BARBERVILLE, FL – Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., ended the 42nd UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment on a high note, capturing Saturday night’s 50-lap WoO LMS A-Main for his first-ever victory in World of Outlaws Late Model Series action at Volusia Speedway Park.
The defending WoO LMS champion outdueled Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., to assume command for good on lap 17, but he was challenged repeatedly during the race’s second half by both McCreadie and Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., before pulling away following a final caution flag on lap 41.
Richards never seriously threatened Lanigan over the last nine circuits, crossing the finish line 0.990 of a second behind the victor. The runner-up finish sent Richards home with the WoO LMS points lead after a season-opening burst of eight events and he also was named the Late Model champion of the 2013 UNOH DIRTcar Nationals by Summit, earning himself a unique bronze gator-shaped trophy.
McCreadie, who paced laps 3-11 and nosed ahead of Lanigan to lead lap 16, settled for a third-place finish. Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., placed fourth – his sixth top-five finish of the young WoO LMS campaign – and Clanton’s Kennedy Motorsports teammate Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., scored a season-high and career-best Volusia finish of fifth.
Rick Eckert of York, Pa., placed sixth after starting 14th and Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss., was seventh from the 16th starting spot, completing a sweep of the top seven finishing positions by WoO LMS regulars.
Lanigan, 42, earned $10,150 for his series-leading third win of the season. It was his tour-record 44th career win but first at the Volusia half-mile, where he had previously won twice in DIRTcar UMP-sanctioned Late Model action during the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals by Summit but never in 18 previous WoO LMS starts dating back to 2004.
“It’s awesome to finally get a World of Outlaws win here at Volusia,” said Lanigan, whose last visit to Victory Lane during the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals by Summit came in 2010. “We’ve been trying to win one here for a long time.”
The checkered flag certainly didn’t come easy. For starters, Lanigan and his crew had to put in overtime just to prepare the Rocket machine he drove to victory after it was damaged heavily in an accident during Tuesday night’s DIRTcar UMP-sanctioned feature.
“I gotta thank my crew, Jason (Jameson) and Adam (Logan),” said Lanigan. “They worked hard all week to put this thing back together. We put it on the jig (on Friday) to straighten it out and it was awesome tonight.”
In the A-Main, Lanigan had to repel McCreadie and Richards in a face-off of three former WoO LMS champions. After gaining control of the top spot from McCreadie on lap 17 and then turning back several challenges from T-Mac between caution flags on laps 19 (for the slow car driven by Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn.) and 25 (for Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.), Lanigan found Richards hot on his rear bumper beginning on lap 28.
Richards, 24, drew his Valvoline-sponsored Rocket Chassis house car close to Lanigan during an extended green-flag stint following a lap-27 caution for Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill. But just as the returning WoO LMS regular appeared primed to bid for the lead the race’s fourth and final caution flag flew on lap 41 for fifth-place Stormy Scott of Las Cruces, N.M., whose first-ever WoO LMS A-Main start came to an end with mechanical trouble after he led laps 1-2 off the pole and ran in the top five throughout the distance.
The late caution was a godsend for Lanigan, who cooled his tires and took off on the restart.
“I knew we were softer (with tire-compound choice) than those guys,” said Lanigan, referring to Richards and McCreadie. “We were on (Hoosier LM) 20s and they were on 30s, so I knew I had to save my stuff as much as I could. When I seen that caution with nine to go I just said, ‘Oh yeah, here’s my baby here.” That’s what I needed to help me hold on.”
“For the last five laps I found a pretty good line right through the middle there (in turns three and four) and my car just worked awesome.”
Richards, meanwhile, knew his chances were likely dive-bombed for the late caution flag.
“I knew Darrell was softer on the right-rear tire so I didn’t really want to see that caution,” said Richards, who started 12th after missing the A-Main redraw because Lanigan passed him on the final lap of the fourth heat to finish second. “I think we might have had a chance to get by him if the race went green all the way to finish, but we’ll take a second. It’s been a great week and it’s an honor to win the (UNOH DIRTcar Nationals by Summit) championship.”
Finishing in positions 8-10 were Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., who also started eighth; Scott James of Bright, Ind., who advanced from the 25th starting spot after using a WoO LMS points provisional to gain entry to the A-Main; and Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., who was scheduled to start 19th but was penalized to the rear of the field for the green flag because his crew changed a tire on his car after it was presented in the staging area.
Forty-six cars were signed in for the evening’s action.
