Lanigan’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series Roll Continues With Eventful Victory In Inaugural ‘Coal Country 40’ At Big Diamond Raceway
Minersville, PA — By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director
Posted Thursday, Jun 26, 2008

Everything is going Darrell Lanigan’s way on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Proof positive came on Wednesday night at Big Diamond Raceway, where Lanigan continued his surge to the top of the tour’s points standings with an eventful victory in the inaugural Jack Rich Inc. ‘Coal Country 40.’

Angry after being penalized two spots from his outside-pole starting position because officials ruled he jumped the race’s original green flag, Lanigan came back to secure his second WoO LMS triumph of 2008 thanks to a little assist from Lady Luck. Lanigan, 38, of Union, Ky., appeared headed to a runner-up finish in his GottaRace.com Rocket when Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., saw his thrilling high-side charge to the front end with a flat left-rear tire on lap 34, putting the ‘Bluegrass Bandit’ in the lead for good. “I figured we’d run second and be happy with that,” said Lanigan, who earned $7,150 for his 10th career win on the WoO LMS. “We got behind when (officials) put us back (to fourth) on that start, but it came back to us.”

Polesitter Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., chased Lanigan for the final six circuits but never offered a serious challenge, finishing second, 0.741 of a second behind his fellow WoO LMS traveler. It was his best outing in the J.P. Drilling GRT car since opening the ‘Great Northern Tour’ with a victory on June 17 at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway. Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., finished third in the Mark Richards Racing/Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket. He led laps 1-29 before losing the top spot – and two additional positions – when a scrape with Babb momentarily sent him sliding off the track in turn two, effectively ending his bid for a third straight WoO LMS win.

Completing the top five was eighth-starter Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., in the RSD Enterprises Rocket and sixth-starter Rick Eckert of York, Pa., in Raye Vest’s GRT mount. The 34-year-old Babb, meanwhile, finished 10th – a tough pill to swallow for the driver who got the evening’s near-capacity crowd jumping with a show-stopping, cushion-pounding run to the front. Driving NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer’s Rocket No. 18, Babb found the outside lane of the three-eighths-mile oval to his liking and used it to hustle forward from the seventh starting spot. He seemingly had completed his march when he slipped underneath Richards and nosed ahead at the start/finish line to lead lap 30.

After Babb executed a power-slide that forced Richards over the turn-two bank moments after the A-Main’s first lead change, the first-year WoO LMS regular found himself with a healthy edge over Lanigan and ready to snap out of a recent funk on the tour. But Babb slowed to bring out the race’s sixth and final caution flag on lap 34, the victim of a flat left-rear tire. He ceded the lead to Lanigan while making a pit stop for new rubber. “I went into (turn) one, got into the (rough) stuff at the top and pulled the left-rear tire off the rim,” Babb said of his heartbreaking misfortune on lap 34. “It was real disappointing after we got going so good on the outside, but actually our day was doomed anyway. Our right-rear (tire) had a rock hole in it and was losing air, so we probably wouldn’t have made it to the finish.”

Lanigan gladly stepped into the void left by Babb. He controlled the remainder of the distance to extend his streak of top-five finishes to 10 in a row – a run that has taken him from fifth place in the points standings (64 points out of first) to a 36-point lead over Richards through 18 events. “I didn’t know if we’d be able to hold on for the last few laps,” said Lanigan, who had a coal-miner’s helmet placed on his head for Victory Lane photos. “I thought I could hear somebody back there a few times, but you always hear something when you’re leading. “I was just happy to hold on and get a win after the way the race started.”

Smith, 43, couldn’t threaten Lanigan over the final sprint to the finish. “I was married to the bottom (lane),” said Smith, who slipped as far back as fifth during the A-Main. “I didn’t have the gear to run the top, so I basically had to follow Lanigan around at the end.” A second-place finish still sat well with the driver known as ‘Cat Daddy.’ “It was a lot of hard work and a lot of hard racing to get this finish,” said Smith.

