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Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (May 1) - The World of Outlaws Late Model Series invades Missouri for a doubleheader this weekend, visiting Lebanon I-44 Speedway on Saturday night (May 3) and Monett Speedway on Sunday night (May 4).
The Show-Me State swing features a pair of 40-lap A-Mains for the national tour. Saturday's show at Lebanon I-44 offers a $10,000 top prize, and a $7,000 check will go to the winner of Sunday's headliner at Monett.
The O'Reilly MARS DIRTcar Series will co-sanction both events.
With sunny skies in the forecast for both days, the weekend is shaping up as the biggest ever at veteran promoter Randy Mooneyham's pair of racetracks.
WHEN:
* At both speedways, gates are scheduled to open at 4:30 p.m. and on-track action will begin at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE:
* Lebanon I-44 Speedway is a high-banked, three-eighths-mile clay oval located in southwestern Missouri, off Exit 135 (Sleeper) of Interstate 44.
* A 100-mile drive to the southwest of Lebanon is Monett Speedway, a semi-banked, three-eighths-mile clay oval that is known as the 'Grand Old Lady.' To reach the track, go 1 mile east of SR 37 on US 60, then north on Chapel Drive.
TICKETS:
* General admission for both events is $30 for adults, $10 for juniors (ages 13-15) and free for kids 12-and-under. Pit passes will be $35 at both tracks.
INFORMATION:
* More information can be obtained by visiting www.lebanoni44speedway.net or www.monettspeedway.net, or calling 417-224-7074 (Randy Mooneyham), 417-532-2060 (Lebanon I-44 raceday hotline) or 417-236-0600 (Monett raceday hotline).
PREVIOUS WoO LMS WINNERS:
* This will be the fourth consecutive year and the fifth time overall that the WoO LMS has raced at Lebanon I-44 Speedway. The track hosted a tour event won by Billy Moyer on Aug. 27, 1988, during the first two-year incarnation of the WoO LMS under the direction of late Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series founder Ted Johnson, and has been part of the tour's 'modern-era' (2004-present) with events won by Clint Smith on July 3, 2007; Brian Birkhofer on July 25, 2006; and Steve Francis on July 26, 2005.
* Monett Speedway is hosting a WoO LMS for the first time - making Sunday's program the biggest in the track's 38-year history.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
* Defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., brings a strong performance record to Lebanon I-44 - along with his 2005 win, he has tour finishes of fourth (2007) and ninth (2006) - and an eye on moving up in the WoO LMS history books.
Following his victory on April 19 in the Circle K Colossal 100 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Francis is tied with Rick Eckert of York, Pa., for second on the WoO LMS 'modern-era' win list, at 15 triumphs. He has an opportunity this weekend to tie or pass Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., as the tour's winningest driver since 2004.
* Eckert has been stuck on 15 wins since July 8, 2006, at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio - an uncharacteristically long winless streak of 64 races for the star driver. He has high hopes of ending his absence from Victory Lane at Lebanon I-44, where he finished third in last year's WoO LMS stop.
* Three-time WoO LMS champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., will enter the weekend doubleheader as the tour's points leader and top winner of 2008 (four wins in seven events) - and likely possessing more experience at Lebanon I-44 and Monett than any of the WoO LMS travelers.
The 50-year-old dirt Late Model legend did, of course, win a WoO LMS event at Lebanon in 1988, and he's entered each of the tour shows run there over the past three years (finishing 18th in 2005, fifth in 2006 and sixth in 2007). Monett, meanwhile, is a track where Moyer has enjoyed plenty of success, including eight O'Reilly MLRA series wins from 1989-93, two MARS DIRTcar Series triumphs (2001 and 2002) and a victory on the old USAC Late Model Series in 1988.
* A visit to Lebanon I-44 Speedway might be just what the doctor ordered for WoO LMS traveler Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., who has been plagued by bad luck in four of his last five tour starts. The 27-year-old talent known as 'Squirrel' has developed a knack for getting around the fast track, as evidenced by his victory in the 2006 Larry Phillips Memorial and a second-place finish in last year's WoO LMS event.
* Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., will certainly like the smell of the Midwest air this weekend. After all, the southerner won all four of his 2007 WoO LMS A-Mains in the region, including a victory in last year's tour stop at Lebanon I-44.
* Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., enters the weekend ranked second in the WoO LMS points standings - the highest he's ever been this far into the season. He's never raced at Monett, but he has three starts under his belt at Lebanon I-44 with a top finish of sixth in the 2006 WoO LMS event.
* Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., hopes his steady improvement in WoO LMS shows at Lebanon I-44 continues this Saturday night. He finished 23rd in 2005, seventh in 2006 and fifth in 2007.
* Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa. - the winningest driver on the 2007 WoO LMS but still looking for his first win this season - has been steady, if not spectacular, at Lebanon I-44. He has two eighth-place finishes (2005 and 2007) and an 11th (2006).
* Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who drives for NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer, flashed plenty of speed in last year's WoO LMS event at Lebanon I-44, leading the first 15 laps of the A-Main. But a blown left-rear tire annihilated his car's bodywork, forcing him to retire.
* Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., missed last year's WoO LMS event at Lebanon I-44 to work on his engine program - the only race in the five-year 'modern-era' of the WoO LMS that he has not entered. He'll be back this Saturday looking to run like he did when he finished second in the track's 2005 tour stop.
* John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., likes Lebanon I-44. He had one of the best runs of his WoO LMS career there in 2005, finishing fourth.
* There will be an invasion of WoO LMS travelers from New York at this weekend's events. Leading the group will be 2007 Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., who missed last year's event at Lebanon I-44 to run an Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series big-block Modified show in the Empire State.
Other New Yorkers planning to travel halfway across the country to compete this weekend are Rookie of the Year contenders Vic Coffey of Leceister, N.Y., Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., and Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y.
* With the O'Reilly MARS DIRTcar Series co-sanctioning the weekend events, the Midwestern tour's top drivers will be in the field, including five-time champ Bill Frye of Greenbrier, Ark.; three-time titlist Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo.; Will Vaught of Seneca, Mo.; and Jeremy Payne of Springfield, Mo.
This quartet of MARS drivers has proven they can get the job done at Lebanon I-44 and Monett. Last year Vaught won a MARS show at Monett while Payne was victorious in MARS action at Lebanon I-44. And in MARS and MLRA events, Phillips has won 14 times at Monett and seven at Lebanon while Frye has captured 15 races at Monett and six at Lebanon.
* Other top regional drivers expected to compete in the weekend events include Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., who finished fourth in the 2006 WoO LMS A-Main at Lebanon I-44; Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kans., who won the season-opening DLRA event at Monett on April 20; David Turner of Adrian, Mo.; John Anderson of Omaha, Neb., who won an MLRA event at Lebanon last season; and Lebanon I-44 dominator Brad Looney of Republic, Mo.
* Several drivers have plans to join the WoO LMS action on Sunday night at Monett, including Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., who won last year's UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned World 100 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio; Wendell Wallace of Batesville, Ark., who owns four MARS and four MLRA wins at Monett and two MARS triumphs at Lebanon; and Terry Casey of New London, Wis., who finished second in last year's UMP DIRTcar Summernationals event at Lebanon I-44.
EXTRA CASH:
* The influx of regional and local standouts competing in the events will be chasing some WoO LMS 'Bonus Bucks.'
The highest-finishing driver in each A-Main who is not ranked among the current top-12 in the WoO LMS point standings and has never won a WoO feature will receive the $500 'Bonus Bucks' award.
COMING UP:
* The tour will have a weekend off before embarking on a three-race, three-state swing the weekend of May 16-18, visiting Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park on Fri., May 16; Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway on Sat., May 17; and Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway on Sun., May 18.
LISTEN OR WATCH 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 April 19 - 7 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):
1. Billy Moyer 4-5-5-$66,820-935 (-0)
2. Josh Richards 1-4-6-$32,200-909 (-26)
3. Steve Francis 1-5-6-$69,000-905 (-30)
4. Rick Eckert 0-2-5-$18,050-895 (-40)
5. (tie) Darrell Lanigan 0-0-5-$13,850-879 (-56)
5. (tie) Chub Frank 0-2-4-$16,630-879 (-56)
7. Shannon Babb 0-3-4-$25,650-857 (-78)
8. Clint Smith 0-2-2-$11,660-843 (-92)
9. Shane Clanton 0-3-3-$14,750-839 (-96)
10. John Blankenship 0-0-2-$10,760-793 (-142)
11. Tim Fuller 0-0-1-$7,340-789 (-146)
12. Brian Shirley 0-0-2-$7,470-777 (-158)
13. Vic Coffey 0-0-1-$6,520-599 (-336)
14. (tie) Joe Isabell 0-0-0-$1,910-589 (-346)
14. (tie) Danny Johnson 0-0-0-$2,300-589 (-346)
16. Jeep VanWormer 0-0-1-$6,270-479 (-456)
17. (tie) Eddie Carrier Jr. 0-0-3-$8,500-471 (-464)
17. (tie) Tim McCreadie 0-1-2-$11,550-471 (-464)
19. Billy Decker 0-0-0-$3,020-438 (-497)
20. Darren Miller 0-0-3-$5,700-404 (-531)
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