to the high-banked track.
Cayuga County Fair Speedway is located on Route 31, one mile off Exit 40 of the New York State Thruway in the village of Weedsport. Contact the track office (315-834-6606) for further race day information or visit www.cayugacountyfairspeedway.com for the latest news and notes.
For more info on the WoO LMS, log on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Lanigan Dominates Port Royal Speedway’s First-Ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event

PORT ROYAL, PA – June 20, 2007 - All is now very well with Darrell Lanigan’s racing program.
The Union, Ky., star continued his emergence from an early-season slump on Wednesday night, winning the 40-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-Main at Port Royal Speedway.
Lanigan, 37, blasted off the outside pole to lead the entire distance without receiving a single serious challenge. He pocketed $7,000 for his second victory in the last four WoO LMS events.
It was also Lanigan’s third top-five finish in his last five tour starts – after he had not registered a top-five in the first 16 races of the 2007 season.
“We really haven’t found anything special,” said Lanigan, explaining his recent surge. “We’re just doing the same basic stuff we did last year, and now we’re getting some luck.
“It’s a little frustrating that we didn’t have a lot of good finishes to show for our efforts until the last week, but you just gotta keep on plugging. I know I should be able to run in the top five most nights with the equipment I have. I mean, we did it last year – we had more top-fives than anybody (in WoO LMS action).”
Rick Eckert of York, Pa., slipped by Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., for second place on lap 27 and stayed there to the finish. It was the third runner-up finish of the season for Eckert, who continues to search for his first tour triumph of 2007 after leading all drivers in victories last year.
Richards settled for third, followed by Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., in his Lester Buildings Rocket and WoO LMS points leader Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., in his J.P. Drilling GRT.
With the surface of the big half-mile oval becoming difficult to pass on come feature time, Lanigan knew getting the jump on the initial green flag would be critical. Starting from the outside pole alongside Richards, he vaulted ahead immediately and never looked back.
“The race was to turn one at the start,” said the soft-spoken Lanigan. “Whoever got there first was probably going to win the race.”
Once in command, the Bluegrass Bandit’s Cornett-powered Lanigan Autosports/gottarace.com Rocket was never threatened. Just two caution flags – both on lap three – slowed his pace.
Lanigan spent most of the distance with a comfortable half-straightaway advantage on the second-place car, which belonged to Richards until Eckert grabbed the spot on lap 27. He pulled away from his rivals at will – much to the chagrin of his crew members, who were worried about tire wear.
“I was trying to slow him down, but he just kept going hard,” said Lanigan’s crew chief Randall Edwards, who gave hand signals to his driver from inside the track. “Off (turn) two, he was just killin’ ‘em.”
The only time Lanigan backed off his pace even slightly was in the closing laps, when he saw lapped cars looming ahead.
“I was just pacing myself so I wouldn’t catch those lapped cars,” said Lanigan, who noted that he “probably could’ve raced only 10 more laps” on his Hoosier tires. “I didn’t want to have to deal with them with the track locked down.”
Lanigan was victorious behind the wheel of a car he and his crew call ‘Cracky.’ They recently found several cracks in the frame of the battle-tested 2005 Rocket and welded them up – a project that has seemingly reenergized the machine.
“We welded a few more cracks in it on Tuesday when we stopped back at the shop (after the five-race WoO LMS Midwest swing),” said Lanigan, who scored his eighth career WoO LMS triumph. “It seems like every time we weld it, it performs again.”
Eckert, 42, made one of the rare passes after the original start among the top-10 cars when he overtook Richards for second.
“I saw that Josh’s car wasn’t that good,” said Eckert. “He got to jumping his nose through a little chop (rough spot) in (turns) three and four, and he just missed it that lap (27) and I snuck underneath him.”
But Eckert had nothing for Lanigan.
“He had the best car,” Eckert said of Lanigan. “And even if I caught him, I couldn’t have passed him.”
Eckert, who lives about an hour-and-a-half from Port Royal but had raced a dirt Late Model at the track only twice previously (both wins nearly two decades ago), ran his backup car after his primary Raye Vest-owned MasterSbilt was sidelined by a broken rearend during hot laps.
The 19-year-old Richards conceded that his Mark Richards Racing/Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket wasn’t quite good enough in his first-ever start at Port Royal.
“We were just a little too tight,” said Richards. “I was just holding on at the end. I’m just glad to get a top-three finish out of it.”
The race’s two caution flags were both caused by significant accidents on lap three.
First, Scott Flickinger pounded the turn-one wall. His car had to be taken off the track dangling between two wreckers, but he escaped uninjured.
On the restart, Port Royal dirt Late Model standout Scott Haus of Hamburg, Pa., got turned around off turn two, setting off a wild chain-reaction pileup behind him. Seven drivers were eliminated as a result of damage sustained in the accident, including Haus, who was running sixth at the time, and WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., who used a provisional to start the A-Main after a slap of the wall during time trials set back his night.
Rounding out the top 10 was Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., who gave WoO LMS drivers a sweep of the top-six positions; Travis Dillman of Loystown, Pa., who who earned the $500 WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ cash for being the highest-finishing driver who’s not ranked among the top 12 in tour points and has never won a WoO feature; Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.; Ricky Elliott of Seaford, Del.; and D.J. Myers of Greencastle, Pa.
Forty-six cars entered Port Royal’s first-ever WoO LMS show, which opened the five-race WoO LMS ‘Great Northern Tour.’ The event drew a crowd that locals called the best of the 2007 season at Port Royal, a fairgrounds track that runs 410 Sprint Cars and dirt Late Models on a weekly basis.
Clanton earned the $100 National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award, turning the oval in 20.410 seconds.
Heat winners were Lanigan, Richards, Billy Decker of Unadilla, N.Y., and Clint Smith, and the B-Mains were captured by Jim Yoder of Selinsgrove, Pa., and Flickinger.
The WoO LMS ‘Great Northern Tour’ continues on Sat., June 23, with the series’s first-ever Canadian show at Quebec’s Autodrome Drummond; on Sun., June 24, at Cayuga County Fair Speedway in Weedsport, N.Y.; on Wed., June 27, at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y.; and on June 29-30 for the $30,000-to-win ‘Firecracker 100’ at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.
For more info on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Results of WoO Late Model Series At Port Royal Speedway (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (2) Darrell Lanigan/40 $7,000
2. (3) Rick Eckert/40 $3,500
3. (1) Josh Richards/ $2,000
4. (8) Chub Frank/40 $1,700
5. (4) Clint Smith/40 $1,500
6. (9) Shane Clanton/40 $1,400
7. (6) Travis Dillman/40 $1,700
8. (13) Steve Francis/40 $1,100
9. (7) Ricky Elliott/40 $1,000
10. (21) D.J. Myers/40 $900
11. (19) Steve Campbell/40 $850
12. (17) Jim Yoder/40 $800
13. (5) Billy Decker/40 $1,000
14. (20) Eric Zembower/40 $740
15. (14) Alan Sagi/40 $710
16. (22) Jere Wierman/8 $680
17. (10) Scott Haus/3 $650
18. (11) Brent Smith/3 $630
19. (12) Nick Dickson/3 $620
20. (15) Bob Salathe/3 $610
21. (16) Tim Wilson/3 $600
22. (23) Tim Fuller/3 $600
23. (24) Vic Coffey/3 $600
24. (18) Scott Flickinger/3 $650

Yellow Flags: 2 (Both on Lap 3)
Lap Leaders: Lanigan (1-50)
Provisional Starters: Fuller, Coffey
Rookie of the Race: Billy Decker ($250)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Travis Dillman ($500)
National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award: Clanton ($100)
National Interstate Insurance Hard Luck Award: Flickinger ($50)

Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 25-Shane Clanton/Locust Grove, GA 20.410
2. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 20.496
3. F1-Coleby Frye/Dover, PA 20.536
4. 45-Ricky Elliott/Seaford, DE 20.725
5. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 20.771
6. 7-D.J. Troutman/Hyndman, PA 20.805
7. 91-Billy Decker/Unadilla, NY 20.855
8. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 20.875
9. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 20.895
10. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 20.933
11. 2J-Jeff Rine/Danville, PA 21.022
12. 88-Tony Adams/Sunbury, PA 21.089
13. 04-Bob Close/Eldred, PA 21.099
14. 8A-Alan Sagi/Hagerstown, MD 21.141
15. 71-Brent Smith/Mercersburg, PA 21.202
16. 17-Nick Dickson/Lewistown, PA 21.283
17. 27-Jim Yoder/Selinsgrove, PA 21.328
18. 33-Scott Haus/Hamburg, PA 21.345
19. RG3-Bob Salathe/Bedford, PA 21.384
20. 65-Jere Wierman/Stewartstown, PA 21.557
21. 21d-Dan Stone/Thompson, PA 21.598
22. 215-Al Shawver Jr./Hampstead, MD 21.645
23. 49-Eric Zembower/Bedford, PA 21.726
24. 44M-Jason Miller/Germansville, PA 21.830
25. 15-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 21.830
26. D1-D.J. Myers/Greencastle, PA 21.884
27. 22d-Travis Dillman/Loysville, PA 21.887
28. 3-Tim Wilson/McClure, PA 21.940
29. 8-Tim Fedder/Millerstown, PA 21.945
30. 32c-Vic Coffey/Leicester, NY 21.948
31. 5W-Waylon Wagner/Lewistown, PA 21.960
32. 15P-Matt Parks/Three Springs, PA 22.011
33. 2c-Steve Campbell/Danville, PA 22.052
34. 91G-Tim Gray/Mifflintown, PA 22.139
35. 15s-Scott Flickinger/Elliottsburg, PA 22.214
36. 6-Donnie Schick/Middleburg, PA 22.272
37. 43A-Jason Covert/York Haven, PA 22.386
38. 23-Mike Bingaman/Selinsgrove, PA 22.430
39. 39-Mike Hess/Mechanicsburg, PA 22.492
40. 77-Scott Lupfer/Shermansdale, PA 22.855
41. 06-Mike Lupfer/Shermansdale, PA 22.948
42. 0-Brian Schadel/Herndon, PA 22.959
43. C33-Chris Casner/Mifflintown, PA 23.045
44. 32-Lindsay Barton/Mifflintown, PA 23.187
45. 15H-Luke Hoffner/Turbotsville, PA 23.325
46. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY N/T