For starters, Smith drove a car that needed extensive repairs after he was involved in an accident on Saturday night at Quebec’s Autodrome Drummond. He also dropped in his smaller 412 cubic inch engine after hurting his stronger piece the previous night at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway, and he had to survive some metal-rubbing exchanges with Jason Covert of York Haven, Pa., during the A-Main.

Richards, 20, was unable to recover after his run-in with Babb knocked him from the lead. He didn’t blame Babb for his fate, however. “During the caution (on lap 29 for Danny Johnson’s flat tire) my dad showed me ‘elbows up,’ which means, ‘Go to the top,’” said Richards. “He only meant to run the top in one and two, but I thought he meant to run the top in three and four too. I went to the top in three and four and that let Babb get under me. “I saw Babb lead that lap (30), so I just tried to drive in there (turns one and two) as hard as I could. I got outside of him, but he slid up into me and pushed me over the bank. “I don’t hold anything against him for it,” he added. “It was just hard racing. He’s extremely competitive and wanted to win just like I did, and I know he didn’t do it on purpose.”

Clanton, 32, was the race’s early outside hustler, moving from eighth to third in just five laps. But he slid high in turn two on a lap-17 restart, fell to fifth and never fully recovered. “When the (top) started getting rough, I was done,” said Clanton. “I didn’t have the right shocks on to get through the holes, so I’m happy to get a fourth out of it.”

The 42-year-old Eckert quietly recorded his fifth consecutive top-five finish on the ‘Great Northern Tour.’ “I was too tight in (the corners),” said Eckert. “Some of those guys could run wide-open through the middle, but I had no traction.” Finishing in positions 6-10 was Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who latest unspectacular run prompted him to call the Northeast swing “one of the worst trips I’ve ever had”; John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., whose run forward from 19th helped earn his crew chief, Brian Imler, the Integra Shocks ‘Wrench of the Race’ award; Covert, who who earned the $500 WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ cash for being the highest-finishing driver who hasn’t won a tour A-Main and isn’t ranked among the top 12 in the current points standings; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.; and Babb.

The race’s most serious incident came on lap three when several cars stacked up in turn two, including 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.; Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa.; and Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., who drove the Tracy Seymour-owned No. 17H. All three drivers had their cars towed off with significant damage.

Thirty-four cars were signed in for the first-ever WoO LMS event at Big Diamond Raceway, which is promoted by Buddy Biever, Barry Bashore and Dave Dissinger.

Marlar registered the first WoO LMS fast-time award of his career, lapping the oval in 16.235 seconds.

Heat winners were Babb, Lanigan, Richards and Francis. Jeff Rine of Danville, Pa., and Jimmy Bernheisel of Lebanon, Pa., captured the B-Mains.

Results of WoO Late Model Series ‘Coal Country 40’ (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):

1. (2) Darrell Lanigan/40 $7,150
2. (1) Clint Smith/40 $3,600
3. (4) Josh Richards/40 $2,000
4. (8) Shane Clanton/40 $1,700
5. (6) Rick Eckert/40 $1,500
6. (5) Steve Francis/40 $1,300
7. (19) John Blankenship/40 $1,200
8. (3) Jason Covert/40 $1,600
9. (11) Chub Frank/40 $1,000
10. (7) Shannon Babb/40 $900
11. (12) Ricky Elliott/40 $850
12. (10) D.J. Myers/40 $800
13. (13) Jim Yoder/40 $750
14. (18) Jimmy Bernheisel/40 $740
15. (20) Vic Coffey/40 $960
16. (23) Joe Isabell/40 $680
17. (22) Danny Johnson/28 $650
18. (14) Scott Haus/22 $630
19. (17) Jeff Rine/14 $620
20. (9) Mike Marlar/3 $610
21. (16) Dan Stone/3 $600
22. (15) Tim Fuller/3 $600
23. (24) Jeremy Miller/3 $600
24. (25) Jeff Strunk/3 $600
25. (21) Chad McClellan/2 $600

