World of Outlaws Late Model Series News & Notes: A Final Look Back At The Great Northern Tour
CONCORD, NC - June 30, 2009 - With the running of last Saturday night's Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., the World of Outlaws Late Model Series completed the ‘Great Northern Tour,' a grueling 10-day swing of races through Canada, upstate New York and Pennsylvania.
The northern excursion featured an unprecedented seven consecutive nights of WoO LMS action from June 21-27 (the tour had never before run more than four days in a row), a total of seven A-Mains (there was one rainout) – and, of course, a whole bunch of interesting stories, some of which are related here...
WHAT A WEEK: No driver had a better Great Northern Tour than Josh Richards, the 21-year-old sensation who caught fire during the swing.
Richards won four of the Tour's seven A-Mains, scoring back-to-back victories twice (a Canadian double on June 18 at Ohsweken Speedway and June 21 at Cornwall Motor Speedway, and June 24 at Pennsy's Big Diamond Raceway and June 25 at Lernerville) and never finishing worse than 11th (on June 23 at New York's Canandaigua Speedway).
Ranked third in the WoO LMS points standings, 44 points behind leader Steve Francis, entering the Great Northern Tour, Richards ended it as the points leader by six markers over Francis. He knows what it will take to stay on top of the standings during the season's second half.
“Everybody's gotta do their part,” said Richards, “from the guy who's maintaining the car and looking over everything to the guy who's doing the tires on the car to me as far as doing the driving on the track. Everything just has to go together – and then you need some luck. If you don't have luck, you just can't win.”
SETTING A DATE: While Francis failed to capture a Great Northern Tour A-Main for the second consecutive year after riding a two-race win streak into the swing, he did fare much better than he had in '08 (he called that frustrating trip his “worst ever”) and had his spirits raised by a nugget of personal off-track news he happily shared.
Just before the recent $100,000 Dirt Late Model Dream event at Ohio's Eldora Speedway, Francis became engaged to Amanda Ferrell, whose parents promote Bluegrass Speedway in Bardstown, Ky. Francis said he and Ferrell are tentatively planning their wedding for a weekend just after next February's racing activities in Florida.
SHINER: Shane Clanton sported a black right eye throughout the Great Northern Tour after an apparent clod of clay hit the front of his helmet on the 10th lap of the swing's opening event on June 18 at Ohsweken.
Running fourth at the time, Clanton absorbed the hard blow and immediately spun off turn four. He was hit by Clint Smith and needed a few moments to collect himself after coming to rest.
“I wasn't knocked out,” said Clanton, “but I was knocked silly.”
The incident was the start of an unspectacular trip for Clanton, whose lone top-five finish was a fifth in the held-over A-Main on June 25 at Lernerville. After beginning the tour 46 points out of the WoO LMS lead (in fourth place), he headed home ranked fifth and facing a hefty 112-point deficit.
BIG NIGHT: It was hard to top the electricity that was in the air on June 22 for the first-ever WoO LMS event at Can-Am Motorsport Park in LaFargeville, N.Y., which drew a standing-room-only crowd that locals called the track's largest since the late ‘80s.
Many fans, of course, came to see local hero Tim McCreadie, the 2006 WoO LMS champion from nearby Watertown, N.Y. The crowd went wild when McCreadie and his father, DIRTcar big-block Modified legend ‘Barefoot' Bob McCreadie, were the last drivers to walk off a bus that brought the entire starting field to the homestretch for pre-race introductions; Timmy started from the pole position, while Bob, who hasn't raced since suffering a broken leg and other injuries in a 2005 motorcycle accident, was the event's grand marshal and waved the green flag for the A-Main.
Alas, T-Mac couldn't provide his faithful a storybook victory. He finished second to Rick Eckert, who praised the sweeping half-mile oval operated by brothers Billy and Charlie Caprara (who also made it clear that they want a return engagement for the WoO LMS in 2010).
