TIM FULLER ENJOYING FOUR RACE WORLD OF OUTLAWS LATE MODEL WIN STREAK TO RANK AS A FAVORITE AT BREWERTON SPEEDWAY’S DIRT DEMON 50 ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND
BREWERTON, NY…World of Outlaws Late Model Series regular Tim Fuller from Watertown, N.Y., enjoying a four race win streak, has to rank as a favorite when the nationally known group visits Brewerton Speedway for the $10,000 to win Dirt Demon 50 on Wednesday, September 2. Fuller, a former DIRTcar Big Block Modified championship driver at the track will lead the World of Outlaws Late Model competitors in their first ever invasion of Brewerton Speedway.
In order to earn the $10,000 payday in the Dirt Demon 50, Fuller will have to be on his game to beat the best in the business. The Dirt Demon 50 at Brewerton Speedway will offer the biggest purse of any Late Model event in the state of New York this season. Tim McCreadie, Rick Eckert, Steve Francis, Josh Richards, Darrell Lanigan, Shane Clanton, Chub Frank, Clint Smith, Rusell King, Jordan Bland, Brent Robinson, Dustin Hapka, Tyler Reddick and Brady Smith are just some of the top Late Model drivers in the nation looking to earn the winners share.
Local Central New York fans will have plenty of drivers to keep their eyes on besides Fuller and McCreadie. Billy Decker, Vic Coffey and Larry Wight will all look for success in the World of Outlaws visit on September 2. And current Brewerton Speedway DIRTcar Big Block Modified point leader, Matt Sheppard, will make his maiden voyage in World of Outlaws Super Late Model competition on September 2. The rain date for the Dirt Demon 50 is Thursday, September 3.
All gates on Wednesday, September 2 will open at 4:30 p.m. Hot laps will start at 6:20 p.m. World of Outlaws Late Model time trials will begin at 6:45 p.m. Actual race competition will start at 7:30 p.m. Adult admission is $30, with children 14 and under admitted for $10. All pit passes will be $40. All tickets go on sale when gates open. There is no pre-sale of tickets. The only reserved seats are season reserved seats which are painted orange. No blankets will be allowed down on the grandstand until gates open.
Joining the World of Outlaws Late Model stars in competition on Wednesday, September 2 in a two division fan-friendly race program will be the popular ESDCA Mod Lite division. The Mod Lites compete weekly at the track and will battle it out in the Gater Racing News / 2010 Motorsports Expo 25. The race is sure to impress any new fans that have not seen the Mod Lites before at the D-shaped Dirt Demon. The event will be a track point race.
For more information please go on line to www.brewertonspeedway.com or to www.worldofoutlaws.com. The tracks’ GPS address is 60 U.S. Route 11, Brewerton, N.Y. 13029. Free parking and overnight camping will be offered for this special event. For more information please call 315-668-RACE or 668-6906.
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This Weekend’s $20,000-To-Win Buckeye 100 At K-C Raceway Excites Title Contender Steve Francis
ALMA, OH - Aug. 19, 2009 - Locked in a titanic three-way battle for the $100,000 World of Outlaws Late Model Series points title, Steve Francis couldn’t pick a better place to visit this weekend than Schrader’s K-C Raceway.
After all, Francis considers the three-eighths-mile oval one of his hometracks – and he gets a chance to chase a whopping $20,000 top prize for winning the ‘Buckeye 100’ that headlines the two-day racing spectacular.
Postponed by rain on its original date in early May, the Buckeye 100 will bring a big event from K-C Raceway’s past back to the forefront. Time trials and qualifying heats are scheduled for Friday night (Aug. 21), with B-Mains and the 100-lap A-Main featured on Saturday night (Aug. 22).
Francis, 41, lives just over an hour’s drive southeast of K-C Raceway in Ashland, Ky., making this weekend a rare opportunity for him to perform in front of familiar faces. In the midst of a long season on the WoO LMS road with the Beitler Motorsports team, he’s hoping a little home cooking can go a long way.
“This is the closest we race to home all year on the Outlaw circuit, so we’re looking forward to it,” said Francis, the 2007 WoO LMS champion and a tour regular since its reincarnation under the World Racing Group banner in 2004. “A lot of my family and friends will come to watch us. That always is kind of special and makes you feel comfortable.”
Francis also has a pretty long and successful history at K-C. It was among the first tracks that he competed at as a 16-year-old dirt Late Model rookie and he’s made plenty of Victory Lane appearances there, including after numerous regular-show scores early in his career.
The driver known as the ‘Kentucky Colonel’ has already made one start at K-C this season, finishing third in the 50-lap ‘Night The Stars Come Out’ event on July 3.
“The K-C now is not the K-C I raced on early in my career,” described Francis, who finished second to Rod Conley of Wheelersburg, Ohio, in last year’s 50-lap WoO LMS A-Main at K-C. “They’ve moved that backstretch way out and made it more circular than when I first started running there, but it’s an excellent place to race. I always enjoy running there.
“I’m not sure what to expect with a hundred-lapper because the weather effects that racetrack quite a bit, so a lot is gonna depend of whether it’s a real hot day or if it’s cloudy. But I know (promoter Jeff Schrader and his crew) have been doing an excellent job preparing the place this year, so I know it’ll be racy.”
Francis enters this week’s WoO LMS action, which also includes rescheduled events on Thursday night (Aug. 20) at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio, and Sunday night (Aug. 23) at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa., sitting second in the points standings. He’s just six points behind 21-year-old Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who regained the points lead last Saturday night at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway after Francis suffered a blown right-rear tire running third with just six laps remaining and finished 10th.
With defending WoO LMS champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., a mere 34 points behind Richards in third place, it’s clear the 2009 points race is set to go down to the wire. Thirteen events remain on the tour schedule.