Time of Race: 33 Mins., 29.901 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.741 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 6 (Laps 3, 3, 6, 17, 29, 34)
Lap Leaders: Richards (1-29); Babb (30-33); Lanigan (34-40)
Provisional Starters: Isabell, Jeremy Miller (WoO); Strunk (track)
Rookie of the Race: Coffey ($250)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Covert ($500)
Integra Shocks Crew Chief of the Race ($50): Brian Imler (Blankenship)
Chick Hawk Racing Hot Lap Award: Richards (half-off tire warmers)

---

Richards Rolls To Second Straight World of Outlaws Late Model Series Victory In First-Ever Visit To Canandaigua Speedway
Posted Wednesday, Jun 25, 2008
Canandaigua, NY — By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director

This time Josh Richards made it look easy. Two days after pulling off a dramatic, come-from-behind victory in Canada, Richards rolled to a dominant flag-to-flag win before a standing-room-only crowd in Tuesday night’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series Turner Automotive 40 presented by Ferris Mowers at Canandaigua Speedway. The 20-year-old sensation from Shinnston, W.Va., raced off the pole position to register his second straight triumph on the WoO LMS, following up his score on Sunday night at Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway. It was his fourth overall win this season, tying him with Billy Moyer for the tour lead in that category. “I’ve seen everybody else get on these little waves and run really good, and it’s so fun when it happens to you,” said Richards, who has already matched his career-high single-season WoO LMS win total achieved in 2007. “Everything is just going our way – we’ve been fast, and of course I’ve been lucky. “I just want to keep riding this wave through Lernerville (Speedway’s Firecracker 100 this weekend) and the rest of the year, and hopefully we can catch Darrell (Lanigan) in the points. If we keep running like this, I think we’ll be alright.”

Richards drove his Mark Richards Racing/Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket No. 1 across the finish line with a commanding edge of 2.753 seconds – nearly a full straightaway – over Rick Eckert of York, Pa. Eckert challenged Richards briefly early in the A-Main, but his Raye Vest-owned GRT car wasn’t quick enough to keep pace with ‘Kid Rocket’ as the race wore on.

Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., who spent several years as a DIRTcar big-block Modified regular at Canandaigua, advanced from the 11th starting spot to finish third in the Sweeteners Plus Rocket, while WoO LMS points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., finished fourth after steering his GottaRace.com Rocket by the Lester Buildings Rocket driven by Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., on the final lap. There were few worries during the event for Richards, who maintained a consistent speed from start-to-finish.

“The car was just awesome,” said Richards, who earned $7,150 for his 10th career win on the WoO LMS. “The only real problem I had was on the initial start. I drove (turns) three and four a little easier than I should have and I kinda pushed up the racetrack, so Chub was able to get by me. Luckily the caution came out (for a multi-car tangle between turns three and four) – and I didn’t do the same thing the next time.” Richards essentially clinched the checkered flag when he executed a breathtaking explosion by three lapped cars in turn two on lap 21. The slower cars had allowed Eckert to draw close, but he never got a sniff of the top spot again after Richards gained some breathing room with his maneuver.

“When I caught up to them (the pack of three lapped cars), I was so zoned in that I just drove right in between them,” described Richards, who picked the pole position in the pre-race draw for the third consecutive A-Main. “The car just stuck like glue, and I was like, ‘Wow!’ I don’t think I could’ve done that too many more times, though.” The move was a telltale sign of how comfortable Richards was at Canandaigua Speedway, a sweeping half-mile oval that hosted the WoO LMS for the first time. “I like tracks like this where you can just focus, hit your marks every lap and keep up your momentum,” said Richards, who closed within 30 points of Lanigan in the WoO LMS standings. “This place races a lot like Volusia (Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.), and we’ve always been real good there. There’s less bank here, but the way the backstretch is shaped and the way you drive into one, you can refer to Volusia a lot.”

Eckert, 42, slid from the third starting spot to second on the opening-lap restart and stayed there for the race’s entire distance, but Richards was too much for him. “I was too loose the whole race,” Eckert said of his orange machine’s handling. “I thought I might have a chance when I caught (Richards) in lapped traffic, but he made some good moves to get around those cars and I got stuck behind them.”

