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Kevin Kovac
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (May 28) - Hagerstown Speedway holds a special place in the history of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
The track's alltime winningest driver, Gary Stuhler, is part of that history - and he's hoping to make a little more when the WoO LMS pays another visit to promoter Frank Plessinger's half-mile oval this Saturday night (May 31) to contest the 27th annual Conococheague 50.
Hagerstown Speedway, of course, is the only track that has hosted at least one WoO LMS event in every season of the tour's existence - 1988 and 1989 when the series was directed by late Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series founder Ted Johnson, and the 'modern era' under the World Racing Group banner that began in 2004.
Stuhler, 53, of Greencastle, Pa., was a primary figure in the inaugural WoO LMS shows at Hagerstown in the late '80s. He finished second to Les Hare of Stewartstown, Pa., in the first WoO LMS event held at Hagerstown, on April 24, 1988, and then was victorious in the tour's return engagement on May 7, 1989, leading dirt Late Model legend Larry Moore, Hagerstown standout Rodney Franklin, future WoO LMS champ Scott Bloomquist and local favorite Nathan Durboraw across the finish line.
That checkered flag just over 19 years ago remains the only WoO LMS triumph on Stuhler's impressive resume. But with the two decades that have passed since then including an extended 15-year dormancy of the WoO LMS, he sometimes has to be reminded that he's actually in the exclusive group of World of Outlaws winners.
"The last few years I've always said, 'I want to win a World of Outlaws race,'" commented Stuhler, a top contender whenever he joins a WoO LMS field in the Northeast. "But I'm thinking of the series as it is now when I say that, because I actually have won one. It was just a pretty long time ago when the series was new and not as big as it's become these days.
"At that time, the (World of Outlaws) Sprints were the big deal. You didn't hear about Late Models being on the same high level back then, so I don't think winning a World of Outlaws Late Model race when the series was just starting out had as much of an impact on me as winning one today would."
Stuhler, who registered his '89 WoO LMS victory driving a Bullitt Chassis No. 44 fielded by famed Maryland car owner Speedy Hays, has started 10 WoO LMS A-Mains since 2004. His best finish was a second to tour regular Rick Eckert of York, Pa., on July 24, 2004, at Hagerstown.
The racer known for his silky-smooth driving style enters Saturday's $10,000-to-win event confident that he can improve that 2004 run by one position and make a little 'modern-era' history with the nation's premier dirt Late Model tour.
"The guys (following the WoO LMS) have a lot of funding and are some of the best drivers in the country," said Stuhler. "But when we hit the track we have the same stuff as them, so I know we can win if we make the right decisions and the breaks go our way."
Stuhler meets up with the Outlaws riding a strong early-season wave with the Nininger Motorsports team. Belted inside a Rocket Chassis this season for the first time in two years, he's made 10 starts at five different tracks to date and hasn't finished a single race outside the top 10. He has two features wins, on April 18 at Hagerstown and May 10 at Winchester (Va.) Speedway.
Buoying Stuhler's prospects for Saturday is his 2008 performance record at Hagerstown, where he has 124 career victories. In addition to his win, he has two runner-up finishes, a seventh and an eighth.
"I feel like everything is working pretty good right now with the car and (Leggett) motor," said Stuhler. "I think on Saturday night they'll have (Hagerstown's surface) pretty wet and fast like it's been most of the time this year, so we'll be ready."
Stuhler is a five-time winner of Hagerstown's Conococheague 50, which is part of the WoO LMS for the third consecutive year.
WoO LMS regular Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., will attempt to defend his victory in the 2007 Conococheague 50. He'll be joined by a roster of touring Outlaws that includes 2006 Conococheague 50 winner Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; points leader and defending champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., whose Maryland-based car owner Dale Beitler will get a chance to race close to home; Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who won last year's WoO LMS-sanctioned '60th Anniversary Classic' at Hagerstown; two-time Hagerstown WoO LMS winner Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.; Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; 2007 Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., who has won at Hagerstown in Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series action for big-block Modifieds; and John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va.
Other WoO LMS names expected to compete include 2006 tour champion Tim McCreadie, who swept a double-feature WoO LMS program at Hagerstown in 2005, and '08 Rookie of the Year contenders Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., and Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y.
Top regional and local drivers expected include Jeremy Miller of Gettysburg, Pa., who won his first-ever WoO LMS A-Main on April 11 at Virginia Motor Speedway; Jason Covert of York Haven, Pa., who finished second in last year's Conococheague 50; Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., who scored an upset WoO LMS win last year at Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa.; Ricky Elliott of Seaford, Del.; and Hagerstown regulars such as Les Hare, Nathan Durboraw, Roy Deese Jr., Alan Sagi, Kirk Ryan and Jim Yoder.
Pit gates are scheduled to open at 4 p.m. and the grandstands at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Hot laps are set to begin at 7 p.m.
General admission is $30, with children under 12 admitted free of charge. Reserved seats, which can be purchased on-line at www.hagerstownspeedway.com, and pit passes are $35.
Hagerstown Speedway is located on Rt. 40, five miles west of Interstate 81.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
FREEMAN
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