“We all know this thing – as close as me, Josh and Darrell are – it’s gonna come down to luck,” Francis said of the championship battle. “We’re all running too even for luck to not decide this thing. Something dumb is gonna happen to one or two of us, and the other guy is gonna be the winner.”
Of course, Francis would seem to have an advantage on his championship rivals in that he’s been involved in multiple nip-and-tuck, down-to-the-wire points races during his career. While this is Richards’s first real experience with a tight title pursuit and Lanigan ran away with last year’s crown by a series-record points margin, Francis knows the tension involved with a close points fight. Francis finished a heartbreaking second in both the 2004 and 2005 WoO LMS points battles; he actually finished dead-locked in the ’05 standings with Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., but Moyer was declared the champ on a tie-breaker (runner-up finishes).
“Not taking anything away from what they got going on, but maybe I understand (a close points race) a little different than they do,” said Francis, who has five tour wins this season but last reached Victory Lane on May 31 at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va. “Sometimes you can get a little ‘tight’ and think about the points too much.”
With a championship prize of 100-grand on the line and every finishing position critical in a three-driver race, the pressure definitely builds. Francis admitted that he got to thinking about points in the last WoO LMS event at Hagerstown – a pitfall he hopes to mostly avoid as the season continues down its homestretch.
“I can’t say we got too ‘tight’ (at Hagerstown), but we just didn’t gamble as much as we could have,” remarked Francis. “(Tim) Fuller (who blew out the field for his record-tying fourth consecutive WoO LMS victory) gambled on a tire choice that I had in my head that I wanted to do. I told four or five people (during the night) that I wanted to do it, but I ended doing what I said I wasn’t gonna do – for some stupid reason, I started points racing. Fuller put on the softer right-rear tire that I had in my head all night, and I stayed with a harder, safer choice.
“Now we still would’ve gotten out of (Hagerstown) with a second or third if we didn’t get the flat tire, which wouldn’t have been the end of the world. But I said I was gonna gamble on winning this year and not worry about the points, and we didn’t do that. I know that the (Hoosier) 1600 or LM-40 is the tire of choice (at Hagerstown) – always has been – so what Fuller put on was a big gamble. He could’ve won the race or been a 10th place car, but I knew the tire we ran was gonna get us a top-five no matter what.”
With a $20,000 first-place check up for grabs at K-C, Francis said he plans to go with his “first instinct” in hopes of depositing that money in his bank account.
Francis, Richards and Lanigan will face plenty of competition in the Buckeye 100, starting with arguably the two hottest dirt Late Model drivers in the country: Watertown, N.Y.’s Fuller and Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis. Fuller carries a four-race tour win streak into this week’s action, while Mars has scored $50,000 victories in the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. (where he led Fuller under the checkered flag) and the North-South 100 at Florence Speedway in Union, Ky., over the past three weeks.
The traveling WoO LMS roster will feature Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., who won the 2007 Dirt Track World Championship 100 at K-C; defending World 100 winner Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.; Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; and Rookie of the Year contenders Russell King of Bristolville, Ohio, Jordan Bland of Campbellsville, Ky., Brent Robinson of Smithfield, Va., Dustin Hapka of Grand Forks, N.D., and 14-year-old Tyler Reddick of Corning, Calif.
Also expected are a host of well-known national and regional talents, including 2006 WoO LMS champion Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., 2006 DTWC winner Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio, Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich., Bart Hartman of Zanesville, Ohio, 2006 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va., 2008 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., 17-year-old sensation Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del., Brandon Kinzer of Allen, Ky., Josh McGuire of Grayson, Ky., Ben Adkins of West Portsmouth, Ohio, and the three-driver Conley team (father Delmas, who leads K-C’s points standings, and his sons Rod and R.J.) from Wheelersburg, Ohio.
The Buckeye 100 – a traditional event at the Southeastern Ohio track during the ‘60s and into the ‘70s – will include complete shows for the open-wheel Modified and Hobby Stock divisions on Fri., Aug. 21, and another full program for the open-wheel Modifieds on Sat., Aug. 22.
Two-day tickets for the Buckeye 100 weekend are $40. Single-day tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids (6-12) on Friday night, and $35 for adults and $15 for kids (6-12) on Saturday night.
Pit passes are $25 for Friday and $40 for Saturday, with two-day passes costing $60.
Free overnight camping is allowed on the K-C Raceway grounds for the weekend.
Pit gates are scheduled to open at 3:30 p.m., with racing set to start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday.
K-C Raceway is located 12 miles south of Chillicothe, Ohio, in Alma, two miles off SR 23 on Blain Highway.
For more information on K-C Raceway and the Buckeye 100 visit www.kc-raceway.com or call 740-663-4141.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
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June’s ‘Great Northern Tour’ Headlines 2008 Action In Northeast For World of Outlaws Late Model Series
CONCORD, NC – Dec. 10, 2008 – Fans living in the Northeast will have plenty of opportunities to witness World of Outlaws Late Model Series action in 2008.
The nation’s richest dirt Late Model tour will contest approximately 40 percent of its 50-plus-event ’08 schedule at tracks in or near the Northeastern corner of the United States, headlined by the seven-race ‘Great Northern Tour’ that barnstorms through the region in late-June.
A 2008 WoO LMS schedule listing 46 confirmed events at 39 tracks in 22 states and three Canadian provinces was released during last week’s Performance Racing Industry trade show in Orlando, Fla. At least a half-dozen additional events are still to be announced, including several that will intrigue fans in the Northeast.
“The World of Outlaws Late Model Series will continue to have a strong presence in the Northeast region,” said Tim Christman, the director of the WoO LMS. “We always receive strong support from all the great racers and fans in dirt Late Model hotbeds like Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio, and we relish the opportunity to expose top-notch dirt Late Model racing to fans in areas like upstate New York and Canada.”
