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World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event Preview: Midwestern Doubleheader At Attica Raceway Park (May 16) and Lincoln Speedway (May 18) 

CONCORD, NC – May 14, 2008 – 

WHAT: 

* The World of Outlaws Late Model Series rolls across the Midwest this weekend for a pair of events – on Friday night (May 16) at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park and Sunday night (May 18) at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway. 

Attica’s first-ever WoO LMS show will be headlined by a 50-lap A-Main paying $10,000 to win. Virtually all of the tour’s regulars have never previously raced at the track, so the speedway will be an open book for the travelers. 

Lincoln, meanwhile, offers the ‘Land of Lincoln 40’ on Sunday night, with a $7,000 check earmarked for the winner. 

The Midwest swing was originally scheduled for three straight nights of racing, but Saturday’s program at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway was postponed indefinitely earlier in the week. A major reconstruction project to enlarge the track from a quarter-mile oval to a high-banked, three-eighths-mile layout is not yet totally completed, forcing the forcing the decision.  

WHEN: 

* At Attica Raceway Park on Friday, pit gates will open at 3:30 p.m., with grandstands gates unlocked at 5 p.m. and racing action heating up at 8 p.m. 

* Lincoln Speedway’s gates will open at 1 p.m. on Sunday, with hot laps at 6 p.m. and qualifying commencing at 6:30 p.m. 

WHERE: 

* Attica Raceway Park in a high-banked, one-third-mile oval located in central Illinois. It sits northeast of the intersection of SR 4 and US 224 at the Attica Fairgrounds. 

* The quarter-mile Lincoln Speedway is in central Illinois, about 30 miles northeast of Springfield, 35 miles southwest of Bloomington/Normal and 45 miles southeast of Peoria. 

TICKETS: 

* Adult general admission for Attica’s show – which also includes a full program for Attica’s regular 410 Sprint Car class, setting up a spectacular doubleheader – is $30 for adults, $15 for students 11-15 and free for kids 10 and under. Pit passes will cost $35. 

* Lincoln’s general admission is $25 for adults, $10 for kids ages 6-15 and free for children 5-and-under with a paying adult. The card will also include the UMP DIRTcar Modifieds and Sportsman plus a demonstration race of the new ‘Kid Modz’ division. 

INFORMATION: 

* Attica Raceway Park: visit www.atticaracewaypark.com or call the track office at 419-680-5606. 

* Lincoln Speedway: log on to www.lincolnspeedway.org or call 217-735-1833. 

PREVIOUS WoO LMS WINNERS: 

* This will be the inaugural WoO LMS visit to Attica. The tour was scheduled to race at the track on July 25, 2007, but rain washed out that event and it was not rescheduled. 

* Lincoln Speedway has hosted the WoO LMS once previously. Brian Shirley was victorious in the 40-lap event held on May 13, 2007. 

RIDE WITH YOUR FAVORITE OUTLAW:  

* Fans planning to attend Sunday’s show at Lincoln have a chance to enjoy a high-speed ride around the quarter-mile oval with their favorite WoO LMS driver. 

In a unique ‘Ride With An Outlaw’ promotion, fans can bid on a spin in the new Farmer City Raceway/Lincoln Speedway two-seat dirt Late Model. An on-line eBay auction lasting from 2 p.m. Pacific Time on Wed., May 14, to 2 p.m. Pacific Time on Sat., May 17, has been set up (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=220234924217) for fans to place bids on a ride in the two-seater machine at Lincoln. 

The highest bidder will be allowed to select the WoO LMS regular of their choice to take them for a ride around the track during the program. 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:  

* Brian Shirley, a 27-year-old WoO LMS regular who lives in nearby Chatham, Ill., enjoyed one of the most memorable moments of his career when he won last year’s tour event in front of his family and friends at Lincoln. 

Can the driver known as ‘Squirrel’ pull off a repeat? He’s hoping that a return visit to a track in his backyard – albeit an oval that he’s only raced on twice in his six-year dirt Late Model career – will help him turn around the frustration he’s experienced so far on the 2008 WoO LMS. 

* Shannon Babb is another central Illinois product who will have plenty of local support at Lincoln. His diehard fans will be anxious to get a close look at a driver who is red-hot driving NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer’s Traeger Grills/Chevy dirt Late Model, coming off his first WoO LMS win of the season on May 3 at Missouri’s Lebanon I-44 Speedway and an off-week triumph worth $40,000 in last Sunday’s Diamond Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. 

Babb, 34, of Moweaqua, Ill., won the 2005 UMP DIRTcar Summernationals event at Lincoln, but he finished 17th in last year’s WoO LMS A-Main after being forced into a spin on the backstretch while battling for a top-five spot. 

* Defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., and Rick Eckert of York, Pa.., enter the weekend tied for second in the points standings, 10 points behind leader Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark. They are also tied for second on the WoO LMS ‘modern-era’ win list (2004-present), at 15 triumphs, and have an opportunity this weekend to tie or pass Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., as the tour’s winningest driver since 2004. 

Neither driver has competed at Attica, but they authored similar performances in their first visits to Lincoln last year. Francis finished seventh and Eckert was 10th in the 40-lapper. 

Eckert, who is mired in a 66-race winless streak on the WoO LMS, would love to enjoy the same type of success on Sunday that he’s experienced at another Lincoln Speedway close to his Keystone State home. He started his racing career at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa. 

* The 50-year-old Moyer, who has four wins in nine WoO LMS events this season, finished fifth in last year’s tour event at Lincoln. 

* Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., took an immediate liking to Lincoln last year, timing third-fastest in qualifying and finishing a solid fourth in the A-Main. The tour’s winningest driver in 2007 is still looking for his first win this season – but of course, his initial triumph last year didn’t come until the 14th race on the schedule. 

* What a difference a year has made for Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. 

Lanigan, who finished eighth in last year’s WoO LMS event at Lincoln, enters the weekend ranked fourth in the WoO LMS points standings, just 24 points out of the lead. Last year he was ninth and already 130 points behind through nine events. 

* Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., will look to get back on track this weekend after tumbling from second to a tie for sixth in the points standings after the May 3-4 doubleheader in Missouri. He finished a quiet 11th in last year’s event at Lincoln. 

* Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who won all four of his 2007 WoO LMS A-Mains at tracks in the Midwest, will look for his first checkered of ’08 during another visit to the region. He finished ninth last year at Lincoln. 

* Lincoln’s 2007 WoO LMS was one to forget for tour stalwart Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga. He earned a transfer spot in the night’s fourth heat but had to scratch his car because of engine woes and start at the rear of the A-Main field in a backup; he finished 15th. 

* Coming off his first top-five finish of the 2008 tour on May 4 at Monett (Mo.) Speedway, 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., will arrive at Attica and Lincoln reenergized about his prospects. He finished 12th last year at Lincoln after timing fifth-fastest in qualifying. 