“The racetrack's beautiful,” said Eckert. “It's a big, huge place. Man, there were so many lanes. I'd have bet big money at the start of the night that it would've rubbered, but that wasn't the case. That track crew worked hard on the surface all day, watering it and watering it because it was windy, and all that work paid off.”
A VICTORY: Chub Frank got his first WoO LMS win of the 2009 season during the Great Northern Tour – well, in a manner of speaking.
The Bear Lake, Pa., standout didn't actually snap a 13-month winless drought on the series – though he did show signs of breaking out, including a second-place finish on June 25 at Lernerville – but he did enjoy the thrill of victory. ‘Chubzilla' was part of the winning team in the third annual Firecracker 100 Horseshoes Tournament on June 27 at Lernerville.
A participant in the horseshoes competition for the first time, Frank split the $200 first prize with Jack Ayers of Elkton, Md. Ayers was one of 12 fans who won the chance to pair up with a driver for the horseshoes tourney that highlighted the Saturday-afternoon activities during the Firecracker 100 weekend.
Frank and Ayers advanced through the brackets with wins over Russell King (with fan Travis Norman), Clint Smith (with Howie Lyon) and Brent Robinson (with Andy Hummel). They clinched the tournament title by defeating Steve Francis (with John Sorge) in the final, 23-15.
“I haven't thrown horseshoes in like 15 years,” claimed Frank, who appeared to be a natural at the game.
Other drivers who participated in the horseshoes tournament included Lernerville champ Lynn Geisler (with fan Rich Friberg), whose reign as the only winner of the Firecracker competition came to an end when his team lost to Team Francis in the second round; Rick ‘Boom' Briggs (with Tom Roth); Scott Bloomquist (with Kelly Miner); Brian Birkhofer (with Jeremy Speicher); Tim Fuller (with Chuck Werner); Rick Eckert (with Jim Hurtle); and Brady Smith (with Bill Leroy).
DESERVED HONOR: A special ceremony following the Firecracker 100 draw for positions on June 27 honored Walter Burson, the WoO LMS technical director from 2004 until his diagnosis with cancer forced him off the road earlier this season.
A well-known figure in dirt Late Model racing for decades, Burson became the second recipient of a WoO LMS Lifetime Achievement Award, joining car owner Raye Vest (2007). Series director Tim Christman and race director Bret Emrick, who previously worked with Burson on the STARS Renegade DirtCar Series, made the presentation to Burson, and members of all the regular WoO LMS teams joined Burson for a photo.
Making his first visit to a WoO LMS event since beginning cancer treatments four months ago, Burson was in good spirits while making the rounds of the pit area. He was also his usual rough, tough self.
Said Christman, “He told me, ‘You better not have any surprises planned – because if you do, I'm either gonna start crying and hug you or kick your ass.'”
OUTLAWS FOR A WEEK: Several regional drivers got a taste of life on the road with the WoO LMS by following the Great Northern Tour, including:
* Austin Hubbard. The 17-year-old from Seaford, Del., continued his breakout campaign, emerging as a serious contender virtually every night of the swing with noted mechanic Robby Allen overseeing his assault. A fifth-place finish at Cornwall was his top run, but he led the opener at Ohsweken until his car's motor expired and he ran as high as third on June 25 at Lernerville before another broken powerplant eliminated him – the type of performances that give legs to his desire to chase the WoO LMS Rookie of the Year title in 2010.
* Gregg Satterlee. Another up-and-comer who is contemplating the possibility of making a play for the 2010 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year honor, the 24-year-old from Rochester Mills, Pa., showed some grit and determination on the Great Northern Tour. His involvement in Clanton's crash at Ohsweken forced him to return home to make repairs, but he hooked back up with the tour at Cornwall (he would have missed the June 20 event at Quebec's Autodrome Drummond had it not been rained out) and ran the remainder of the swing. A ninth-place run at Canandaigua was his top finish.
