Contact: Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series PR Director
kkovac@dirtcar.com | 704-254-7929

World of Outlaws Late Model Series News & Notes: Looking Back At Eldora Speedway’s ‘Dream,’ Looking Ahead At The ‘Great Northern Tour’

CONCORD, NC - June 14, 2010 -

A HEARTBREAKER: Shane Clanton nearly roared into the World of Outlaws Late Model Series ‘Great Northern Tour’ – a six-track, eight-race swing that begins on Tuesday, June 15, at Can-Am Motorsports Park in Lafargeville, N.Y. – with some extra spending money in his pocket.

The WoO LMS star from Locust Grove, Ga., appeared primed to grab the $100,000 top prize on the line in Sunday afternoon’s postponed DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned ‘Dream XVI’ at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio – until a cruel twist of fate left him only ‘dreaming’ of the cash that slipped through his fingers.

Clanton, 34, had no sooner begun challenging eventual winner Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., for the lead on lap 65 of the 100-lap Dream A-Main when his car’s right-rear shock bolt broke, knocking him out of action on the 68th circuit. Rather than a division-high $100,000 payday – or even a still-cool $20,000 for second place – Clanton was left sulking with a 13th-place finish worth $1,800.

“I never start counting the money until the checkered flag falls,” said Clanton, who has one win on the 2010 WoO LMS and sits ninth in the points standings. “But when I got up there and caught Moyer, I did think about that 100-grand for a minute.”

Clanton, who started 10th in the prestigious event, exploded into contention for the big money after the halfway point, vaulting sixth place on lap 50 to second just 11 circuits later. He dived underneath Moyer rounding turns one and two on lap 65, but before he could make another bid his RSD Enterprises Rocket slowed, slumped over on its disabled right-rear corner.

“I don’t know if I would’ve got (Moyer), but I was gonna give it my best shot,” said Clanton, who was bidding to join Moyer, Scott Bloomquist, Donnie Moran and Jimmy Owens as the only drivers to win Eldora’s World 100 and Dream mega-events. “I was right up on his back bumper, and generally when you’re pressing somebody like that every lap you can get them to make at least one mistake.”

After changing into street clothes and taking about a half-hour to cool off, Clanton was remarkably upbeat about his near-miss.

“I saw his crew guys scrambling back-and-forth (in the infield) when I got up to him,” Clanton said of Moyer, “so at least I know I made him chase the track a little. At least we were there.”

With his machine powered by a new Malcuit engine, Clanton’s Eldora performance did send him out on the Great Northern Tour with renewed confidence. “We know we got our car running good,” he said.

WEEKEND WHIRLWIND: Defending WoO LMS champion Josh Richards once again fell short of his coveted first career win in a dirt Late Model crown-jewel event, but his sixth-place finish on Sunday was still a career-best in his five Dream starts.

Throw in the fact that the 22-year-old Richards timed 64th fastest because he missed the first round of Friday night’s 104-car time-trial session – he arrived at Eldora a bit late after competing in the late-afternoon ARCA Racing Series event at Michigan International Speedway – and he wasn’t too disappointed with his performance.

“I was hoping for at least a top five, but we can’t complain about finishing sixth,” said Richards, who exited Michigan’s ARCA race early after blowing a right-front tire and hitting the wall. “After (qualifying) on Friday night I didn’t know if we’d even be able to make the show.”

Richards, who started 16th in the Dream, climbed as high as fifth but lost the spot to Scott Bloomquist on lap 91. He said his car was “just too free” to handle the slick afternoon track conditions.

This week Richards returns to the WoO LMS looking to pad his points lead and add more victories to his circuit-leading total of four in 2010. He is certainly the favorite to win the tour’s third annual event on Sun., June 20, at Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway – he’s won the quarter-mile oval’s two previous shows in dramatic fashion – and will have another shot at his first major-event triumph when the Great Northern Tour concludes with the $30,000-to-win Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com on June 24-26 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.

SHORT-CIRCUITED: WoO LMS regulars Steve Francis, Tim McCreadie and Darrell Lanigan all appeared to be contenders in the Dream, but each driver was done in by a bout with the Big E’s outside wall on a day that saw the fast line develop just inches from the unforgiving concrete.

* Francis effectively dashed his hopes for a $100,000 victory when he slapped the wall between turns one and two on the first lap, ripping the right side of his car’s rear spoiler asunder. He remained in the top five until his attempt to slide under Steve Casebolt for fourth on lap 41 ended with his car climbing the turn-four wall.

“I made the real smart move of trying to knock the wall down on lap two and then doing it again (on lap 41),” said Francis, who finished 21st after retiring with body and suspension damage following his second incident (his car was also starting to overheat from a punctured radiator). “I felt like my car was real maneuverable, but after messing up that spoiler we were done.”