* John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., returns to Lincoln hoping to improve on his 22nd-place finish in last year’s event. 

* The tour’s three Rookie of the Year contenders – all New Yorkers who are products of the DIRTcar big-block Modified ranks – plan to enter both events this weekend. Vic Coffey leads the standings over Danny Johnson and Joe Isabell. 

* Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va., has plans to enter both events. The 2006 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year finished a then career-high third in last year’s A-Main at Lincoln. 

* Considering that the WoO LMS travelers don’t have notes about Attica to draw upon, two drivers to keep an eye on in Friday’s event are Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich., and Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio. 

VanWormer, who won his first career WoO LMS show last September at La Salle (Ill.) Speedway, was victorious twice at Attica in 2006 in Sunoco American Late Model Series events. Moran, meanwhile, was the winner the last time a regional series other than the ALMS visited Attica, capturing a Northern Xtreme DirtCar Series (formerly Renegade/STARS DIRTcar Series) race in 2004. 

* Top regional drivers expected to enter Attica’s program include defending Sunoco ALMS champion Brian Ruhlman of Clarklake, Mich.; 2007 ALMS Rookie of the Year Tyler Boggs of Warsaw, Ind.; Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich.; and Doug Drown of Wooster, Ohio. 

* The ‘Land of Lincoln 40’ on Sunday will attract some top-notch regional talent as well, led by defending UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model Summernationals and national champ Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill. Erb finished second in last year’s WoO LMS stop at Lincoln after leading the race’s first 20 laps. 

Other regional and local standouts expected include former UMP DIRTcar Summernationals champion Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind.; Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.; Terry Casey of New London, Wis.; defending Lincoln Speedway champion Matt Taylor of Springfield, Ill.; Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill., a recent feature winner at Lincoln; Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill.; Ryan Dauber of Tonica, Ill.; Kevin Weaver of Gibson City, Ill.; Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill.; and Tim Lance of Brimfield, Ill. 

EXTRA CASH:  

* The influx of regional and local standouts competing in the events will be chasing some WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks.’ 

The highest-finishing driver in each A-Main who is not ranked among the current top-12 in the WoO LMS point standings and has never won a WoO feature will receive the $500 ‘Bonus Bucks’ award. 

COMING UP: 

* The tour will have the Memorial Day Weekend off before heading east for a pair of races to close out the month of May – on Thurs., May 29, at Delaware International Speedway in Delmar, Del., and Sat., May 31, at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway. 

LISTEN OR WATCH ON THE INTERNET:  

* Fans who can’t make it to the track can listen to the action live thanks to the DIRT Radio Network. 

To listen to the free audio broadcasts of WoO LMS events, 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. Those who sign up for a free membership can enjoy advanced features while listening to the races, such as text chat and live scoring via AMB.it. 

WoO LMS INFO: 

* Log on to the WoO LMS website at www.worldofoutlaws.com. 

2008 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of May 4 - 9 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader): 

1. Billy Moyer 4-6-6-$70,420-1181 (-0)

2. (tie) Rick Eckert 0-3-7-$24,050-1171 (-10)

2. (tie) Steve Francis 1-5-7-$71,550-1171 (-10)

4. Darrell Lanigan 0-1-7-$16,950-1157 (-24)

5. Chub Frank 0-3-5-$19,180-1147 (-34)

6. (tie) Shannon Babb 1-4-6-$37,000-1143 (-38)

6. (tie) Josh Richards 1-4-6-$33,760-1143 (-38)

8. Clint Smith 0-3-3-$14,410-1107 (-74)

9. Shane Clanton 0-3-3-$16,430-1083 (-98)

10. Tim Fuller 0-1-2-$10,190-1053 (-128)

11. Brian Shirley 0-0-2-$9,080-1019 (-162)

12. John Blankenship 0-0-2-$12,160-1017 (-164)

13. Vic Coffey 0-0-1-$8,350-823 (-358)

14. (tie) Joe Isabell 0-0-0-$2,260-589 (-592)

14. (tie) Danny Johnson 0-0-0-$2,650-589 (-592)

Busy Promoter Don Hammer Continues Growth Of Lincoln Speedway With
Sunday Evening’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series ‘Land of Lincoln 40’ 

LINCOLN, IL – May 13, 2008 – The steady emergence of Lincoln Speedway on the dirt Late Model scene takes another big step this Sunday night (May 18). 

Promoter Don Hammer is bringing in the nationally-renowned World of Outlaws Late Model Series for a return engagement, continuing his quest to make the quarter-mile oval a solid part of the Midwest’s dirt Late Model landscape. 

Sunday’s ‘Land of Lincoln 40’ will mark the second straight year that the WoO LMS visits Lincoln Speedway, which drew a packed house for its inaugural tour event on May 13, 2007. The 40-lap A-Main will pay $7,000 to win from a purse of nearly $40,000. 

Regarded as more of a home to open-wheel and Limited Late Model racing in recent years, Hammer has made dirt Late Model competition the priority since taking over the track’s operation in June 2006. 

“Lincoln doesn’t have the notoriety for dirt Late Model racing like other tracks in central Illinois, but we’re trying to build it,” said Hammer, who added Lincoln (a Saturday-night track) to a personal promotional portfolio that he began with Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway (Friday nights) in 2005. “We have to get it in the minds of the racers and fans that Lincoln Speedway is first-and-foremost a Late Model track. 

“Having a World of Outlaws race gets the kind of attention we need for Lincoln. Everybody knows that when you bring these (traveling WoO) guys in to your track, you’re serious about dirt Late Model racing.” 

Hammer, 35, of Clinton, Ill., has proven to be a pretty serious racetrack promoter himself over the past four years. A dirt Late Model racer for a decade (he still competes periodically when his schedule permits), he decided to enter the promotional side of the sport in 2005, leaving his job overseeing his grandfather’s construction business to lease and operate the venerable Farmer City quarter-mile oval. One year later he took over Lincoln, doubling his workload but also giving himself an opportunity to do some cross-promotion between the two nearby central Illinois tracks. 

“It’s an experience,” Hammer said when asked about running a pair of racetracks. “Every day is different. I knew what it was like from the racer’s side, but I’ve learned a whole different side of it now.” 

There’s certainly no doubt that Hammer’s current occupation is a labor of love. His life revolves around racing – his family is right there alongside him at the tracks, with his wife Bonnie handling the behind-the-scenes operational duties and his two children, daughter Jordan, 14, and son Kyle, 8, lending their parents a helping hand.  

Kyle Hammer is also a budding racer, making his daddy proud with his success in Quarter-Midget racing and now behind the wheel of a ‘Kid Modz’ car, a new division created by dirt Late Model legend/car builder Bob Pierce in which youngsters drive UMP DIRTcar Modifieds equipped with four-cylinder engines. Kyle won his first ‘Kid Modz’ feature last weekend at Kentucky’s Soggy Bottom Raceway and will have an opportunity to race in front of Lincoln’s big WoO LMS crowd on Sunday night, thanks to a 15-lap race for the class that has been added to the special program. 