The ‘Great Northern Tour’ will bring the WoO LMS to the Northeast for seven events over a 12-day period in June, culminating with the second annual ‘Firecracker 100’ spectacular on June 27-28 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. A purse increase for the 2008 ‘Firecracker 100’ will push its winner’s share to $40,000, up a robust $10,000 from the blockbuster inaugural event won by 2004 WoO LMS champion Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn.
Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway, which hosted the WoO LMS for the first time in 2007, will kick off the ‘Great Northern Tour’ on Tues., June 17, with a 40-lap A-Main paying $7,000 to win.
Then the ‘series-within-a-series’ heads north for three nights of competition across the border in Canada, visiting Ohsweken (Ont.) Speedway on Thurs., June 19; Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Que., on Sat., June 21; and Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway on Sun., June 22. The first-ever WoO LMS event in Canada was held in 2007 before a standing-room-crowd at Autodrome Drummond – and a huge throng is expected again at the three-eighths-mile oval and for the inaugural WoO LMS shows at Ohsweken and Cornwall.
The Canadian facilities have big plans for their WoO LMS dates. The Drummond WoO LMS event will once again be part of the track’s celebration of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, a holiday in which French Canadians express their cultural pride and rich heritage. Ohsweken, meanwhile, will use its WoO LMS program to commence two huge days of action (an Empire Super Sprints series show is scheduled for the following night), and Cornwall owner Ron Morin is planning a never-before-attempted tripleheader of WoO LMS, Empire Super Sprint and DIRTcar 358-Modified competition on June 22.
Back in the U.S., the ‘Great Northern Tour’ will pay mid-week visits to Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway and Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pa., before heading to Lernerville’s ‘Firecracker 100.’ Canandaigua will host its first-ever WoO LMS event on Tues., June 24, with the BRP CanAm Series for 360 Late Models on the undercard, and the tour will hit Pennsylvania’s Coal Country for the first time with a date on Wed., June 25, at Big Diamond.
The WoO LMS’s first action of ’08 near Northeastern fans will come on Fri., April 11, at Virginia Motor Speedway, which will host the tour for the fourth consecutive season. A traditional springtime date at Lernerville Speedway, on Tues., April 15, is also part of the swing.
A first-ever stop at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park at Fri., May 16, will bring the WoO LMS back to the region, followed by an attractive doubleheader on Thurs., May 29, at Delaware International Speedway (nearby Dover International Speedway begins its NASCAR weekend that day) and Sat., May 31, at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway (the 27th annual ‘Conococheague 50’).
The tour returns to the Northeast region in late-July for a four-race ‘Speedweek’ in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Dates in the Buckeye State are scheduled for Thurs., July 24, at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville (first-ever WoO LMS event at Ronnie Moran’s track), Fri., July 25, at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg (the second consecutive year for a WoO LMS event at the Tony Stewart-owned speed palace), and Sat., July 26, at Dave Blaney’s Sharon Speedway in Hartford, and the swing closes on Sun., July 27, at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa.
The busy summer stretch of racing will close out with what will likely be the final chances for Northeastern fans to see the WoO LMS stars in their backyards. K-C Raceway in Alma, Ohio, hosts the tour on Sat., Aug. 23, and then the series visits Pennsylvania over Labor Day Weekend for events on Fri., Aug. 29, at Bedford Speedway, which drew a big crowd for its first-ever WoO LMS show in 2007, and Aug. 30-31 at Tri-City Speedway in Franklin. The format of Tri-City’s program – separate 50-lap, $10,000-to-win events or a two-day, 100-lap A-Main – is still to be announced.
The 2008 WoO LMS will open on Feb. 14 and 16 with the 37th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., and end on Oct. 30-31/Nov. 1 with the second annual ‘Outlaws World Finals’ at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.
There are more than a dozen new tracks on the 2008 schedule. The ‘Firecracker 100’ is one of several extra-distance specials dotting the calendar, joining the $50,000-to-win Circle K Colossal 100 on April 18-19 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway; the $20,000-to-win ‘Freedom 100’ on March 28-29 at Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss.; a 100-lapper paying $20,000 to win on April 4-5 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway; and the ‘Scorcher 100’ on Aug. 20-21 at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
2008 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Schedule (as of Dec. 7, 2007) - Northeast-Region Events In Bold
Date – Day – Track/Location – Event - To Win - Laps
Feb. 14 – Thurs. – Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL – DIRTcar Nationals - $10,000 – 50L
Feb. 16 – Sat. – Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL – DIRTcar Nationals - $10,000 – 50L
March 28-29 – Fri./Sat. – Pike County Speedway/Magnolia, MS – FREEDOM 100 - $20,000 – 100L
April 4-5 – Fri./Sat. – Farmer City (IL) Raceway - $20,000 – 100L
April 11 – Fri. – Virginia Motor Speedway/Jamaica, VA - $10,000 – 50L
April 15 – Tues. – Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA - $10,000 – 50L
April 18-19 – Fri./Sat. – The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – CIRCLE K COLOSSAL 100 - $50,000 – 100L
April 25 – Fri. – TBA
April 26 – Sat. – Lebanon I-44 Speedway/Lebanon, MO - $10,000 – 50L
April 27 – TBA
May 16 – Fri. – Attica (OH) Raceway Park - $10,000 – 50L
May 17 – Sat. – Lawrenceburg (IN) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
May 18 – Sun. – Lincoln (IL) Speedway - $7,000 – 40L
May 29 – Thurs. – Delaware International Speedway/Delmar, DE - $10,000 – 50L
May 31 – Sat. – Hagerstown (MD) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
June 1 – Sun. – TBA