* Tony Knowles. Yet another driver with hopes of someday following the WoO LMS, the 21-year-old hauled north from Tyrone, Ga., to follow the Great Northern Tour for the second consecutive year. He entered every event except those at Lernerville, with a sixth-place run at Ohsweken the best of his three top-10 finishes.
* Dan Stone. A memorable WoO LMS winner in 2007 at Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa., the Thompson, Pa., racer trekked to Canada with the series for the third consecutive year and continued on to enter all the remaining Great Northern Tour shows. A fifth-place finish at Ohsweken was his best outing.
* Matt Lux. Though some bad breaks prevented the 34-year-old from Franklin, N.Y., from registering a top-10 finish while entering every event on the swing, he missed just one A-Main (the opener at Ohsweken after a heat-race tangle) and didn't finish worse than 15th. He topped his week off by scoring a lead-lap finish of 13th in the Firecracker 100.
* April Farmer. The 29-year-old from Livingston, Tenn., was a surprise participant in the entire swing, making the long trip in hopes of becoming the first-ever female to start a WoO LMS A-Main. She failed to crack a feature lineup, but she came close, most notably at Can-Am, where she seemed to be in control of the final transfer spot in the B-Main until a late caution flag caused her tires to seal up and left her a non-qualifier.
* Greg Oakes. Missing only the Big Diamond show, the upstart dirt Late Model driver from Franklinville, N.Y., said he used his vacation days from work expressly to follow the swing as a “learning experience.”
* Mike Knight. The 22-year-old from Ripley, N.Y., was snake-bit by mechanical breakdowns throughout the swing, which he decided to follow just two weeks before the Great Northern Tour was set to begin.
FINALLY A WINNER: What did capturing the Firecracker 100 mean to Jimmy Mars?
Well, the $30,950 in cash that he collected sure was nice, as was another crown-jewel victory for his resume. But there was something else...
“I don't get the ‘Bonus Bucks' anymore,” quipped Mars, feigning disappointment over his first career WoO LMS victory making him ineligible for the $500 bonus that goes to the highest-finishing driver in every event who hasn't won a tour A-Main and isn't ranked among the top 12 in the points standings. “That was a long-running joke. I thought they were gonna have to make an amendment on that (‘Bonus Bucks') rule because I was collecting more $500 bonuses than anybody else.”
Mars's close-but-no-cigar runs in WoO LMS competition ended with his Firecracker 100 triumph – which, by the way, earned him the ‘Bonus Bucks' cash for the final time.
ETCETERA:
* Solon Springs, Wis.'s Brady Smith continued his solid first season as a WoO LMS regular, registering four top-five finishes (including his third runner-up placing of 2009, at Ohsweken) during a trip that saw him visit all but one track (Lernerville) for the first time in his career. His nine top-five finishes ranks behind only Francis (12), Richards (11) and Lanigan (10) in that category, and he's sixth in the points standings despite failing to qualify for the season opener at Florida's Volusia Speedway Park.
* Darrell Lanigan experienced few engine malfunctions or flat tires while rolling to last year's WoO LMS championship, but the 2009 season has been a different story. When he ceded the lead in the June 25 A-Main at Lernerville, it marked the second time this season that he's dropped out of a race due to a motor failure while contending.
* Port Colbourne, Ont.'s Adam Ferri, who entered the three Canadian shows plus the midweek race at Canandaigua, had a forgettable experience at a French-Canadian gas station after the Autodrome Drummond event was rained out. A “lost in translation” moment caused Ferri to put over $300 worth of unleaded fuel in his hauler rather than the diesel it needed, forcing him to spend more than an hour draining the gasoline into a drum he obtained from a nearby resident before getting back on the road.
* WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender Tyler Reddick's father, Clarence, visited a Canadian hospital on June 19 after slicing his left hand while cutting bodywork in a Cornwall truckstop. He needed roughly a dozen staples to close the gaping wound, which he covered with thick bandages for the remainder of the swing.
