BIRKHOFER FASTEST TIME, WINS HEAT TO OPEN 'LONE STAR 100' WEEKEND AT BATTLEGROUND

Dirt Late Model
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Kevin Kovac
HIGHLAND, Tex. (March 20) - Brian Birkhofer was perfect during Friday night's Lone Star 100 qualifying program at Battleground Speedway.

But the Muscatine, Iowa, standout knows that his Ohlins Shocks Fast Time Award and heat-race victory will become a moot point if he can't back up his performance with a $20,000 triumph on Saturday night in the three-eighths-mile oval's inaugural World of Outlaws Late Model Series event.

"I felt pretty good tonight," said Birkhofer, who established a new dirt Late Model track record of 15.471 seconds in time trials and led the first 10-lap heat from flag-to-flag. "But tomorrow night will be a new night. I think the track will be a little bit different."

Birkhofer, 37, appeared to have no trouble adjusting his Birkhofer-Mars Chassis machine to Friday night's tacky, fast conditions after practicing on a hard, slick surface the previous evening. He's ready to refine his setup again for the Lone Star 100.

"They got more water down in the track tonight and I think tomorrow night's feature will be better because of it," said Birkhofer. "Tonight the track was sticky and you could drive the hell out of it, but I think it will slick up more tomorrow and slow down. One-hundred laps ought to be a lot of fun."

Joining Birkhofer on Friday night's list of heat winners was WoO LMS points leader Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., defending tour champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., and Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who hustled his Sheltra Motorsports car around the outside of Caledonia, N.Y.'s Vic Coffey to capture the final prelim.

The top-two finishers in each of Friday night's heat races will redraw on Saturday for positions 1-8 in the Lone Star 100.

The fourth heat was rough for Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., who enters the weekend ranked fourth in the WoO LMS points standings. He was battling for the lead with Coffey on the first lap when the right side of his car dug into the track surface entering turn one, sending the machine bicycling on two wheels before coming back to earth and nosing into the outside wall.

"I thought I was going over," said Clanton, whose car was towed to the pit area. "I thought it was gonna be a good one."

Clanton and his crew pulled the thoroughly crunched nosepiece off the car and immediately started working to repair it for Saturday night's action. Several WoO LMS travelers came over to help Clanton, including Chub Frank, team owner/chassis builder Mark Richards and car owner Dale Beitler.

Thirty-three cars were signed in for the first WoO LMS event in Texas since 2004.

Saturday's program will kick off with a driver autograph session in the grandstand area at 5 p.m., followed by a B-Main and the Lone Star 100. Action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

The Lone Star 100 will conclude with perhaps the most unique Victory Lane ceremony in WoO LMS history. Hondo, a 1,300-pound Texas Longhorn with a six-and-a-half-foot horn spread, is being brought in from the LaBuff Bucking Bulls ranch in nearby Ames, Texas, to lend a Lone Star State accent to the Victory Lane proceedings. The race winner will pose for photos with Hondo - maybe even while sitting on the steer's back.

For ticket information, visit www.battlegroundspeedway.net.
Additional info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 15b-Brian Birkhofer/Muscatine, IA 15.471 (NTR)
2. 19-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 15.543
3. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 15.559
4. 32c-Vic Coffey/Caledonia, NY 15.582
5. 71-Chris Wall/Holden, LA 15.586
6. 28M-Jimmy Mars/Menomonie, WI 15.595
7. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 15.604
8. 25-Shane Clanton/Locust Grove, GA 15.610
9. 23-Howard Willis/Dayton, TX 15.727
10. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 15.791
11. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 15.805
12. 18b-Shannon Babb/Moweaqua, IL 15.806
13. 12-Jordan Bland/Campbellsville, KY 15.865
14. 19T-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 15.882
15. 2-Brady Smith/Solon Springs, WI 15.926
16. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 16.024
17. 33-Al Purkey/Coffeyville, KS 16.112
18. 20-Kevin Sitton/Baytown, TX 16.160
19. w3-James Ward/Lettsworth, LA 16.163
20. 68-Rob Litton/Alexandria, LA 16.214
21. 6R-Robbie Stuart/DeRidder, LA 16.231
22. 18H-Dustin Hapka/Grand Forks, ND 16.232
23. 56K-Russell King/Bristolville, OH 16.262
24. 93-Ray Moore/Shreveport, LA 16.270
25. A1-Duke Whiseant/Texarkana, AR 16.278
26. 29K-Bill Koons/Omaha, NE 16.307
27. 5c-Michael Coleman/Tyler, TX
28. 11-Tyler Reddick/Corning, CA 16.596
29. 25H-Chuck Hummer/Ottawa Lake, MI 16.670
30. 5M-Jon Mitchell/Greenbrier, AR 17.564
31. 3R-Brent Robinson/Smithfield, VA N/T
32. 21-Chris Brown/Cleveland, TX N/T
33. 56s-Chas Shellenberger/Winfield, PA N/T

Heat No. 1 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Birkhofer, Wall, Willis, Purkey, Bland, Stuart, Hummer, Whiseant (DNS) Shellenberger
Heat No. 2 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Francis, Mars, Frank, Fuller, Sitton, Mitchell, Hapka, Koons
Heat No. 3 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Lanigan, Eckert, B. Smith, Richards, King, Ward, Coleman, Robinson
Heat No. 4 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Babb, Coffey, C. Smith, Moore, Reddick, Brown, Clanton, Litton