The ‘Kid Modz’ demonstration is just one added attraction Hammer has in store for fans on Sunday night. Another is the two-seater dirt Late Model that will offer a unique way for fans to experience Lincoln Speedway from inside a race car; Hammer is setting up an eBay internet auction that will last the remainder of the week in which fans can bid on rides with one of three WoO LMS drivers. 

Hammer’s main attraction on Sunday night, of course, is the ‘Land of Lincoln 40,’ which promises to feature arguably the most talented field of dirt Late Model drivers ever to assemble at Lincoln Speedway. 

Leading the WoO LMS contingent will be two tour regulars from central Illinois: 27-year-old Brian Shirley of Chatham, whose victory in last year’s WoO LMS event at Lincoln was his first-ever on the tour, and 34-year-old Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, who drives for NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer and scored his first WoO LMS win of 2008 just two weeks ago in Lebanon, Mo. 

The WoO LMS drivers’ roster also includes points leader Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., who won last month’s Illini 100 at Farmer City Raceway; defending champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.;  Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va.; Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; ’07 Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.; John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va.; and 2008 Rookie of the Year contenders Vic Coffey of Leiceister, N.Y., Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., and Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y. 

An strong array of regional and local drivers are expected to challenge the WoO LMS superstars, including Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich.; Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind.; Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.; Terry Casey of New London, Wis.; defending Lincoln Speedway champion Matt Taylor of Springfield, Ill.; Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill.; Ryan Dauber of Tonica, Ill.; Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill.; Kevin Weaver of Gibson City, Ill.; and Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill. 

Lincoln Speedway’s weekly competition is not sanctioned by UMP DIRTcar Racing, but the May 18 program has been designated a UMP DIRTcar special event. The WoO LMS card, which will run under UMP DIRTcar’s four-compound Hoosier tire rule, will offer UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model points, as will the companion Modified and Sportsman events. 

Gates will open at 1 p.m. on Sunday, with hot laps at 6 p.m. and qualifying commencing at 6:30 p.m. 

General admission is $25 for adults, $10 for kids ages 6-15 and free for children 5-and-under with a paying adult. 

Lincoln Speedway sits in an easily-accessible central Illinois location, about 30 miles northeast of Springfield, 35 miles southwest of Bloomington/Normal and 45 miles southeast of Peoria. 

For more information, visit www.lincolnspeedway.org or call 217-735-1833. 

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

World of Outlaws Late Model Series News & Notes: WoO Stars Babb & Clanton Enjoy Victory Lane Trips During Off Weekend; Get Well Wishes For Gulf Coast Standout Chris Wall

 

CONCORD, NC – May 12, 2008 –

 

SHINING BRIGHT: The Show-Me State has been very good to Shannon Babb in the month of May.

 

After scoring his first World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory of 2008 – and his initial triumph since becoming the driver of NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer’s dirt Late Model team – on May 3 at Missouri’s Lebanon I-44 Speedway, Babb added more Missouri money to his bank account with a win in Sunday night’s SuperClean Diamond Nationals 100 at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland.

 

With no WoO LMS events scheduled for the past weekend, Babb and his Traeger Grills/Chevy teammates spent the week following the May 3-4 WoO LMS doubleheader in Missouri preparing their equipment for the Diamond Nationals at the home of Bowyer’s parents in Emporia, Kans. They also made a side trip on Wednesday night (May 7) to compete in a special event at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kans., where Bowyer returned to his former hometrack to enjoy an evening of dirt Late Model racing. (Bowyer finished fifth and Babb settled for 20th at Lakeside.)

 

Babb, 34, of Moweaqua, Ill., dominated the Diamond Nationals, which was postponed to Sunday by heavy storms. He led the 100-lap distance from flag-to-flag and pocketed a cool $40,000 top prize.

 

“This is the kind of (result) we’ve been working hard for,” Babb said after his win, which came behind the wheel of the Rocket car he debuted the previous week at Lebanon I-44. “Clint’s been really pushing us hard, and we want to make him proud.”

 

The Diamond Nationals was the second big-money dirt Late Model event in a row that was won by a WoO LMS regular, following up a $50,000 victory by Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., in the WoO LMS-sanctioned Circle K Colossal 100 on April 19 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

 

Babb, who is tied for sixth in the current WoO LMS points standings, will try to continue his May success this weekend when the tour visits Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park on Friday night (May 16) and Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway on Sunday night (May 18). The Lincoln Speedway event, of course, will provide Babb a chance to race in front of his family, friends and fans from his native central Illinois.

 

DOUBLING UP: Rather than join the majority of his traveling WoO LMS brethren at the Diamond Nationals, Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., opted to head home after the tour’s Show-Me State swing and race in his native Southeast over the weekend.

 

The decision paid off for the 32-year-old standout – to the tune of $6,500, the combined cash he accumulated for winning an O’Reilly Southern All-Stars Series event on Friday night at North Alabama Speedway in Tuscumbia, Ala., and a weekly 25-lapper on Saturday night at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga.

 

Clanton’s richest victory came at North Alabama, where he passed David Breazeale of Four Corners, Miss., for the lead heading to the white flag to snare the win. He earned $5,000 for his first-ever score at NAS, which is scheduled to host a WoO LMS event on Sun., Oct. 12.

 

But Clanton’s most satisfying triumph might have been his success at Dixie, a three-eighths-mile oval located just an hour’s drive from his shop. The $1,500 first prize wasn’t head-turning, but he did enjoy a rare opportunity to race in front of his car owner Ronnie Dobbins.

 

“He doesn’t get to see us race too often because we’re on the road so much, so if there’s an opportunity for us to run close to home we try to take advantage of it,” Clanton said of Dobbins. “It nice that he could come watch us race – and getting a win for him made the night even better.”

 

DIAMOND CUTTERS: The top-three and five of the top-10 finishers in Sunday’s Diamond Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway were drivers ranked among the top-six in the current WoO LMS points standings.

 

Finishing behind Babb was WoO LMS points leader Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark. (second place); Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. (third after rallying from a lap-11 pit stop to change a flat left-rear tire); Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va. (seventh); and Rick Eckert of York, Pa. (10th).

 

Other WoO LMS followers in the Diamond Nationals field included Steve Francis, who quickly advanced from the 20th starting to sixth place before bringing out a lap-37 caution flag and finishing 12th; John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va. (finished 13th); and Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa. (21st).

 

WoO LMS regulars Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., and Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., failed to qualify for the 100-lap A-Main. Smith missed transferring by one spot and Shirley by five in the first B-Main.

