Lanigan Claims First World of Outlaws Late Model Series Victory Of 2008 With Flawless ‘First State 50’ Effort At Delaware International Speedway
Contact: World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com

DELMAR, DE – May 29, 2008 – Darrell Lanigan has taken a liking to Delaware International Speedway.

The Union, Ky., standout scored his second win in four career World of Outlaws Late Model Series starts at the half-mile oval on Thursday night, rolling to a flag-to-flag victory in the caution-free ‘First State 50’ that moved him into a tie for the tour’s points lead. “I’d say this is a place I like,” Lanigan quipped after holding off Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., to record his first WoO LMS triumph of the season. “We like big tracks like this – and we do run good here.”

Lanigan, who turns 38 on June 3, surged forward from his starting spot on the outside of the front row when the race began to immediately grab the lead from polesitter Ricky Elliott of Seaford, Del. He proceeded to steer his gottarace.com Rocket car flawlessly around promoter Charlie Cathell’s well-manicured track, capturing the tour’s first non-stop A-Main of 2008 in a blistering time of 17 minutes, 39.962 seconds.

Babb, 34, made several runs at Lanigan during the final circuits, but he settled for a second-place finish in his Traeger Grills Rocket car. He raced with his car owner, NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer, looking on from the pit area after riding down from nearby Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

Defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who started sixth, finished third in Dale Beitler’s Reliable Painting Rocket. Elliott’s bid to give his legion of local fans a Victory Lane celebration fell short with a fourth-place finish in the Seaside Builders Rocket, and 2006 WoO LMS champ Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., was fifth after starting third in the Sweeteners Plus Rocket.

Lanigan’s triumph, worth $10,150, continued his recent hot streak on the WoO LMS. He’s registered four consecutive top-five finishes and now is atop the points standings for the first time in his five years as a tour regular, albeit tied with Francis. “We changed cars about four, five weeks ago – we brought out a new car – and it really picked up our program,” said Lanigan, who failed to crack the top-five in the season’s first eight events but did score six top-10 finishes during the stretch. “This car has just turned everything around for us.”

Lanigan certainly had his Cornett-powered No. 29 humming from start-to-finish at DIS. He built an edge of as much as a half-straightaway midway through the A-Main before Babb closed in late to finish just 0.377 of a second behind. Babb, who started fifth and finally reached second place with a lap-33 pass of Elliott, nosed underneath Lanigan through turns one and two on lap 46, but he couldn’t complete the pass.

“I got right up beside him one time, but he had the momentum off the top,” said Babb, who recorded his second runner-up finish of the WoO LMS campaign. “It was a good, fun race, especially in that lapped traffic. “There were a couple times that I thought the door was open to make a move under a lapped car, and then it closed and I was like, ‘Crap!’”

Lanigan was hampered by the slower traffic, but didn’t experience any close calls. “That lapped traffic got a little hairy at the end, but we got through it so it worked out,” said Lanigan. “I seen a black car (Babb) there inside me at the end, but I wasn’t sure who was there. I knew I had just passed (John) Blankenship (to put him a lap down), so I thought it might have been him coming back under me.” Lanigan earned his ninth career win on the WoO LMS. It was his first victory since June 20, 2007, at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway – and his third in a race that ran caution-free. “I just get into a rhythm out there,” Lanigan said when asked about his knack for winning non-stop events. “As a driver you don’t like to break your rhythm, and you don’t have to when the race goes non-stop. “If you’re out front leading, I prefer it to go non-stop.”

Francis, 40, drew close to Lanigan and Babb after grabbing third from Elliott on lap 35 but lost ground to them over the final 10 laps. He had Elliott on his rear bumper at the checkered flag. “I got up close to them but then just got to over-driving a little bit,” said Francis. “We were pretty good, but just not as good as those two guys ahead of us. We were just too free the whole race.”

Elliott, 42, missed slightly on his tire combination and it cost him a shot at a coveted WoO LMS win. “I’m not sure we were too hard on tires as much as we should’ve worked them over a little bit more,” said Elliott, who joined Francis in running American Racer tires. “I think we should’ve siped and grooved them more so they would’ve fired better. “I came back on them guys at the end, but it was too late.”