June 17 – Tues. – Port Royal (PA) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L
June 19 – Thurs. – Ohsweken (ONT) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $10,000 – 50L
June 21 – Sat. – Autodrome Drummond/Drummondville, QUE – Great Northern Tour - $10,000 – 50L
June 22 – Sun. – Cornwall (ONT) Motor Speedway – Great Northern Tour -$10,000 – 50L
June 24 – Tues. – Canandaigua (NY) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L
June 25 – Wed. – Big Diamond Raceway/Minersville, PA – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L
June 27-28 – Fri./Sat. – Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA – Great Northern Tour (FIRECRACKER 100) - $40,000 – 100L
July 9 – Wed. – Deer Creek Speedway/Spring Valley, MN – Wild West Tour (Gopher 50) - $10,000 – 50L
July 10 – Thurs. – North Central Speedway/Brainerd, MN – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 11 – Fri. – River Cities Speedway/Grand Forks, ND – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 12 – Sat. – Estevan Motor Speedway/Estevan, SAS – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 15 – Tues. – TBA
July 16 – Gillette Thunder Speedway/Gillette, WY – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 18 – Fri. – Brown County Speedway/Aberdeen, SD – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 20 – Sun. – Belleville (KS) High Banks – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 40L
July 21 – Mon. – Boone County Speedway/Albion, NE – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 24 – Thurs. – Muskingum County Speedway/Zanesville, OH – Speedweek - $7,000 – 40L
July 25 – Fri. – Eldora Speedway/Rossburg, OH – Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L
July 26 – Sat. – Sharon Speedway/Hartford, OH – Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L
July 27 – Sun. – Eriez Speedway/Hammett, PA – Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 15 – Fri. – Fayetteville (NC) Motor Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 16 – Sat. – Screven Motor Speedway/Sylvania, GA - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 17 – Sun. – Golden Isles Speedway/Waynesville, GA - $7,000 – 40L
Aug. 20-21 – Wed./Thurs. – Volunteer Speedway/Bulls Gap, TN – SCORCHER 100 – TBA – 100L
Aug. 23 – Sat. – K-C Raceway/Alma, OH - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 24 – Sun. – TBA
Aug. 29 – Fri. – Bedford (PA) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 30 – Sat. – Tri-City Speedway/Franklin, PA – TBA – TBA
Aug. 31 – Sun. – Tri-City Speedway/Franklin, PA – TBA – TBA
Sept. 12 – Fri. – TBA
Sept. 13 – Sat. – I-55 Raceway/Pevely, MO – Pepsi Nationals - $10,000 – 50L
Sept. 14 – Sun. – TBA
Oct. 8 – Wed. – The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC - Southern Showdown - $30,000 possible – 50L
Oct. 11 – Sat. – Volunteer Speedway/Bulls Gap, TN - $10,000 – 50L
Oct. 12 – Sun. – North Alabama Speedway/Tuscumbia, AL - $7,000 – 40L
Oct. 30 – Thurs. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS (Time Trials)
Oct. 31 – Fri. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS - $10,000 – 50L
Nov. 1 – Sat. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS - $10,000 – 50L
* Schedule subject to change (check www.worldofoutlaws.com for the latest information)
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Steve Francis Picks Up $100,000 Championship Check At Thursday Night’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series Awards Banquet
ORLANDO, FL – Dec. 6, 2007 – Steve Francis clinched his long-awaited first career World of Outlaws Late Model points title last month.
On Thursday night, the star driver picked up the huge check for his hard work during the 2007 season.
Francis, 40, of Ashland, Ky., received a cool $100,000 championship prize from series officials during the tour’s ‘Night of Champions’ Awards Banquet at the International Plaza Resort & Spa in Orlando, Fla.
The six-figure payoff culminated an impeccable campaign for Francis, who finally broke through to claim the WoO LMS points crown after heartbreaking runner-up finishes in 2004 and 2005.
“At least I don’t have to watch that video anymore of Volusia County a couple years ago,” quipped Francis, who lost the ’05 title to Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., on a tie-breaker after being passed for position by Moyer on the last lap of the season finale at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park. “I’ve seen that (footage) too many times, so I’ve always wanted to win this championship to kinda put that deal behind us.”
Francis was presented the lion’s share of the over $400,000 in cash that was passed out during the banquet by the World Racing Group, which has operated the WoO LMS since 2004.
No one could begrudge Francis a single cent of his championship booty. He certainly earned the big reward by putting together an unmatched performance record in the 44 A-Mains that comprised the 2007 WoO LMS.
Driving his familiar Valvoline Rocket No. 15, Francis registered four wins, 27 top-five and 40 top-10 finishes. After dropping out of two early-season events, he finished the season with a remarkable 38 consecutive lead-lap finishes.
Francis beat Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., by 126 points for the title, which brought him some special personal satisfaction.
“This is the first championship we’ve won since the passing of my brother,” said Francis, whose younger sibling and life-long crew chief died unexpectedly in August 2001. “It means a lot to win it with Lee (Logan, Francis’s chief mechanic in 2007), because Lee and my brother were really, really close friends.”
Lee Logan, 30, and his wife Brandie, who is expecting the couple’s first child in March, were on hand at the banquet to help Francis celebrate his title. They shared a head table with Francis and his girlfriend Jennifer, as well as Francis’s parents and Logan’s father Tim, who fielded the Rocket No. 11 that Francis drove in selected non-Outlaws events in 2007.
Francis hailed the support of the people closest to him, calling them critical cogs in a driver’s push for a championship.
“Our families put up with a lot more than people realize,” said Francis. “They’re the ones who let us do this. There are no Fourths of July at home, or anything like that – we’re always on the road racing and trying to make a living, and they let us do that.
“I want to thank them for all they do for us.”