 

MOD MEN: WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., made a very profitable return to the big-block Modified division in which he’s carved out his legend in the Northeast.

 

Driving a Modified for the same JIR Motorsports team that fields his dirt Late Model, the 48-year-old Johnson rolled to a $10,000 victory in Sunday’s Victoria 200 at Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, N.Y. His triumph came 24 hours after engine problems had sidelined him as he was bidding for the lead in a DIRTcar big-block Modified event at Fulton (N.Y.) Speedway.

 

Other WoO LMS travelers who competed in the Utica-Rome event were 2007 Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., who finished fourth in his John Lazore-backed Modified, and Johnson’s JIR Motorsports teammate and fellow Rookie of the Year contender Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y., who failed to qualify for the A-Main.

 

In addition, 2006 WoO LMS champion Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., entered the event in a Sweeteners Plus Modified, but he experienced problems in his heat race and failed to gain a transfer spot in a B-Main.

 

GET WELL SOON: World of Outlaws Late Model Series officials and teams send their best wishes to popular Gulf Coast dirt Late Model star Chris Wall of Holden, La., who was injured after flipping wildly during hot laps for Friday night’s Southern All-Stars event at North Alabama Speedway.

 

A 39-year-old standout known as the ‘Intimagator’ who has finished as high as second in a WoO LMS event, Wall suffered three fractured vertebra in his neck and a mild concussion in the accident. Doctors do not expect that surgery will be necessary, but they will require Wall to wear a neck brace for a minimum of six weeks – keeping the alligator farmer out of the cockpit of his familiar No. 71 for at least that long.

 

Words of cheer can reach Wall at 26192 Hwy 42, Holden, La., 70744, or through his website at www.intimagatorracing.net.

 

INFO: To learn more about the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Continued Track Reconstruction Work Forces Indefinite Postponement Of Saturday’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event At Lawrenceburg Speedway

 

LAWRENCEBURG, IN – May 12, 2008 – The World of Outlaws Late Model Series event scheduled for this Saturday night (May 17) at Lawrenceburg Speedway has been postponed indefinitely, track and series officials have announced.

 

The decision was made because a major off-season reconstruction project to enlarge the eastern Indiana track from a quarter-mile oval to a high-banked, three-eighths-mile layout is still in its final stages.

 

“We’re certainly disappointed that this Saturday night’s show had to be called off,” said WoO LMS director Tim Christman. “We saw last year when we raced on the quarter-mile for the first time that Lawrenceburg Speedway is one of the top short-track facilities in the country, so we were very excited to come back to an even bigger and better track.

 

“But we fully understand the situation. There’s still some work left to do to finish the job, and (Lawrenceburg promoter) Dave Rudisill and his staff don’t want to run a national event at a facility that isn’t 100 percent ready to go because that wouldn’t be fair to the teams or the fans.”

 

Virtually all of the physical reconstruction work on the speedway has been completed, including the redesign of the track; the erection of an outside wall and catch fence; and the addition of nearly 1,700 new bleacher seats in turn two. But just one-third of the new clay surface had been applied by the end of last week – and with a flurry of rain delaying the completion of the surfacing, a date for a planned open practice to work in the track prior to the grand re-opening could not be solidified.

 

The huge Lawrenceburg Speedway construction project began last November, shortly after the 2007 season ended. Financed to the tune of $3.5 million by the City of Lawrenceburg, the work promises to enhance the oval’s reputation as a dirt-track showplace.

 

Christman and Rudisill would like to reschedule the WoO LMS event at Lawrenceburg for later in the 2008 season, but an announcement will be made only if a suitable date can be found.

 

Rudisill is now looking toward Sat., May 24, for the first action on Lawrenceburg’s new configuration. An Open Wheel Night featuring a $2,500-to-win King of Indiana Sprints (KISS) feature plus events for the AMSA Mini-Sprints and the UMRA TQ Midgets has been scheduled for the Memorial Day Weekend date.

 

Lawrenceburg’s Saturday-night event was slated to be the middle stop of a three-race weekend in the Midwest for the WoO LMS. The tour will now contest two events – on Friday night (May 16) at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park and Sunday night (May 18) at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway.

 

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

World of Outlaws Late Model Series Stars Eager To Run Tour’s First-Ever Event At Attica Raceway Park This Friday Night (May 16)

 

ATTICA, OH – May 11, 2008 – Most of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series stars got their first glimpse of Attica Raceway Park last year.

 

But their first chance to race on the popular one-third-mile clay oval will come this Friday night (May 16) when the barnstorming national tour makes its inaugural visit to the Buckeye State facility for a 50-lap A-Main paying $10,000 to win.

 

Mother Nature prevented the first attempt by Attica’s management to run a WoO LMS event, washing out last July’s scheduled mid-week date. All of the Outlaws travelers were already parked at the track when the cancellation was made, though – and to a man they were disappointed to miss an opportunity to tackle a speedway they not only had heard so many good things about, but also appeared to be so inviting.

 

“The first time I ever saw the place was last year in the rain,” said defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who enters the Attica program tied for second in the trail points standings and still relishing a $50,000 victory in last month’s Circle K Colossal 100 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. “It looked like it could be a real racy track, so I’m looking forward to getting back there.”

 

Yes, Friday’s stop is one of the most eagerly anticipated shows on this year’s WoO LMS. Attica Raceway Park possesses a well-deserved reputation for producing action-packed competition, and the country’s best dirt Late Model drivers want to experience it for themselves.

 

Traditionally a home for open-wheel racing, the high-banked oval will continue to build the full-fender side of its program with the visit by the WoO LMS.

 

“We’re really excited about the World of Outlaws race,” said Rex LeJeune, the operations manager of Attica Raceway Park. “We’re working to bring up our weekly Late Model program and having the World of Outlaws come in here will really get the division some attention.”

 

Attica has hosted the UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned Sunoco American Late Model Series several times per season for the past decade and is back on the tour’s schedule again in 2008. The speedway has also sanctioned its weekly dirt Late Model competition under the UMP DIRTcar Racing banner for the first time this season, helping attract such young Midwestern talents as Tyler Boggs of Warsaw, Ind., and Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich., to early-season events.

 

Boggs and Schlenk are among the regional standouts expected to challenge the invading WoO LMS stars at Attica, which has not hosted a touring dirt Late Model series event other than the Sunoco ALMS since a 2004 Northern Xtreme DirtCar Series (formerly Renegade/STARS DIRTcar Series) show won by Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio.

 

The 40-year-old Francis leads the traveling WoO LMS contingent, which features a 2008 driver roster that is arguably the most talented ever to follow the tour. He’s in the early stages of a points battle for the $100,000 tour championship that has the makings of a thriller, with the top-seven drivers separated by a mere 38 points through nine events.