* Bristolville, Ohio's Russell King took over the WoO LMS Rookie of the Year points lead during the Tour and also moved to 10th in the overall points standings. The only rookie to qualify for the Firecracker 100 (he finished 16th after breaking an oil-pump pulley), he ended the swing with a 53-point lead over Jordan Bland in the rookie battle.
* Crew changes: Brandon Bilskie, who began the Great Northern Tour as Shane Clanton's fulltime mechanic, ended it working out of Clint Smith's hauler. Clanton, meanwhile, flew in his former crewman Jonathan Owensby for the Firecracker 100; Owensby started the 2009 season with Smith but has been off the racing circuit for much of the campaign.
NEXT UP: The WoO LMS is idle until kicking off the five-race ‘Wild West Tour' with the 30th annual ‘Gopher 50' on July 8 at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn. The swing also includes stop on July 9 at North Central Speedway in Brainerd, Minn.; July 10 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D.; July 14 at Gillette (Wyo.) Thunder Speedway; and July 16 at Dakota State Fair Speedway in Huron, S.D.
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Mars Recovers From Early Flat Tire To Register Dramatic Firecracker 100 Victory Worth $30,950 At Lernerville Speedway
SARVER, PA - June 27, 2009 - Jimmy Mars was unstoppable in Saturday night's third annual Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com at Lernerville Speedway.
After being angered by a scrape with another competitor that forced him to the pit area with a flat left-rear tire on lap 27, Mars stormed through the field to register a dramatic victory in the blockbuster $140,000 World of Outlaws Late Model Series event.
Mars, 37, of Menomonie, Wis., completed his stirring rally by passing defending WoO LMS champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., for the lead on lap 94. He had no trouble over the remaining distance, pulling away from Lanigan with ease after a final caution flag flew on lap 95.
“My emotions were running pretty wild (after sustaining the flat tire),” said Mars, who had advanced his M-B Custom Chassis car from the 18th starting spot to eighth by lap 27. “If I wouldn't have been in a car, I probably would've strangled somebody as mad as I was.
“But I calmed myself back down and said, ‘I'm gonna make something happen here.' I was gonna do my best to try to win it (after restarting at the rear of the field), and obviously it worked out.”
The triumph, worth $30,950 including lap money and other awards, was the first of Mars's career on the WoO LMS. His best previous finish on the tour was second on two occasions, including his first-ever appearance at Lernerville on April 17, 2007.
Lanigan, 39, settled for a runner-up finish in the Firecracker 100 for the second year in a row, driving his Fusion Energy Rocket under the checkered flag 2.472 seconds behind Mars. In a near carbon-copy of his 2008 Firecracker run, the race's polesitter fell short after leading the most laps – a total of 82 circuits this time.
Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., who started 20th, made a late charge to finish third in his Bobby Labonte Motorsports MasterSbilt car. WoO LMS regular Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., placed fourth in his Team Zero by Bloomquist mount, and Francis faded to fifth at the finish after starting from the outside pole and leading laps 1-9 and 11-12 in the Beitler Motorsports Rocket, which was hampered by a brake caliper that kept locking up.
For much of the distance it appeared that Lanigan would avenge his '08 Firecracker defeat at the hands of Muscatine, Iowa's Brian Birkhofer. He secured the lead from Francis on lap 13 and went on to build as much as a half-straightaway edge during periods of extended green-flag racing.
But Mars simply wasn't to be denied. He methodically worked his way forward after pitting, reaching eighth on lap 62, cracking the top five with an inside pass of Pearson on lap 70 and sliding by Birkhofer for second on lap 81.
Lanigan put up a gallant fight once Mars caught him on lap 86, but he couldn't repel the driver known as the ‘Ice Man.'
“I was doing everything I could to hold (Mars) off,” said Lanigan, who led laps 1-69 in last year's Firecracker 100. “I just kept getting loose up off the corner at the end and his car was stuck to the ground. He got a run on me on the outside and that was all.”