Francis, who earned nearly $250,000 in WoO LMS purse and points-fund cash in 2007, spent the evening savoring his championship season. But he also noted that he’s already looking ahead to a 2008 campaign that will see him make a change in his racing attack
The ‘Kentucky Colonel’ recently announced that he will drive Maryland team owner Dale Beitler’s Reliable Painting Rocket No. 19 in 2008. Francis will bring sponsorship from Valvoline to the effort and plans to chase a second consecutive WoO LMS title behind the wheel of Beitler’s red, white and blue machine, which was unveiled on Thursday in the World Racing Group display at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Orlando.
Frank, 45, congratulated Francis when he took to the stage to accept his $60,000 check for a career-high points finish of second on the WoO LMS.
“You didn’t falter, not a bit,” Frank told Francis. “I thought maybe you might, but you didn’t.
“Actually, I think we probably were the ones who faltered, but I’m not complaining. We had a great year (scoring a series-high six wins), and it was fun racing with you.”
Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., received $40,000 for finishing third in the 2007 WoO LMS points standings. Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., picked up a $35,000 check for placing fourth and Rick Eckert of York, Pa., pocketed $30,000 for fifth.
Rounding out the top 10 in the points standings were Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va. ($25,000), Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. ($24,000), Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y. ($23,000), Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill. ($22,000) and Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill. ($21,000).
Of the top-10 finishers, only Shirley was unable to attend the banquet. He did not make the trip because his car owner, Ed Petroff, underwent surgery on Wednesday.
Fuller, 40, received an additional $10,000 and a new ButlerBuilt racing seat for winning the 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Award over Shirley, who earned a $5,000 bonus for finishing second in the rookie standings. The top rookie was determined using a driver’s best 30 finishes on the tour.
“You know, this Late Model (racing) was a lot tougher than I thought it would be,” smiled Fuller, a longtime DIRTcar Racing big-block Modified star. “It was a rough learning curve for me, but we learned a little bit along the way and hopefully we can do a little better next year.
“I just want to thank everybody for taking me in and accepting me as a Late Model driver.”
The WoO LMS Crew Chief of the Year Award went to Brad Baum, who turns the wrenches for Frank. Baum received the coveted mechanic’s honor by a vote of the tour’s crew chiefs and WoO LMS officials.
Unfortunately, Baum did not attend the banquet, so Frank accepted the award for his employee.
“I know Brad’s not gonna be happy about not being here,” said Frank, noting that Baum decided to stay home and work on the team’s cars. “I know if he was here, he’d be jumping up and down and having a good time, not believing he actually got this.
“He did a great job for me, and I probably wouldn’t have had as good a year as I did without him.”
Babb, who ran a majority of the WoO LMS for the first time in 2007, earned a $1,000 bonus for winning the most National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Awards during the season. He was quick-timer on six occasions.
Custom Race Engines in Knoxville, Tenn., was announced as the winner of the 2007 WoO LMS Engine Builders’ Challenge. Francis, Frank and Clanton exclusively used Custom powerplants in ’07, and Fuller utilized a Custom motor in numerous events.
“It was a great year for us, and we enjoyed our participation in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series,” Larry Clark of Custom Race Engines told the assemblage after accepting the award. “I think it certainly is the premier racing series on dirt.”
Rocket Chassis of Shinnston, W.Va., out-pointed Rayburn Chassis and GRT Chassis to win the 2007 WoO LMS Chassis Builders’ Challenge. Rocket’s Mark Richards accepted the award.
“We need to thank all the owners, drivers and crews who support Rocket Chassis,” said Richards. “This award is a product of all the great drivers and teams that use Rocket Chassis.”
Roger Slack and Matt Long of The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., were honored as the 2007 WoO LMS Promoters of the Year. They received recognition for hosting four very successful WoO LMS A-Mains in ’07 – the Circle K Colossal 100, Jani-King Southern Showdown and the inaugural ‘Outlaws World Finals’ that closed the season in blockbuster fashion.
World Racing Group CEO Brian Carter presented a special ‘Contribution to the Sport’ award to Maryland’s Raye Vest, the well-respected owner of the orange No. 24 cars driven by Rick Eckert.
“This is quite a surprise,” said the 74-year-old Vest, who became emotional while making remarks on the stage. “It’s been a long time (in racing), but I still enjoy every minute of it.
“I don’t know how much longer I got, but I never give up – and I’ll let Rick know when it’s time.”
Integra Shocks, which sponsored the ‘Wrench of the Race’ Award during the 2007 season, gave specially-designed leather coats to Lee Logan and his father Tim for winning the Integra Shocks ‘Crew Chief Challenge’ at the ‘Outlaws World Finals.’
The top-three finishers in the points standings also received 10 sheets of aluminum apiece from Wrisco Industries, a contingency sponsor throughout the 2007 season.
WoO LMS director Tim Christman addressed the banquet attendees during the gala.
“Mostly I’d like to thank the teams, the sponsors and the families for being involved and allowing us to take this show on the road and be the success that it is,” said Christman. “It’s a great joy for us to be the biggest show at a lot of tracks around the country and deal with a great group of champions.”
Christman also touched upon the 2008 WoO LMS schedule, which was released earlier in the day at the PRI trade show. Forty-six events at 39 tracks in 22 states and three Canadian provinces are currently listed on the sked, with at least a half-dozen more dates to be announced in the near future.
The 2008 WoO LMS kicks off on Feb. 14 and 16 with the 37th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.
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World of Outlaws Late Model Series Blazes New Trails With 2008 Schedule
CONCORD, NC – Dec. 7, 2007 – The World of Outlaws Late Model Series will blaze new trails during the 2008 season.
With Friday’s announcement of the tour’s ambitious ’08 schedule, it’s clear that the stars of the WoO LMS will be exposed to a record number of fans across the United States and Canada.
More than a dozen tracks are slated to host a WoO LMS event for the first time ever and there are visits to 22 different states and three Canadian provinces currently on the schedule, which was released at the annual Performance Racing Industry trade show in Orlando, Fla.