The 34-year-old McCreadie – a crowd favorite thanks to his days in Canandaigua’s big-block Modified ranks – made the biggest move forward. But his charge stalled after he reached third place on lap 18. “My car just got too tight,” said McCreadie, who initially closed in on Eckert after taking third but steadily lost ground over the final third of a race that ran caution-free from lap 11 to the finish. “When you get tight here you can’t keep your momentum up when you run the top through the corners. “I’ve run this place enough that I should’ve known better than to tighten up (the car) before the feature, but what’s done is done.”

Lanigan, 38, continued his sterling run of consistency, quietly moving from the eighth starting spot to a fourth-place finish. He slipped underneath Frank rounding turns three and four on the last lap and beat the Pennsy star back to the finish line by a scant 0.039 of a second. It was the ninth consecutive top-five finish for Lanigan, whose streak has taken him from fifth place in the points standings (64 points out of first) to a 30-point lead.

Just three caution flags slowed the event.

Finishing in positions 6-10 were Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who ran in the top five for the first 17 laps; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., who rallied after falling to 11th when he clipped the inside wall in turn two on lap 11; defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.; 21-year-old Tony Knowles of Tyrone, Ga., who came from the 19th starting spot to register his first-ever WoO LMS top-10 finish; and Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., a former Canandaigua big-block Modified regular.

A 34-car field assembled for the event, which was run on a brilliantly clear early-summer evening.

Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who led the WoO LMS in Fast Time awards last season, earned his first quick-qualifier honor of 2008. He flashed around the sweeping fairground oval in 18.351 seconds.

Heat winners were Babb, Francis and Clint Smith, and Knowles captured the B-Main in his RSD Enterprises mount.

The program marked the dirt Late Model driving debut of Larry Wight, a 15-year-old DIRTcar Modified talent from Baldwinsville, N.Y. Wight, whose father John owns the dirt Late Models driven by Fuller and Decker, missed the cut for the A-Main.

The WoO LMS ‘Great Northern Tour’ continues on Wednesday night (June 25) with the Jack Rich Inc. ‘Coal Country 40’ at Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pa., before ending with the $40,000-to-win Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com on Friday and Saturday (June 27/28) at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.

Results of WoO Late Model Series at Canandaigua Speedway (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):

1. (1) Josh Richards/40 $7,150
2. (3) Rick Eckert/40 $3,600
3. (11) Tim McCreadie/40 $2,000
4. (8) Darrell Lanigan/40 $1,700
5. (2) Chub Frank/40 $1,500
6. (5) Clint Smith/40 $1,300
7. (9) Shane Clanton/40 $1,200
8. (6) Steve Francis/40 $1,100
9. (19) Tony Knowles/40 $1,500
10. (7) Tim Fuller/40 $900
11. (4) Shannon Babb/40 $850
12. (14) Billy Decker/40 $800
13. (12) Vic Coffey/39 $1,000
14. (18) Brent Rhebergen/39 $740
15. (16) John Blankenship/39 $710
16. (21) Greg Oakes/39 $680
17. (17) Danny Johnson/38 $650
18. (22) Rich Gardner/31 $630
19. (10) Ricky Elliott/23 $620
20. (15) Mike Marlar/20 $610
21. (23) Joe Isabell/3 $600
22. (20) Dan Stone/2 $600
23. (13) David Scott/1 $600
24. (24) Jeremy Miller/1 $600

Yellow Flags: 3 (Laps 0, 2, 11)
Lap Leaders: Richards (1-40)
Provisional Starters: Isabell, Miller
Rookie of the Race: Coffey ($250)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Knowles ($500)
Integra Shocks Crew Chief of the Race ($50): Jared Morris (Knowles)
Chick Hawk Racing Hot Lap Award (half-off tire warmers): Richards

---

McCreadie Returns To Limelight With Powerful ‘Six Nations 50’ Win At Ohsweken Speedway
Posted Friday, Jun 20, 2008 by: Kevin Kovak
Ohsweken, ONT

Welcome back, T-Mac.