Heat No. 1 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Lanigan, Frank, Clanton, Francis, Yoder, Campbell, Fedder, M. Lupfer, Close, Hoffner, Covert, Stone
Heat No. 2 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Richards, Eckert, Haus, Sagi, Coffey, Troutman, Fuller, Shawver, Gray, Bingaman, Schadel
Heat No. 3 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Decker, Dillman, B. Smith, Salathe, Flickinger, Zembower, Frye, Hess, Rine, Wagner, Casner
Heat No. 4 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): C. Smith, Elliott, N. Dickson, Wilson, Parks, Schick, Wierman, Adams, S. Lupfer, Miller, Barton

B-Main No. 1 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Yoder, Shirley, Richards, Wilson, Fuller, Sagi, M. Lupfer, Covert, Coffey, Shawver, Gray, Hoffner, Bingaman (DNS) Schadel
B-Main No. 2 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Flickinger, Zembower, Wierman, Wagner, Parks, Schick, Hess, Barton, Rine, Adams, Miller, Adams, S. Lupfer (DNS) Casner

2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of June 20 - 22 features completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):
1. Clint Smith 2-11-17-$62,250-3,018 (-0)
2. Steve Francis 0-10-19-$43,250-3,000 (-18)
3. Chub Frank 3-10-17-$59,530-2,996 (-22)
4. Josh Richards 1-7-14-$44,540-2,960 (-58)
5. Rick Eckert 0-6-15-$39,670-2,940 (-78)
6. Shane Clanton 1-5-13-$44,110-2,920 (-98)
7. Darrell Lanigan 2-3-15-$45,640-2,861 (-157)
8. Shannon Babb 4-10-13-$68,340-2,812 (-206)
9. Eddie Carrier Jr. 0-2-4-$22,720-2,439 (-579)
10. Tim Fuller 1-4-4-$37,350-2,365 (-653)
11. Chris Madden 1-6-10-$53,390-2,083 (-935)
12. Brian Shirley 1-2-6-$27,490-1,989 (-1029)
13. Billy Moyer 1-9-10-$38,625-1,904 (-1114)
14. John Blankenship 0-0-0-$10,460-1,513 (-1505)
15. Brian Birkhofer 0-1-5-$15,210-1,500 (-1518)
16. Jimmy Mars 0-4-6-$20,430-1,202 (-1816)
17. Roy Mitchell 0-0-0-$5,450-1,186 (-1832)
18. Dennis Erb Jr. 2-4-6-$30,800-1,173 (-1845)
19. Adam Hensel 0-0-0-$3,710-840 (-2178)
20. Billy Decker 0-0-0-$3,180-735 (-2283)

World of Outlaws Late Model Series News & Notes: Wrapping Up The Five-Race Midwest Swing

CONCORD, NC – June 19, 2007 -
NOT JUST A MODIFIED GUY ANYMORE: Last week’s five-race, six-day World of Outlaws Late Model Series swing through the Midwest served as Tim Fuller’s official dirt Late Model coming-out party.

Shocking even himself, Fuller won his first career tour feature on June 12 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.Dak. Then the Watertown, N.Y., driver proved his performance was no fluke by scoring back-to-back runner-up finishes, on June 15 at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway and June 16 at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Mo.

“I hope we turned the corner,” said Fuller, a standout from the Northeast’s DIRTcar big-block Modified ranks who’s making the switch to a more dirt Late Model-heavy schedule in 2007. “About a month ago we turned it as far as not crashing so much, and now we’ve gotten to the point where we can be more competitive in time trials and qualifying so we can start up front and have an opportunity to win these things.”

Fuller, 38, gave special credit to two men for making his dirt Late Model success possible: his Gypsum Racing team owner John Wight (whom Fuller woke up with a late-night phone call to relay the news of his victory at River Cities) and John Lazore, who sponsors Fuller’s big-block Modified program but is a huge supporter of his dirt Late Model efforts.

“John Wight and John Lazore have been good enough to stick it out with me in this Late Model deal,” said Fuller. “You gotta remember, these are John Wight’s Late Models, but this is John Lazore’s hauler and equipment that I’m using. I feel fortunate that they’re both behind me.

“They’ve spent a lot of money to help me through this learning curve with the Late Model, but I’ve always told them, ‘If you stick with me long enough, we’re gonna figure this out.’ This (breakout week) lets them know that we’re doing the right thing, making some ground.”

Fuller has also gotten plenty of assistance from his fellow dirt Late Model travelers. He’s grown especially close to Chub Frank; they’ve taken to traveling down the road together and parking alongside each other at the tracks – and after the River Cities event, they enjoyed some beers together before turning in for the night.

“Every Late Model guy has been such a big help,” said Fuller. “Chub, Clint (Smith), Shane (Clanton), Mark Richards, (Brian) Shirley – they’ve all been so willing to help. It’s something I’ve never experienced before.”

Fuller would love to run every WoO LMS event for the remainder of the season, but he will miss a handful of races that conflict with Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series big-block Modified shows because he made a pre-season commitment to run for that championship. (The WoO LMS Rookie of the Year crown will be determined using a driver’s top 30 finishes.) Next year, however, he plans to put his focus on the WoO LMS for the entire season.

STICKING WITH THE OUTLAWS: The speculation surrounding whether Moweaqua, Ill.’s Shannon Babb would continue chasing the WoO LMS or leave to pursue a third straight UMP DIRTcar Summernationals title was silenced when Babb pulled into the pit area for Friday night’s Outlaw show at Knoxville – the night the Summernationals kicked off in Kankakee, Ill.

Unfortunately, Babb experienced his most frustrating stretch of the season. After his spectacular run from 24th to a third-place finish at River Cities, he failed to crack the top 10 in the final four events.

The slump dropped Babb from second in the WoO LMS standings (four points out) after River Cities to fifth (66 points in arrears) at the swing’s conclusion. But with more than half the schedule remaining – 21 of 48 events have been completed – there’s plenty of time for him to right his ship and close the gap.

GREAT TIME FOR A WIN: After a rearend failure at Knoxville on Friday night cost Clint Smith the points lead, he came roaring back with a vengeance.

The Senoia, Ga., star closed the swing with a Sunday-night victory at the Belleville (Kans.) High Banks. It was a big win for several reasons, ranging from the fact that he once again was triumphant in his first start at a track (he previously did that this year at Indiana’s Kamp Motor Speedway) and because of the special guest he had at the speedway.

“My car builder Joe Garrison (of GRT) was here tonight,” said Smith. “He’s done a good job, and it’s always nice to get a win in front of him.”

SLUMP-BUSTER: The most unexplainable stat of the season entering the Midwest swing was the goose-egg in the ‘Top 5 Finishes’ column of Darrell Lanigan’s performance record.

Consider that last year Lanigan had 16 top-five finishes on the WoO LMS – more than any other driver – but this season he didn’t score even one through the first 16 events.

That shortfall changed in a big way. The Union, Ky., star got his first top five (a third) on Thursday night at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., then was victorious the following evening in the tour’s first-ever stop at Knoxville Raceway.

Lanigan credited some hard work in the shop as being the catalyst for his turnaround. After he failed to qualify on May 16 at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway, Lanigan and his crew tore through their troublesome car with a fine-tooth comb.

“We found a bunch of cracks in the frame,” Lanigan said of the ’05 Rocket that had approximately 160 races on it. “We welded it back together and brought it back out, and it’s running great. We call it ‘Cracky’ now.”

FLIP OF EMOTIONS: A swing that began on a huge high note for Eddie Carrier Jr. dissolved into a nightmare by its conclusion.

The Salt Rock, W.Va., driver enjoyed the best outing of his WoO LMS career at River Cities, leading the first 45 laps before settling for second. He was dejected over the late-race loss, but still happy to have seemingly gotten his Carl Grover-owned team on track.

“I talked to some guys after the Dream (at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway) and made some changes he told us to make, and they worked,” said a smiling Carrier. “I don’t want to say who it is because I don’t want anybody else to talk to him.”

Carrier never duplicated his River Cities success. He experienced a horrible night at Knoxville, where his primary car was sidelined by rearend damage during heat action and his backup car was forced pitside in the feature by an expired engine. Things got even worse on Sunday night at Belleville, where he exploded another powerplant in his heat and couldn’t use a provisional to start the feature because he didn’t have a backup car ready.

HARD WORK PAYS OFF: Steve Francis made memorable comebacks at both Knoxville and Lakeside that he’ll remember later this season if he goes on to win the WoO LMS points title.

At Knoxville, Francis parked his primary car due to terminal engine problems during heat racing and then charged from the 19th starting spot to a third-place A-Main finish in his backup No. 15. Then he experienced “the most eventful drive we’ve had this year” at Lakeside, where a setup miscalculation caused him to miss a transfer spot in his heat and he recovered from two feature problems (an early tangle that broke his car’s right-front lower control arm and spindle and a mid-race flat tire) to salvage a seventh-place finish.