 

Three-time WoO LMS champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., sits atop the tour’s current points standings, with four victories already to his credit. Francis and Rick Eckert of York, Pa., will tow to Attica tied for second (10 points behind Moyer), followed by Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. (-24), Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa. (-34) and the dead-locked Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., and Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va. (both -38).

 

A bit further back in the standings are WoO LMS regulars Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., 2007 Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., and John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va.

 

Friday’s field is also expected to include 2008 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contenders Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., and Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y.

 

Joining Boggs and Schlenk on the list of regional standouts planning to enter Friday’s action are 2007 WoO LMS A-Main winner Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich., who captured two Sunoco ALMS features at Attica in 2006; defending Sunoco ALMS champion Brian Ruhlman of Clarklake, Mich.; and 2006 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va.

 

Friday night’s program will certainly be “a dirt-track race fans dream,” said LeJeune. That’s because Attica’s regular 410 Sprint Car division will run a complete show on the WoO LMS undercard.

 

Adult general admission for the rare WoO LMS/410 Sprint Car doubleheader is $30 for adults, $15 for students 11-15 and free for kids 10 and under. Pit passes will cost $35.

 

Pit gates will open on Fri., May 16, at 3:30 p.m., with grandstands gates unlocked at 5 p.m. and racing action heating up at 8 p.m.

 

The WoO LMS 50-lapper continues the ‘Month of Mayhem’ at Attica Raceway Park, which concludes on Fri., May 30, when the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series visits the track for the 40-lap Kistler Engines Classic.

 

For more information log onto www.atticaracewaypark.com or call the track office at 419-680-5606.

 

Additional info on the WoO LMS can be obtained by visiting www.worldofoutlaws.com.

World of Outlaws Late Model Series News & Notes: Babb/Bowyer Pairing Picking Up Steam; Points Race Tightens

 

CONCORD, NC – May 7, 2008 –

 

COMING TOGETHER: If last Saturday night’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at Missouri’s Lebanon I-44 Speedway revealed anything, it’s this:

 

Here comes Shannon Babb.

 

With his first WoO LMS victory of the 2008 season, Babb served notice that his deal driving for NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer’s new dirt Late Model team is coming together very nicely.

 

“I think we’re finally getting all our ducks in a row,” said Babb, who accepted Bowyer’s ride offer in late December and has been working alongside crewmen Tommy Grecco and Jay Hunt to essentially build a big-time dirt Late Model operation from scratch. “It’s been a lot of hard work in a short amount of time, but we’re getting everything close, real close, to being in line. That’s what makes a real successful team.”

 

Babb, 34, of Moweaqua, Ill., and his mechanics pulled through the Lebanon I-44 pit gate riding in Bowyer’s brand-spanking-new hauler and trailer for the first time – they had been using a rig borrowed from J&J Steel’s Johnny Johnson while Bowyer’s was being built – and unloaded a new Traiger Grills Rocket car that had literally been finished the previous night.

 

Making just his fourth career start behind the wheel of a Rocket Chassis machine, Babb authored a flawless performance to reach Victory Lane.

 

“We had a whole new piece that I had a lot of confidence in,” said Babb. “I can’t tell (Rocket’s Mark and Josh Richards) thanks enough for all their help tonight. They’re trying to help me get running better, and they gave us all their setups and everything else you can imagine. We listened to them and the car just drove like a dream.”

 

After adding a seventh-place finish on Sunday night at Monett (Mo.) Speedway – he closed strong by picking up four spots over the final 13 circuits of the 40-lap A-Main – Babb ended the doubleheader tied for sixth in the points standings with Josh Richards.

 

UNDER A BLANKET: Thanks to the flat tire that forced WoO LMS points leader Billy Moyer to the pit area late in Sunday night’s A-Main at Monett, the tour’s points standings tightened considerably.

 

Through nine events on a 2008 schedule that currently boasts 47 dates, seven drivers are separated by a mere 38 points. Moyer leads the standings by 10 points over defending champion Steve Francis and Rick Eckert, followed by Darrell Lanigan (-24), Chub Frank (-34) and the deadlocked Babb and Richards (-38).

 

TOUGH WEEKEND: The 20-year-old Richards tumbled from second to a tie for sixth in the points standings after two frustrating evenings in the Show-Me State.

 

Saturday night at Lebanon I-44 was especially rough for Richards. He slapped the homestretch wall hard early in his heat race, forcing him to limp into the pit area with a heavily damaged car that his crew worked to repair right until the start of the A-Main’s pace laps.

 

Richards’s appearance on the starting grid was delayed because his team discovered a problem with the car’s driveshaft as they were finishing repair work, prompting the hasty installation of a new one. He managed to salvage a 13th-place finish in the 40-lap A-Main despite racing with his car’s tow-in bent about four inches.

 

‘Kid Rocket’ appeared primed to get back on track at Monett after setting fast time and winning a heat, but he fell to fifth early in the event with a setup that was slightly off and later suffered a flat right-rear tire with just five laps remaining. He finished a dismal 20th.

 

Notably, Richards’s use of a provisional at Lebanon I-44 marked the first time he had failed to qualify for a WoO LMS event through a heat or B-Main since April 16, 2006, at Virginia Motor Speedway.

 

NO-NAME CAR: Brian Birkhofer’s flag-to-flag win at Monett brought him a double-dose of satisfaction.

 

For starters, Birky got himself back in Victory Lane on the WoO LMS after a year’s absence. He was one of seven drivers who won at least one WoO LMS A-Main in each of the tour’s first three ‘modern-era’ seasons (2004-2006), but he failed to hit paydirt in 17 feature starts in 2007.

 

The Muscatine, Iowa, star also felt the personal accomplishment of winning for the first time with a car that he designed with fellow racer Jimmy Mars and Mars’s brother Chris.

 

“Jimmy and I have been talking the last few years that we wanted to build cars,” said Birkhofer. “At the end of last year Chris said, ‘You go half with me and Jimmy on the tubing bender and we’ll do it.’ I had a pretty decent year money-wise, so I invested with them guys and Bailey Industrial helped us out on the equipment.

 

“We’ve been working our tail off on it. Chris, Jimmy, myself – we put a lot of hours in over the winter to build these cars.

 

“I kinda want to concentrate on this (racing) a few more years,” added Birkhofer, 36. “But I don’t really want to travel up-and-down the road anymore when I’m 45, so I’d like to maybe get my kid behind the wheel and build race cars.

 

“We don’t want to be a big player in the chassis business. We just want to have something that we’re proud of and we can sell.”

 

Eventually, the Birkhofer/Mars machines will even have an official name.

 

“Right now we call it the ‘Three Fs’ – but I can’t tell you what that means,” quipped Birkhofer. “We haven’t figured out a name yet. We just want to work on ‘em and get ‘em better.

 

“We’ll be sitting around b.s.’ing one night and it’ll come to us, but right now it’s just another race car.