For the third consecutive night Ohlins Shocks Time Trials were split into ‘A’ and ‘B’ groups, with the first half competing for starting positions in heats one and two and the second half racing against the clock to align heats three and four. Kenny Pettyjohn of Millsboro, Del., earned his first-ever WoO LMS fast-time honor, registering the fastest overall lap of the evening at 15.790 seconds.
Heat winners were Fuller, Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., Scott and Clanton. The B-Mains were captured by Pat Doar of New Richmond, Wis., and Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill.
The WoO LMS is idle until embarking on a three-race Southern weekend March 22-24. The tour will visit I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., on Fri., March 22; Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, Miss., on Sat., March 23; and Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel, Tenn., on Sun., March 24.
Results of World of Outlaws Late Model Series ’42nd UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment’ Night 3 at Volusia Speedway Park (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (5) Darrell Lanigan/50 $10,150
2. (12) Josh Richards/50 $5,150
3. (4) Tim McCreadie/50 $3,150
4. (7) Shane Clanton/50 $2,550
5. (2) Tim Fuller/50 $2,050
6. (14) Rick Eckert/50 $1,850
7. (16) Bub McCool/50 $1,500
8. (8) Brady Smith/50 $1,350
9. (25) Scott James/50 $1,750
10. (19) Dale McDowell/50 $1,150
11. (6) Billy Moyer/50 $1,250
12. (15) Eric Wells/50 $1,050
13. (20) Steve Francis/50 $1,050
14. (9) Jimmy Mars/50 $900
15. (13) Eric Jacobsen/50 $850
16. (23) Earl Pearson Jr./50 $800
17. (3) Bobby Pierce/50 $870
18. (27) Chub Frank/50 $100
19. (26) Morgan Bagley/50 $730
20. (22) Scott Bloomquist/50 $800
21. (18) Dennis Erb Jr./48 $700
22. (1) Stormy Scott/40 $700
23. (17) Pat Doar/32 $700
24. (21) Vic Coffey/27 $725
25. (28) Clint Smith/24 $50
26. (11) Shannon Babb/23 $700
27. (24) Eddie Carrier Jr./18 $700
28. (10) Billy Ogle Jr./8 $750
* Earnings include cash contingency award bonuses
Time of Race: 25 Mins., 20.215 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.990 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 4 (laps 19, 25, 27, 41)
Lap Leaders: Scott (1-2); McCreadie (3-11); Lanigan (12-15); McCreadie (16); Lanigan (17-50)
Provisional Starters:
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: James ($500)
Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
Group A
1. 32-Bobby Pierce/Oakwood, IL 15.824
2. 25z-Mason Zeigler/Chalk Hill, PA 15.827
3. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 15.837
4. 201-Billy Ogle Jr./Knoxville, TN 15.847
5. 17M-Dale McDowell/Chickamauga, GA 15.865
6. 21M-Billy Moyer/Batesville, AR 15.881
7. 28M-Jimmy Mars/Menomonie, WI 15.893
8. 44P-Earl Pearson Jr./Jacksonville, FL 15.913
9. 5J-Eric Jacobsen/Sea Cliff Beach, CA 15.919
10. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 15.939
11. 32c-Vic Coffey/Caledonia, NY 15.960
12. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 15.970
13. 11-Pat Doar/New Richmond, WI 15.994
14. 71d-Ron Davies/Warren, PA 16.078
15. b5-Brandon Sheppard/New Berlin, IL 16.089
16. 99-Donnie Moran/Dresden, OH 16.100
17. 5L-Jared Landers/Batesville, AR 16.118
18. 7W-Ricky Weiss/Winnipeg, MAN 16.130
19. 4ds-Chad Hollenbeck/Kingsley, PA 16.209
20. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 16.226
21. 1G-Scott James/Bright, IN 16.277
22. 1d-Don O’Neal/Martinsville, IN 16.303
23. 72-Michael Norris/Sarver, PA 16.432
Group B
1. 38-Kenny Pettyjohn/Millsboro, DE 15.790
2. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 15.871
3. 20R-Stormy Scott/Las Cruces, NM 15.917
4. 25-Shane Clanton/Fayetteville, GA 15.970
5. 18-Eric Wells/Hazard, KY 15.985
6. 1R-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 16.014