“I guess you just never can give up,” said Francis, who led the point standings after Knoxville and Lakeside. “Fortunately I got some guys who work hard. We worked till three or four in the morning after the race at Knoxville, then got (to Lakeside) and worked some more.”

AN UNHAPPY RETURN: Brian Shirley made his first visit to Knoxville Raceway since his upset victory in last fall’s Knoxville Late Model Nationals, but the magic didn’t come with him.

Shirley was fast on Friday night, but while battling for third on lap nine a scrape with Babb proved to be a race-ender for him. With Clint Smith’s disabled car crawling slowly along the inside of the track, Shirley and Babb came together as they slid by Smith through turns three and four. The contact broke the left-front tie-rod of Shirley’s car, prompting him to pull off immediately after the restart green flag because he couldn’t steer.

The Chatham, Ill., driver came back strong to contend for victory the next two nights. A late-race surge at Lakeside pushed him by Shane Clanton for the lead on lap 44, but after two laps in front a busted fan penetrated his car’s radiator, leaving him with a disappointing 17th-place finish. He led the first nine laps of Sunday’s A-Main at Belleville and held on to finish second, giving him another superb WoO LMS outing to go with his first career tour win on May 13 at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway.

“We had two good nights to end this swing,” said Shirley. “A win would’ve been nice, but we’ve been good so we’re happy.”

BIG NIGHT AT BELLEVILLE: The circular, steeply-pitched Belleville High Banks is one mean half-mile oval, so it’s no surprise that the 29 teams on hand for Sunday’s first-ever WoO LMS event there were concerned about the toll the blazing speeds would take on their equipment.

The surface was flat-out during qualifying. Twelve drivers bettered Earl Pearson Jr.’s standing one-lap track record in time trials, and the track didn’t slow much during the heats.

During the draw for position after the heat races, Clint Smith noted that his motor was turning 8150 RPM as he flat-footed his car around the entire track. “You usually turn that for 25 or 30 feet,” he said, “not all the way around a track.”

But there were no major mechanical problems during the A-Main. Come feature time, the surface “really slowed down enough that you couldn’t run full-throttle all the way around the track,” said Josh Richards, who finished fifth. “Out there in the feature, you were only like half-throttle most of the time. You might squeeze it full-throttle for a second, but you were just trying to save your stuff.”

Of course, Belleville was still faster than your normal short track.

“It feels like you’re getting shoved out the right side of the car because you’re always turning,” said Richards. “It’s a neat place. It’s more mentally challenging than anything, because you have to stay focused, stay sharp. There’s no straightaway to relax on.”

Fans in the Midwest obviously loved seeing dirt Late Model fly around the High Banks. The stands were filled to capacity.

“I think we’re gonna have to come back (for another WoO LMS show in 2008) with the crowd they had tonight,” summed up Smith.

NOTABLE…
* Shane Clanton was clearly excited about winning his first WoO LMS event of the season on Saturday night at Lakeside Speedway. When he exited his car’s cockpit in Victory Lane with confetti flying all around him, he let out one of the loudest victory screams of the season.

* Chub Frank was arguably the steadiest driver of the five-race swing. He finished among the top 10 in every feature, with a win in the Featherlite Trailers ‘Gopher 50’ at Deer Creek topping his week.

It was a productive tour for Frank, who was 34 points out of first place in the WoO LMS standings entering the swing but ended it trailing by only 24 markers.

* Rick Eckert was accompanied to all five events by MasterSbilt’s Tater Masters, who made his first lengthy road trip in four years to lend Eckert a hand and help him figure out his cars.

Eckert, who hired a new crewman for the trip after his two fulltimers suddenly quit on June 6, thought his fortunes were looking up on Saturday at Lakeside after he recovered from his involvement in an early tangle to finish fourth. But he experienced a miserable night at Belleville, where he was put behind after a slap of the backstretch wall early in his heat led to his car’s right-rear wheel breaking off on the final lap.

A scramble to repair rearend damage on his car got Eckert out for the feature, which he started 23rd thanks to a provisional. He finished a quiet 13th.

* Scott Bloomquist, the 2004 WoO LMS champion, made his first-ever start on the Belleville High Banks. He finished fourth on the unique speedway.

“I’ve never seen anything like this place,” quipped Bloomer as he surveyed the layout on his ATV.

* The Lakeside and Belleville events – which both drew superb crowds – were co-sanctioned by the MARS DIRTcar Series, a regional tour under the same DIRTcar Racing banner as the WoO LMS. MARS drivers received show-up points toward their points race for entering each program.

The Lakeside show was a rough one for Bill Frye of Greenbrier, Ark., and Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo. – the only two champs MARS has ever known.

Frye’s car was sidelined by terminal motor trouble during heat action, so he used a provisional and took the green flag in Will Vaught’s machine. Phillips, meanwhile, was running fourth on lap nine when a brake rotor broke and severed his car’s brake lines, sending him hard into the wall between turns three and four.

Current MARS points leader Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kans., had the best outing of the MARS contingent, finishing 10th at Lakeside and earning the $500 WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ cash.

* Several ladies of the WoO LMS got a chance to experience dirt Late Model racing from inside the cockpit at Lakeside.

Three two-seater Late Models from Randy Briggs’s new Mooresville, N.C.-based ‘Race ‘n Ride’ business were on hand for Saturday’s program after they were used to give local media members spins around the track on Wednesday. During a pre-feature intermission the ladies donned fireproof uniforms and jumped in the passenger seats of the Late Models for four laps at speed – Clint Smith turned laps with his teenager daughter Jenna and Al Purkey’s wife Sabrina; Rick Eckert roared around the track with his wife Kristal; Chub Frank gave his wife Mary a fast ride; Shannon Babb slid through the corners with his fiancée Emalie Meyer; and MARS racer David Turner thrilled his wife Joy.

* A ‘missing man’ formation pace lap was made by the WoO LMS before the start of the River Cities A-Main in memory of the area’s late dirt Late Model standout John Seitz, who passed away during the off-season.

* WoO LMS announcer Rick Eshelman reached a personal milestone on Sunday night at Belleville: the High Banks was the 100th different track at which he’s announced a race.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of June 17 - 21 features completed (rank/driver/events entered/A-Mains/wins/top-5s/top-10s/fast times/heat wins/B-Mains wins/earnings/points/deficit to leader):
1. Clint Smith 22-21-2-10-16-0-9-1-$60,750-2,878 (-0)
2. Steve Francis 22-21-0-10-18-2-12-2-$42,150-2,866 (-12)
3. Chub Frank 22-21-3-9-16-1-4-0-$57,380-2,854 (-24)
4. Josh Richards 22-21-1-6-13-1-4-1-$42,540-2,816 (-62)
5. Shannon Babb 22-21-4-10-13-5-8-2-$68,340-2,812 (-66)
6. Rick Eckert 22-21-0-5-14-0-0-2-$36,170-2,794 (-84)
7. Shane Clanton 22-21-1-5-12-2-8-2-$42,710-2,782 (-96)
8. Darrell Lanigan 22-20-1-2-14-2-3-1-$38,640-2,711 (-167)
9. Eddie Carrier Jr. 22-18-0-2-4-0-3-1-$22,720-2,439 (-439)
10. Tim Fuller 21-16-1-4-4-0-2-2-$36,750-2,259 (-619)
11. Chris Madden 17-15-1-6-10-1-1-0-$53,390-2,083 (-795)
12. Brian Shirley 17-15-1-2-6-0-1-1-$27,490-1,989 (-889)
13. Billy Moyer 15-14-1-9-10-2-5-1-$38,625-1,904 (-974)
14. John Blankenship 14-10-0-0-0-0-0-2-$10,460-1,513 (-1365)
15. Brian Birkhofer 13-12-0-1-5-0-1-0-$15,210-1,500 (-1378)
16. Jimmy Mars 10-9-0-4-6-0-2-0-$20,430-1,202 (-1676)
17. Roy Mitchell 13-7-0-0-0-0-0-0-$5,450-1,186 (-1692)
18. Dennis Erb Jr. 9-8-2-4-6-0-1-1-$30,800-1,173 (-1705)
19. Adam Hensel 8-4-0-0-0-0-0-0-$3,710-840 (-2038)
20. Earl Pearson Jr. 6-4-1-3-4-2-2-0-$19,610-665 (-2213)

World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event At Port Royal Speedway Brings Eckert Close To Home, But It’s Been A Long Time Since He Raced There

PORT ROYAL, PA – June 19, 2007 – Rick Eckert loves that he’ll be racing close to his York, Pa., home tomorrow night (Wed., June 20) when the World of Outlaws Late Model Series invades Port Royal Speedway for the first time ever.

The 41-year-old star just wishes that he had more experience at the big half-mile track in central Pennsylvania.

“I’ve only been there twice in a Late Model and once in a Sprinter,” said Eckert, the winningest driver on the WoO LMS since 2004. “It’s been a long time since I’ve raced there, though.”

Indeed, Eckert’s handful of appearances at the speedway located in the center of small-town Port Royal, Pa., all came in the late ‘80s. He made his first start there behind the wheel of a Sprint Car – he enjoyed success in the winged division before making a career of dirt Late Model competition – and returned twice with a dirt Late Model.

Eckert will take a perfect record in dirt Late Model action at Port Royal into Wednesday night’s 40-lap, $7,000-to-win special.

“The first time I went there with a Late Model, they had a bounty on Ken Dickson because he had won a bunch of races in a row,” remembered Eckert, who drives the familiar orange MasterSbilt No. 24 owned by Maryland’s Raye Vest. “I won that night, but (Dickson) pulled in. Then we went back the next week and won again.”

