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Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (October 24) - It's virtually a stone-cold lock that Darrell Lanigan will clinch his first career World of Outlaws Late Model Series points championship during the VAULT World Finals scheduled for Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Just don't mention that to the driver known as the 'Bluegrass Bandit.'
While Lanigan realizes he's on the precipice of the $100,000 title, he's a typical racer who refuses to celebrate until he knows the money is 100 percent in his pocket.
In fact, Lanigan didn't even crack a smile when he was informed that he'd become the 2008 WoO LMS champion by basically showing up at The Dirt Track for the VAULT World Finals and the postponed Armour Vienna Sausage Showdown, a 'topless' special that was rescheduled for Wed., Oct. 29.
"Don't even tell me that," Lanigan scoffed when the points possibilities were offered to him following the last WoO LMS event, on Oct. 7 at Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway. "I don't want to know anything until it's over."
Lanigan, 38, of Union, Ky., holds a commanding 150-point lead over defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., heading into the season-ending three-race visit to The Dirt Track. It's an insurmountable advantage because Lanigan will earn 75 show-up points for each event at the four-tenths-mile oval; as a WoO LMS contract driver who has entered every tour race this year, a 'hardship' clause ensures he'll receive the non-qualifier/show-up points if unforeseen circumstances prevent him from attending a show.
But Lanigan's lead is not quite unbeatable - and that's why he's taking nothing for granted.
There remains a miniscule chance that Lanigan could see the title slip through his fingers. It's a scenario so unlikely that no bookie could lay odds on it, but one that a veteran driver like Lanigan, who knows there are no absolutes in racing, just can't simply dismiss.
Since the postponed Armour Vienna Sausage Showdown offers only WoO LMS show-up points to all entrants, Lanigan's lead will remain at 150 points entering VAULT World Finals time trials on Thursday. Then, if Lanigan somehow failed to start the Friday and Saturday A-Mains - even though he's guaranteed starting berths in the events with a series points provisional - and Francis were able to win both of them, the two drivers would find themselves in a tie for the points lead.
And because Francis would have eight tour wins to Lanigan's two, the championship would go to Francis on a tie-breaker.
So that's why Lanigan will finally breathe easy when he takes the green flag in Friday night's 50-lap A-Main. The coveted points crown will then officially belong to the driver of the Fusion Energy Rocket No. 29.
The championship will be well-deserved for Lanigan, who has authored arguably the most consistent campaign in WoO LMS history. He seized control of the standings with an unprecedented string of 15 consecutive top-five finishes from May 4-July 16 and never looked back. He's piled up a total of 25 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes in 40 A-Mains to date and has failed to finish just two races on the lead lap (he's completed 2,122 of a possible 2,135 laps).
The VAULT World Finals kick off on Thurs., Oct. 30, with a big qualifying night for the WoO LMS and Advance Auto Parts WoO Sprint Car Series. Two rounds of time trials - one to line up Friday night's heats, one to line up Saturday night's preliminaries - will be conducted, as well as a 'VAULT Dash for Cash' for both divisions and the Integra Shocks Crew Chief Challenge for Late Model teams.
Complete programs of heats, B-Mains and A-Mains will highlight the cards on Fri., Oct. 31, and Sat., Nov. 1. The WoO LMS standouts will chase a first-place prize of $10,000 in each evening's 50-lap A-Main.
Adding more luster to the VAULT World Finals, the Armour Vienna Sausage Showdown will kick off the four days of competition on Wed., Oct. 29. Postponed by rain on Oct. 8, the Showdown will be the first race in WoO LMS history to be run 'topless' - ie., without the fiberglass roofs on the cars - and offers a unique passing bonus that could push the first-place prize of the 50-lap A-Main to as much as $30,000.
For tickets to the VAULT World Finals and Armour Vienna Sausage Showdown, call 1-800-455- 3267 or visit www.lowesmotorspeedway.com, Ticketmaster outlets or the Lowe's Motor Speedway Box Office.
More information on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.
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