|
Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (March 25) - Steve Francis's nearly year-long reign as champion of the Circle K Colossal 100 will end this weekend (March 27-28) with the fourth annual running of the blockbuster World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Well, that's if the 41-year-old star from Ashland, Ky., falls short of a second straight victory in the 100-lap spectacular that pays $50,000 to win.
"Me and Scott (Bloomquist) are the only two guys so far who have gotten to wear that helmet and hold that sword," said Francis, noting the traditional Medieval armor and weapon that the Colossal 100 winner poses with in Victory Lane. "Hopefully we can win it again and have two like Scott."
Francis led every lap of last year's rough-and-tumble A-Main, turning back several challenges along the way. It was his first WoO LMS triumph teamed with Maryland car owner Dale Beitler and "a real memorable moment for me in my career."
Though Francis is coming off a rare DNF due to an accident in last Saturday night's WoO LMS 'Lone Star 100' at Battleground Speedway in Highlands, Texas, he's won two of the tour's four A-Mains contested so far this season.
THIS COULD BE THE ONE: Josh Richards is hoping that this weekend he can finally take his name off the list of the best drivers who haven't won a crown-jewel dirt Late Model event.
"We've been close to winning a big one but haven't been able to get it done," said the 21-year-old Richards, who has been in position to win the Colossal 100 as well as the World 100, Dirt Track World Championship and Knoxville Nationals. "Maybe we can pull it off at Charlotte."
Richards has likely never entered a prestigious, high-dollar race with more momentum than he's currently carrying. He's won six overall features already this season (including last month's WoO LMS opener), leads the WoO LMS points standings and returns this weekend to a four-tenths-mile oval at which he visited Victory Lane in his last appearance.
The sensation from Shinnston, W.Va., doesn't plan to run the same Rocket Chassis house car that he steered to the checkered flag in last fall's VAULT World Finals finale at The Dirt Track, but that nationally-televised triumph has him feeling good about his chances for a Colossal 100 score.
"I'm pumped up," said Richards, who finished third in last year's Colossal 100. "I kinda want to run the old car we won with (at Charlotte) last year, but out new cars are a little bit better so I think we'll have something that can run up front."
HE WANTS IT: The only thing missing from Darrell Lanigan's impeccable 2008 WoO LMS championship campaign was a signature victory in a major event.
That's something the Union, Ky., standout would like to change in '09 - preferably this weekend.
"It would've been nice to win a big one last year to kind of top off our season," said Lanigan. "We came close a couple times, like in the Colossal (he dropped out with a broken rearend while running second with 10 laps remaining) and at Lernerville (second place in the Firecracker 100), but for whatever reason we couldn't get the job done.
"Our goal right now is to win more races this year, especially a big one. The Colossal would be a good place to get that first one."
Lanigan, who won twice on last year's WoO LMS, has two runner-up finishes in four tour A-Mains this season.
SCENE OF THE FLIP: Chub Frank's outing in the 2008 Circle K Colossal 100 was memorable, but for the wrong reason.
While running in 11th place on lap 45, Frank's car dug into the track surface and flipped wildly in turn four. It was the first time in the veteran driver's 30-year career that he had gotten upside down in a race.
"The track was smooth, but it just had a big cushion built up and I got into it on a bad angle," said Frank, who escaped injury in the wreck and had his damaged 'Old Reliable' Rocket machine back in action a few weeks later. "When I did, the car caught and just started tumbling."
The Bear Lake, Pa., star returns to The Dirt Track hoping for better results this weekend. He also noted that he'll miss having Roger Slack, the former director of Lowe's Motor Speedway's short-track events, in charge to serve as his foil. Slack, who left his position at Lowe's Motor Speedway three months after the 2008 Colossal 100, spent several years trading good-natured barbs about The Dirt Track's shows and surface.
"It definitely ain't gonna be the same without Roger and Humpy (Wheeler, the former Lowe's Motor Speedway president) there anymore," smiled Frank. "I liked going back-and-forth with Roger. He liked doing it too and played it up."