Since then Eckert has only visited Port Royal as a spectator to fraternize with some of his Sprint Car buddies, so he’s excited to make some WoO LMS laps on the fast track.

“It would be nice if we raced there more over the years,” said Eckert. “I don’t have an advantage on anybody there, but at least I’ll get to see a lot of people I know.”

A large contingent of Eckert’s family and friends will make the short drive to Port Royal, which sits 50 miles northwest of Harrisburg. Many of them will travel to the event in a specially-painted ‘racing bus’ owned by Eckert’s father Junior, who loads the vehicle up with Rick Eckert backers whenever his son races nearby.

Of course, Eckert will have an opportunity to sleep in his own bed after Wednesday’s program. But he won’t be home for much longer than that.

“We don’t get to spend more than a few hours at home after the race,” said Eckert, pointing to the busy June-July schedule for the WoO LMS that will put him right back on the road following some work in his shop on Thursday.

Port Royal’s event is the opener of the WoO LMS ‘Great Northern Tour,’ a five-race swing that also features stops on Sat., June 23, at Canada’s Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Que.; Sun., June 24, at Cayuga County Fair Speedway in Weedsport, N.Y.; Wed., June 27, at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y.; and June 29-30 for the $30,000-to-win ‘Firecracker 100’ at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.

Eckert will lead a WoO LMS group into Port Royal that includes points leader Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.; Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va.; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va.; and Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.

Port Royal Speedway’s pit gates will open on Wednesday at 4 p.m. and spectator gates at 5 p.m., with on-track action set to begin at 7 p.m. Limited Late Models are also on the agenda.

General admission is $25 for adults and $15 for students (12-17). Pit passes are $30.

Spectators who save their wristbands from Port Royal’s program on either June 9 or 16 on present them at the ticket window on Wednesday will receive $5 off their ticket price.

For more information, visit www.portroyalspeedway.com or call 717-527-2303.

Additional info about the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.

World of Outlaws Late Model Series Heads For The Border To Mike First-Ever Stop At Quebec’s Autodrome Drummond On Saturday
Canadian DIRTcar Modified Star Pat O’Brien Among Entrants For Historic Dirt Late Model Event In Canada

DRUMMONDVILLE, QUE – June 18, 2007 – Get ready, Canada – the stars of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series are headed for the border.

The nation’s premier tour will become an international entity this Saturday night (June 23), bringing its unique brand of dirt Late Model action to Quebec’s Autodrome Drummond.

A stalwart of the DIRTcar Racing Northeast scene for more than two decades, Drummond officials are bubbling with enthusiasm about Saturday’s historic WoO LMS stop in Canada. The track scheduled the $10,000-to-win ‘Quebec 50’ after taking an off-season poll of its fans, who voted overwhelmingly in favor of booking a full-fender show.

“We’re honored that the Canadian fans want to see the World of Outlaws Late Model Series come to their home turf,” said Tim Christman, the director of the WoO LMS. “It proves the scope and popularity of the series, and it makes all of our drivers want to give the Quebec crowd a show they’ll never forget.”

All the standouts who follow the WoO LMS will cross the border – many for the first time in their lives.

Leading the way will be points leader Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., a veteran driver known as ‘Cat Daddy.’ This will be just the second time Smith has stepped foot on Canadian soil.

“I went to Niagara Falls (Ontario) a few years ago (as a tourist), but I’ve never been more than a mile inland in the country,” said Smith, whose thick Southern drawl will contrast decidedly with the French language that’s spoken across Quebec. “I’m excited to make the trip.

“I’ve run in Australia in the past, but this is the first time we’re taking our team across the border to race in another country. Doing it makes us feel like we’re ‘world’ racers, gives us more status. It’s a pretty cool deal to run in front of the Canadian fans.”

When the Outlaws pull into the Autodrome Drummond pit area on Saturday, they’ll have traveled over 1,600 miles since competing on Sunday night at the Belleville (Kans.) High Banks. Joining Smith in the WoO LMS entourage at Drummond will be Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.; Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va.; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va.; and Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.

Fuller, of course, is very familiar to the French Canadian fans. He’s won an Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series big-block Modified event at the track, and he enters Saturday’s event as not only the leading WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender, but also one of the circuit’s hottest drivers. He captured his first career tour feature win on June 12 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.Dak., and scored runner-up finishes in A-Mains on June 15 at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway and June 16 at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kans.

Fuller will be part of John Wight’s three-car Gypsum Express Racing effort at Drummond. He’ll be accompanied to the three-eighths-mile oval by his usual dirt Late Model teammate, DIRTcar Modified star Billy Decker of Unadilla, N.Y., as well as former Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified champion Pat O’Brien of Elginburg, Ont., a Gypsum-sponsored Modified driver who will make his debut behind the wheel of a dirt Late Model.

Wight had O’Brien test a dirt Late Model recently at Can-Am Motorsports Park in Lafargeville, N.Y., in preparation for the first WoO LMS event held in O’Brien’s homeland.

Canadian fans will have other fellow countrymen to root for against the Outlaws, including young French Canadian DIRTcar 358-Modified standout Kayle Robidoux, who is scheduled to drive a dirt Late Model from Ohio veteran John Mason’s stable, and Peter Mantha Jr., a DIRT 358-Modified regular who has purchased a Rocket dirt Late Model so he can fulfill his dream of competing in the full-fender class.

Racin’ John Mason is planning to make the long haul to Quebec from Millersburg, Ohio, to spend some time at the Drummond oval with Robidoux’s father Bert, who owns the well-known Bert Transmission business in St-Constant, Que., just outside Montreal.

Mason, who counts Bert Rodidoux as one of his oldest and closest friends, proudly displays the Bert Transmission logo on his No. 72 dirt Late Models and distributes Robidoux’s racing lines through his Mason Racin’ Inc. shop. He also has raced in his buddy Bert’s backyard before – on June 22, 1989, when the old STARS series sanctioned the lone previous dirt Late Model event in Autodrome Drummond’s history.

That STARS Late Model show was won by division legend Larry Moore. Mason finished second on the Drummond oval, which was then five-eighths of a mile in size but has since been shortened to a three-eighths-mile layout.

Other drivers planning to compete in the WoO LMS ‘Quebec 50’ include Jeremy Miller of Gettysburg, Pa., who was the Northeast’s winningest dirt Late Model driver in 2006; Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa.; George Lee, an accomplished Ohio competitor who works at the Mason Racin’ Inc. shop; and Clint Smith’s chief mechanic Johnny Cloer Jr. of Chatsworth, Ga., a talented young driver who enters selected events in a Smith team car.

Time trials for the ‘Quebec’ are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The track’s DIRTcar 358-Modifieds, Sportsman, Semi-Pros and 4-Cylinders are also on the program.

Drummond management has printed a special commemorative ticket for the WoO LMS event. Tickets for the race are $45 (Canadian currency).

Adding some special spice to the Outlaws’ visit to Quebec, Bert Transmission is sponsoring a Saturday-afternoon luncheon at the track for all the dirt Late Model teams.

For more information on the ‘Quebec 50’ visit www.autodrome-drummond.com or call the track office at 819-474-2222.

Autodrome Drummond is located about 45 minutes northeast of Montreal, off Exit 177 of Autoroute 20.

Additional info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Fuller Overtakes Carrier In Final Laps For First-Ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series Victory Tuesday At River Cities Speedway

