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Kevin Kovac
BEAVER DAM, Wisc. (May 24) - Jason Feger lived up to his nickname on Sunday night at Charter Raceway Park.
Tossing his car around the extreme top of the one-third-mile oval, the 'Highside Hustler' led the 40-lap Tri-State Late Model Challenge A-Main from flag-to-flag to record his first career victory on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
Feger, 30, of Bloomington, Ill., outgunned polesitter Matt Miller of Waterville, Ohio, for the lead at the initial green flag and never looked back. The personable UMP DIRTcar Racing star turned back some challenges from Miller and survived a lap-34 caution flag to pocket a career-best race payoff of $7,650.
"I knew the outside would be good, but I didn't know how good and for how long," said Feger, who started second in his family-owned Bob Pierce Chassis car. "I knew I had to try running it, though, so I just told the guys, 'We're gonna hang on as long as we can hang on up there.'
"Luckily it stayed good enough up top for the whole race and the bottom wasn't quite quick enough. It all worked out in our favor."
Miller settled for a career-high WoO LMS finish of second in Larry Moring's MasterSbilt machine. He couldn't stay with Feger after the race's lone restart on lap 34, finishing 1.318 seconds behind.
Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., battled forward from the fifth starting spot to finish third in his Bloomquist Team Zero Chassis, falling short of a victory in front of his homestate fans. Terry Casey of New London, Wis., placed fourth in his Rayburn mount and Rick Eckert of York, Pa., completed the top five in Raye Vest's Bloomquist Team Zero Chassis.
Feger, whose previous best WoO LMS finish was a fourth on Sept. 13, 2008, at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., was ecstatic when he reached Victory Lane on the speedway's homestretch. He high-fived and hugged his crew, which is led by Feger's brother Austin (the Integra Shocks 'Wrench of the Race' Award winner), and acknowledged a loud cheer from the crowd.
"We've been thinking about winning one of these World of Outlaws races for a long time," said Feger, who entered Sunday's UMP DIRTcar co-sanctioned event ranked second in the organization's national points standings. "We love racing with the World of Outlaws and we've come close a few times, but I didn't know if (a victory) was gonna happen - especially at a track we've never seen.
"But maybe racing at this place for the first time was to our advantage. We didn't know anything about it, so in this situation all you gotta do is get out there and race. That's what we did - and after we qualified good (recording fast time), that kinda set the tone for the whole night."
Feger's triumph - a checkered flag he called "the biggest win of my career" - came after he experienced a dismal outing in Friday night's Tri-State Late Model Challenge opener at U.S. 36 Raceway in Osborn, Mo. He suffered a broken motor at the end of his heat race, forcing him to take the green flag in another car and then drive back to his shop in central Illinois to retrieve his backup car for the remainder of the weekend's action.
Miller, who made his first WoO LMS start of the 2009 season, never found the opportunity to overtake Feger that he hoped would materialize.
"After I couldn't slide up and get ahead of (Feger) at the start, I tried to bide my time behind him," said Miller. "I know that he's pretty aggressive running the top - and if you attack that cushion, you can get in trouble. I wanted to be in position to take advantage of any bobble he might make, but I didn't stay close enough to him. When we got to (lapped) traffic it seemed like he'd clear a car and then I'd get hung up, and that just cost me too much ground."
Brady Smith, meanwhile, dearly wanted to win for the dozens of family members and friends he had watching his only WoO LMS appearance of the season in Wisconsin, but the 31-year-old struggled to advance with the outside line the preferred way around the track. He gained control of third place on lap 14, but he found himself nearly a straightaway behind Miller and didn't pull within striking distance of the second-place runner until just before Grand Forks, N.D.'s Dustin Hapka spun in turn two to bring out the lap-34 caution flag.
"We had a really good car," said Smith, who registered his second consecutive top-five finish on the WoO LMS. "But it was tough to pass because the top was dominant. We made some moves to go forward, but we couldn't get up there to challenge (Feger) and that was disappointing."
Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., finished sixth after running as high as third. Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., moved up three spots to place seventh, followed by 13th-starter Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., WoO LMS points leader Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., and Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., who recorded his first top-10 finish of the season.
Defending tour champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who switched to his backup car after his primary mount developed a minor engine problem during time trials, finished 11th.
A 32-car field was signed in for the program, which was run under clear and cool conditions. It was the first WoO LMS event at Charter since May 12, 2007.
Feger registered his first career WoO LMS fast-time award, topping the Ohlins Shocks Time Trials with a lap of 14.535 seconds. He pocketed a $50 bonus for his effort.
Heat winners were Miller, Brady Smith, Eckert and Fuller. The B-Main was captured by Nick Anvelink of Navarino, Wis.
