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Kevin Kovac
BARBERVILLE, Fla. (January 19) - Volusia Speedway Park has been the site of many memorable moments in World of Outlaws Late Model Series history.
How many more will be made during the half-mile oval's 37th annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals?
It's a good bet that something unforgettable will occur when the 2008 WoO LMS opens at Volusia with a pair of 50-lap, $10,000-to-win events, on Thurs., Feb. 14, and Sat., Feb. 16. A star-studded field expected to number in the neighborhood of 100 cars will see to that.
No track has hosted more WoO LMS events than Volusia Speedway Park. Eleven tour A-Mains have been contested at the high-speed facility, starting with the most historic show of all: the inaugural WoO LMS event under the World Racing Group banner, on Feb. 3, 2004.
The first program upon the reincarnation of the WoO LMS (the tour also ran for the 1988-89 seasons under late Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series founder Ted Johnson) was won by Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who returns to Volusia for the 2008 Alltel DIRTcar Nationals as the reigning WoO LMS champion. Francis will begin his title defense with an unfamiliar number, 19, on his car's doors after parking his own No. 15 machines for the '08 trail in favor of a deal with Maryland team owner Dale Beitler.
Francis, of course, has experienced both highs and lows in WoO LMS action at VSP. Another victory, on Feb. 18, 2006, made him and Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., the only drivers with two tour victories at the track, but on the other side of the ledger, who can forget Volusia's 'Gator 100' on Oct. 29, 2005, when Francis was involved in the most dramatic finish a WoO LMS points race has ever had?
As that 2005 season finale in the Sunshine State was winding down, Francis held second place behind Bloomquist and appeared headed to his first career WoO LMS championship. But on the final lap he was passed for the runner-up spot by Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., who forged a tie with Francis atop the points standings with the move and emerged as the champ thanks to the tour's second tie-breaker (number of second-place finishes).
There have been plenty of other WoO LMS memories made at Volusia…
Take, for instance, Feb. 19, 2005, when Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., registered his first career WoO LMS A-Main victory in the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals finale. A WoO LMS champion one year later, T-Mac is now a Richard Childress Racing Development Driver but is planning to enter the 2008 Alltel DIRTcar Nationals behind the wheel of his familiar Sweeteners Plus No. 39 dirt Late Model.
And speaking of McCreadie's WoO LMS title, how about the 'Gator 100' on Oct. 14, 2006, when six drivers entered the season-ending event at VSP with a chance to win the championship? McCreadie struggled as South Carolina's Chris Madden rolled to a dominating first career WoO LMS victory, but he was able to hold off Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., to celebrate the points crown on Volusia's homestretch.
Then there was last year's WoO LMS 50-lapper during the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals - a race that served as sort of a coming-out party for teenager Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va. The 2005 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year made the event his third career win on the tour, but it was easily his most dominant to that point and spring-boarded him to a career-high four-win 2007 season.
With eight of the nine drivers who have won WoO LMS A-Mains at Volusia having plans to compete in the 2008 Alltel DIRTcar Nationals - a list that includes Francis, Bloomquist, McCreadie, Richards, Moyer, Madden, Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill. (running for NASCAR star Clint Bowyer's new dirt Late Model team) and Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla. - the tour's 50-plus-event 2008 campaign is sure to kick off with plenty of excitement and intrigue.
This will mark the fourth time in the last five years that the WoO LMS will open its season at Volusia.
Supplementing the WoO LMS shows on Feb. 14 and 16, the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals also includes four nights of competition for the UMP DIRTcar Racing Late Models, on Mon., Feb. 11; Tues., Feb. 12; Wed., Feb. 13; and the $10,000-to-win finale on Fri., Feb. 15.
For more information on the 37th annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals and the WoO LMS, visit www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com or www.worldofoutlaws.com.
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