GRAND FORKS, ND – June 12, 2007 – Tim Fuller has officially arrived as a dirt Late Model racer.
The DIRTcar big-block Modified veteran from Watertown, N.Y., made his mark on the full-fender division in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night, passing Eddie Carrier Jr. for the lead with four laps remaining and then holding on to capture the ‘Seven Clans Casino 50’ at River Cities Speedway.
It was the first-ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series triumph for Fuller, a 38-year-old who is leading the tour’s 2007 Rookie of the Year chase.
“This is unreal,” an ecstatic Fuller said while signing autographs at his trailer after collecting $10,250 for his night’s work (including the $250 top-WoO LMS rookie bonus). “We’ve been struggling and had some pretty rough outings (with the dirt Late Model), but we always thought we were making progress.
“Then, all of a sudden – bang! Here we are with a win.”
Salt Rock, W.Va.’s Carrier settled for second place after leading laps 1-45, a mere 0.367 of a second behind Fuller at the checkered flag.
Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., finished third despite starting 24th because mechanical problems during his heat victory forced him to switch to a backup car.
Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., and Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., completed the top five.
Fuller, who started sixth in New Yorker John Wight’s Gypsum Express Rocket No. 19, announced his status as a contender when he slid up to second place with a lap-15 sweep by Clanton and polesitter Rick Eckert of York, Pa.
The pursuit of Carrier’s Grover Motorsports Rocket, however, seemed fruitless to Fuller until slower cars entered the picture.
“I was just letting him go because I had to wait to get into lapped traffic,” Fuller said of Carrier. “He just fired so good (on restarts) and ran hard every lap.
“I couldn’t run that pace, so I kept trying to save the tires on my car and wait for that opportunity to pass him on the bottom.”
The moment of truth finally presented itself to Fuller on lap 46. With Carrier’s momentum dulled by a lapped car, Fuller swept into the lead as the lap was scored.
“I saw my time to pounce,” said Fuller, whose car was powered by a Custom Racing Engine. “Of course, the guy in second place always has the advantage in those situations. Whatever the leader does, you’re gonna do the opposite.”
Fuller made contact with a lapped car on the backstretch seconds after taking the lead, nearly allowing Carrier to cut low and regain command. But Fuller maintained control and kept Carrier at bay over the remaining circuits.
A former Mr. DIRTcar Modified champion and winner of the $50,000 prize for capturing the prestigious Eckerd 200 Modified race at the Syracuse (N.Y.) Mile, Fuller made good on a promise to win a WoO LMS event.
“I felt a (WoO) win was gonna happen for us, but I didn’t know when,” said Fuller, whose victory came in his 19th career WoO LMS A-Main start. “I’m kind of surprised it’s come this quickly, but it does show that if we do this thing long enough, we’re gonna get the hang of it eventually.
“I told John (Wight), ‘If you stick with me long enough, we’re gonna figure this (division) out.’”
Fuller registered his first WoO LMS victory in a shorter time frame than Carrier, the tour’s 2006 Rookie of the Year who is still looking for his initial series triumph.
But Carrier, 36, knows he came oh-so-close to a coveted WoO LMS feature win.
“When we got to lap 25, I was wanting it to rain so the race would be over,” smmiled Carrier, who came off the outside pole to lead the race’s first 45 laps.
Carrier was doomed by slower traffic.
“I got behind a lapped car that was running the groove I was running,” Carrier said of the event’s deciding moment. “I got under him two or three times and I figured he’d let me get by, but I finally left an opening and Fuller took advantage of it to get by me.”
Carrier battled furiously to regain command from Fuller amid lapped traffic over the final circuits, but his bid fell short.
“I tried to move down to see if I could find something to drive back by him,” said Carrier, who recorded a career-best WoO LMS finish (his previous high was a third on May 13 at Illinois’s Lincoln Speedway). “It didn’t work, but we’re happy with second considering how we’ve been going lately.”
The driver who very nearly stole the show from Fuller and Carrier in the closing laps was Babb, who made a stirring charge forward from the 24th starting spot in his Billy Moyer Sr.-owned Car City Rayburn.
Making his first-ever appearance at the high-banked, quarter-mile oval, Babb established a new dirt Late Model track record of 11.950 seconds in time trials and won a heat race. But while completing his heat the axle tube broke on his stout No. 18, forcing him to relinquish the seventh starting spot in the A-Main because he pressed a backup car into service.
“Instead of leaving something loose by rushing to fix the car, we got the backup car out,” said Babb. “I was still pretty confident that we could do something from the back.”
Babb, 33, was right.
“At the start I was way too tight,” said Babb, whose car also sustained a bent right-side door in an early scrape with Mike Balcaen of Winnipeg, Manitoba. “But at the end it really came on for me.”
Indeed, Babb went from ninth during a lap-33 caution period to a third-place finish. He reached third with a lap-48 pass of Clanton, but a slip left him unable to make a final run at a spectacular last-to-first performance.
“I really gave up about six car lengths when I pushed real bad in turn one (moments after passing Clanton),” said Babb. “If I wouldn’t have done that, my mouth would’ve really been drooling (about overtaking Carrier and Fuller) on the last lap.”
Babb’s late assault took fourth-place finisher Clanton by surprise.
“I was right behind Fuller and Carrier (in lapped traffic) and trying to decide whether to go to the top or the bottom to take a shot at the win,” said Clanton. “Then I looked over and saw Babb alongside, and I was like, Oh, man, where did he come from?”
Babb recovery helped him close within four points of WoO LMS leader Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who finished seventh. Smith climbed as high as third, but a stumbling carburetor and a late loss of power steering caused him to fade.
Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., finished a steady sixth, followed by Smith; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., whose car didn’t handle correctly due to an incorrect tire choice; Rick Eckert of York, Pa., who had a new crewman at his side; and Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., who spun out of the top five following a turn-two scrape with Francis on lap 19 and pitted to change a left-rear flat tire on lap 26.
Three caution flags slowed the event.
Thirty-four cars entered the event, which marked the second straight year the WoO LMS visited River Cities Speedway.
Heat winners were Babb, Carrier, Francis and Clanton, while Doyle Erickson of Baglen, Minn., and Steve Anderson of Grand Forks, N.Dak., captured the B-Mains.
The WoO LMS continues a busy week of action with events on Thurs., June 14, at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn.; Fri., June 15, at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway; Sat., June 16, at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.; and Sun., June 17, at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks.
For more info on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Results of WoO Late Model Series ‘Seven Clans Casino 50’ (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (6) Tim Fuller/50 $10,250
2. (2) Eddie Carrier Jr./50 $5,050
3. (24) Shannon Babb/50 $3,000
4. (4) Shane Clanton/50 $2,500
5. (8) Steve Francis/50 $2,000
6. (5) Darrell Lanigan/50 $1,700
7. (7) Clint Smith/50 $1,400
8. (9) Chub Frank/50 $1,300
9. (1) Rick Eckert/50 $1,200
10. (3) Brian Shirley/50 $1,100
11. (12) Josh Richards/50 $1,050
12. (10) Mike Balcaen/50 $1,500
13. (13) Brad Seng/50 $950
14. (16) Joey Pederson/50 $900
15. (23) Kevin Sexton/48 $850
16. (18) Steve Anderson/48 $800
17. (22) Dave Tyrchniewicz/32 $770
18. (11) Ricky Weiss/31 $750
19. (15) Doyle Erickson/20 $730
20. (17) Mitch Johnson/17 $700
21. (20) James Sangrait Jr./8 $700
22. (14) Pat Doar/7 $700
23. (21) Roy Mitchell/7 $700
24. (19) Tom Corcoran/6 $700

Time of Race: 25 Mins., 41.226 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.367 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 3 (Laps 19, 26, 33)
Lap Leaders: Carrier (1-45); Fuller (46-50)
Provisional Starters: Mitchell, Sexton
Rookie of the Race: Tim Fuller ($250)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Mike Balcaen ($500)
National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award: Babb ($100)
National Interstate Insurance Hard Luck Award: Carrier ($50)

Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 18-Shannon Babb/Moweaqua, IL 11.950
2. 10-Mike Balcaen/Winnipeg, MAN 12.044
3. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 12.135
4. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 12.148
5. 3s-Brian Shirley/Chatham, IL 12.158
6. 11-Pat Doar/New Richmond, WI 12.159
7. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 12.162
8. 25-Shane Clanton/Locust Grove, GA 12.200
9. 7-Ricky Weiss/Winnipeg, MAN 12.240
10. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 12.307
11. 15-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 12.337
12. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 12.360
13. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 12.370
14. 28-Eddie Carrier Jr./Salt Rock, WV 12.404
15. 12s-Brad Seng/Grand Forks, ND 12.551
16. 7P-Joey Pederson/East Grand Forks, MN 12.590
17. 99-Doyle Erickson/Baglen, MN 12.634
18. 57-Kevin Sexton/Lorette, MAN 12.774
19. 9-Steve Anderson/Grand Forks, ND 12.817
20. 75Jr.-Cody Skytland/Edmore, ND 12.952
21. 54-Tom Balcaen/Winnipeg, MAN 12.963
22. 00-Mitch Johnson/Hickson, ND 12.977
23. U1-Dave Tyrchniewicz/Lockport, MAN 13.048
24. 52-James Sangrait Jr./Park River, ND 13.070
25. T1-Tom Corcoran/East Grand Forks, MN 13.124
26. 11s-Troy Schill/Grand Forks, ND 13.142
27. 4N-Nolan Olmstead/Roseau, MN 13.213
28. 5G-Scott Greer/East St. Paul, MAN 13.306
29. 8-Todd Truesdon/Kennedy, MN 13.325
30. 18H-Dustin Hapka/Grand Forks, ND 13.499
31. 22-Joe Johnson/West Fargo, ND 13.690
32. 93-Roy Mitchell/Rensselaer, IN 14.751
33. 21-Chad Corbett/Grand Forks, ND 14.851
34. 75-Dale Skytland/Edmore, ND 15.467

Heat No. 1 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Babb, Shirley. C. Smith, Weiss, Erickson, Corcoran, T. Balcaen, Truesdon, Corbett
Heat No. 2 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Carrier, Eckert, M. Balcaen, Doar, M. Johnson, Hapka, Schill, D. Skytland, Sexton
Heat No. 3 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Francis, Fuller, Frank, Seng, Anderson, Tyrchniewicz, J. Johnson, Olmstead
Heat No. 4 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Clanton, Lanigan, Richards, Pederson, Sangrait, Greer, C. Skytland, Mitchell

B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Erickson, M. Johnson, Corcoran, T. Balcaen, Hapka, Schill, Sexton, Truesdon, D. Skytland, Corbett
B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Anderson, Sangrait, Tyrchniewicz, C. Skytland, Olmstead, J. Johnson, Greer (DNS) Mitchell

2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of June 12 - 17 features completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):
1. Clint Smith 1-7-13-$43,050-2,336 (-0)
2. Shannon Babb 4-10-13-$64,920-2,332 (-4)
3. Steve Francis 0-8-14-$34,450-2,316 (-20)
4. Chub Frank 2-7-12-$42,880-2,300 (-36)
5. Josh Richards 1-5-10-$36,690-2,286 (-50)
6. Rick Eckert 0-4-12-$30,370-2,266 (-70)
7. Shane Clanton 0-4-8-$28,410-2,226 (-110)
8. Darrell Lanigan 0-0-10-$22,240-2,141 (-195)
9. Chris Madden 1-6-10-$53,390-2,083 (-253)
10. Eddie Carrier Jr. 0-2-4-$20,060-2,016 (-320)
11. Tim Fuller 1-2-2-$24,650-1,853 (-483)
12. John Blankenship 0-0-0-$10,460-1,513 (-823)
13. Brian Shirley 1-1-4-$19,070-1,483 (-853)
14. Billy Moyer 1-5-6-$27,525-1,332 (-1004)
15. Brian Birkhofer 0-1-4-$13,260-1,254 (-1082)
16. Jimmy Mars 0-4-6-$20,430-1,202 (-1134)
17. Dennis Erb Jr. 2-4-6-$30,800-1,173 (-1163)
18. Roy Mitchell 0-0-0-$2,650-768 (-1568)
19. Adam Hensel 0-0-0-$2,810-718 (-1618)
20. Earl Pearson Jr. 1-3-4-$19,610-665 (-1671)