Mars tried several different routes by Lanigan before finally making a move stick off turn two.
“He was making his car wide,” Mars said of Lanigan. “It was gonna be hard to get by him on the top, so I figured if I could stuff it around on the outside of him just enough to show him that I was there, that would allow the bottom to get a little bit wider and give me a chance to get by him.
“Basically I made a cross pass coming out of (turns) one and two. He kinda made his car wide coming out of there and I was able to turn down and grab the traction down the back straightaway.”
Mars praised the performance of his car, which he and his brother, Integra Shocks ‘Wrench of the Race' winner Chris Mars, built in collaboration with Birkhofer.
“My car would just get into the corner so good,” said Mars, whose previous Firecracker 100 assaults resulted in a 15th-place finish in 2007 and a DNQ last year. “When we came back out (after the pit stop) and the track cleaned off and kept wider and wider, and I could run where I needed to. It was so much fun.”
Lanigan's mood wasn't quite so happy after the race despite the cool $18,156 (including lap money) that he earned for his night's work before a massive crowd. The frustration of remaining without a win on the 2009 WoO LMS was evident in the sullen face of the veteran driver, who has a series-leading five runner-up finishes this season.
Just two nights earlier Lanigan had led the postponed ‘Showdown in Sarvertown' A-Main at Lernerville until terminal engine problems short-circuited his bid.
“It's aggravating, real aggravating,” said Lanigan, who ended the ‘Great Northern Tour' ranked third in the points standings but also riding a 46-race winless streak on the series. “I have plenty of luck (this year), but it's all bad. We just can't catch a break.”
Pearson, meanwhile, appeared to be closing on Lanigan and Mars after he grabbed third from Birkhofer on lap 86, but he didn't threaten either driver after the race's 10th and final caution flag flew on lap 95.
“My car got extremely tight at the end,” said Pearson, who parked the Rocket car he has been running this year in favor of an older MasterSbilt car. “I don't know if a tire gave up or what, but we just couldn't stay at the bottom like I did early in the race.”
Birkhofer failed to defend his '08 Firecracker title, finishing sixth in his M-B Custom machine. He started ninth and ran second from lap 67-80 but faded during the final circuits.
Eldora Dream winner Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., finished seventh after starting 15th. WoO LMS points leader Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., and Rick Eckert of York, Pa., placed eighth and ninth, respectively, after struggling with tire-compound choices that were a bit too hard, and Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., who used a provisional spot to start 25th in the 100, completed the top 10 after rallying from a lap-15 pit stop to fix a broken left-rear shock bolt.
The race was plagued by caution flags, especially during its early stages. Seven cautions flew in the first 27 laps, though none were for serious incidents.
Among the contenders who ran into trouble was Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., who came together with Birkhofer on the homestretch while bidding for third place on lap 23. The contact blew the left-rear tire and broke the left-rear shock on Fuller's car, costing him two laps while repairs were made.
Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., who won the inaugural Firecracker 100, started fourth but was never a factor in the 100. He pitted for tire changes during caution periods on laps 13 and 20, but the work was for naught as he was lapped by Lanigan on lap 42 and retired several circuits later.
WoO LMS rookie Jordan Bland of Campbellsville, Ky., won Saturday night's 10-lap C-Main, and the twin 20-lap B-Mains were captured by Mike Blose of New Bethlehem, Pa., and Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla.
Robbie Blair of Titusville, Pa., salvaged his weekend with a victory in the ‘Uncle Sam 30' non-qualifiers' race, holding off the race-long challenges of Caledonia, N.Y.'s Vic Coffey to pocket a $3,000 consolation prize.
Blair, who passed Coffey for the lead on lap two, survived a scare on lap 19 when contact with the lapped car driven by April Farmer of Livingston, Tenn., sent him sliding off the backstretch. Blair kept his car moving, however, as Farmer spun to draw a caution flag, allowing him to remain in the lead for the restart.