Tim McCreadie reached Victory Lane in World of Outlaws Late Model Series competition for the first time in nearly two years on Friday night, powering to a convincing victory in the Arrow Express ‘Six Nations 50’ at Ohsweken Speedway. The 34-year-old from Watertown, N.Y., slid underneath Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., for the lead on lap 20 and never looked back. He sailed away from the pack to defeat Clanton by 4.901 seconds – a full straightaway margin – in the WoO LMS ‘Great Northern Tour’ event, which was postponed one day by rain.

How much did the $10,150 triumph mean to McCreadie? The 2006 tour champion showed his joy to the big crowd that gathered for the first-ever WoO LMS show in Ontario, performing a couple celebratory 360s in turn four with his Sweeteners Plus Rocket No. 39 and pounding his fists on the roof of his car as he exited it in Victory Lane. “I was fortunate enough to win a Lucas (Series) race earlier this year, but to beat these boys – man, they’re the best on the planet,” McCreadie said after his first WoO LMS win since Aug. 4, 2006, at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. “It’s so satisfying to come back in here and win an Outlaw race.”

McCreadie, who parlayed his ’06 WoO LMS title into a Richard Childress Racing Driver Development deal that included several NASCAR Nationwide Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series starts last season, has returned to the dirt Late Model wars in 2008 with his pavement aspirations in limbo. He feels he’s picking up some steam as he puts his focus back on dirt-track action. “We did some testing a week ago in Michigan,” said McCreadie, who won an unsanctioned special on June 12 at Merritt (Mich.) Speedway. “I had to put the pavement stuff in the past. If I never get back there again, that’s O.K. It’s damn nice to race in front of these people (dirt fans) like this.”

McCreadie had nothing but praise for Ohsweken Speedway, a three-eighths-mile oval owned by 360 Sprint Car racer Glenn Styres. “What an phenomenal facility,” raved McCreadie, who registered his 11th career WoO LMS win. “You can’t hold anybody back here. If you’re a little bit better, you just gotta work at it. “These are the types of tracks we live for, and we appreciate (promoter Styres) having us up here.”

McCreadie gave plenty of credit to his chief mechanic Al Stevens, who received the Integra Shocks ‘Wrench of the Race’ Award. He also cited help he received on Friday night from his former crew chief Tommy Grecco, who earlier in the week left his position as the chief mechanic of Shannon Babb’s Bowyer Dirt Motorsports car and has reunited with McCreadie for the ‘Great Northern Tour.’

Clanton, 32, started second and led laps 1-19 but was no match for McCreadie. He spent the race’s second half nearly a straighaway behind McCreadie, fighting hard to keep his RSD Enterprises Rocket car ahead of York, Pa.’s Rick Eckert and Watertown, N.Y.’s Tim Fuller to land a runner-up finish worth $5,100. Bidding to end a WoO LMS winless streak that has reached nearly two years and 71 races, Eckert made a strong surge forward from the 11th starting spot to sit third by lap 15. But while he got his Raye Vest-owned GRT car inside Clanton several times, he couldn’t complete the pass and settled for a third-place finish.

Fuller, who started eighth, raced with Clanton and Eckert late in the distance but crossed the finish line fourth in his Gypsum Express Rocket. It was the second consecutive top-five run for the 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year. Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., moved forward from the 13th starting spot to place fifth in his GottaRace.com Rocket. He ran his streak of consecutive top-five finishes to six races. Lanigan also grabbed sole possession of the WoO LMS points lead for the first time this season. He overtook defending champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who made several pit stops during the A-Main and finished one lap down in 14th place.

Finishing in positions 6-10 was Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; polesitter Ricky Elliott of Seaford, Del., who earned the $500 WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ cash for being the highest-finishing driver who hasn’t won a tour A-Main and isn’t ranked among the top-12 in the current points standings; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill.; Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va.; and 2008 Rookie of the Year contender Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., who recorded his first-ever top-10 finish in WoO LMS competition.

Five caution flags slowed the event, but all were for minor incidents.

A field of 40 cars re-assembled for Friday night’s action.