Finishing in positions 6-10 were Rick Eckert of York, Pa., who picked up three spots over the final 20 laps in his Rayburn car; Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who went too soft with his tire choice; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., who was the race’s top rookie contender; and last year’s DIS winner Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.

Thirty-nine cars were entered in the event, including NASCAR Sprint Cup standout Dave Blaney. The former Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion, who drove WoO LMS regular Tim Fuller’s second car, timed 10th-fastest in qualifying and finished 25th after dropping out of the A-Main.

Heat winners were Babb, Richards, Lanigan and Francis. John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., and Donald Lingo Jr. of Millsboro, Del., captured the B-Mains.

The WoO LMS continues its East Coast doubleheader on Saturday night (May 31) with the ‘Conococheague 50’ at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Results of WoO Late Model Series ‘First State 50’ (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (2) Darrell Lanigan/50 $10,150
2. (5) Shannon Babb/50 $5,100
3. (6) Steve Francis/50 $3,000
4. (1) Ricky Elliott/50 $3,000
5. (3) Tim McCreadie/50 $2,000
6. (10) Rick Eckert/50 $1,700
7. (8) Josh Richards/50 $1,400
8. (12) Shane Clanton/50 $1,300
9. (4) Vic Coffey/50 $1,450
10. (7) Chub Frank/50 $1,100
11. (9) Tim Fuller/50 $1,050
12. (14) Clint Smith/50 $1,000
13. (16) Jason Covert/49 $950
14. (11) Jeremy Miller/49 $900
15. (13) Jamie Lathroum/49 $850
16. (18) John Blankenship/49 $800
17. (17) Donald Lingo Jr./49 $770
18. (19) Darryl Hills/49 $750
19. (20) Scott Cross/49 $730
20. (22) Mark Pettyjohn/49 $700
21. (23) Danny Johnson/49 $700
22. (24) Joe Isabell/48 $700
23. (21) David Pettyjohn/15 $700
24. (15) David Hill/11 $700
25. (25) Dave Blaney/2 $700

Time of Race: 17 Mins., 39.962 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.377 Secs.
Yellow Flags: None
Lap Leaders: Lanigan (1-50)
Provisional Starters: D. Johnson, Isabell (WoO); Blaney (track)
Rookie of the Race: Vic Coffey ($250)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Ricky Elliott ($500)
Integra Shocks Crew Chief of the Race ($50): Chris Burton (Lanigan)
Chick Hawk Racing Hot Lap Award: Lanigan (half-off tire warmers)

Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 18.888
2. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 18.956
3. 11J-Richard Jarvis Jr./Ocean City, MD 19.144
4. 25-Shane Clanton/Locust Grove, GA 19.150
5. 18-Shannon Babb/Moweaqua, IL 19.154
6. 32c-Vic Coffey/Leicester, NY 19.203
7. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 19.257
8. 19-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 19.258
9. 45-Ricky Elliott/Seaford, DE 19.365
10. 19b-Dave Blaney/Hartford, OH 19.371
11. 24M-Jeremy Miller/Gettysburg, PA 19.422
12. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 19.478
13. 55L-Donald Lingo Jr./Millsboro, DE 19.531
14. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 19.542
15. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 19.557
16. 49-Mark Pettyjohn/Milton, DE 19.601
17. 6-Jamie Lathroum/Mechanicsville, MD 19.608
18. 4-Rick Whaley/Millsboro, DE 19.629
19. 6J-Joe Isabell/Pennellville, NY 19.645
20. 43A-Jason Covert/York Haven, PA 19.708
21. 12K-Jon Callaway/Harrington, DE 19.733
22. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 19.759
23. 55-Roland Mann/Chaptico, MD 19.827
24. 23-John Blankenship/Williamson, WV 19.850
25. KB-Kerry King/Delmar, DE 19.882
26. 7H-Darryl Hills/Great Mills, MD 19.883
27. 119-Rob Ormsbee/Wall, NJ 19.899
28. 12-Kevin Scott Jr./Laurel, DE 19.967
29. 80-David Pettyjohn/Millsboro, DE 20.013
30. 46-Mike Wharton/Bridgeville, DE 20.054
31. 07-Scott Cross/Odenton, MD 20.054
32. 20-Staci Warrington/Milton, DE 20.115
33. 118-Rob Schirmer/Milton, DE 20.165
34. 84-Ray Davis Jr./Millsboro, DE 20.388
35. 8-Norman Short Jr./Georgetown, DE 20.488
36. 27J-Danny Johnson/Phelps, NY 20.489
37. 18s-Sean Beardsley/Central Square, NY 20.656
38. 38-Bob Geiger/Laurel, DE 20.960
39. 75-David Hill/Trappe, MD 22.428

Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Babb, Elliott, Fuller, Lathroum, Callaway, Lingo, D. Pettyjohn, Schirmer, Beardsley, King
Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Richards, Coffey, Eckert, C. Smith, Hills, Davis, Blaney, Wharton, Geiger, Whaley
Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Lanigan, McCreadie, J. Miller, Hill, Cross, Mann, Isabell, Ormsbee, Short (DNS) Jarvis
Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Francis, Frank, Clanton, Covert, Blankenship, D. Johnson, M. Pettyjohn, Scott, Warrington

B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Lingo, Hills, D. Pettyjohn, Davis, Schirmer, Wharton, Callaway, Beardsley, Geiger (DNS) Blaney, King, Whaley
B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Blankenship, Cross, M. Pettyjohn, D. Johnson, Mann, Scott, Ormsbee, Isabell, Warrington, Short (DNS) Jarvis

LISTEN ONLINE: If fans can’t get to a track to see the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, they can experience the excitement of the nation’s premier tour live on DIRTvision.com through the DIRT Radio Network.

To listen to the free audio broadcasts, log on to www.dirtvision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo. Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. For technical support or questions, e-mail customerservice@dirtvision.com. The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by several sponsors and partners, including Advance Auto Parts – the official auto parts store of the WoO LMS – and contingency sponsors Wrisco Industries, Chicken Hawk Racing, Crane Cams, Ohlins Shocks, Quarter-Master, Eibach Springs, Integra Shocks, Jake’s Custom Golf Carts and Qwikliner.

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Payne runs away for MLRA win at Lakeside
Lakeside Speedway
By Todd Turner - DirtonDirt.com chief writer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (May 7) — Polesitter Jeremy Payne knew he had a fast enough car to win the O'Reilly Midwest LateModel Racing Association event at Lakeside Speedway. What the Springfield, Mo., racer wasn't certain about was whether he had a cool enough engine to finish the 40-lapper. "I was a little bit worried when it was already to 230 (degrees) on the first yellow, then I was just trying to keep it cool under yellow," said Payne, who ended up leading all the way to earn $3,000. "At the end, I was getting signals that I had a pretty good lead, so I was trying to take it easy, because it was climbing up there pretty good at the end. It was running 250, so that's never very good on a motor."

At what temperature would the Arizona transplant, who drives for Terry Phillips Motorsports, have pulled out of the race? "As a racer, it's almost never. To make your car owner happy, it's about 260, 270 there and you pull in because you're going to start causing a problem. I think everybody ran hot. It was just the track. It was so fast, motors never had time to cool off." Payne's victory lane celebration was delayed because he made a quick trip to the pits for water to cool the engine, but he returned to pick up his trophy for his second victory of the year with MLRA, where he leads the series points.

Fellow front-row starter Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., hung with Payne through the early stages of the race, once nearly pulling alongside when Payne got too high exiting turn four on the 17th lap. But Payne began pulling away with 10 laps remaining as he built a cushion of five lapped cars by lap 33 and took the checkered flag a straightaway ahead of Smith in lapping all but six starters in the 25-car field. Smith's engine got hot, too, but he blamed a poor start for hampering his chances. "I hit the (frontstretch) fence on the start after I forgot to turn my three-wheel brake switch on, and I let him get me on the start. I was going to drive around him in the corner down there, and that was the difference." Later in the race, "I got a run on him, but I got hot and had to back off of it," Smith said. "I got into traffic and started dicing and I said, 'To hell with it.' I wanted to at least finish second."

Phillips, also of Springfield, finished third while fourth-finishing Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kan., was a half-track behind the leader. Clint Bowyer, the NASCAR star and former modified champion at Lakeside, finished fifth after regaining the spot from Alan Vaughn in the race's late stages. Bowyer's teammate, two-time Dirt Track World Champion Shannon Babb, started seventh but never made much progress before pulling off on the 11th lap. The race was slowed by three cautions, none for serious incidents. Tommy Elston ended up in the infield on the first lap to drawn the first caution, Mark Voigt slowed with damage on the ninth lap and Bryant Goldsmith's smoking car came to a stop at the turn-four entrance on lap 12.