Blair's victory came after a broken motor had knocked him from the lead in the fifth heat race on Friday night. He switched to his backup car for Saturday's action and finished second in the C-Main and then fifth in the second B-Main, falling short of transferring to the Firecracker 100 by two spots.
Coffey settled for second in the Uncle Sam 30, followed by 17-year-old Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del., 17th-starter Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., and Dave Murdick of Slippery Rock, Pa.
After contesting seven events in two states and two Canadian provinces over a 10-day period, the WoO LMS teams will have a welcomed break before heading out on the Wild West Tour. The five-race western swing kicks off on Wed., July 8, with the 30th annual ‘Gopher 50' at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Results of WoO Late Model Series ‘Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com' (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (18) Jimmy Mars/100 $30,950
2. (1) Darrell Lanigan/100 $18,156
3. (20) Earl Pearson Jr./100 $8,000
4. (10) Brady Smith/100 $6,000
5. (2) Steve Francis/100 $5,325
6. (9) Brian Birkhofer/100 $4,500
7. (15) Jimmy Owens/100 $4,000
8. (6) Josh Richards/100 $3,500
9. (13) Rick Eckert/100 $3,000
10. (25) Shane Clanton/100 $3,000
11. (22) Steve Shaver/100 $2,800
12. (16) Chub Frank/100 $2,700
13. (21) Matt Lux/100 $2,700
14. (3) Jamie Lathroum/99 $2,500
15. (7) Tim Fuller/98 $2,400
16. (26) Russell King/92 $2,650
17. (8) Jared Miley/90 $2,200
18. (24) Clint Smith/73 $2,100
19. (12) Dale McDowell/66 $2,150
20. (14) Coleby Frye/64 $2,000
21. (17) Keith Barbara/51 $2,000
22. (19) Mike Blose/50 $2,000
23. (11) Rick Briggs/48 $2,000
24. (4) Scott Bloomquist/43 $2,000
25. (23) Dave Hess Jr./41 $2,000
26. (28) Alex Ferree/41 $2,000
27. (27) Gregg Satterlee/22 $2,000
28. (5) Doug Horton/19 $2,000
Time of Race: 1 Hour, 5 Mins., 25.180 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 2.472 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 10 (Laps 5, 13, 15, 20, 23, 24, 27, 65, 76, 95)
Lap Leaders: Francis (1-9); Lanigan (10); Francis (11-12); Lanigan (13-93); Mars (94-100)
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World of Outlaws Late Model Series Points Leaders Shine, McCreadie Flips During Firecracker 100 Qualifying Night Action
SARVER, PA - June 26, 2009 - The top three drivers in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series points standings shined during Friday night's heat-race action for the third annual Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com at Lernerville Speedway.
Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. – who rank 1-3, respectively, in the tour's hotly-contested points battle – scored victories in the series of six 15-lap heats that kicked off western Pennsylvania's premier dirt Late Model event.
A stellar field of 61 cars was signed in for the qualifying program, which also saw 2007 Firecracker 100 winner Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., Jamie Lathroum of Mechanicsville, Md., and Doug Horton of Bruceton Mills, W.Va., register heat-race triumphs.
The six heat winners will redraw for the top-six starting positions in Saturday night's Firecracker 100, which tops off a full day of entertainment at Lernerville.
Former WoO LMS champion Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., meanwhile, barrel-rolled his car twice in a tangle off turn four during Friday's second heat. Making just his fifth start since returning last week from a back injury suffered in a Jan. 15 crash during the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Okla., McCreadie slid up the track when he hit a spot of water along the inside berm, made contact with Jared Miley of South Park, Pa., and then was hit by his Sweeteners Plus teammate Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y.
The shove from Coffey sent McCreadie's car into a pair of flips. It came to rest on its wheels and McCreadie gingerly climbed out of the cockpit, sore but otherwise uninjured. He expects to drive his backup car on Saturday night in an attempt to qualify for the Firecracker 100.