Four drivers who were on hand Thursday did not return for the raindate, led by Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa. He returned home to attend his daughter’s graduation party, but was planning to head north again for weekend WoO LMS events in Quebec and Ontario. Other drivers who weren’t back for Friday’s program were Brent Rhebergen of Clymer, N.Y., who suffered a blown engine during hot laps on Thursday; Mike Knight of Ripley, N.Y.; and Paul Rivait of Tilbury, Ont.

Friday night’s time trials were dominated by Clint Smith Racing – Smith registered his second fast time of 2008 with a lap of 16.094 seconds, and Neil Baggett of Shannon, Miss., drove Smith’s backup car to the second-fastest time of 16.181 seconds.

Heat winners were Smith, Elliott, Fuller and Clanton. The B-Mains were captured by Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., and Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa.

The Canadian swing of the WoO LMS ‘Great Northern Tour’ continues this weekend, visiting Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Que., on Saturday night (June 21) and Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway on Sunday night (June 22).

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

Results of WoO Late Model Series ‘Six Nations 50’ (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):

1. (4) Tim McCreadie/50 $10,150
2. (2) Shane Clanton/50 $5,100
3. (11) Rick Eckert/50 $3,000
4. (5) Tim Fuller/50 $2,500
5. (13) Darrell Lanigan/50 $2,000
6. (7) Clint Smith/50 $1,700
7. (1) Ricky Elliott/50 $1,900
8. (16) Shannon Babb/50 $1,300
9. (6) Josh Richards/50 $1,200
10. (3) Danny Johnson/50 $1,350
11. (12) John Blankenship/50 $1,050
12. (15) Chris Ross/50 $1,000
13. (18) Dan Stone/50 $950
14. (8) Steve Francis/49 $900
15. (17) Chub Frank/48 $850
16. (19) Adam Ferri/47 $800
17. (20) Tony Knowles/42 $770
18. (10) Ed Carley/31 $750
19. (22) Jeff Isabell Jr./22 $730
20. (9) Jeremy Miller/20 $700
21. (14) Neil Baggett/20 $700
22. (23) Sean Beardsley/19 $700
23. (24) Andrew Reaume/18 $700
24. (21) Chad Valone/13 $700

Time of Race: 30 Mins., 25.539 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 4.901 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 5 (Laps 14, 20, 20, 20, 33)
Lap Leaders: Clanton (1-19); McCreadie (20-50)
Provisional Starters: Beardsley, A. Reaume
Rookie of the Race: D. Johnson ($250)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Elliott ($500)
Integra Shocks Crew Chief of the Race ($50): Al Stevens (McCreadie)
Chick Hawk Racing Hot Lap Award: Clanton (half-off tire warmers)

---

Clint Smith Kicks off Great Northern World of Outlaws Tour with a Win!

Clint in Victory Lane after Port Royal Speedway win. Photo Courtesy of Ed "Lugnut" Funk - Port Royal Speedway Photographer

Port Royal, PA — By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director 6/17/08

Clint Smith brought his recent World of Outlaws Late Model Series struggles to a resounding end as the ‘Great Northern Tour’ opened on Tuesday night. With one of the most dominant performances on the tour this season, Smith cruised out front from flag-to-flag to record his first victory of 2008 in the 40-lap A-Main at Port Royal Speedway.

“The car was back good again,” a relieved Smith said after steering his J.P. Drilling/Cliburn Tank Lines GRT mount to a slump-busting triumph worth $7,150. “It was just idling around great. Tonight it wouldn’t do anything wrong.” Smith, 43, of Senoia, Ga., started from the pole position and led the entire distance, but seizing that top spot on the first lap was anything but easy. He was actually outgunned for the lead twice by fellow front-row starter Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., but a caution and a red flag on the opening circuit negated Frank’s passes and allowed Smith to assume command for good when the third attempt to start the race was successful.

No one was able to seriously challenge Smith, who built a full-straightaway victory margin over the Reliable Painting/Valvoline Rocket driven by defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky. Frank settled for a distant third-place finish in his Lester Buildings Rocket. Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., improved two positions to finish fourth in the Gypsum Express Rocket – just his second top-five finish of the season – and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., started and finished fifth in the GottaRace.com Rocket to run his WoO LMS consecutive top-five streak to five races.

