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Kevin Kovac
NEW RICHMOND, Wisc. (August 6) - Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., put himself in position for a signature victory on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series with a powerful effort during Friday night's USA Nationals qualifying program at Cedar Lake Speedway.
The national tour's 2008 champion won the five-lap dash for Friday's five heat-race winners, earning himself the pole position for Saturday night's 100-lap A-Main. He will chase the $50,000 top prize that's on the line in the 23rd annual USA Nationals, which this year carries presenting sponsorship from U.S. Steel Corporation and is part of the WoO LMS schedule for the first time since 2005.
"The car's good right now, but man, a hundred laps out there is gonna be treacherous if the track's like it was tonight," said Lanigan, who raced off the pole to lead the entire dash in his Rocket car. "I'm telling you, it's tough out there. It's wicked-fast right now up on the cushion.
"It's tough, but it's definitely racy. The fans get their money's worth here. I guarantee that for 100 laps tomorrow there's gonna be no relaxing."
Arguably the hottest driver on the WoO LMS with three wins and nine top-three finishes in his last 10 starts, Lanigan captured the second heat race and then outgunned fellow front-row starter Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., to take control of the dash. Lanigan crossed the finish line in the short sprint nearly a half-straightaway ahead of first-heat winner Josh Richards, who got out of shape in turn two early in the dash but recovered to finish second and secure the outside pole starting spot for the USA Nationals.
Don O'Neal of Martinsville, Ind., who was fastest during the evening's 51-car Ohlins Shocks Time Trials session with a lap of 14.167 seconds and won the fifth heat, drove Larry Moring's car to a third-place finish in the dash to position himself on the inside of the second row for the start of the 100. Fourth-heat winner Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., and third-heat winner McCreadie, who won Thursday night's 40-lap DIRTcar UMP-sanctioned tuneup feature, finished fourth and fifth, respectively, and will start the USA Nationals from those spots.
Lanigan, 40, will shoot for his first-ever USA Nationals victory. His only previous starts in the event resulted in finishes of 10th (1995) and 13th (2005).
"We've never really been that great up here," said Lanigan, who sits second behind Richards in the current WoO LMS points standings. "But we've got a pretty good car, so hopefully we'll be there at the end. We'll see what we got tomorrow night."
Lanigan hasn't won a crown-jewel dirt Late Model event since he captured both the Dream at Ohio's Eldora Speedway and the Dirt Track World Championship at Kentucky's Bluegrass Speedway in 2003, but he's knocked on the door to Victory Lane in several major events over the past several seasons. He's been especially close to a big-money score at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., finishing second in the Firecracker 100 for the past three years.
Friday's qualifying program was very good to the WoO LMS regulars. Eight of the tour's 12 travelers on hand made the cut through a heat race and will start among the top 11 spots in the USA Nationals 100, including heat winners Lanigan, Richards, Francis and McCreadie as well as Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga. (starts sixth), Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga. (seventh), Rick Eckert of York, Pa. (10th) and rookie Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del. (11th).
Outlaws still looking to transfer on Saturday through one of two B-Mains or the last-chance race are Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., Russell King of Bristolville, Ohio, and rookie Jill George of Cedar Falls, Iowa.
The two biggest winners in the history of the USA Nationals - five-time victor Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., and four-time winner Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn. - will run B-Mains on Saturday after falling short in heat action. Moyer led the first 11 laps of the fifth heat before being shuffled back to fifth after a lap-13 restart, and Bloomquist missed by one spot after finishing fourth in the hard-fought fourth heat.
Saturday's grand finale program, which includes B-Mains, a last-chance race and the 100-lap USA Nationals and a full show for Cedar Lake's NASCAR Late Models, is scheduled to begin with hot laps at 6:30 p.m.