 

DISAPPOINTING OUTINGS: Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo., entered the weekend hoping to make WoO LMS history.

 

With a victory at one of the tracks in his backyard, he would have joined his legendary late father Larry Phillips to become the first father-and-son tandem to win WoO LMS events in the six-plus seasons (1988-89, 2004-present) of the tour’s existence. Larry won the first-ever WoO LMS event of the tour’s first incarnation, on April 22, 1988, at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa.

 

But the 41-year-old Phillips struggled in both events. He finished 19th at Lebanon I-44 after retiring early because he car wasn’t handling well on a track surface that kept more bite in it than he had anticipated, and he placed 21st after another early drop-out at Monett.

 

MAGIC BUMP: Can contact from another car make a driver’s machine suddenly go faster?

 

It did in the case of Chub Frank, who credited his late-race surge at Monett to a hit he absorbed in his Rocket car’s left-rear corner from Vic Coffey. After surviving the contact that left Coffey spun out in turn one on lap 27, Frank burst forward from the 13th spot to finish fifth.

 

“I actually don’t know what happened,” said Frank. “I was just wallowing around out there, and then Vic Coffey got into my left-rear and something happened.

 

“I guess the hit bent something and freed the car. We gotta look at it and see what it was, but I know that the car really felt good at the end of the race.”

 

STILL STRUGGLING: WoO LMS regular Brian Shirley’s miserable early-season luck continued at Lebanon I-44.

 

Holding high hopes for the Saturday event after finishing second in last year’s WoO LMS show there, the Chatham, Ill., was running fifth on lap 12 of the A-Main when he slowed with a flat right-rear tire. It was the fourth flat tire of the night for the snakebit Shirley, who also returned to the pits with deflating shoes after hot laps, time trials and his heat race.

 

Shirley was even more frustrated with his performance on Sunday at Monett. He was second-fastest in time trials and started third in the A-Main, but he fell backward when the initial green flag flew and managed just a 15th-place finish in his Petroff Towing mount.

 

ETCETERA…

 

* Clint Smith wasn’t happy about finishing fifth at Lebanon I-44 after leaving his car “too loose” for the A-Main, but he took some solace in his sterling qualifying effort earlier in the night.

 

“I’m pretty proud about setting a new track record,” said Smith. “I’m not known for my qualifying, so I only have a few of them.”

 

* Last year Darrell Lanigan scored his first top-five finish in the 18th WoO LMS A-Main of the season.

 

The Union, Ky., driver won’t have to wait that long again in ’08 after breaking into the top five for the first time on Sunday at Monett, finishing a solid fourth in the season’s ninth event. He already has seven top-10 finishes this year – tied with Steve Francis and Rick Eckert for the tour lead in that category.

 

* Francis wasn’t happy with his performance in the weekend events, which included a quiet sixth-place finish at Lebanon I-44 and an 11th at Monett (after he slid off the track during his heat and used a provisional to start the A-Main).

 

So what did Francis do after Monett’s checkered flag? When he noticed that Darren Miller had gotten permission from promoter Randy Mooneyham to do some post-race testing, Francis kept his driver’s suit on and joined Miller on the track to try some things out.

 

* Tim Fuller hopes his third-place run at Monett – his first top-five of the season and only his second top-10 – gets him headed in the right direction.

 

The 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year entered both races in his backup car after blowing the motor in his primary machine in a Thursday-night show at Virginia Motor Speedway.

 

* Both Vic Coffey and John Blankenship sported new bodies and graphics on their cars for the weekend events.

 

Coffey appeared headed to a top-10 finish at Lebanon I-44 until a broken left-front control arm forced the Rookie of the Year contender out of action while running seventh on 26.

 

* Coffey, Eckert and Shane Clanton enjoyed some straight-line competition on Friday night, stopping at Gateway International Raceway outside St. Louis to watch qualifying for the weekend’s NHRA national event.

 

NEXT UP: The WoO LMS returns to action with a three-race swing through the Midwest that stops at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park on May 16; Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway on May 17; and Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway on May 18.

 

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

Birkhofer Rolls To Flag-To-Flag Victory In First-Ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event At Monett Speedway

 

MONETT, MO – May 4, 2008 – Brian Birkhofer still doesn’t have an official name for the new car he built with Jimmy and Chris Mars.

 

But the Muscatine, Iowa, standout can certainly call the machine a winner after rolling to a flag-to-flag victory in Sunday night’s 40-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-Main at Monett Speedway.

 

Birkhofer, 36, started from the pole position and was never seriously challenged en route to the $7,100 win, which came in the first-ever WoO LMS event at Randy Mooneyham’s three-eighths-mile oval. It was his fifth career triumph on the tour but first since July 25, 2006, at Lebanon I-44 Speedway, where he finished 18th in the previous night’s WoO LMS show after blowing a tire while running fifth.

 

“I’m pretty pumped about this car now,” said Birkhofer, who won in his fifth start of 2008 behind the wheel of the Daufeldt Construction/J&J Steel No. 15b that he designed with the Mars brothers. “We started on the pole so it’s not like we drove through the field, but a win’s a win – and against these guys, nothing comes easy.”

 

Wendell Wallace of Batesville, Ark., raced closest to Birkhofer, running in second place from lap eight to the finish. But the GRT house car driver, who started fourth, was unable to threaten Birkhofer on several restarts and crossed the finish line about two seconds behind the winner.

 

Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., finished third in the Gypsum Express Rocket, followed by Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., in the gottarace.com Rocket and 16th-starter Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., in the Lester Buildings Rocket.

 

Birkhofer actually didn’t realize that he was able to build a comfortable edge on Wallace after each of the race’s restarts.

 

“I figured Wendell was close,” said Birkhofer. “I really thought he was on my back bumper pushing me around there, so I just tried not to make any mistakes and stay on the bottom.

 

“After the first restart my tires felt like I didn’t cut (groove) ‘em up enough, so I was really nervous. I was just trying to drive straight and hit the traction off the corners so when I got the car turned it didn’t bind up.”

 

Birkhofer ended up victorious in his first career visit to Monett, a venerable 38-year-old track known as the ‘Grand Old Lady.’ He felt right at home as soon as he eyeballed the facility.

 

“It’s got some long straightaways and tight corners – kinda like I grew up (racing) on, only a little shorter than I like,” said Birkhofer, a product of the long, fast half-miles near his home in the Hawkeye State.

 

“(Scott) Bloomquist (the 2004 WoO LMS champion) always told me he had such a good record (of winning) the first time he rolled into a track,” added the driver known as ‘Birky.’ “I don’t have a record like his, but I am proud of what I have accomplished.”

 

Wallace’s runner-up finish bettered his fourth-place run the previous night at Lebanon I-44. It was worth a cool $4,100, including the $500 WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ cash for being the highest-finishing driver who’s never won a tour A-Main and isn’t ranked among the top-12 in the current points standings.

