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Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (September 11) - The World of Outlaws Late Model Series returns to action this weekend with a Midwestern doubleheader, visiting I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., on Saturday night (Sept. 13) and La Salle (Ill.) Speedway on Sunday night (Sept. 14).
Both tracks will feature events that have become late-season traditions for the Midwest's fans. I-55 Raceway will present the 26th annual Pepsi Nationals, featuring a 50-lap A-Main that pays $10,000 to win. La Salle, meanwhile, is set to host the 40-lap, $7,000-to-win Best Western Illinois Fall Nationals, an annual event that ran for 15 years at the one-mile Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield before landing at La Salle for the first time last year.
WHEN:
* I-55 Raceway's gates will be unlocked at 4 p.m. on Saturday, with hot laps set for 6 p.m. and WoO LMS time trials at 6:30 p.m. Racing is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
* For La Salle's early-evening program on Sunday, pit gates will open at 2 p.m. and the grandstand gates open at 4 p.m. Practice is scheduled to get the green flag at 5 p.m., followed by WoO LMS time trials at 5:30 p.m. and racing action at 6 p.m.
WHERE:
* I-55 Raceway is a fast, high-banked one-third-mile oval that is operated by NASCAR veteran Kenny Schrader and longtime promoter Ray Marler. It is located off Pevely Exits 180 and 178 of Interstate 55, about a half-hour south of downtown St. Louis.
* La Salle Speedway is a high-banked, quarter-mile oval centrally located on US Rt. 6 in the 'Land of Lincoln,' 60 miles west of Joliet, 80 miles east of the Quad Cities, 70 miles south of Rockford and 60 miles north of Bloomington.
Sunday's event at La Salle is being promoted by Bob Sargent's Track Enterprises Inc., which has long been behind the successful Best Western Illinois Fall Nationals.
TICKETS:
* I-55 Raceway is offering reserved seats for $30, with general admission tickets $25 and kids 12 and under admitted free in general admission sections. Pit passes will be $35.
* For La Salle Speedway's 'Illinois Fall Nationals' program, grandstand admission for adults is $25 and $5 for children 11 and under. Pit passes will be $35.
MORE INFORMATION:
* Information about I-55 Raceway is available by calling 636-479-3219 or visiting www.i55raceway.com.
* For more details about La Salle's 'Illinois Fall Nationals,' contact Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200; La Salle Speedway at 815-223-6939; or visit www.trackenterprises.com
PREVIOUS WoO LMS WINNERS:
* The WoO LMS will visit I-55 Raceway for the third time. Billy Moyer won the first tour event at the oval on Sept. 17, 2005, and Clint Smith was triumphant on Sept. 15, 2007.
La Salle Speedway's only previous WoO LMS event, on Sept. 16, 2007, was captured by Jeep VanWormer.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
* WoO LMS standout Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., will lead the tour's charge to the Midwest hot off a huge victory in last Saturday night's UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned World 100 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
Clanton, 33, won dirt Late Model racing's most prestigious event for the first time in his career, earning over $41,000 and cementing his status as a national star. He also won the last WoO LMS A-Main run, on Aug. 31 at Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa.
The driver known as 'Coconut,' who ranks third in the current WoO LMS points standings, finished eighth in last year's WoO LMS shows at I-55 and La Salle.
* Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., will continue his relentless march toward a first-ever WoO LMS title, bringing a commanding 128-point lead over defending champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., into the weekend's action.
Lanigan, who finished second in last year's Illinois Fall Nationals at La Salle, can assure himself the $100,000 WoO LMS points crown by finishing 12th in each of the five full points races remaining on the 2008 schedule. He'll go to the post this weekend sporting the Fusion Energy sponsorship that he debuted on his familiar No. 29 car over the Labor Day weekend.
* Francis sits second in the points standings, but he has won more WoO LMS A-Mains than any other driver in 2008. He has six victories and is on a hot streak, capturing two of the last three tour events behind the wheel of Dale Beitler's No. 19.
* Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., will face a serious handicap in pursuit of a victory at I-55 Raceway for the second straight year - he'll effectively be driving with one hand.
Smith, 43, suffered a broken right wrist in a heat-race accident during last Saturday night's World 100 at Eldora Speedway. He is wearing a cast that stretches to just below his elbow and doctors estimate it will take 10 weeks for the injury to fully heal, but he plans to enter the weekend's action and race to the best of his ability.
The driver known as 'Cat Daddy' is currently eighth in the WoO LMS points standings.
* Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., is the WoO LMS regular with the most experience at I-55 and La Salle. His victories at I-55 include the 2003 Pepsi Nationals and two UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals events (2006, 2002), and he's captured two Summer Nationals A-Mains (2006, 2003) and a 2006 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series show at La Salle.
Last year Babb enjoyed solid outings in the WoO LMS events at both tracks, finishing second at I-55 after his dramatic final-lap bid for victory fell just short and advancing from the 17th starting spot to a seventh-place finish at La Salle.
* Josh Richards, 20, of Shinnston, W.Va., hopes to turn around his recent struggles (he's fallen to fourth in the WoO LMS points standings) with a strong weekend. He'll have to show some improvement over his performance in last year's tour stops at I-55 and La Salle; he finished 13th in both events.
* Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., who has just one WoO LMS victory this season after leading the tour with six wins in 2007, would like to just slightly improve his '07 tour outings at I-55 and La Salle. He was a contender in both events, finishing fourth at I-55 and third at La Salle.
* Rick Eckert of York, Pa., enters the weekend riding one of his best waves of the season. He's scored a top-five finish in three of the last four tour A-Mains, including a third-place finish on Aug. 31 at Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa.
* Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., might have had the fastest car at the end of last year's WoO LMS A-Main at La Salle, but he only made it to fourth at the finish. The 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year didn't enter last year's I-55 event, however, because he had to fly back to New York to run his big-block Modified in an Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series show.
* WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contenders Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., and Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y., will look to make their first A-Main starts at I-55 and La Salle.
* Jeep VanWormer will make the tow from Pinconning, Mich., to compete in the doubleheader with hopes of repeating his first career WoO LMS victory in last year's La Salle event. He'll drive the unique black-and-silver, spider-covered No. 55 that he steered to a third-place finish in last Saturday night's World 100.
* A talented group of drivers is planning to enter both events, including two-time UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., who has won two special shows at I-55 in the past month-and-a-half; Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., who won two WoO LMS A-Mains earlier this season; Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis.; 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year runner-up Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., who has enjoyed plenty of success at I-55 during his career; and Matt Miller of Waterville, Ohio, who finished fourth in last Saturday night's World 100.
* Drivers with I-55 Raceway's program listed on their schedule include Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., who has won the Pepsi Nationals a record seven times; Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa; Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., who led early before finishing third in last year's WoO LMS event; and 2008 I-55 Raceway champion Billy Faust of Lebanon, Ill.
EXTRA CASH FOR THE LOCALS:
* The influx of regional and local standouts who compete in the weekend events will chase a $500 WoO LMS 'Bonus Bucks' award in each night's A-Main. The cash will go to the highest-finishing driver who is not ranked among the current top-12 in the WoO LMS point standings and has not won a WoO feature since 2004.
HEADING DOWN THE HOMESTRETCH:
* This weekend's swing continues the WoO LMS 'Race to the Vault Outlaws World Finals.' Scheduled for Oct. 30-Nov. 1, the second annual 'Vault Outlaws World Finals' is a WoO Late Model/Sprint Car doubleheader that will close both divisions' points battles at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.
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, which will broadcast the weekend's races over the internet.
To listen to the free audio broadcast, 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 ON TELEVISION:
* The next televised WoO LMS event on the SPEED cable network is set for Sun., Sept. 21, at 6 p.m. ET, when the Aug. 30 event at Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa., will be aired.
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 Aug. 31 - 38 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):
1. Darrell Lanigan 2-25-35-$119,717-5271 (-0)
2. Steve Francis 6-20-31-$168,100-5143 (-128)
3. Shane Clanton 3-19-29-$106,890-5075 (-196)
4. Josh Richards 4-16-25-$107,310-5057 (-214)
5. Chub Frank 1-10-25-$73,180-4997 (-274)
6. Rick Eckert 1-12-23-$76,280-4943 (-328)
7. Shannon Babb 2-15-24-$98,700-4935 (-336)
8. Clint Smith 1-11-22-$65,420-4921 (-350)
9. Tim Fuller 2-7-18-$66,750-4762 (-509)
10. Vic Coffey 0-1-8-$37,370-4061 (-1210)
11. John Blankenship 0-0-6-$34,680-4013 (-1258)
12. Joe Isabell 0-0-0-$17,140-3385 (-1886)
13. Sean Beardsley 0-0-0-$11,820-2889 (-2382)
14. Tim McCreadie 1-9-16-$58,000-2643 (-2628)
15. Danny Johnson 0-0-1-$13,620-2187 (-3084)
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