There are also several big-money, extra-distance events dotting the 2008 sked, highlighted by the $50,000-to-win Circle K Colossal 100 on April 18-19 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., and the $40,000-to-win ‘Firecracker 100’ on June 27-28 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.
The 2008 schedule, which currently lists 46 confirmed events at 39 tracks, kicks off on Feb. 14 and 16 with two 50-lap A-Mains during the 37th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.
“The goal that we have set is to continue to be the number one dirt Late Model racing series in the country,” said Tim Christman, the director of the WoO LMS. “To achieve that we need to continue to grow the series and broaden its horizons, and there’s no doubt we are doing that with the schedule of events we have put together for 2008.
“We have 46 confirmed dates and we’ll be adding several more. We’re thrilled that the demand for dates from track promoters is so great, and we’ll ultimately end up with a schedule of over 50 events in up to 25 states.”
A centerpiece of the ’08 sked will be the farthest trip west in the history of the WoO LMS. The ‘Wild West Tour’ – a series-within-the-series of at least eight events paying $10,000 to win – is currently scheduled to barnstorm through six states and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan from July 9-21.
The ‘Wild West Tour’ will begin on July 9 with the annual ‘Gopher 50’ at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., which will be part of the WoO LMS for the fourth consecutive season. The swing will also include return visits for the series on July 10 at North Central Speedway in Brainerd, Minn., (back on the tour after a year’s absence); July 11 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., which hosts the series for the third consecutive year; and July 20 at the Belleville (Kans.) High Banks, a legendary oval that drew a standing-room-only crowd for its inaugural WoO LMS event in 2007.
Never-before-visited territory that the WoO LMS will chart during the ‘Wild West Tour’ includes Saskatchewan’s Estevan Motor Speedway, a three-eighths-mile oval that will bring the series just across the North Dakota border to Canada on July 12; Gillette (Wyo.) Thunder Speedway (July 16); Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, S.D. (July 18); and Boone County Speedway in Albion, Neb., which closes the swing on July 21 with an event that will be part of the annual county fair. An additional event for July 15 is under negotiation.
The series will close out a busy month of July by heading east for another series-within-a-series: a four-night ‘Speedweek’ in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. A first-ever visit to Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio, on July 24 starts the stretch of racing, followed by return engagements at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, on July 25; Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, on July 26; and Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa., on July 27.
The WoO LMS will also make an extended swing through the Northeast from June 17-28, contesting the seven-event ‘Great Northern Tour’ that features three nights of racing in Canada and the second annual two-day ‘Firecracker 100’ spectacular at Lernerville Speedway.
A reprise of the successful 2007 mid-week event at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway will commence the ‘Great Northern Tour’ on June 17. Then the WoO LMS will make a first-ever trip across the border to Ontario for a June 19 event at Ohsweken Speedway, followed by a return to Quebec’s Autodrome Drummond for the second consecutive year on June 21 and an inaugural race at Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway on June 22.
The ‘Great Northern Tour’ continues with first-time WoO LMS events at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway on June 24 and Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pa., on June 25, leading into the blockbuster ‘Firecracker 100,’ which will see its winner’s share boosted $10,000 – to a cool $40,000 – in celebration of Lernerville’s 40th anniversary.
More exciting details on the WoO LMS ‘mini-series’ swings will be released in the coming weeks.
Joining the ‘Firecracker’ and Circle K Colossal 100 as extra-distance specials on the ’08 schedule are the $20,000-to-win ‘Freedom 100’ on March 28-29 at Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss., which will host its first WoO LMS event after having its initial attempt rained out in 2007; a 100-lapper paying $20,000 to win on April 4-5 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway, which will present the biggest dirt Late Model ever run in Illinois; and the ‘Scorcher 100’ on Aug. 20-21 at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn., which returns to the WoO LMS for the second consecutive season.
Other tracks that will hold WoO LMS events for the first time in 2008 include Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park, which had its first attempt at a WoO LMS washed out in July 2007 but will try again on May 16; Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway (Aug. 15); and Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga. (Aug. 16).
Tracks returning to the tour in ’08 after hosting shows for the first time during the past season include Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway, which will have an enlarged three-eighths-mile layout ready for a May 17 program; Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway (May 18); Bedford (Pa.) Speedway (Aug. 29); and North Alabama Speedway in Tuscumbia, Ala. (Oct. 12).
Two facilities will be back as part of the trail after being absent for a year: Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, Ga., on Aug. 17 and K-C Raceway in Alma, Ohio, on Aug. 23
The WoO LMS will also visit several stalwart tracks, including Virginia Motor Speedway (April 11); Missouri’s Lebanon I-44 Speedway (April 26); Delaware International Speedway in Delmar (May 29); Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway (May 31); Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa. (Aug. 30-31); and I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. (Sept. 13). Hagerstown has hosted a WoO LMS event every season since 2004; VMS, Lebanon I-44 and Tri-City have been on the tour each year since 2005; Delaware will conduct a race for the fourth time in five years; and I-55 will hold its third tour show in five years.
Just five tracks are scheduled to host multiple WoO LMS events in 2008. The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway leads the list with four dates (April 18-19, Oct. 8, Oct. 30-31/Nov. 1), and two races will be held at Lernerville (April 15, June 27-28), Volunteer (Aug. 20-21, Oct. 11), Volusia and Tri-City.
The WoO LMS will conclude for the second consecutive year at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, where the WoO Sprint Cars will join the Late Models for the ‘Outlaws World Finals’ on Oct. 30-31 and Nov. 1.
WoO LMS officials expect to announce additional dates in the near future.
Check www.worldofoutlaws.com for the latest schedule information.
