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Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (October 29) - Gaffney, S.C., resident Chris "Smokey" Madden held on to the lead of the Armour Foods Vienna Sausage Showdown presented by Ferris Commercial Mowers to beat the "Moweaqua Missile" Shannon Babb by 0.077 seconds to win the 50-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series race at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Madden started the feature from sixth place and took over the lead position on lap five. He was uncontested for most of the race, until Babb closed in to contend for the top spot with five laps to go. The two battled neck and neck in the closing laps, with Madden edging Babb by just a few feet as they took the checkered flag.
"I knew (Shannon Babb) was going to be tough," Madden said. "He was really good on the top. I was hoping we weren't going to have all of those restarts whenever he got to the top five, but we were able to hold him off.
"I could race with Shannon any time of the week. He's a great hard racer."
Madden's win in the Armour Foods Vienna Sausage Showdown was his fourth at The Dirt Track. He is now tied with Scott Bloomquist for the most Super Late Model Wins at the four-tenths-mile clay oval.
The feature was slowed by six caution periods, including one for World of Outlaws Late Model Series points leader Darrell Lanigan, who stopped on the track due to mechanical problems on lap 34. The "Kentucky Colonel" Steve Francis, second in the point standings, also suffered mechanical issues that sent him to the pit area on lap 28.
Dale McDowell, "Voodoo Child" Scott Bloomquist and Shane Clanton rounded out the top-five finishers.
With 81 cars entered, the field for the feature was set by six heat races and three last-chance qualifiers. The biggest accident of the evening occurred during the first last-chance qualifier when the field bunched up in turn two, sending reigning Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman into a barrel roll down the backstretch.
The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway will end its 2008 season with the VAULT World Finals tomorrow through Saturday. The three-day show will feature twin $10,000-to-win features for the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and World of Outlaws Late Model Series on Friday and Saturday nights. Tomorrow each division will qualify, followed by "Breaking the VAULT" dash races and the Integra Pit Crew Challenge. Tickets can be purchased online at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com or by calling the Lowe's Motor Speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS.
The results:
World of Outlaws Late Models
First Heat (10 laps): 1. Davey Johnson; 2. Jonathan Davenport; 3. Eric Wells; 4. Ricky Weeks; 5. Danny Johnson; 6. Jackie Boggs; 7. Jim Rasey; 8. Chad Ruhlman; 9. David Gilliland; 10. Anthony Sanders; 11. Jill George; 12. Chesley Dixon; 13. Tommy Kerr. Did Not Start: Mike Balzano.
Second Heat (10 laps): 1. Ricky Elliott; 2. Chris Madden; 3. Rick Eckert; 4. Eric Jacobsen; 5. Tim McCreadie; 6. Jeremy Faircloth; 7. Rob McLaughlin; 8. Josh McGuire; 9. Jordan Bland; 10 Jeff Smith; 11. Ben Faircloth; 12. Joe Isabell; 13. Jeep Van Wormer; 14. Randle Chupp.
Third Heat (10 laps): 1. Darrell Lanigan; 2. Tim Fuller; 3. Mike Knight; 4. Eddie Carrier Jr.; 5. Austin Dillon; 6. Randy Korte; 7. Chris Ferguson; 8. Don O'Neal; 9. Rick Whaley; 10. Wes Burton; 11. Travis Greer. Did Not Start: Vic Hill; Jeff Isabell Jr.; Bob Gordon.
Fourth Heat (10 laps): 1. Scott Bloomquist; 2. Shannon Babb; 3. Kenny Schrader; 4. Brian Shirley; 5. Matt Miller; 6. Jeremy Miller; 7. G.R. Smith; 8. Gregg Satterlee; 9. Ryan Newman; 10. Chuck Harper; 11. Jason Leffler; 12. John Winge; 13. Chas Shellenberger.
Fifth Heat (10 laps): 1. Dale McDowell; 2. Clint Smith; 3. Donnie Moran; 4. Chub Frank; 5. Dan Schlieper; 6. Luke Roffers; 7. Ray Cook; 8. Michael England; 9. Vic Coffey; 10. Dan Stone; 11. Curt Spalding; 12. Norman Short Jr.; 13. Jimmy Owens.
Sixth Heat (10 laps): 1. Josh Richards; 2. Justin Ratliff; 3. Steve Francis; 4. Shane Clanton; 5. Tim Dohm; 6. Wayne Chinn; 7. Jerry Bowersock; 8. Duke Whiseant; 9. Austin Hubbard; 10. Steve Shaver; 11. Tim Allen; 12. Justin Labonte; 13. Jeff Isabell Jr.
First Last Chance Race (10 laps): 1. Ricky Weeks; 2. Brian Shirley; 3. Danny Johnson; 4. Chad Ruhlman; 5. Tommy Kerr; 6. Jackie Boggs; 7. David Gilliland; 8. Chuck Harper; 9. John Winge; 10. Matt Miller; 11. Jim Rasey; 12. Gregg Satterlee; 13. Ryan Newman; 14. Anthony Sanders; 15 Chas Shellenberger. Did Not Start: Jeremy Miller; G.R. Smith; Jill George; Jason Leffler; Chesley Dixon; Mike Balzano.
Second Last Chance Race (10 laps): 1. Chub Frank; 2. Dan Schlieper; 3. Eric Jacobsen; 4. Tim McCreadie; 5. Vic Coffey; 6. Jimmy Owens; 7. Luke Roffers; 8. Ray Cook; 9. Rob McLaughlin; 10. Michael England; 11. Jeff Smith; 12. Dan Stone; 13. Jordan Bland; 14. Jeremy Faircloth; 15. Randle Chupp; 16. Joe Isabell; 17. Norman Short Jr.; 18. Curt Spalding. Did Not Start: Josh McGuire; Ben Faircloth; Jeep Van Wormer.
Third Last Chance Race (10 Laps): 1. Shane Clanton; 2. Eddie Carrier Jr.; 3. Wayne Chinn; 4. Tim Dohm; 5. Randy Korte; 6. Don O'Neal; 7. Austin Dillon; 8. Jerry Bowersock; 9. Duke Whiseant; 10. Austin Hubbard; 11. Chris Ferguson; 12. Jeff Isabell Sr.; 13. Justin Labonte; 14. Wes Burton; 15. Jeff Isabell Jr.; 16. Tim Allen; 17. Rick Whaley. Did Not Start: Steve Shaver; Travis Greer; Vic Hill; Bob Gordon.
Feature (50 laps): 1. Chris Madden; 2. Shannon Babb; 3. Dale McDowell; 4. Scott Bloomquist; 5. Shane Clanton; 6. Josh Richards; 7. Davey Johnson; 8. Clint Smith; 9. Mike Knight; 10. Justin Ratliff; 11. Rick Eckert; 12. Ken Schrader; 13. Chub Frank; 14. Dan Schlieper; 15. Eddie Carrier Jr.; 16. Joe Isabell; 17. Donnie Moran; 18. Ricky Elliott; 19. Vic Coffey; 20. Ricky Weeks; 21. Tim Fuller; 22. Darrell Lanigan; 23. Jonathan Davenport; 24. Steve Francis; 25. Brian Shirley; 26. Eric Wells; 27. Tim Allen; 28. Jimmy Owens.
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