Smith credited his Hoosier tire selection with propelling him to his 11th career WoO LMS triumph. “I was on the right rubber,” said Smith, whose last WoO LMS win was on Sept. 15, 2007, at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. “Chub beat me the first couple (attempted) starts because he was softer on rubber, so I wasn’t panicking. I figured my car was plenty good and we were gonna pass him back if the race stayed green. “On that third start, I finally got some heat in the tires. I didn’t spin the tires when I got to the flagman, so I stayed alongside Chub into the corner and I pulled him off (turn) two.”

Smith simply perched his car on the strip of rubber that formed along the inside of the half-mile oval and pulled away from the field. “We’re usually good in this type of (surface) condition,” said Smith, who finished fifth in last year’s WoO LMS inaugural at Port Royal Speedway. “I could run as fast as I wanted to ride. I just ran three-quarter throttle most of the time. I wasn’t hardly using the brakes in the corner, I was just rolling right through there. “I just had to watch that lapped traffic, which was treacherous.”

Indeed, Smith’s scariest moment came on lap 35 as he was lapping WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y. Contact between the two cars on the backstretch peeled up the left-front corner of Smith’s hood. “The ‘Doctor’ (Johnson) was just hugging the bottom so I went to the outside, and then he went straight to the wall,” recalled Smith. “I slammed the brakes on and he hit me. It almost got ugly for both of us, but I know he didn’t hit me intentionally. The World of Outlaws don’t use the move-the flag, so he didn’t know I was there.”

The victory moved Smith to seventh in the WoO LMS points standings. He overtook Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., who salvaged a 10th-place finish despite using a provisional to start the A-Main (he was knocked from the lead in his heat by a broken stud-bolt on his car’s water pump) and pitting on the opening lap of the feature to change a right-front tie-rod that was bent in a scrape with Jere Wierman of Stewartstown, Pa. “We needed to get a win,” said Smith, whose only previous victory this season came in a UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned event on Feb. 15 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. “We’ve been struggling a little bit, so I know I need a good road trip if I have any hope of getting back in the points race. This is a good start I guess.”

Francis, 40, grabbed sole possession of the WoO LMS points lead with his runner-up finish. He entered the night tied for the top spot with Lanigan. “We had a good car, but it wasn’t as good as Cat’s car (Smith),” said Francis, who surged forward from the fourth starting spot to take second from Frank on lap two. “We were just a little bit off and finished second.” Frank, 46, wondered what might have been if his intial-start passes of Smith hadn’t been erased, but he still wasn’t satisfied with his car’s performance. “Maybe if I got ahead of him I could’ve gotten into a rhythm and held him off,” said Frank. “But for some reason I couldn’t steer my car for like eight or 10 laps, so it probably would’ve been tough to stay up there.”

A total of three caution flags and one red flag slowed the A-Main. Clanton brought out the first caution when he stopped on the opening lap. Subsequent cautions flew on lap four for Rick Eckert of York, Pa., who slowed and then pitted for quick service, and on lap 25 for Kirk Ryan of Lewisberry, Pa., whose strong run ended with mechanical trouble as he ran in sixth. The red flag was needed for a multi-car tangle between turns one and two on the race’s second attempted start. Lanigan and Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., got together near the front of the field, setting off a scramble that involved Eckert, among others, and left the car of Selinsgrove, Pa.’s Jim Yoder balanced on the side of the Sweeteners Plus machine driven by WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y.

Both Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., and Jeremy Miller of Gettysburg, Pa., lost potential top-10 finishes to flat tires. Richards was running sixth when his car’s deflated right-rear tire forced him to pit during the lap-25 caution period (he rallied to finish 13th), while Miller tumbled from seventh to 15th in the finish because his car’s bald right-rear tire went flat on the final circuit.

Finishing in positions 6-10 were Babb; John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va.; Matt Parks of Three Springs, Pa., who earned the $500 WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ cash for being the highest-finishing driver who hasn’t won a tour A-Main and isn’t ranked among the top 12 in the current points standings; Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio; and Clanton.