Richards, 21, put his Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket machine back at the front of the pack 24 hours after winning the postponed WoO LMS ‘Showdown in Sarvertown' A-Main at the four-tenths-mile oval. The tour points leader raced to a convincing victory in the fourth heat on a slick track surface that was completely different than the heavy one he mastered on Thursday night.
“I think that's as slick as (the surface) will get tomorrow (in the Firecracker 100), so I feel pretty good about our chances,” said Richards, a five-time WoO LMS winner this season who is hoping to make Saturday's $30,000-to-win blockbuster his first-ever victory in a crown-jewel event. “Usually when it's slick and I'm creeping around, nothing feels good (on the car). But tonight I actually had a good feel in that condition and that gives me some confidence.”
Both Francis and Lanigan won heats after installing backup engines in their cars earlier in the day. Francis found a broken lifter in the powerplant of his Beitler Motorsports Rocket after finishing fourth in Thursday night's A-Main, while Lanigan's Fusion Energy Rocket was sidelined by terminal motor problems as he led the ‘Showdown in Sarvertown.'
Lanigan enjoyed a perfect qualifying night, preceding his win in the first heat with the fastest lap in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials. He toured the track in 17.754 seconds to record his series-leading fourth fast-time honor of the 2009 season.
Lanigan, who finished second in last year's Firecracker 100 after leading laps 1-69, will seek to end a frustrating 45-race winless streak on the WoO LMS in Saturday night's headliner.
Bloomquist drove his Team Zero by Bloomquist car to victory in the third heat over defending Firecracker 100 winner Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa. Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., who earlier this month won the UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned $100,000 Dirt Late Model Dream event at Ohio's Eldora Speedway, grabbed the third-and-final transfer spot in the preliminary.
The evening's upset heat winners were Lathroum, who captured his first career WoO LMS A-Main victory last month at Delaware International Speedway, and Horton. Lathroum's triumph came in his first-ever appearance at Lernerville.
Rick Eckert of York, Pa., who sits fourth in the WoO LMS points standings, grabbed the final transfer position in the first heat when he slid around the outside of New Bethlehem, Pa.'s Mike Blose exiting turn four with the checkered flag waving.
“I just threw it in on the top,” said Eckert. “It was the last lap and I didn't want to run the B-Main.”
Friday's program ended with Lanigan's crewmen, Randall Edwards and Eric Fulwood, earning a $1,000 check for winning the Integra Shocks Crew Chief Challenge. They survived four rounds of head-to-head battles in the tire-changing competition, beating Tim Fuller's wrenches, Mike ‘Smoke' Countryman and Barry Knapp, in the final.
Fifteen two-crewman teams participated in the tournament-style event, which was contested on the track's homestretch. The crews had to change the right-rear tires on their cars in each round.
The Firecracker 100 weekend continues on Saturday with a full day of activities, starting at 12 noon with a driver/fan horseshoe tournament, a Weenie Roast and a driver question-and-session session in front of the fans. A driver autograph session is scheduled for underneath the grandstand from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., followed by B-Mains, the $3,000-to-win Uncle Sam 30 for non-qualifiers and the main event — the $30,000-to-win Firecracker 100.