TIME WITH SOME FRIENDS: Clint Smith isn't looking forward to the Colossal 100 because of his past success in the race - he's qualified for all three previous A-Mains but has yet to be running at the finish of one - but rather the track's location.
"Jeff Gordon has driven my car at the Prelude to the Dream (at Ohio's Eldora Speedway) the last two years so now we have a relationship with guys from his team," said Smith. "A lot of his shop guys will come over for the Colossal to hang out with us, so it'll be pretty cool and special if we could win a big one like that at a track so close to the Gordon establishment."
BETTER LUCK THIS TIME: Thanks to a broken wheel during time trials and a couple heat-race scrapes, last year's Colossal 100 was the only WoO LMS A-Main that Shane Clanton did not start in 2008. It didn't hinder his points-chasing, however, because the event only offered show-up points toward the tour title (as it will this year's version).
Clanton, who registered his first career crown-jewel triumph in last September's World 100 at Eldora Speedway, would like to have a little better fortune on his side this weekend. But he also realizes that he's never had much good luck in the Colossal 100, finishing 36th in 2006 (he lasted just four laps) and 15th in 2007 (after using a provisional to start the A-Main).
WINNING COMBINATION?: Rick Eckert had a strong car in the last two runnings of the Colossal 100 but didn't have a good finish to show for it - in 2007 a shove from behind when a caution flag came out sent him into the backstretch wall and ended his bid after just three laps, and last year he had just grabbed fourth place on lap 82 when a busted oil line knocked him out.
The York, Pa., racer enters this weekend's action with his hopes riding high. Very pleased with his new Bloomquist Chassis cars this season, he feels this could be the race that busts him out of a frustrating slump in which he's won just once in the last 104 WoO LMS A-Mains.
"I'm excited to go there with a Bloomquist car," said Eckert, noting that Scott Bloomquist has won the event twice. "The last time we were there (for last fall's VAULT World Finals) Scott won one night and (Chris) Madden won the topless race (in a Bloomquist car), so I know these cars can win there."
TEAM ZERO MEMBER: New WoO LMS regular Brady Smith also will bring a Bloomquist Chassis mount to The Dirt Track with visions of turning around his tough luck in the Colossal 100.
Smith, who has a pair of top-five finishes on the 2009 WoO LMS and sits ninth in the points standings, owns Colossal 100 finishes of 18th (2006) and 19th (2008). He failed to qualify for the 2007 event after a heat-race incident sent him crashing into a marker tire on the homestretch.
CAN HE MAKE IT?: Tim Fuller has tasted success at The Dirt Track in the past, as evidenced by his victory in an Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series big-block Modified event and a run from deep in the field to finish third in the 2007 VAULT World Finals finale.
But Fuller, 41, of Watertown, N.Y., hasn't started a Colossal 100 A-Main. He missed the 2007 show early in his run to the WoO LMS Rookie of the Year crown and was a non-qualifier last year after sliding into the turn-one wall at the start of a B-Main on a track surface still slick following a rain delay
"I've won there in a Modified, so I know how great it is to win at that place," said Fuller, who is currently sixth in the WoO LMS points standings. "I have no doubts that with the right circumstances, we can win there. I'm just not real good in that rough, fast stuff, so I'm hoping for a slower track."
HIS TURN?: Last Saturday night Shannon Babb climbed on the back of a 1,300-pound Texas Longhorn steer to celebrate his $20,000 victory in the WoO LMS 'Lone Star 100' at Battleground Speedway.
The Moweaqua, Ill., driver would like nothing better than partaking in another unique Victory Lane ceremony - the Medieval helmet and sword photos - after Saturday's Colossal 100.
No driver has been more consistent in the Colossal 100 than Babb, who owns three top-10 finishes. He was sixth in 2006 annd fifth in 2007 driving a Billy Moyer Sr.-owned car, and last year he placed sixth again in a Clint Bowyer Motorsports machine. He returns this weekend with his own team backed by Sheltra Motorsports, Petroff Towing and Donley Trucking.
