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Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (April 2) - The World of Outlaws Late Model Series 'Month of Money' continues this weekend (April 4-5) at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway, where teams will compete in the inaugural 'Illini 100.'
A $20,000 top prize from a purse of nearly $100,000 will be on the line in the blockbuster 100-lap A-Main, which is billed as the biggest dirt Late Model event ever run in the state of Illinois.
With the venerable Farmer City facility sitting in the heart of UMP DIRTcar Racing country, the 'Illini 100' will be co-sanctioned by UMP DIRTcar and pit the expansive weekly sanctioning body's best drivers against the touring stars of the WoO LMS.
WHEN:
* A two-day WoO LMS format will be in effect for the 'Illini 100,' with time trials and heat races taking place on Friday night (April 4) and the B-Mains and 100-lap headliner set for Saturday night (April 5).
Added attractions for the dirt Late Model racers include a special $1,000-to-win Douglas Pontiac-GMC-Dodge Dash for heat winners and two fast-timers on Friday night, and a 25-lap Non-Qualifiers Race on Saturday night that offers Farmer City's regular weekly UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model purse ($1,000 to win/$150 to start) as well as UMP DIRTcar points.
An open practice session - with grandstand admission free to the public - is scheduled to kick off the weekend on Thursday (April 3) from 5-9 p.m.
Farmer City's other weekly UMP DIRTcar Racing divisions will get a chance to perform in the spotlight during the weekend as well. With Friday night being Farmer City's regular evening of racing, the track's UMP DIRTcar Modifieds, Sportsman and Street Stocks will race a weekly show on the April 4 undercard, and then the UMP DIRTcar Modifieds will return on Saturday night for a $1,000-to-win special.
Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. on Saturday, with competition to follow.
A raindate of Sun., April 6, has been reserved for the 'Illini 100.'
If needed, an additional raindate of April 25-26 (with an open practice on April 24) has been announced.
WHERE:
* Farmer City Raceway is a high-banked, quarter-mile oval conveniently located on Route 150 just off Exit 159 of Interstate 74, at the Farmer City/Dewitt County Fairgrounds.
TICKETS:
* Reserved seats for the 'Illini 100' - encompassing the top-10 rows of the covered grandstand and the south bleachers - are on sale until April 3. After that date, all remaining seats will be general admission.
Two-night weekend pass tickets are $40. Single-night tickets will be $15 for Friday and $30 for Saturday, with ages 6-15 admitted for $5 on Friday and $15 on Saturday. Children 5 and under will receive free admission to the spectator area.
Two-night adult pit passes are $60. Kids 4-11 will be allowed in the pit area for $15 each day, and children 3 and under will be admitted to the pits free of charge.
CAMPING, ETC.:
* Camping on the Farmer City Raceway grounds is free for the weekend (no hookups). The 60 drive-in parking spots around the outside of turns one and two, meanwhile, can be reserved for the weekend at a price of $50.
MEET THE DRIVERS, EXPERIENCE THE TRACK:
* Fans will want to arrive early on Saturday because they'll have an opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with the drivers during a special one-hour autograph session in the grandstand area before the start of racing.
In addition, several lucky fans will have a chance to race around the quarter-mile oval alongside a WoO LMS driver with the debut of the track's new two-seater dirt Late Model. Details about rides in the two-seater will be available at the speedway.
FARMER CITY RACEWAY INFO:
* For more information, visit www.farmercityraceway.net or call 217-737-7134 or 217-828-0078.
PREVIOUS WoO LMS WINNERS:
* The 'Illini 100' will be the third WoO LMS event contested at Farmer City Raceway.
Billy Moyer was victorious in the first tour event, on Aug. 14, 2006, while Shannon Babb was triumphant on April 27, 2007. Both races were run over the 50-lap distance.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
* Leading the WoO LMS charge to Farmer City will be the tour's pair of regulars from central Illinois: Shannon Babb of Moweaqua and Brian Shirley of Chatham.
Babb will make his first appearance before his home crowd since making an off-season move to the new dirt Late Model team owned by NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer. The 34-year-old standout, whose car still carries his familiar No. 18, won last year's WoO LMS event at Farmer City.
Shirley, who will enter the race after celebrating his 27th birthday on Wednesday, traveled most of the WoO LMS for the first time in 2007 and scored his first career tour victory along the way. One of two series regulars this season under the age of 30, the driver known as 'Squirrel' is focused on following the entire schedule in search of the championship.
Babb enters the 'Illini 100' as the hotter central Illinois driver, coming off a third-place finish in the WoO LMS 'March Through Dixie 100' on March 29 at Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss. Shirley experienced bad luck in that event, finishing 24th after dropping out early with an overheating engine.
* No dirt Late Model driver in the country is hotter right now than Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., who will arrive at Farmer City having won two straight WoO LMS events and eight races overall in 2008. The three-time WoO LMS champion also leads the tour's current points standings through three events.