 

Fuller, meanwhile, scored a season’s-best finish after starting sixth. The 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year was in dire need of a strong run to staunch his early-season struggles and he got it.

 

“I never would’ve thought a third would make me feel so good,” said a relieved Fuller, who slid inside Lanigan for third on a lap-35 restart and challenged Wallace in the closing circuits. “I thought we were good enough to get second.”

 

Lanigan also registered his top finish of the season after starting fifth. He had rung up six top-10 finishes in the first eight events of 2008 but couldn’t break into the top five until visiting Monett.

 

“We needed a good run like this,” said Lanigan, who made a bid to pass Wallace early before fading slightly.

 

The 46-year-old Frank turned in the most stirring drive of the night, charging from outside the top 10 to fifth over the final 13 laps. He said his car seemed to come on after he absorbed a hit in the left-rear corner from Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., who spun in turn one after the contact on lap 27.

 

Five caution flags slowed the A-Main.

 

WoO LMS points leader Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., failed to finish after cutting a right-rear tire while running fourth on lap 27, and defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., managed only an 11th-place finish after a slip over the turn-four berm during his heat forced him to use a provisional starting spot.

 

Finishing in positions 6-10 was Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., who lost fifth to Frank on the final lap; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who made a late charge; Darren Miller of Chadwick, Ill.; Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.; and Rick Eckert of York, Pa.

 

Forty cars were signed in for the event.

 

Richards recorded his first fast time of the 2008 WoO LMS season, turning a new-track-record lap of 15.711 seconds during time trials.

 

Heat winners were Richards, Moyer, Birkhofer and Brady Smith. The B-Mains were captured by Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., and MARS regular Will Vaught of Crane, Mo.

 

The WoO LMS will be idle this weekend and then return to action with a three-race swing through the Midwest, visiting Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park on May 16; Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway on May 17; and Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway on May 18.

 

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

 

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

 

1. (1) Brian Birkhofer/40 $7,150

2. (4) Wendell Wallace/40 $4,100

3. (6) Tim Fuller/40 $2,000

4. (5) Darrell Lanigan/40 $1,700

5. (16) Chub Frank/40 $1,500

6. (9) Jimmy Owens/40 $1,300

7. (14) Shannon Babb/40 $1,200

8. (11) Darren Miller/40 $1,100

9. (8) Brady Smith/40 $1,000

10. (12) Rick Eckert/40 $900

11. (23) Steve Francis/40 $850

12. (18) Will Vaught/40 $800

13. (17) Clint Smith/40 $750

14. (25) Al Purkey/40 $740

15. (3) Brian Shirley/40 $710

16. (10) Shane Clanton/40 $680

17. (26) Jeremy Payne/40 $650

18. (20) Vic Coffey/40 $880

19. (21) Jimmy Mars/40 $620

20. (2) Josh Richards/40 $610

21. (19) Terry Phillips/35 $600

22. (15) John Blankenship/34 $600

23. (22) Jesse Stovall/34 $600

24. (7) Billy Moyer/30 $600

25. (24) Bill Frye/22 $600

26. (13) Terry Casey/18 $600

 

Yellow Flags: 5 (Laps 8, 10, 27, 27, 35)

Lap Leaders: Birkhofer (1-40)

Provisional Starters: Francis, Purkey (WoO); Frye, Payne (MARS)

Rookie of the Race: Vic Coffey ($250)

WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Wendell Wallace ($500)

Integra Shocks Crew Chief of the Race ($50): Jeff Roby (Birkhofer)

Chick Hawk Racing Hot Lap Award (half-off tire warmers): Birkhofer

 

Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):

 

1. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 15.711

2. 3s-Brian Shirley/Chatham, IL 15.742

3. 15b-Brian Birkhofer/Muscatine, IA 15.750

4. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 15.765

5. 42-Terry Casey/New London, WI 15.885

6. 21-Billy Moyer/Batesville, AR 15.961

7. 19T-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 16.095

8. 2s-Brady Smith/Solon Springs, WI 16.102

9. 20-Jimmy Owens/Newport, TN 16.227

10. 25-Shane Clanton/Locust Grove, GA 16.243

11. 2A-John Anderson/Omaha, NE 16.247

12. 32c-Vic Coffey/Leicester, NY 16.250

13. 28M-Jimmy Mars/Menomonie, WI 16.279

14. 19-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 16.294

15. 23-John Blankenship/Williamson, WV 16.314

16. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 16.342

17. 88-Wendell Wallace/Batesville, AR 16.346

18. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 16.362

19. 32d-Darren Miller/Chadwick, IL 16.375

20. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 16.394

21. 14L-Brad Looney/Republic, MO 16.401

22. 18-Shannon Babb/Moweaqua, IL 16.509

23. 18s-Jack Sullivan/Greenbrier, AR 16.512

24. 74-Jeremy Payne/Springfield, MO 16.512

25. 75-Terry Phillips/Springfield, MO 16.676

26. 6-Alan Vaughn/Belton, MO 16.688

27. 1V-Will Vaught/Crane, MO 16.740

28. 00-Jesse Stovall/Galena, MO 16.807

29. 15T-David Turner/Adrian, MO 16.893

30. 66W-Justin Wells/Aurora, MO 16.923

31. 42M-Brandon McCormick/Lebanon, MO 17.064

32. 8K-Rusty Dukes/Fair Grove, MO 17.096

33. 14Jr.-Steve Rushin/Poplar Bluff, MO 17.150

34. 33-Al Purkey/Coffeyville, KS 17.151

35. 01-Chris Jones/Neelyville, MO 17.185

36. 16-Dusty Johnston/Flippan, AR 17.246

37. 66-Bill Frye/Greenbrier, AR 17.381

38. 99-Larry Jones/Eldorado Springs, MO 18.279

39. 3-Michael Collins/Carter Lake, IA N/T

40. 55-Ken Essary/Cape Fair, MO N/T

 

Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Richards, Wallace, Owens, Casey, Mars, Phillips, Rushin, Turner, Looney, Frye

 

Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Moyer, Shirley, Clanton, Babb, C. Smith, Wells, Francis, Vaughn, Purkey, L. Jones

 

Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Birkhofer, Fuller, D. Miller, Blankenship, Vaught, Sullivan, Anderson, McCormick, C. Jones (DNS) Collins

 

Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): B. Smith, Lanigan, Eckert, Frank, Coffey, Dukes, Stovall, Johnston, Payne (DNS) Essary)

 

B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): C. Smith, Phillips, Mars, Francis, Turner, Purkey, Vaughn, L. Jones, Looney, Wells, Frye, Rushin

 

B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Vaught, Coffey, Stovall, Anderson, Sullivan, Payne, McCormick, Dukes, C. Jones (DNS) Collins, Johnston

 

2008 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of May 4 - 9 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):

 