THE ROOKS: Of the six drivers confirmed as 2009 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year candidates, only Brent Robinson of Smithfield, Va., has entered the Colossal 100 in the past. The 21-year-old failed to qualify for the 2008 edition.
Rookies planning first career Colossal 100 assaults include Dustin Hapka of Grand Forks, N.D., Russell King of Bristolville, Ohio, Tyler Reddick of Corning, Calif., Chas Shellenberger of Winfield, Pa., and Chuck Hummer of Ottawa Lake, Mich.
LOTS OF CARS: The Circle K Colossal 100 pre-entry list numbers nearly 70 drivers from 21 different states.
The WoO LMS regulars head the list, which also includes such names as dirt Late Model legends Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., and Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio; southern stars Chris Madden of Gaffney, S.C., Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., Ricky Weeks of Rutherfordton, N.C., and Dennis 'Rambo' Franklin of Cowpens, S.C.; and Midwest standouts Dan Schlieper of Sullivan, Wis., Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich., Will Vaught of Crane, Mo., John Anderson of Omaha, Neb., Terry Casey of New London, Wis., and Tommy Weder Jr. of Woodward, Okla.
DOUBLE-DUTY: Also on the entry list is NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader, who is planning a busy weekend shuttling between The Dirt Track and his NASCAR Truck Series commitments at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. He'll use Rusty Wallace's helicopter to fly into Charlotte after Friday's Truck practice and Saturday's Truck race.
HIGH HONOR: Retired dirt Late Model standout Mike Balzano of Parkersburg, W.Va., will be inducted into The Dirt Track's 'Walk of Fame' during a special ceremony scheduled for approximately 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Balzano, a former STARS/Renegade and MACS tour champion and winner of the inaugural Armour Vienna Sausage Showdown in 2004 at The Dirt Track, retired from competition at the completion of the 2009 season.
MEET THE STARS: Circle K will host the annual Colossal 100 autograph party featuring all entered drivers starting at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday (March 28) and stretching to 6 p.m. In order to gain early admission to the Circle K Autograph Party, fans must present an event ticket along with a Thirst Buster Cup of any size, which can be purchased at any area Circle K store.
The first 1,000 fans at the autograph party will receive a Circle K Colossal 100 commemorative poster.
ALL SYSTEMS GO: Responding to inquiries concerning weekend weather forecasts, Lowe's Motor Speedway officials announced on Wednesday afternoon that the Circle K Colossal 100 weekend is still scheduled to run as scheduled.
According to track officials, if inclement weather cancels Friday's events, those activities will shift to Saturday. If the weather persists and cancels Saturday's planned festivities, the Circle K Colossal 100 program will be held in its entirety on Sun., March 29.
Check www.lowesmotorspeedway.com/colossal for further updates.
GET YOUR TICKETS: Reserved tickets for both Friday and Saturday nights of the Circle K Colossal 100 are $39 for adults and $10 for children ages 12 and under. Single-day adult tickets are $15 for Friday and $35 for Saturday, and children are admitted for $5 on Friday and Saturday.
Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-455-FANS or online at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com/colossal.
2009 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of March 21 - 4 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):
1. Josh Richards 1-3-4 -$19,550-568 (-0)
2. Darrell Lanigan 0-2-4-$19,350-560 (-8)
3. Steve Francis 2-3-3-$23,100-546 (-22)
4. Shane Clanton 0-0-4-$8,350-544 (-24)
5. Shannon Babb 1-2-3-$25,800-520 (-48)
6. Tim Fuller 0-0-2-$6,740-516 (-52)
7. (tie) Rick Eckert 0-1-2-$8,070-512 (-56)
7. (tie) Chub Frank 0-1-3-$8,700-512 (-56)
9. Brady Smith 0-2-3-$8,900-493 (-75)
10. Clint Smith 0-0-2-$5,950-484 (-84)
|