Casebolt Pulls Off Monumental Upset Win In UMP DIRTcar Racing-Sanctioned ‘Dirt Late Model Dream XIII’ At Eldora Speedway

ROSSBURG, OH – June 9, 2007 – Steve Casebolt didn’t merely pull off a monumental $100,000 upset victory in Saturday night’s 100-lap Dirt Late Model Dream XIII at Eldora Speedway.
The young driver also shot down one of the sport’s titans.
To secure the biggest payoff of the season in dirt Late Model racing, Casebolt had to hold off a furious late-race charge from four-time Dream 100 winner Scott Bloomquist.
The outcome was in doubt until Casebolt outran Bloomquist on a lap-98 restart, producing an appreciative roar from the huge crowd that filled Tony Stewart’s high-banked, half-mile oval for the UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned event.
“I think a lot of people liked seeing me win,” said Casebolt, aware of his Cinderella status with the fans. “And I know a lot of people like seeing someone different win.”
Casebolt, 28, of Richmond, Ind., led the race’s final 80 laps to register by far the most prestigious triumph of his burgeoning career. He was never headed after passing Scott James of Greendale, Ind., for the top spot on lap 21.
Mooresburg, Tenn.’s Bloomquist advanced from the 15th starting spot to finish second, about three car lengths behind Casebolt.
World of Outlaws Late Model Series regulars Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who started 16th, ran in the top five for most of the distance and finished third and fourth, respectively, and James placed fifth after leading laps 1-20 off the pole position.
Driving Dale Beitler’s Cornett-powered Rocket No. 19 that is based in West Friendship, Md., Casebolt built a lead of well over a straightaway midway through the race. But Bloomquist slowly, steadily sliced that gap after passing James for second on lap 66, closing within two seconds of Casebolt by the time Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., brought out a caution flag on lap 79.
Casebolt pulled away from Bloomquist on the ensuing restart, but Bloomquist drew close again as the green-flag laps mounted. When Garrett Durrett of Simsboro, La., triggered the race’s fourth and final caution flag due to a blown engine on lap 98, Bloomquist was on Casebolt’s rear bumper and looking to pull off a dramatic pass for a six-figure win.
The caution flag was a boon to Casebolt, who took off on the restart to shock the assemblage.
“It was actually kind of exciting to get the restarts because my car felt really good with a clean racetrack ahead of me,” said Casebolt, who started fifth but took just a single lap to reach second place. “I knew I was pulling out a little on restarts and slowing on long runs, so a caution was a good thing for me.
“I was having trouble in lapped traffic. When I’d get in behind the lapped cars, they’d kick the dust up across the track. I’d hit that dust, and then my car would tail out and I’d get loose.”
After surviving a Bloomquist assault, Casebolt knew he had earned his career-making checkered flag.
“It’s better to beat Bloomquist,” Casebolt said when asked if leading the legendary 42-year-old across the finish line brought him any added satisfaction. “Last week we won (the Ralph Latham Memorial) at Florence (Ky.) and I drove by Bloomquist and beat him, but he ended up finishing fifth so it wasn’t quite as good of a feeling.
“Everybody kinda measures themselves by how good Bloomquist is that night, and I think everybody saw tonight that we had the best car.”
Bloomquist was doomed by the two late-race caution flags. His Bloomquist ‘Team Zero’ chassis was simply set up to be better on long runs rather than restarts.
"I think we made up a lot of ground on (Casebolt), and if we wouldn't have had that (lap-79) caution…” said a wistful Bloomquist, his voice trailing off for a moment. “But even after that, after we got going again, with two (laps) to go there, I pretty much had already set up in my mind where I was going by him.
“I was sure I was going to, and then that last caution ended it."
That was the difference for Casebolt, who bubbled over with emotion in Victory Lane. He had started a Dream 100 A-Main just once previously in his career, finishing eighth in 2000.
Despite his lack of a prior record in the Dream and a career resume that shows only a handful of special-event wins, Casebolt never doubted that he could get the job done on such a big stage.
“We haven’t really been in the spotlight that much (in 2007), but there’s been several nights that we thought if we just had done this or that different, we had a good shot at beating these guys,” said Casebolt, whose assault was headed by former Rick Eckert crew chief Robbie Allen. “I sort of felt we had arrived after winning Florence (on June 2). To win that race I beat some of the guys here tonight, so I felt, If I can win this race, I can win that Dream next weekend.’
“We did it tonight, and it’s a huge deal for us.”
Four caution flags slowed the event, including early yellows for Zanesville, Ohio, veteran Bart Hartman’s spin between turns three and four on the opening lap and the lap-28 mechanical trouble encountered by Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, who was running third when he was forced to retire.
Hartman restarted at the rear of the field after escaping serious damage in his spin, then made his way forward to finish sixth. Brady Smith of Solon Spring, Wis., placed seventh in his first-ever Dream 100 start, followed by outside-polesitter Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., and 2006 World 100 winner Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., who climbed from 17th to fifth by lap 21 but faded thereafter because his tires had apparently sealed over.
McCreadie was the fastest of 146 drivers who participated in Friday night’s time trials, turning a lap of 17.575 seconds. He was the only driver to break into the 17-second bracket.
But McCreadie ran into trouble during Saturday night’s first heat race, pulling off the track with a busted oil cooler. He used his fast-time provisional to start the A-Main from the 19th spot.
Winners of Saturday’s 15-lap heats were Frank, Casebolt, Hartman, Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., Clint Smith and James. Brad Neat of Dunnville, Ky., captured the 15-lap C-Main and Steve Shaver of Vienna, W.Va., topped the 20-lap B-Main.

Dirt Late Model Dream XIII Finish – 100 laps (Finish/Start/Driver)
1. (5) Steve Casebolt
2. (15) Scott Bloomquist
3. (6) Chub Frank
4. (16) Darrell Lanigan
5. (1) Scott James
6. (4) Bart Hartman
7. (11) Brady Smith
8. (2) Clint Smith
9. (19) Tim McCreadie
10. (17) Earl Pearson Jr.
11. (22) Jimmy Mars
12. (14) Jimmy Owens
13. (12) Jeep VanWormer
14. (13) Eddie Carrier Jr.
15. (9) Garrett Durrett
16. (6) Josh Richards
17. (24) Shane Clanton
18. (23) Chris Madden
19. (21) Steve Shaver
20. (3) Brian Shirley
21. (10) Steve Francis
22. (20) Matt Miller
23. (7) Brian Birkhofer
24. (18) Wendell Wallace

Heat 1 Finish: Chub Frank, Brian Birkhofer, Eddie Carrier Jr., Rick Eckert, R.J. Conley, Justin Ratliff, Mike Johnson, Audie McWilliams, Brent Kreke, Scott Edmisten, Mike Walker, Steve Kester, Brian Ruhlman, Michael England, Tim McCreadie, Josh McGuire, Mike Marlar, Greg Oliver, Frank Heckenhast, Jerry Bowesock

Heat 2 Finish: Steve Casebolt, Josh Richards, Jimmy Owens, Shawn Toczek, Jimmy Mars, Brandon Kinzer, Jason Keltner, Darren Miller, Jesse Lay, Freddy Smith, Dutch Davies, Casey Noonan, Michael Balzano, Ron Davies, Jon Horner, Delmas Conley, Mark Douglas, Duane Chamberlain, John Gill, Frank Ingram

Heat 3 Finish: Bart Hartman, Garrett Durrett, Scott Bloomquist, Matt Miller, Shane Clanton, Shannon Babb, Dennis Erb, Doug Drown, Donnie Moran, John Mason, Damon Eller, Aaron Scott, Robbie Hensley, Nick Marolf, Corey Conley, Shawn Holliday, Petey Ivey, Scott Fisk, Rick Aukland, Shanon Buckingham

Heat 4 Finish: Brian Shirley, Steve Francis, Darrell Lanigan, Randy Korte, Don O’Neal, Terry Phillips, Brad Neat, Jerry Rice, Jordan Bland, Chad Ruhlman, Rod Conley, Ben Adkins, Tony Knowles, Mike Mataragas, Tim Manville, Casey Vitale, Chad Hina, J. R. Hotovy, Bodine Massengill, Steve Landrum

Heat 5 Finish: Clint Smith, Brady Smith, Earl Pearson, Jr., Steve Shaver, Todd Morrow, Dale McDowell, Kellen Chadwick, Eric Jacobson, Jason Montgomery, Shannon Thornsberry, Brad Looney, Randy Woodling, John Anderson, Brian Rickman, Josh Williams, Clint Jamison, Kris Patterson, Rodney Combs, Tim Sabo, Roy Mitchell

Heat 6 Finish: Scott James, Jeep VanWormer, Wendell Wallace, Chris Madden, John Blankenship, Jackie Boggs, Bobby Kitchens, Tim Dohm, Billy Moyer, Dan Schlieper, Ashley Anderson, Jeff Beyers, Wayne Chinn, Josh Williams, Kevin Weaver, Rick Rickman, Bill Williams, Bill Hahn, Curtis Roberts