The WoO LMS now heads east for a three-race swing that visits Delaware International Speedway in Delmar, Del., on Thurs., May 28; Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway on Sat., May 30; and Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va., on Sun., May 31.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Results of WoO Late Model Series at Charter Raceway Park (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (2) Jason Feger/40 $7,650
2. (1) Matt Miller/40 $3,000
3. (5) Brady Smith/40 $2,550
4. (3) Terry Casey/40 $1,700
5. (7) Rick Eckert/40 $2,000
6. (4) Tim Fuller/40 $1,800
7. (12) Steve Francis/40 $1,800
8. (13) Shane Clanton/40 $1,600
9. (14) Josh Richards/40 $1,500
10. (10) Vic Coffey/40 $1,450
11. (15) Darrell Lanigan/40 $1,450
12. (8) Shannon Babb/39 $1,300
13. (19) Chub Frank/39 $1,250
14. (6) Kenny Schrader/39 $740
15. (18) Jordan Bland/39 $1,460
16. (20) Clint Smith/39 $1,180
17. (17) Nick Anvelink/39 $650
18. (9) Kerry Hansen/39 $630
19. (23) Russell King/38 $620
20. (11) Brent Robinson/38 $610
21. (21) Tim Buhler/38 $600
22. (22) Bret Sievert/33 $600
23. (16) Dennis Erb Jr./33 $600
24. (24) Dustin Hapka/32 $600
* Earnings include Winners Circle program and cash contingency award bonuses
Time of Race: 15 Mins., 24.684 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.318 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 1 (Lap 34)
Lap Leaders: Feger (1-40)
Provisional Starters: King, Hapka
Rookie of the Race: Bland ($250)
WoO LMS 'Bonus Bucks' Winner: Feger ($500)
Integra Shocks Crew Chief of the Race: Austin Feger (Feger)
Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 25F-Jason Feger/Bloomington, IL 14.535
2. 42-Terry Casey/New London, WI 14.618
3. 9-Kenny Schrader/Concord, NC 14.657
4. 18-Shannon Babb/Moweaqua, IL 14.767
5. 7M-Matt Miller/Waterville, OH 14.798
6. 2-Brady Smith/Solon Springs, WI 14.802
7. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 14.804
8. 19T-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 14.833
9. 25-Shane Clanton/Locust Grove, GA 14.855
10. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 14.878
11. 5-Bret Sievert/Mukwanago, WI 14.931
12. 19-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 14.964
13. 25H-Kerry Hansen/Spencer, WI 14.966
14. 32c-Vic Coffey/Caledonia, NY 14.974
15. 3-Brent Robinson/Smithfield, VA 14.976
16. 28-Dennis Erb Jr./Carpentersville, IL 14.983
17. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 14.994
18. 18H-Dustin Hapka/Grand Forks, ND 15.061
19. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 15.065
20. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 15.082
21. 12-Jordan Bland/Campbellsville, KY 15.107
22. 11-Tyler Reddick/Corning, CA 15.218
23. 9z-Jayme Zidar/Greenfield, WI 15.283
24. 56-Russell King/Bristolville, OH 15.413
25. 7B-Tim Buhler/Glenbeulah, WI 15.535
26. 73-Zach Johnson/Kensington, WI 15.599
27. 10s-George Scheffler/Waukesha, WI 15.661
28. 1M-Mike Mataragas/Dekalb, IL 15.878
29. d1-Turk Letizia/Milwaukee, WI 16.084
30. 15-Nick Anvelink/Navarino, WI 16.162
31. 40-Nick Kramer/Pine Island, MN 16.418
32. 22-Jill George/Cedar Falls, IA N/T (light)
Heat No. 1 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Miller, Feger, Hansen, Clanton, Bland, C. Smith, Buhler, Letizia
Heat No. 2 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): B. Smith, Casey, Coffey, Richards, Anvelink, Z. Johnson, Hapka, Reddick
Heat No. 3 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Eckert, Schrader, Robinson, Lanigan, Sievert, Zidar, Scheffler, Kramer
Heat No. 4 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Fuller, Babb, Francis, Erb, Frank, King, Mataragas, George
B-Main No. 1 (12 laps - Top 6 Transfer): Anvelink, Bland, Frank, C. Smith, Buhler, Sievert, Z. Johnson, Zidar, Mataragas, Hapka, Letizia, Kramer, George, Scheffler, King (DNS) Reddick
2009 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of May 24 - 11 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):
1. Josh Richards 1-7-9-$49,200-1439 (-0)
2. Shane Clanton 1-1-9-$39,150-1425 (-14)
3. Steve Francis 3-6-8-$53,580-1421 (-18)
4. (tie) Darrell Lanigan 0-4-8-$52,300-1409 (-30)
4. (tie) Rick Eckert 1-4-7-$28,395-1409 (-30)
6. Shannon Babb 1-4-7-$42,330-1395 (-44)
7. Chub Frank 0-2-7-$22,600-1373 (-66)
8. Tim Fuller 0-1-4-$19,330-1353 (-86)
9. Brady Smith 0-4-5-$22,975-1336 (-103)
10. Clint Smith 0-0-4-$17,230-1293 (-146)
11. Vic Coffey 0-0-1-$11,890-1170 (-269)
12. Jordan Bland 0-0-0-$10,500-1073 (-366)
13. Russell King 0-0-1-$9,470-1042 (-397)
14. Brent Robinson 0-0-0-$4,760-997 (-442)
15. Dustin Hapka 0-0-0-$5,490-985 (-454)
16. Tyler Reddick 0-0-0-$3,105-893 (-546)
17. Dale McDowell 0-2-3-$12,400-717 (-722)
18. Dennis Erb Jr. 0-0-1-$5,010-657 (-782)
19. Chris Madden 1-3-3-$20,000-615 (-824)
20. Chas Shellenberger 0-0-0-$1,145-600 (-839)
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