Moyer, 50, is very excited about bringing his Victory Circle M1 Chassis to the 'Illini 100.'
"I love Farmer City," said Moyer. "It's a neat, racy place."
* Defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., will be looking to erase memories of his subpar outing last week in Mississippi when he hits the track at Farmer City, a bullring where he's been a contender in both tour visits.
A uncharacteristically quiet 13th-place finisher in the 'March Through Dixie 100' after being unable to recover from ignition-wire trouble during Friday's time trials that put his Beitler Motorsports team behind, Francis finished third in the 2006 WoO LMS event at Farmer City and fourth in last year's A-Main.
* Rick Eckert of York, Pa., the second-winningest driver on the WoO LMS since 2004 but without a Victory Lane visit since July 8, 2006, at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, has a brand-new Rayburn car that he expects to debut at Farmer City. The Rayburn mount is an addition to his Raye Vest-owned stable that already includes two GRT cars.
* Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who won all four of his 2007 WoO LMS A-Mains at tracks in the Midwest and finished fifth in the Farmer City event, is hoping a return to the region helps him reclaim his '07 form. He enters the 'Illini 100' ranked ninth in the points standings after a forgettable outing in Mississippi - an unusual position for a driver who never ranked lower than third in the 2007 points race after the season opener.
* Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., the youngest WoO LMS regular (he turned 20 on March 22), admittedly is more comfortable racing on big tracks than small ovals. But he's confident about his chances at Farmer City, where he finished third in last year's WoO LMS A-Main.
* Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who finished fourth in the 2006 WoO LMS 50 at Farmer City, is off to a solid start on this year's tour. After a sixth-place run last week in Mississippi (he moved from 10th to the top-five early before fading slightly), the 'Bluegrass Bandit' is tied for third with Eckert in the points standings.
Lanigan and Moyer are the only drivers who have finished among the top 10 in all three WoO LMS A-Mains run to date.
* Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., the 2006 WoO LMS champion who is now a Richard Childress Racing Development Driver, is planning to enter the 'Illini 100' in his familiar Sweeteners Plus No. 39. He's finished as high as second at Farmer City, in the 2006 WoO LMS event.
T-Mac will be joined at Farmer City by his Sweeteners Plus Racing teammate Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., a 2008 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender.
* Well-known regional drivers with plans to pursue the 'Illini 100' trophy include defending UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model national champ Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill.; Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., who won the 2007 UMP DIRTcar Summernationals event at Farmer City; Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa; 2006 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va.; John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va.; Darren Miller of Chadwick, Ill.; former WoO LMS regular Eric Jacobsen of Sea Cliff Beach, Calif.; and UMP DIRTcar Summernationals regular Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich.
* Farmer City favorites expected to defend their home turf against the invaders include former Farmer City titlist Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill.; defending track champion and 2007 UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model Rookie of the Year Scott Bull of Fairbury, Ill.; Eric Smith of Shirley, Ill.; Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill.; Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill.; and Junior Shickel of Bloomington, Ill.
LISTEN ON THE INTERNET:
* Fans who can't make it to the track can listen to the action live thanks to the DIRT Radio Network.
To listen to the free audio broadcasts of WoO LMS events, log on to www.dirtvision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo.
Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. Those who sign up for a free membership can enjoy advanced features while listening to the races, such as text chat and live scoring via AMB.it.
WoO LMS INFO:
* Log on to the WoO LMS website at www.worldofoutlaws.com.
2008 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of March 29 - 3 features completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):
1. Billy Moyer 2-3-3-$33,300-444 (-0)
2. Josh Richards 1-2-2-$14,800-416 (-28)
3. (tie) Rick Eckert 0-1-2-$8,800-406 (-38)
3. (tie) Darrell Lanigan 0-0-3-$5,800-406 (-38)
5. Chub Frank 0-1-2-$8,450-400 (-44)
6. Steve Francis 0-1-2-$5,400-398 (-46)
7. Eddie Carrier Jr. 0-0-2-$4,750-396 (-48)
8. Shannon Babb 0-2-2-$8,700-390 (-54)
9. Clint Smith 0-1-1-$4,460-378 (-66)
10. John Blankenship 0-0-1-$3,640-368 (-76)
11. Tim Fuller 0-0-0-$3,480-360 (-84)
12. Brian Shirley 0-0-1-$3,600-354 (-90)
13. Shane Clanton 0-1-1-$5,400-350 (-94)
14. Jimmy Owens 0-1-2-$4,300-276 (-168)
15. Darren Miller 0-0-2-$3,600-274 (-170)
16. Rick Briggs 0-0-0-$1,800-268 (-176)
17. (tie) Tim McCreadie 0-0-0-$2,050-254 (-190)
17. (tie) Dan Schlieper 0-0-1-$2,050-254 (-190)
19. Ivedent Lloyd 0-0-0-$1,550-232 (-212)
20. (tie) Joe Isabell 0-0-0-$330-225 (-219)
20. (tie) Danny Johnson 0-0-0-$470-225 (-219)
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