2008 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Schedule (as of Dec. 7, 2007)
Date – Day – Track/Location – Event - To Win - Laps
Feb. 14 – Thurs. – Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL – DIRTcar Nationals - $10,000 – 50L
Feb. 16 – Sat. – Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL – DIRTcar Nationals - $10,000 – 50L
March 28-29 – Fri./Sat. – Pike County Speedway/Magnolia, MS – FREEDOM 100 - $20,000 – 100L
April 4-5 – Fri./Sat. – Farmer City (IL) Raceway - $20,000 – 100L
April 11 – Fri. – Virginia Motor Speedway/Jamaica, VA - $10,000 – 50L
April 15 – Tues. – Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA - $10,000 – 50L
April 18-19 – Fri./Sat. – The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – CIRCLE K COLOSSAL 100 - $50,000 – 100L
April 25 – Fri. – TBA
April 26 – Sat. – Lebanon I-44 Speedway/Lebanon, MO - $10,000 – 50L
April 27 – TBA
May 16 – Fri. – Attica (OH) Raceway Park - $10,000 – 50L
May 17 – Sat. – Lawrenceburg (IN) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
May 18 – Sun. – Lincoln (IL) Speedway - $7,000 – 40L
May 29 – Thurs. – Delaware International Speedway/Delmar, DE - $10,000 – 50L
May 31 – Sat. – Hagerstown (MD) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
June 1 – Sun. – TBA
June 17 – Tues. – Port Royal (PA) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L
June 19 – Thurs. – Ohsweken (ONT) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $10,000 – 50L
June 21 – Sat. – Autodrome Drummond/Drummondville, QUE – Great Northern Tour - $10,000 – 50L
June 22 – Sun. – Cornwall (ONT) Motor Speedway – Great Northern Tour -$10,000 – 50L
June 24 – Tues. – Canandaigua (NY) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L
June 25 – Wed. – Big Diamond Raceway/Minersville, PA – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L
June 27-28 – Fri./Sat. – Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA – Great Northern Tour (FIRECRACKER 100) - $40,000 – 100L
July 9 – Wed. – Deer Creek Speedway/Spring Valley, MN – Wild West Tour (Gopher 50) - $10,000 – 50L
July 10 – Thurs. – North Central Speedway/Brainerd, MN – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 11 – Fri. – River Cities Speedway/Grand Forks, ND – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 12 – Sat. – Estevan Motor Speedway/Estevan, SAS – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 15 – Tues. – TBA
July 16 – Gillette Thunder Speedway/Gillette, WY – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 18 – Fri. – Brown County Speedway/Aberdeen, SD – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 20 – Sun. – Belleville (KS) High Banks – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 40L
July 21 – Mon. – Boone County Speedway/Albion, NE – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 24 – Thurs. – Muskingum County Speedway/Zanesville, OH – Speedweek - $7,000 – 40L
July 25 – Fri. – Eldora Speedway/Rossburg, OH – Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L
July 26 – Sat. – Sharon Speedway/Hartford, OH – Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L
July 27 – Sun. – Eriez Speedway/Hammett, PA – Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 15 – Fri. – Fayetteville (NC) Motor Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 16 – Sat. – Screven Motor Speedway/Sylvania, GA - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 17 – Sun. – Golden Isles Speedway/Waynesville, GA - $7,000 – 40L
Aug. 20-21 – Wed./Thurs. – Volunteer Speedway/Bulls Gap, TN – SCORCHER 100 – TBA – 100L
Aug. 23 – Sat. – K-C Raceway/Alma, OH - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 24 – Sun. – TBA
Aug. 29 – Fri. – Bedford (PA) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 30 – Sat. – Tri-City Speedway/Franklin, PA – TBA – TBA
Aug. 31 – Sun. – Tri-City Speedway/Franklin, PA – TBA – TBA
Sept. 12 – Fri. – TBA
Sept. 13 – Sat. – I-55 Raceway/Pevely, MO – Pepsi Nationals - $10,000 – 50L
Sept. 14 – Sun. – TBA
Oct. 8 – Wed. – The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC - Southern Showdown - $30,000 possible – 50L
Oct. 11 – Sat. – Volunteer Speedway/Bulls Gap, TN - $10,000 – 50L
Oct. 12 – Sun. – North Alabama Speedway/Tuscumbia, AL - $7,000 – 40L
Oct. 30 – Thurs. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS (Time Trials)
Oct. 31 – Fri. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS - $10,000 – 50L
Nov. 1 – Sat. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS - $10,000 – 50L
* Schedule subject to change (check www.worldofoutlaws.com for the latest information)
World of Outlaws Late Model Series Stars Francis & Frank Receive Nominations For AARWBA All-America Team
CONCORD, NC – Nov. 28, 2007 – Steve Francis and Chub Frank – the top-two finishers in the 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series points standings – are among the nominees for the prestigious 2007 All-America Auto Racing Team, which is determined by the 400-plus voting members of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AARWBA).
Francis, who won his first-ever WoO LMS title, and Frank earned nominations in the ‘Short Track’ category. A total of seven different divisions comprise the AARWBA balloting, with the top-two vote-getters in each category being named to the All-America Auto Racing First Team.
Other ‘Short Track’ nominees include 2007 World of Outlaws Sprint Car champion Donny Schatz and series runner-up Joey Saldana, as well as USAC open-wheel national titlists Levi Jones (Sprint Cars) and Jerry Coons Jr. (Midgets).
A dirt Late Model driver has never been voted to the AARWBA All-America First Team, which has been chosen annually by the group’s membership since 1970.
“It’s a significant achievement for Steve Francis and Chub Frank to receive nominations for the AARWBA All-America Auto Racing Team,” said WoO LMS director Tim Christman. “Only the best short-track racers in the country are considered for the team, so we’re extremely excited and proud that two of the nominees were regulars with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.”
The drivers placing third and fourth in each category’s voting will be named to the All-America Auto Racing Second Team, and all other drivers receiving at least five percent of the vote will receive ‘Honorable Mention’ status.