Additional details and ticket info on the USA Nationals can be obtained by logging on to www.cedarlakespeedway.com.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 1d-Don O'Neal/Martinsville, IN 14.167
2. 15F-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 14.242
3. 28-Jimmy Mars/Menomonie, WI 14.311
4. 49-Jonathan Davenport/Blairsville, GA 14.316
5. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 14.387
6. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 14.403
7. 25s-Chad Simpson/Mt. Vernon, IA 14.436
8. 44P-Earl Pearson Jr./Jacksonville, FL 14.441
9. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 14.462
10. 89-Darren Friedman/Forrest, IL 14.513
11. 21M-Billy Moyer/Batesville, AR 14.516
12. 95-Keith Foss/Winona, MN 14.517
13. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 14.539
14. 20-Jimmy Owens/Newport, TN 14.541
15. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 14.561
16. 19H-Austin Hubbard/Seaford, DE 14.561
17. 25-Shane Clanton/Fayetteville, GA 14.595
18. 15b-Brian Birkhofer/Muscatine, IA 14.690
19. 0-Scott Bloomquist/Mooresburg, TN 14.737
20. 56-Russell King/Bristolville, OH 14.748
21. 18b-Shannon Babb/Moweaqua, IL 14.769
22. 57J-Bub McCool/Vicksburg, MS 14.776
23. 7-Matt Miller/Waterville, OH 14.807
24. 25F-Jason Feger/Bloomington, IL 14.825
25. 32s-Chris Simpson/Oxford, IA 14.827
26. 21L-Matt Lux/Franklin, PA 14.839
27. 73-Zach Johnson/Kensington, MN 14.852
28. F15-Justin Fegers/Mound, MN 14.852
29. 19F-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 14.878
30. 9T-Tim Isenberg/Marshfield, WI 14.881
31. 11-Pat Doar/New Richmond, WI 14.890
32. 81-Ashley Anderson/Elk Mound, WI 14.896
33. 90-Lance Matthees/Winona, MN 14.932
34. 28e-Dennis Erb Jr./Carpentersville, IL 14.960
35. 1v-Will Vaught/Crane, MO 14.977
36. 25H-Kerry Hansen/Spencer, WI 14.983
37. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 14.984
38. 3s-Brian Shirley/Chatham, IL 15.001
39. 3-Kevin Sather/Ankeny, IA 15.035
40. 18RH-Ronny Lee Hollingsworth/Northport, AL 15.129
41. 41-Josh McGuire/Grayson, KY 15.184
42. s9-Dan Schlieper/Sullivan, WI 15.197
43. 71-Andrew McKay/Edina, MN 15.249
44. 90x-Eric Pember/Pittsville, WI 15.272
45. 75-Brian Harris/Davenport, IA 15.364
46. 17J-John Winge/Ringgold, GA 15.510
47. 8-Gregg Hill/Eveleth, MN 15.564
48. 9E-Even Hubert/Cross Timbers, MO 15.575
49. 22-Jill George/Cedar Falls, IA 15.799
50. 18H-Dustin Hapka/Grand Forks, ND 15.906
51. 2-Brady Smith/Solon Springs, WI N/T
Heat No. 1 (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): Richards, C. Smith, Hubbard, Babb, Doar, McGuire, B. Smith, Lux, Friedman, Winge, Hansen
Heat No. 2 (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): Lanigan, Clanton, Owens, Davenport, McCool, Frank, Schlieper, Anderson, Hill, Johnson
Heat No. 3 (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): McCreadie, Mars, Pearson, Birkhofer, Miller, Fegers, Shirley, Matthees, Hubert, McKay
Heat No. 4 (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): Francis, Chad Simpson, Feger, Bloomquist, Erb, Fuller, Pember, Foss, George, Sather
Heat No. 5 (15 laps - Top 3 Transfer): O'Neal, Eckert, Chris Simpson, Vaught, Moyer, King, Hollingsworth, Hapka, Isenberg, Harris
Dash Results (5 laps): Lanigan, Richards, O'Neal, Francis, McCreadie
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