A field of 55 dirt Late Models was signed in for the event. Richards recorded his third fast-time of the season, lapping the track in 20.052 seconds. He received a $100 bonus from B&B Mulch. Heat winners were Richards, Clint Smith, Fuller and Lanigan. The B-Mains were captured by Jeff Smith of Blain, Pa., and Jason Covert of York Haven, Pa., who was towed off the track with a broken spindle during a caution period on the opening lap of the A-Main.

The WoO LMS ‘Great Northern Tour’ heads for the border on Thursday (June 19) to begin a three-race Canadian swing at Ohsweken (Ont.) Speedway. Additional international events are scheduled for Sat., June 21, at Quebec’s Autodrome Drummond and Sun., June 22, at Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway. For more information 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. (1) Clint Smith/40 $7,150
2. (4) Steve Francis/40 $3,600
3. (2) Chub Frank/40 $2,000
4. (6) Tim Fuller/40 $1,700
5. (5) Darrell Lanigan/40 $1,500
6. (7) Shannon Babb/40 $1,300
7. (12) John Blankenship/40 $1,200
8. (15) Matt Parks/40 $1,600
9. (9) Donnie Moran/40 $1,000
10. (23) Shane Clanton/40 $900
11. (11) Rick Eckert/40 $850
12. (17) Jeff Smith/40 $800
13. (8) Josh Richards/40 $750
14. (13) Scott Haus/40 $740
15. (10) Jeremy Miller/39 $710
16. (19) Tim Fedder/39 $680
17. (25) Eric Zembower/38 $650
18. (24) Danny Johnson/35 $630
19. (3) Kirk Ryan/25 $620
20. (22) Alan Sagi/25 $610
21. (21) Jere Wierman/6 $600
22. (14) Vic Coffey/1 $600
23. (16) Jim Yoder/0 $600
24. (20) Waylon Wagner/0 $600
25. (18) Jason Covert/0 $600

---

Clint & Jeff discuss the handling of the car after hot lap session. 6/4/08 clint for more photos

THE PRELUDE TO THE DREAM
Portions of this article are from www.dirtondirt.com editor Todd Turner

Jeff Gordon glad to rejoin team
After a third-place finish at last year's Prelude in a Clint Smith-owned car, four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon is glad to be hooked up again with the Senoia, Ga.-based team that usually follows the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.

"Clint, they've been amazing, the hard work that they put into putting a quality race car out there on the track for me," said Gordon, who's driving a GRT Race Car that Arkansas driver Jeff Floyd shook down Memorial Day weekend in West Plains, Mo. "None of us really knew what to expect last year, and I think with us running as well as we did, I think they've even tried to step it up to another notch. I think their competitive juices got flowing as well.

"They're such a great group of guys that did such an amazing job last year. I'm really looking forward to working with them again this year."

Gordon, who has special sponsorship from EA Sports and it's debut of the game NASCAR 09, knows track conditions won't be as try last year after rains preceding the event. "If we can adapt to the wetter racetrack and tune on the car like we did last year, I think we've got a good shot at it."

Odds and ends
Heavy overnight rains and showers that didn't end until 11 a.m. threatened the event, but skies cleared somewhat in the afternoon. Overcast skies appeared ominous in the west but radar showed storms might skirt south of the track. ... Traffic was heavy heading to the track Wednesday as everyone headed for Eldora, which is just a few miles north of the tiny hamlet of Rossburg. With cars lining up highways more than a mile south of the track, Kyle Busch realized the fourth annual event is getting bigger under track owner Tony Stewart's watch. Bigger grandstands might be necessary, Busch said, and "he might have to build some more roads in there, too." ... Scott Bloomquist and Gerald Newton of Arizona Sport Shirts were doing a last-minute decaling job of Robby Gordon's Bloomquist-owned machine. ... Ken Schrader is still looking for his first Late Model victory at Eldora. He's won at the track in midgets, Silver Crown cars and modifieds.