Both Francis and Frank will also be in the running for the Jerry Titus Award, which is presented annually to the All-America team driver who receives the most votes in the balloting, regardless of category.
The AARWBA will honor its standout drivers from the 2007 season during the 38th annual AARWBA Banquet in Indianapolis on Jan. 12, 2008.
Francis, 40, of Ashland, Ky., earned his All-America Team nomination thanks to a dream season on the WoO LMS in 2007. With a performance record that featured four wins, 27 top-five and 40 top-10 finishes in 44 A-Main starts on the tour, the ‘Kentucky Colonel’ ran away with the $100,000 title for the first time after finishing a heartbreaking second in the standings in both 2004 and 2005.
Frank, 45, of Bear Lake, Pa., fell short in his second-half pursuit of Francis for the WoO LMS championship, but he enjoyed a career season nonetheless. The popular driver known as ‘Chubzilla’ led the competitive tour in A-Main victories, with six, and finished a personal-best second in the points standings. He also won the unsanctioned Dirt Track World Championship event at Ohio’s K-C Raceway, which brought him a $50,000 top prize.
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Shane Clanton Heads Into Off-Season On High Note After ‘Gobbler 50’ Victory At Cleveland Speedway
Georgia Standout Finished Fourth In 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Points Standings
CONCORD, NC – Nov. 19, 2007 – Shane Clanton will head into the off-season on a high note.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series regular made a successful invasion of Cleveland (Tenn.) Speedway on Saturday night, winning the track’s 19th annual ‘Gobbler 50’ event.
Clanton, 32, of Locust Grove, Ga., pocketed $5,000 for his first-ever victory in the traditional pre-Thanksgiving special, which ended the 2007 O’Reilly Southern All-Stars Series schedule.
The triumph provided a nice boost to Clanton, who didn’t want his disappointing near-misses of the previous two weeks to be his last memories of the 2007 campaign. He fell to a ninth-place finish in the WoO LMS season-ending ‘Outlaws World Finals’ A-Main on Nov. 3 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway after making an impressive high-side charge to take the lead, and a flat tire knocked him out of the top spot early in the ‘Blue-Gray 100’ on Nov. 11 at Cherokee SuperSpeedway in Gaffney, S.C.
Clanton came out on Saturday night with his Custom-powered RSD Enterprises/SAE Parts Rocket No. 25 firing on all cylinders, grabbing the lead at the initial green flag from his outside-pole spot. But Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., made sure that Clanton worked hard for his money.
McDowell, a WoO LMS regular from 2004-2006, mounted a strong late-race bid to steal the win. He actually nosed ahead of Clanton on lap 48, but Clanton quickly regained command using the outside groove and held on for the remainder of the distance.
Clanton crossed the finish line with a narrow advantage over McDowell. Randy Weaver of Crossville, Tenn., finished third, followed by Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., who won two WoO LMS A-Mains in 2007, and Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., who captured this year’s UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned ‘World 100’ at Eldora Speedway.
Placing seventh was defending ‘Gobbler 50’ champ Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who finished third in the 2007 WoO LMS points standings. Smith also won a heat race earlier in the program.
The ‘Gobbler’ was likely the last start of the season for Clanton, who closes out a 2007 campaign that didn’t quite live up to his expectations. Coming off a career year that saw him finish second in the 2006 WoO LMS points standings, Clanton could only manage a fourth-place result in the tour’s final ’07 rankings.
Clanton gave himself barely a ‘satisfactory’ grade for his ’07 performance on the WoO LMS.
“It’s gotta be a B-minus – almost a ‘C,’ really,” Clanton said when asked to analyze his third season as a fulltime traveler on the WoO LMS. “Last year we had almost an A-plus season, so we’re a little disappointed.
“We just fell out of too many races. I guess it’s all part of racing, but we’ve had parts break this year that we just haven’t had break in the past. I don’t know if we didn’t check our stuff good enough or if it was because of the racetracks, but whatever caused it, it just wasn’t our year.”
Clanton actually got off to a decent start this year. With four top-10 finishes in the season’s first five events – highlighted by a runner-up placing on April 14 at Virginia Motor Speedway – he found himself sitting atop the points standings.
But Clanton’s stint in the points lead lasted exactly one race. He went without a top-10 finish for an uncharacteristic eight A-Mains in a row over the ensuing month, dropping him to eighth in the points standings.
“It was all good until we went to Lernerville (Speedway in Sarver, Pa., on April 17),” said Clanton, who experienced five DNFs in ’07. “We weren’t good for a few weeks after that, and that just killed us in the points.”
Clanton got back on track during the summer, winning twice – on June 16 at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kans., and July 20 at Virginia Motor Speedway – and running off a series-best streak of 17 consecutive top-10 finishes from May 18 to July 26. The surge got him back to fourth in the points standings, but he couldn’t climb any higher.
Clanton’s final WoO LMS stats showed two wins, 13 top-five and 30 top-10 finishes in 44 A-Mains. He also won four National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Awards (tied for second-most with Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark.), captured 13 heat races (tied for third-most) and earned $92,047 in purses.
“Winning at a new venue (for the WoO LMS) like Lakeside was pretty cool,” said Clanton, who fell 20 points shy of third-place Clint Smith in the final standings. “We should’ve won both races at Virginia (Motor), but at least we got one of them.
“We had a pretty good year, but just not the points year that we wanted. We were hoping to be in the battle for the championship again, but it just didn’t work out this year.”
Clanton, whose richest victory of ’07 was the unsanctioned ‘Magnolia State 100’ (worth $25,000) on Sept. 29 at Columbus (Miss.) Speedway, will pick up an additional $35,000 in points-fund cash during the WoO LMS ‘Night of Champions’ Awards Banquet on Dec. 6 at the International Plaza Resort and Spa in Orlando, Fla.
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