C-Main Finish: Neat, Keltner, Drown, D. Miller, Moran, Dohm, Lay, Rice, McWilliams, Mason, Moyer, Chadwick, Kreke, F. Smith, M. Johnson, Anderson, Eller, Edmisten, Montgomery, Thornsberry, Bland, C. Ruhlman, Schlieper

B-Main Finish: Shaver, Mars, Madden, Clanton, Korte, Morrow, Eckert, Babb, Erb, Boggs, R. J. Conley, D. Miller, Blankenship, Dohm, Phillips, Wyatt, Kinzer, Moran, Drown, Ratliff, McDowell, Toczek, Neat

Non-Qualifiers Race Finish (Friday): Mark Banal, Brett Wyatt, Mike Benedem, David Hilliker, Chad Hina, Scott Bell, Zack Forster, Hillard Miller, Ryan VanderVeen, Jon Horner, Michael Stiltner, Greg Ruckel, Eric Midkiff, Mike Walker, Dale Gross, Jr., Steve Kester, Ryan Mitchell, Ky Harper, Shaun Smith

Rick Eckert Fondly Recalls His Dirt Late Model Dream Victory –
And Is Ready To Chase Another This Weekend At Eldora Speedway

ROSSBURG, OH – June 5, 2007 – Rick Eckert will never forget the day in 1999 that he won the Dirt Late Model Dream at Eldora Speedway.
It was, after all, his first career victory in one of the division’s crown-jewel events – and it came with a gargantuan $100,000 payoff.
“It’s incredible, just mind-boggling, to win it,” said Eckert, a World of Outlaws Late Model Series star who will try to become a two-time winner of the 100-lap ‘Dream’ this weekend (June 8-9). “It takes a couple days to settle in when you do it, it really does.”
Eckert, 41, of York, Pa., knew he had done something special when he climbed out of his car in Victory Lane and heard Eldora’s huge crowd roar, but the magnitude of his triumph didn’t settle in until he received his six-figure payment from Eldora officials in the track’s tower following a post-race press conference. He was absolutely blown away by the amount of money he had won.
“I got 20-grand in a brown paper bag and the rest in a check,” recalled Eckert, one of two 2007 WoO LMS regulars (Union, Ky.’s Darrell Lanigan is the other) who has captured Eldora’s DLM Dream. “There were twenties, tens – it was a big pile of money.
“Having so much money kind of makes you nervous leaving there. They escort you back to your trailer, but that’s a lot of money you’re carrying.
“I’ll never forget (Pennsy Sprint Car racer) Donnie Kreitz told me once that after he won the ($50,000) King’s Royal (at Eldora), they gave him 50-grand in cash. He said he was such a nervous wreck going home with that much money, he called his banker coming back on the (Pennsylvania) Turnpike and had him meet him at the bank as soon as he got back.”
Eckert didn’t have to worry about depositing his Dream booty in the bank; his car owner, Raye Vest, took care of that. He just drove his hauler back to the Keystone State fueled by adrenalin.
“I drove all night home to get home. I never slept,” said Eckert. “When I pulled up to the shop my father (former racer Junior Eckert) was there with a bunch of people and they were still partying. We had called them up after the race and told them I won, so they had the shop all decorated to congratulate us.
“We just had fun with them all day to celebrate. We were all wound up.”
Was there any big splurge that Eckert made with the healthy percentage of the $100,000 that he received from Vest? Not really.
“I bought my daughter a trampoline,” said Eckert, whose only child, Courtney, was 10 at the time (she graduates from high school on June 6). “That was it. I’m sure the rest is probably all gone by now.”
Eckert, who still drives Vest’s familiar orange No. 24 cars, would like nothing better than to take 100-grand from Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway again this weekend. But he’s not exactly sure what to expect from the racetrack when the UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned program begins with time trials on Friday night.
“I guess the surface is a little different this year,” said Eckert, who is ranked sixth in the current WoO LMS point standings and is still searching for his first tour victory of 2007. “They say you race around the bottom now, but I find it hard to believe that with a bunch of good cars out there we’ll all be around that bottom. I think guys will get out, get some momentum up, and push that top down, but we’ll see.”
For more information on Eldora Speedway’s Dirt Late Model Dream event, visit www.eldoraspeedway.com or call 937-338-3815.
Info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.

World of Outlaws Late Model News & Notes: Delaware International Speedway & Hagerstown Speedway
CONCORD, NC – June 4, 2007 –

TRYING SOMETHING OLD: Shannon Babb hasn’t been happy with his recent performance on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, so he pulled a race car out of mothballs in hopes of getting his groove back.

Babb entered Thursday night’s ‘First State 50’ at Delaware International Speedway behind the wheel of the C.J. Rayburn-built machine that he drove in most of last year’s UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals events. The car had sat idle since he steered it to victory in the 2006 Summernationals finale on July 15 at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio.

“I’ve been looking at the thing in the shop the last few weeks and thinking about running it,” said Babb. “I thought running the old car might help us figure out what we might be doing wrong with the new (’07 style) car.”

Babb dropped out midway through DIS’s A-Main due to an engine meltdown that he said resulted from his continuing to race with an overheating condition, but the information he learned during the night was worthwhile. He broke out his new-style car on Saturday night at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway and promptly piloted the Jay Dickens-powered No. 18 to victory in the ‘Conococheague 50.’

“I got my mind right again,” Babb said when asked about the benefits of using his old mount, which he will likely yield to a prospective buyer upon returning to his Illinois shop. “I’m back to thinking the right things.”

POST-RACE VISIT: Chub Frank took an unusually long time to drive his car back to the pit area after being feted in Victory Lane for his triumph in the ‘First State 50’ at Delaware International.

The Bear Lake, Pa., driver spent nearly a half-hour parked on the homestretch talking to his aunt, a resident of nearby Dover, Del., who surprised Frank with her appearance at Thursday’s race. She waved to him from the grandstand area during the post-race ceremonies, prompting Frank to call her down to the track for some pictures.

Frank’s win, by the way, marked the first time he has captured back-to-back WoO LMS events in his career. He fell short, however, of becoming just the fourth driver since 2004 to win three straight WoO LMS A-Mains, finishing fourth on Saturday night at Hagerstown.

‘Chubzilla’ was happy with a top-five run at Hagerstown, but a bit perplexed about his car’s performance.

“I’ve never been that loose here before,” Frank said after Hagerstown’s checkered flag. “We even actually tightened up more and still were loose.

“I don’t know what it was, but (the surface) was just so slippery. Usually we run three-wheel brake here, and we were running four-wheel brake from like lap two.”

STYLIN’: Clint Smith debuted a new, snazzier graphics package on his GRT No. 44 at Delaware International. The ‘wrap’ that was put on his car featured splashes of blue.

Second in the point standings entering the doubleheader, Smith moved in front with a fifth-place finish at DIS and a third at Hagerstown. He now leads Babb by 12 points.

Smith, who had led the WoO LMS point standings just a single time during the three previous seasons, has either been tied or held sole possession of the lead after 11 of this season’s 16 events.

BAD NEWS: After driving his Raye Vest-owned MasterSbilt to a second-place finish at Delaware International, Rick Eckert was hopeful that the WoO LMS doubleheader at two tracks close to his York, Pa., home would be good to him.

Unfortunately, Saturday night at Hagerstown was forgettable for the veteran racer. He relinquished a potential top-10 finish when a flat left-rear tire forced him to pit during a lap-23 caution period (he continued and finished 18th), and bad news he received following the A-Main led him to cut short his usual post-race visiting with family and friends at Hagerstown.

Eckert was informed that his 17-year-old nephew, Cody Darrah, had been injured in a hard 410 Sprint Car crash on Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa., and was being transported to a nearby hospital. Eckert left the track and later learned that Darrah had suffered a broken arm.

WHAT A RUN: The darling of Hagerstown’s ‘Conococheague 50’ had to be Jason Covert, a 36-year-old good guy from York Haven, Pa., who has proven his skills in a dirt Late Model since joining Barry Klinedinst’s team last year.

Driving an ’02 Rocket car equipped with an SB-2 motor rebuilt during the off-season by Curt Hershey, the 2006 Mid-Atlantic Championship Series (MACS) champion ran toe-to-toe with the Outlaws and finished a sterling second. His $5,500 payday was the biggest single-race earnings of his career.

“It’s intimidating (to race with the Outlaws), but I love it,” said Covert, whose next WoO LMS start should be the Wed., June 20, event at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway. “These guys are the best, and they race hard and clean. You learn so much racing with them, because they race so hard every lap. I’m used to just local racing, short 25-lappers, and these guys make you realize there’s no laps off.

“Even if you run 20th (in a WoO LMS A-Main), you learn so much. I’ve got a huge learning curve going right now racing with all these different series, but it makes you a better driver.”

BABY O.K.: Gray Court, S.C.’s Chris Madden sent thanks out to all the members of the racing fraternity who provided thoughts and prayers over the past week to Chris and his wife Stephanie, who gave birth to the couple’s third child, a boy named Avery, one month prematurely.

The early delivery created concern and cast doubt on Madden’s participation in the WoO LMS doubleheader, but the baby weighed in at nearly seven pounds and doctors assured Madden early in the week that Avery would be healthy enough to go home within days.

Madden ran well in his first career appearance at both tracks, but there was no storybook victory to present his new son. He finished fourth at DIS and suffered his first DNF of the WoO LMS season at Hagerstown due to terminal engine trouble.

THE CHAMP RETURNS: Reigning WoO LMS champion Tim McCreadie entered both events, hitting the dirt hot off a lengthy stock-car test session at Kentucky Speedway on Tuesday.