Racing is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
For more information on the Firecracker 100 and the WoO LMS, visit www.lernerville.com or www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 17.754
2. 19-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 17.767
3. 0-Scott Bloomquist/Mooresburg, TN 17.804
4. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 17.830
5. won11-Robbie Blair/Titusville, PA 17.966
6. 11H-Austin Hubbard/Seaford, DE 18.007
7. 19T-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 18.015
8. H1-Jared Miley/South Park, PA 18.028
9. 71d-Ron Davies/Erie, PA 18.038
10. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 18.060
11. 21-Matt Lux/Franklin, PA 18.069
12. 46-Doug Horton/Bruceton Mills, WV 18.080
13. 5-Mike Blose/New Bethlehem, PA 18.108
14. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 18.208
15. 15b-Brian Birkhofer/Muscatine, IA 18.213
16. 2-Brady Smith/Solon Springs, WI 18.244
17. 6-Jamie Lathroum/Mechanicsville, MD 18.250
18. 25-Shane Clanton/Locust Grove, GA 18.253
19. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 18.254
20. 11-Tyler Reddick/Corning, CA 18.256
21. 20-Jimmy Owens/Newport, TN 18.266
22. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 18.291
23. 99B-Rick Briggs/Bear Lake, PA 18.317
24. 17M-Dale McDowell/Chickamauga, GA 18.321
25. 72M-John Mason/Millersburg, OH 18.337
26. 44p-Earl Pearson Jr./Jacksonville, FL 18.345
27. 28-Eddie Carrier Jr./Salt Rock, WV 18.362
28. 2J-Mike Johnson/Imperial, PA 18.377
29. 4J-John Mollick/Toronto, OH 18.431
30. 28M-Jimmy Mars/Menomonie, WI 18.434
31. 18K-Brandon Kinzer/Allen, KY 18.455
32. 32c-Vic Coffey/Caledonia, NY 18.544
33. 56-Russell King/Bristolville, OH 18.571
34. 10-Gary Lyle/Hyde Park, PA 18.574
35. 29s-Ken Schaltenbrand/Sarver, PA 18.612
36. 4-Alex Ferree/Saxonburg, PA 18.630
37. 38R-Nick Reges/Butler, PA 18.666
38. 9k-Mike Knight/Ripley, NY 18.667
39. 1c-Lynn Geisler/Cranberry Twp., PA 18.748
40. 24M-Jeremy Miller/Gettysburg, PA 18.814
41. 44H-Dave Hess Jr./Waterford, PA 18.818
42. 12-Jordan Bland/Campbellsville, KY 18.824
43. 21d-Dan Stone/Thompson, PA 18.868
44. F1-Coleby Frye/Dover, PA 18.914
45. 1J-Dave Murdick/Slippery Rock, PA 18.917
46. 22s-Gregg Satterlee/Rochester Mills, PA 18.975
47. 17-Keith Barbara/South Park, PA 19.012
48. 30-Steve Shaver/Vienna, WV 19.034
49. 66-Todd Bachman/Natrona Heights, PA 19.054
50. 14-April Farmer/Livingston, PA 19.062
51. 22G-Greg Oakes/Franklinville, NY 19.132
52. J4-John Garvin/Sarver, PA 19.222
53. 7x-Herman Bertolini/Creighton, PA 19.290
54. 1M-Peter Mantha Jr./Gatineau, QUE 19.342
55. 3-Brent Robinson/Smithfield, VA 19.353
56. 23-Tony Burke/Sarver, PA 19.372
57. 72N-Michael Norris/Sarver, PA 19.415
58. 21M-Tony Musolino/Scott Twp., PA 19.704
59. B22-Bump Hedman/Sugar Grove, PA 19.862
60. J19-Jason Fosnaught/Creighton, PA 20.529
61. 18H-Dustin Hapka/Grand Forks, ND N/T
Heat No. 1 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Lanigan, Fuller, Eckert, Blose, Kinzer, Stone, Robinson, Mason, Hapka, Bachman, Reges
Heat No. 2 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Francis, J. Miley, Frye, Pearson, Reddick, Knight, Burke, Farmer, McCreadie, Coffey
Heat No. 3 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Bloomquist, Birkhofer, Owens, Carrier, Davies, King, Oakes, Geisler, Norris, Murdick
Heat No. 4 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Richards, B. Smith, Frank, C. Smith, J. Miller, Lyle, Musolino, Garvin, Satterlee (DNS) M. Johnson
Heat No. 5 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Lathroum, Briggs, Barbara, Hess, Lux, Hedman, Bertolini, Schaltenbrand, Mollick, Blair
Heat No. 6 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Horton, McDowell, Mars, Hubbard, Shaver, Clanton, Ferree, Bland, Mantha, Fosnaught
-end-