Payne, also an ace in modified racing, notched his first victory in Kansas City in either division. "I was real confident in my car from the start. It was unbelievable," Payne said. "You hardly ever get a car that drives that well."

O'Reilly MLRA @ Lakeside: (1) Jeremy Payne, (2) Clint Smith, (3) Terry Phillips, (4) Al Purkey, (5) Clint Bowyer, (6) John Anderson, (7) David Turner, (8) Tim Karrick, (9) Chad Frewaldt, (10) Joe Kosiski, (11) Mike Ryun, (12) Larry Clawson Jr., (13) Bill Koons, (14) Alan Vaughn, (15) Jerry Warner, (16) Rusty Dukes, (17) Denny Woodworth, (18) Bill LaFollette, (19) Bryant Goldsmith, (20) Shannon Babb, (21) Brantlee Gotschall, (22) Mark Voigt, (23) Brett LaFollette, (24) Sonny Findling, (25) Tommy Elston. Scratched: Larry Clawson.

Preliminaries
Jeremy Payne of Springfield, Mo., earned the pole position for the midweek O'Reilly Midwest LateModel Racing Association feature at Lakeside Speedway on a night when former track champion Clint Bowyer was in action. The $3,000-to-win feature for the 25 drivers on hand is coming up later Wednesday night. Payne was a heat race winner at the half-mile track along with Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kan., and Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.

Bowyer, winner of last weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Richmond, Va. and a two-time modified champion at Lakeside, finished second to Purkey in the first heat. Bowyer is pitting with his own dirt team and driver Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill.

In the first heat, Purkey started outside the front row and led every lap over Bowyer while Alan Vaughn finished third. In the second heat, the seventh-starting Payne took the lead from polesitter Chad Frewaldt on a lap-eight restart and led the rest of the way in outrunning Frewaldt and and Tim Karrick, a two-time Lakeside modified champion from Basehor, Kan., driving the backup car of Denny Woodworth of Quincy, Ill. In the final heat, Smith blew past the race-long leader Babb on the ninth lap and led the rest of they way to beat Babb and Terry Phillips, who was a distant third.

Notebook
Weather forecasts were for 70-80 percent chance of rain, but Wednesday's heavy rain showers were all south of the racetrack. A few lingering showers were on the radar and cloudy conditions surrounded the track. ... The Late Models were the only division in action at the track that doesn't run Late Models weekly. ... On a late restart in the first heat, Bryant Goldsmith got out of shape exiting turn four and had to give up his fourth spot to restart on the tail. ... On the first heat's final lap, Denny Woodworth slipped out of the groove and got into the turn-two wall, collecting Goldsmith. ... Larry Clawson Jr. spun twice to bring out cautions in the second heat. ... Retired driver Steve Kosiski was lending a hand in the pits for his older brother Joe's No. 53. ... Late Model rookie Mike Ryun of Pleasant Valley, Mo., a regular in the United Late Model Association weekly action for Limited Late Models, made his first MLRA appearance. ... Rusty Dukes, a former MLRA rookie of the year who hasn't raced in recent seasons, was entered in the T.J. Kuykendall-owned car driven last year by Jason Bodenhamer. ... Brantlee Gotschall and Larry Clawson Jr. got together in turn two in the second hot-lap session. ... All the 25 cars in attendance received two hot-lap sessions after the track was initially slimy.

Heat races
First heat: Al Purkey, Clint Bowyer, Alan Vaughn, David Turner, Mark Voigt, Bill Koons, Denny Woodworth, Bryant Goldsmith.

Second heat: Jeremy Payne, Chad Frewaldt, Tim Karrick, Sonny Findling, Jerry Warner, Brantlee Gotschall, Larry Clawson, Rusty Dukes, Larry Clawson Jr.

Third heat: Clint Smith, Shannon Babb, Terry Phillips, John Anderson, Tommy Elston, Joe Kosiski, Mike Ryun, Bill LaFollette, Brett LaFollette