McCreadie, who is learning the NASCAR stock-car ropes this season as a Richard Childress Racing development driver, joined with NASCAR regular Scott Wimmer to test the new R07 Chevy Nextel Cup engine for RCR. McCreadie got plenty of seat time, turning nearly 400 miles in the car.

The Kentucky laps were all invaluable to McCreadie, who is preparing to make his first starts in ARCA and NASCAR Busch Series events in the near future.

A GOOD NIGHT: Teenage WoO LMS sensation Josh Richards was very satisfied with a fifth-place finish in Saturday night’s ‘Conococheague 50.’

“A top-five at Hagerstown is a big deal for me,” said Richards, who enjoyed his best run ever at the half-mile oval. “I’ve always had a tough time trying to get used to this place, so it feels good that we went forward.

“I’m still trying to get better at any place where you have to use a lot of brake, and Hagerstown is one of those places. Once you get the braking down, you can get better here.”

FUN IN THE SUN: A large contingent of WoO LMS teams took advantage of Friday’s off-day between DIS and Hagerstown to enjoy some R&R in Ocean City, Md.

The teams that headed to the beach – Clint Smith, Steve Francis, Chub Frank, Rick Eckert (who owns a property in Ocean City), Shane Clanton, Darrell Lanigan, Eddie Carrier Jr., John Blankenship and Tim McCreadie – spent time playing beach volleyball, riding go-karts, strolling the boardwalk and visiting watering holes such as the famed ‘Purple Moose.’

NOTABLE…
* Darrell Lanigan remained without a top-five finish in WoO LMS action this season after outings of sixth (DIS) and 10th (Hagerstown). He appeared primed for his first top-five at DIS, but Clint Smith snuck by him for fifth heading to the white flag.
* Steve Francis remained consistent with finishes of third (DIS) and seventh (Hagerstown), but he continues to be frustrated by his uncharacteristically long winless streak on the WoO LMS. His last victory came on May 5, 2006, at Brushcreek Motorsports Complex in Peebles, Ohio – a losing streak that now sits at 39 races.
* Accompanying Shannon Babb on the trip east was his fiancée Emily Meyers, who is still beaming since Babb proposed to her just prior to leaving on his first WoO LMS jaunt east in mid-April. The couple has not yet set a date for their wedding, but she noted with a smile, “It definitely won’t be during racing season.”
* Top ’07 rookie contender Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., missed his first WoO LMS event of the season on Thursday at DIS. He opted to compete in that night’s Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series show for big-block Modifieds at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y.
Fuller was back in his John Wight-owned dirt Late Model on Saturday at Hagerstown and said that for the remainder of the season he will run every WoO LMS event that does not conflict with a Modified SDS date. He said he made a commitment to his DIRTcar Modified sponsor, John Lazore, to chase the Mr. DIRTcar Modified championship this season so those races will take precedence for him, but his plan is to go WoO LMS racing fulltime in 2008.
* Veterans Gary Stuhler of Greencastle, Pa., and Les Hare of Felton, Pa. – both winners of WoO LMS A-Mains at Hagerstown during the tour’s first incarnation (1988-89) – were in the field on Saturday night. Hare failed to qualify, but Stuhler won a heat race and ran in the top five early in the feature before fading to an eighth-place finish.
* Several drivers had rough run-ins with the marker tires that are buried on the inside of the turns at Delaware International.
The group included Clint Smith, who bent his car’s left-front spindle when he hit a tire during his heat but still managed to qualify; Ricky Elliott of Seaford, Del., who knocked his car’s handling off-kilter when he clipped a tire while bidding for second place on lap seven of the A-Main (a lap-21 scrape with McCreadie that sent him over the bank in turns three and four caused Elliott to fall to eighth at the finish); Jeremy Miller of Gettysburg, Pa., who spun between turns one and two after catching a tire on lap eight of the feature; and Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., whose crew had to bolt on a new nosepiece after he bounced over the tires during heat action.
* Thursday’s program at Delaware International was rough on Pennsylvanians Jim Bernheisel and Davey Johnson.
Bernheisel, a chassis builder who fields a house car for Johnson in selected events, saw his own night behind the wheel of Rob Ormsbee’s car end due to a broken steering rack during heat competition.
Johnson, meanwhile, had his Bernheisel No. 1J sidelined by engine woes during time trials, so he drove the No. 119 normally steered by Bernheisel the rest of the night. A heat-race tangle bent up the machine, but he qualified through a B-Main and completed 33 laps before retiring from the feature.
* DIS regular Kerry King was able to limp across the finish line of the second heat in a transfer spot despite the heavy damage his car sustained in a final-lap tangle that also involved Johnson, but he couldn’t repair the machine for the feature.
So what did King do? Since his shop is barely one mile for the track, he had a second car hauled over on a flatbed and ran it in the feature. He had to start at the rear of the field, however.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Opening-Lap Surge Propels Babb To Fourth World of Outlaws Late Model Series Victory Of ’07 Saturday At Hagerstown Speedway
HAGERSTOWN, MD – June 2, 2007 – Shannon Babb has proven to be a quick study on the 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series.

With his flag-to-flag victory in Saturday night’s 26th annual ‘Conococheague 50’ at Hagerstown Speedway, the Moweaqua, Ill., star was triumphant in his first career start at a track for the third time on this year’s tour.
Babb, 33, didn’t exactly expect his latest WoO LMS success, however.
“We didn’t have our hopes up real high coming in here,” said Babb, who previously won WoO LMS events in his first-ever visits to Virginia Motor Speedway (April 14) and Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. (April 17). “I talked to (three-time WoO LMS champ) Billy (Moyer) and a couple other guys during the week and they said we’d probably be in trouble (finding a comfortable setup), so I knew we had to change a lot of things to make our car suitable for the racetrack.
“I don’t know if it was the humidity that helped us, but we just threw some stuff at the car and landed on something that worked pretty good for us.”
After starting the night by earning his fourth National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award of the season, an opening-lap, high-side surge in the A-Main propelled Babb from the fourth starting spot to the lead by the backstretch. He never looked back, repelling an early challenge from Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., and defeating 2006 Mid-Atlantic Championship Series (MACS) titlist Jason Covert of York Haven, Pa., by 0.774 of a second.
Smith lost second to Covert on a lap-23 restart and couldn’t regain the position, forcing him to settle for a third-place finish that kept him in the WoO LMS points lead. Fourth went to Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., whose two-race win streak came to an end, and fifth was Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who enjoyed a personal-best run at Hagerstown after starting 10th.
Babb’s flawless feature performance was born from a valuable lesson he learned in his heat race, during which he was passed for the win with just two laps remaining by reigning WoO LMS champ Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y.
“I went soft on tires (in the heat), even though I knew everybody told me soft doesn’t work here,” said Babb, who used Hoosier tires on his Billy Moyer Sr.-owned Car City/J&J Steel Rayburn No. 18. “I figured, Well, maybe nobody ever tried (soft tires) before. I tried it, and it was pretty good for eight laps, but then it died and McCreadie rolled by me on a little harder right-rear tire.
“Still, that told us we had pretty good car if we worked on it a little bit and got on the right tire (for the feature).”
Babb struck quick in the ‘Conococheague 50,’ swerving to the outside of second-starter Covert at the start/finish line as the initial green flag waved and racing three-wide into the first corner with the polesitting Smith and Covert. He pulled ahead off turn two and never relinquished the position thereafter.
“I knew everybody was gonna fight for the bottom,” Babb said of his opening-lap strategy. “(Turns) one and two looked really good to me on the high side and in the middle, so when they all headed to the bottom there on the first lap, I went to the top. I saw that near the fence there was a little moisture, and I just got out there, got a good bite and drove by them.
“From there I didn’t know if I could hold on, but I knew they were gonna have to fight me for it.”
Smith, 42, raced underneath Babb for several circuits early in the fray, coming within inches of taking the lead on lap 11. But he couldn’t get his J.P. Drilling/Cliburn Tank Lines GRT ahead of Babb, and not firing as well as Covert on a lap-23 restart ultimately cost him second place.
“I never felt like I could clear (Babb) where I could run out on the straightaway like I needed to,” said Smith. “It was one of those racetracks where you needed the whole track to go fast. If I could’ve got to the lead, then, well…”
Smith was anxious afterward to see video of Babb’s opening-lap sweep from fourth to first.
“I don’t know if he fired early or what happened, but he was beside me when we went into the corner,” Smith said of Babb. “I’m not gonna say he jumped the start, though. (Shane) Clanton said he didn’t.
“All I know is that was the move of the race. He won it on the first lap, and congratulations to him.”
Covert, 36, closed within three car lengths of Babb as the leader worked lapped traffic in the final circuits, but falling short didn’t disappoint him. The runner-up finish was his best-ever in WoO LMS competition and also earned him a career-high race payday of $5,500, including the $500 ‘World of Outlaws Bonus Bucks’ cash for being the highest-finishing driver who isn’t ranked among the tour’s top 12 in points and has never won a series feature.
“It looked like (Babb) was getting tight across the corner, so I started driving it in the corner harder,” said Covert, who steered an ’02 Rocket owned by Barry Klinedinst. “But we were skating the whole race because I think we went a little hard on tires (he ran American Racers), so it was gonna take a pretty big mistake for me to get him.”
Babb, who earned $10,000 for his series-best fourth win of the season, moved up to second in the point standings. He trails Smith by 12 markers after 16 events.
Despite his lofty status in the WoO LMS standings, Babb, who now has five career WoO LMS victories, stopped just short of committing to the rem