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Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (June 2) - Darrell Lanigan's subpar 2007 campaign on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series is quickly becoming a distant memory.
With his first tour victory of 2008 last Thursday night (May 29) at Delaware International Speedway, Lanigan elevated himself into a tie with defending champion Steve Francis for the WoO LMS points lead after 12 events - a lofty position he no longer could even sniff at this same point last season.
Lanigan, who turns 38 on June 3, got off to an awful start last year. He compiled an average finish of 15.5 in the first four A-Mains of the season, and 12 races into the schedule he was mired in ninth in the standings (140 points behind the leader) with zero top-fives, six top-10s, two DNFs, one DNQ and just $15,930 in earnings - deflating stats for a driver coming off a 2006 WoO LMS campaign in which he led all drivers in top-five finishes and finished a career-high fifth in the points chase.
Fast forward to '08. The Union, Ky., star got out of the box much stronger with an average finish of 7.5 in the first four A-Mains of the season, and he's just continued to pick up steam. Through 12 events he boasts one win, four top-fives, 10 top-10s and $31,800 in earnings.
Tellingly, Lanigan hasn't dropped out of a full points race this season. His only DNF came in the Circle K Colossal 100 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway - a race that offered show-up points - and he was running second with 10 laps remaining when the rare mechanical malfunction occurred.
"Last year we had a couple DNFs right off the bat and that got us behind," said Lanigan, who finished seventh in the 2007 points standings. "This year we didn't start the season with any breakdowns so we're right up there. If we can avoid DNFs, we can be there (in the points) at the end."
Lanigan, who last week added Thomas McDowell to work alongside his new-for-'07 chief mechanic Chris Burton, enters the upcoming WoO LMS 'Great Northern Tour' (seven races in Pennsylvania, Canada and New York from June 17-28) as arguably the hottest Outlaw. He has an active streak of four consecutive top-five finishes - the longest such streak on the WoO LMS last season was five in a row, by Francis and Shannon Babb - and holds a share of the points lead for the first time in his five years as a tour regular.
In addition, the next WoO LMS stop, on June 17 at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway, happens to be a favorite of Lanigan's. He won the tour's first-ever event there last year, one of his two victories in an otherwise disappointing 2007 season.
MENTORS FOR A NIGHT: Five of the top-10 drivers in the WoO LMS points standings will step out of the cockpit and assume the role of crew chief this Wednesday night (June 4) at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, where the Old Spice Prelude to the Dream event pits 25 world-renowned drivers against each other in dirt Late Models.
Eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stars will compete in the blockbuster event behind the wheel of cars associated with regular WoO LMS drivers and/or teams. The list includes:
* Tony Stewart. The Eldora track owner and organizer of the Old Spice Prelude to the Dream will drive a Rocket car prepared by 20-year-old WoO LMS sensation Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., and the rest of the Mark Richards Racing Enterprises/Rocket Chassis team. The No. 20 will sport a unique Day-Glo orange paint scheme that is designed to resemble a hunting vest in honor of sponsor Bass Pro Shops.
* Matt Kenseth. The former Sprint Cup champ will also receive dirt-track driving pointers from young Richards; he's scheduled to run a Rocket car owned by Ernie Davis, who fields the No. 25 machines that Richards drives in most non-WoO LMS events.
* Jeff Gordon. NASCAR's mega-star will make his second consecutive Prelude to the Dream appearance in a GRT car from Clint Smith's stable. Last year Senoa, Ga.'s Smith provided Gordon a slick machine painted to resemble Gordon's famed Dupont No. 24 and watched the four-time Sprint Cup champion steer it to a third-place finish in his first start on Eldora's dirt since 1991.
* Ryan Newman. The reigning Daytona 500 champion will team up with defending WoO LMS titlist Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who maintains the Alltel No. 12 that Newman runs in selected dirt Late Model events.
* Kasey Kahne. A recent winner of both the Sprint Cup All-Star event and Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Kahne is set for Prelude to the Dream action in a car owned by Dale Beitler, who fields the No. 19 machines that Francis campaigns on the WoO LMS. Kahne will drive the Beitler Motorsports Rocket car that Steve Casebolt used to win last year's $100,000 Dirt Late Model Dream event at Eldora.
* Clint Bowyer. The rising Sprint Cup star and former dirt racer will run a Jack Daniel's-sponsored Late Model from his own Bowyer Dirt Motorsports team, which employs Shannnon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., as its chauffeur on the WoO LMS.
* Jimmie Johnson. Bowyer's dirt Late Model crewmen Tommy Grecco and Jay Hunt are preparing a second car in which the defending Sprint Cup champion will make his dirt Late Model debut.
* Dave Blaney. A former Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion, the driver of the Caterpillar No. 22 on the Sprint Cup Series is teamed with 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., for the Prelude to the Dream. Blaney tuned up for the Prelude by getting some laps in Fuller's Gypsum Express car during last Thursday night's WoO LMS event at Delaware International Speedway.
In addition, three-time WoO LMS champion Billy Moyer, who leads all tour drivers this season with four wins, will field a dirt Late Model in the Prelude for fellow Batesville, Ark., native Mark Martin, and 2004 WoO LMS titlist Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., is providing Robby Gordon a ride in one of his Team Zero mounts.
Only a small number of general-admission tickets remain for the Old Spice Prelude to the Dream, but fans can still catch all the action live by purchasing the HBO Pay-Per-View broadcast of the event. The commercial-free broadcast will begin at 7 p.m. EDT (4 p.m. PDT) on Wednesday, with an immediate replay and subsequent replays throughout the week and the following weekend.
HBO Pay-Per-View's racing telecast has a suggested retail price of $24.95 and is available to more than 61 million pay-per-view homes. Ordering information and up-to-the minute racing information is available at www.hbo.com or through your local cable company.
Proceeds from the HBO Pay-Per-View broadcast will go toward raising $1 million to support construction of Victory Junction Gang Camp - Kansas City, as well as the Tony Stewart Foundation.
INFO: For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
2008 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of May 29 - 12 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):
1. (tie) Steve Francis 1-7-10-$77,850-1593 (-0)
1. (tie) Darrell Lanigan 1-4-10-$31,800-1593 (-0)
3. Josh Richards 2-6-9-$48,910-1575 (-18)
4. Chub Frank 1-5-8-$32,530-1573 (-20)
5. Shannon Babb 1-6-8-$45,450-1559 (-34)
6. Rick Eckert 0-4-9-$27,950-1553 (-40)
7. Shane Clanton 0-4-6-$21,030-1495 (-98)
8. Clint Smith 0-3-4-$17,260-1487 (-106)
9. Tim Fuller 0-1-2-$12,920-1423 (-170)
10. John Blankenship 0-0-2-$14,610-1381 (-212)
11. Vic Coffey 0-0-2-$11,910-1197 (-396)
12. Billy Moyer 4-6-6-$70,420-1181 (-412)
13. Brian Shirley 0-0-2-$9,680-1127 (-466)
14. Danny Johnson 0-0-0-$4,190-884 (-709)
15. Joe Isabell 0-0-0-$3,770-878 (-715)
16. Tim McCreadie 0-2-5-$15,850-877 (-716)
17. Jeep VanWormer 0-0-2-$8,070-729 (-864)
18. Eddie Carrier Jr. 0-0-3-$9,450-595 (-998)
19. Brian Birkhofer 1-1-2-$12,610-585 (-1008)
20. Darren Miller 0-0-4-$6,800-538 (-1055)
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