1. Billy Moyer 4-6-6-$70,420-1181 (-0)

2. (tie) Rick Eckert 0-3-7-$24,050-1171 (-10)

2. (tie) Steve Francis 1-5-7-$71,550-1171 (-10)

4. Darrell Lanigan 0-1-7-$16,950-1157 (-24)

5. Chub Frank 0-3-5-$19,180-1147 (-34)

6. (tie) Shannon Babb 1-4-6-$37,000-1143 (-38)

6. (tie) Josh Richards 1-4-6-$33,760-1143 (-38)

8. Clint Smith 0-3-3-$14,410-1107 (-74)

9. Shane Clanton 0-3-3-$16,430-1083 (-98)

10. Tim Fuller 0-1-2-$10,190-1053 (-128)

11. Brian Shirley 0-0-2-$9,080-1019 (-162)

12. John Blankenship 0-0-2-$12,160-1017 (-164)

13. Vic Coffey 0-0-1-$8,350-823 (-358)

14. (tie) Joe Isabell 0-0-0-$2,260-589 (-592)

14. (tie) Danny Johnson 0-0-0-$2,650-589 (-592)

 

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.

Babb Makes Car Owner Clint Bowyer’s Saturday Night Even Better With First World of Outlaws Late Model Series Victory Of ’08 At Lebanon I-44 Speedway

 

LEBANON, MO – May 3, 2008 – Shannon Babb gave his boss even more reason to smile on Saturday night.

 

On the same night that his famous car owner Clint Bowyer was triumphant in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition at Richmond International Raceway, Babb authored a flawless drive to victory in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series ‘All-State Insurance 40’ at Lebanon I-44 Speedway.

 

Babb, 34, of Moweaqua, Ill., advanced from the fourth starting spot to pass Rick Eckert of York, Pa., for the lead on lap 12 and then never looked back. Driving a new Traiger Grills/Chevrolet Rocket car that had never before seen action, Babb repelled a late-race challenge from Eckert and Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., to score his first WoO LMS win of the 2008 season.

 

Mere moments after hoisting an oversized novelty check commemorating his $10,000 victory in an event that was co-sanctioned by the O’Reilly MARS DIRTcar Series, Babb learned that his high-profile car owner had also scored a big Saturday-night short-track win.

 

“We got back here to the trailer just in time to watch Clint run the last lap and win at Richmond,” said Babb, who is in his first season as the hired-gun of Bowyer’s fledgling dirt Late Model team. “He’s gonna be tickled to death when he hears that we won him a Late Model race tonight too.”

 

Eckert, who started from the outside pole and led laps 1-11, settled for a $5,100 runner-up finish in Raye Vest’s GRT car, 1.423 seconds behind Babb.

 

Moyer finished third in his Victory Circle M1 chassis, followed by 11th-starter Wendell Wallace of Batesville, Ark., in the GRT house car and Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., in the Cliburn Tank Lines GRT, who started eighth but had to gather himself after losing several spots in the race’s early laps.

 

With Babb’s Clements-powered car purring along to perfection once he gained command, the WoO LMS title contender correctly felt that the race was his to lose.

 

“Not very often do you get a car that feels that good,” said Babb, who registered his seventh career WoO LMS A-Main win. “Tommy (Grecco) and Jay (Hunt) did a great job putting it together and I had 100 percent confidence in it.”

 

Babb’s only anxious moment came following a lap-26 restart, when Eckert and Moyer stayed close for several circuits. Eckert came within inches of leading lap 28 before Babb gradually opened up some breathing room.

 

“During that (lap-26) caution those guys probably caught their breath a little and got up on the wheel to try to go for it one last time,” said Babb. “So I had to get back going again hard too.”

 

After Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, slowed on lap 36 with a flat tire while running fifth to bring out the race’s fifth and final caution flag, Babb wasn’t threatened when the green flag returned.

 

“That last restart, I wasn’t gonna let nobody by me,” smiled Babb, who registered his first career win at Lebanon I-44 Speedway after running well but experiencing bad luck in several previous appearances. “I just put it on the floor.”

 

Eckert, 42, was close enough to taste his first WoO LMS victory in nearly two years, but he fell short.

 

“I left my car just a little bit too free,” said Eckert, whose last WoO LMS win came 65 races ago, on July 8, 2006, at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio. “I tightened up some for the feature, but I still left myself just a little bit too free on exit. If I got in the corner hard and got back in the gas, I got loose.

 

“After that long (lap-26) caution the racetrack came back, and I got four good laps and was even able to get door-to-door with (Babb) for two laps. But then his (harder) tire got going again and I was done.

 

“I tried everything I could try to win,” he added, “but I just couldn’t get ‘er done.”

 

The 50-year-old Moyer, meanwhile, remained atop the WoO LMS points standings with a steady, solid run to third place. He sniffed the lead in the battle after the lap-26 restart, but he wasn’t quite good enough to win for the fifth time in eight events this season.

 

“Shannon was commited to the top and Eckert to the bottom more or less,” said Moyer, who started seventh. “I could run through the center of one and two real quick, but Eckert was swinging way out wide there so I had to let him in a couple times or we would’ve crashed.

 

“If I could’ve just got a little bit farther up, I might have been able to get by him. But really, we were just a little bit off.”

 

The race’s five caution flags were all for minor problems, including a turn-two spin by Jeremy Payne of Springfield, Mo., on lap seven; right-rear flat tires on the cars of Chatham, Ill.’s Brian Shirley (as he ran fifth on lap 12) and Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga. (lap 25); Rookie of the Year contender Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y. (left-front suspension woes on lap 26); and Birkhofer.

 

Finishing in positions 6-10 was defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who slipped backward after starting from the pole position; Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who recorded his sixth top-10 finish of the season; MARS standout Will Vaught of Crane, Mo.; Lebanon I-44 dominator Brad Looney of Republic, Mo.; and Payne, who recovered from his early spin.

 

Thirty-nine cars entered the event, which was run on a cool spring evening.

 

Clint Smith established a new track record during time trials, rounding the three-eighths-mile oval in 13.626 seconds for his first WoO LMS fast-time of the season.

 

Heat winners were Smith, Babb, Francis and Eckert. Five-time MARS champion Bill Frye of Greenbrier, Ark., and Clanton captured the B-Mains.

 

Clanton scrambled to get on the track for the A-Main, however, after his car’s engine developed a broken rocker arm on the final lap of the B-Main. His crew hastily pulled out the team’s backup car and got it fired up for competition as the feature field was taking its pace laps.

 

Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who entered the event ranked second in the WoO LMS points standings, had to use his first provisional since 2006 to start the A-Main after slapping the homestretch wall during the first heat. His crew worked up until the start of the A-Main pace laps to repair the car.

 

The WoO LMS weekend in Missouri continues on Sunday night (May 4) at Monett Speedway, which hosts the tour for the first time ever.