* McCreadie, who set fast time on Friday night, needed just eight laps to crack the top five after starting 13th in the Dream. But three circuits later he bounced off the wall exiting turn two, inflicting body and suspension damage that would ultimately prove fatal to his chances.

“Just pure stupidity,” said McCreadie, who hung around the top five until pulling off on lap 55 due to an overheating engine caused by damage to his car’s radiator (he finished 15th). “I took myself out of any shot of winning barely 10 laps into the race.”

* Lanigan, who started 14th, appeared ready to mount a mid-race charge until his bid was stopped dead in its tracks when he slammed the turn-three wall while bidding for sixth on lap 49. His car’s right-rear corner was crushed and he limped into the pit area, finishing 16th.

NO ELDORA MAGIC: Nine WoO LMS regulars entered the Dream; six drivers qualified for the A-Main, including Brady Smith, who made a strong charge forward to transfer through a heat but finished 19th in the 100-lapper after making no headway and pulling off early.

Non-qualifiers included rookie Austin Hubbard, who was done after slapping the wall during heat action in his father Mike’s car (which was renumbered with Dale Beitler’s No. 19 and sported a dark paint scheme), and veterans Chub Frank and Clint Smith. Frank was unable to recover from a poor time-trial effort and saw his weekend end with a 13th-place finish in the B-Main, while Smith caught the concrete during his time-trial lap and was done after a C-Main tangle left him with a 13th-place finish.

FINANCIAL DECISION: WoO LMS stalwart Rick Eckert opted to skip the Dream – a race he won in 1999 – to stay closer to his York, Pa., home for the CenturyLink Appalachian Mountains Speedweek. He made the right call – he won once (on June 7 at Virginia’s Winchester Speedway) and pocketed a $4,000 bonus for capturing the mini-series championship.

Eckert hopes to carry the momentum he gained onto the Great Northern Tour. He won last year’s inaugural WoO LMS event at Can-Am and also was victorious in 2008 in the last series show contested at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Que., which hosts the tour on Sat., June 19; last year’s event at the four-tenths-mile French-Canadian oval was rained out.

GEARED UP: Tim Fuller took the weekend off from competition to prepare his Gypsum Express equipment for a swing to his home turf; he’s run a DIRTcar big-block and/or 358-Modified at every track on the Great Northern Tour, including his former hometracks Can-Am and Brewerton (N.Y.) Speedway, where Fuller will try to repeat his 2009 WoO LMS victory when the circuit returns on Tues., June 22.

Fuller also plans to sneak in a Super DIRTcar Series big-block Modified event this week, using the off-day between the Outlaw shows at Can-Am and Merrittville Speedway in Thorold, Ont. (June 17) to travel to Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y., on Wednesday night (June 16). He’ll carry his helmet bag to OCFS to drive the J&S Racing No. 74.

CHALLENGERS: Drivers expected to join the traveling caravan to run all or most of the Great Northern Tour include Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa., Mike Knight of Ripley, N.Y., 15-year-old Tyler Reddick of Corning, Calif., Greg Oakes of Franklinville, N.Y., April Farmer of Livingston, Tenn. (one of two female racers planning to participate in the swing along with WoO LMS rookie Jill George of Cedar Lake, Iowa) and Peter Mantha Jr. of Gatineau, Que.

DIRTcar big-block Modified standouts – and Gypsum Racing teammates of Tim Fuller –Billy Decker of Unadilla, N.Y., and Larry Wight of Baldwinsville, N.Y., also plan to enter several events, while 2008 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., will compete in the shows held on the American side of the border.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE GREAT NORTHERN TOUR:

* Chapman's Can-Am Motorsports Park on Tues., June 15: Visit www.canammotorsports.com or call 315-658-4431.

* Merrittville Speedway on Thurs., June 17: Visit www.merrittvillespeedway.com or call 905-892-8266.

* Autodrome Drummond on Sat., June 19: Visit www.autodrome-drummond.com or call 819-474-2222.

* Cornwall Motor Speedway on Sun., June 20: Visit www.cornwallspeedway.com or call 613-938-3945.

* Brewerton Speedway on Tues., June 22: Visit www.brewertonspeedway.com or call 315-668-6906.

* Lernerville Speedway on June 24-26: Visit www.lernerville.com or call 724-353-1511.

Advance tickets to Lernerville's Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com are now on sale and going fast. They can be purchased now by clicking on the 'Buy Tickets Now!' link at www.lernerville.com or by calling the speedway office at 724-353-1511 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

The best Firecracker 100 deal available is an advance three-day reserved ticket package priced at $59 for adults and $19 for kids 10-and-under. A free pit pass for the Thurs., June 24, and Fri., June 25, shows and priority access to autograph session on Sat., June 26, is included if the package is purchased by June 23.

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