7. 25b-Mike Benedum/Salem, WV 16.040
8. 1W-Dillon Wood/New Smyrna Beach, FL 16.136
9. 15-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 16.146
10. 28-Dennis Erb Jr./Carpentersville, IL 16.179
11. 2-Brady Smith/Solon Springs, WI 16.218
12. 28c-Eddie Carrier Jr./Salt Rock, WV 16.267
13. 18b-Shannon Babb/Moweaqua, IL 16.269
14. 11R-Tyler Reddick/DuQuoin, IL 16.294
15. 0-Scott Bloomquist/Mooresburg, TN 16.312
16. 57J-Bub McCool/Vicksburg, MS 16.322
17. 14M-Morgan Bagley/Longview, TX 16.427
18. 7L-Jerry Lierly/Quincy, IL 16.428
19. 101-Casey Roberts/Toccoa, GA 16.467
20. 16-Justin Rattliff/Campbellsville, KY 16.600
21. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 16.634
22. 77-Jason McBride/Carbondale, IL 16.818
23. 57-Chuck Julien/Apopka, FL 17.878
Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Fuller, Pierce, Mars, Jacobsen, McDowell, Doar, Coffey, Landers, Sheppard, Norris, Hollenbeck, James
Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Moyer, McCreadie, Ogle, Eckert, Zeigler, Pearson, Davies, Moran, Weiss, C. Smith, O’Neal
Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Scott, B. Smith, Babb, Wells, Francis, Bloomquist, Pettyjohn, Benedum, Bagley, Julien, Roberts, C. Frank
Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Clanton, Lanigan, Richards, McCool, Erb, Carrier, McBride, Reddick, Lierly (DNS) Wood, Rattliff
B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Doar, McDowell, Coffey, Pearson, Sheppard, Moran, Norris, Weiss, Hollenbeck, Landers, Davies, Zeigler, James (DNS) C. Smith, O’Neal
B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Erb, Francis, Bloomquist, Carrier, Benedum, McBride, Julien, Bagley (DNS) Pettyjohn, Reddick, Lierly, Wood, Roberts, Rattliff, C. Frank
World of Outlaws Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners (awards presented to noted finisher/qualifier or next highest displaying decal:
Ohlins Shocks ($50 cash to fast qualifier): Billy Ogle Jr.
Eibach Springs (one free spring to each B-Main winner): Pat Doar/Mike Benedum
VP Race Fuels ‘Nice Jugs’ Award: (One VP 5-gallon container to fastest qualifier who misses A-Main): Mike Benedum
Wrisco Aluminum (3 sheets of aluminum to A-Main winner only): Darrell Lanigan
Armor All (One case of product to highest-finishing non-WoO team in A-Main): Dale McDowell
Comp Cams ($50 certificate to A-Main winner): Josh Richards
QuarterMaster ($100 certificate to A-Main winner, $50 certificate to 5th-place finish): Darrell Lanigan/Eric Jacobsen
MSD Ignition ($50 cash to A-Main winner): Josh Richards
STP ($50 cash to 2nd-place finisher in A-Main): Tim McCreadie
XS Power ($50 cash to 3rd-place finisher in A-Main): Bub McCool
Roush Yates ($50 cash to 4th-place finisher in A-Main): Billy Moyer
JE Pistons ($50 cash to 5th-place finisher in A-Main): Tim Fuller
Dominator ($50 cash to 6th-place finisher in A-Main): Billy Moyer
American Race Wheels ($50 cash to 7th-place finisher in A-Main): Bub McCool
VP Race Fuels ($50 cash to 8th-place finisher in A-Main): Brady Smith
Edelbrock Manifolds ($50 cash to 9th-finisher in A-Main): Scott James
Comp Cams ($50 cash to 10th-place finisher in A-Main): Dale McDowell
XS Power ($60 product certificate to 11th-place finisher in A-Main): Billy Moyer
Cometic Gasket ($50 cash to 12th-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Wells
JRI Shocks ($50 cash to 13th-place finisher in A-Main): Chub Frank
Super Flow Dynos ($50 cash to 14th-place finisher in A-Main): Bobby Pierce
JE Pistons (one complete set of JE Pro Seal rings to 16th-place finisher in A-Main, redeemable w/next purchase of set): Bobby Pierce
Klotz Lubricants ($50 cash to 17th-place finisher in A-Main): Bobby Pierce
Roush Yates ($50 gift card to 18th-place finisher in A-Main): Chub Frank
QuarterMaster ($50 certificate to 19th-place finisher in A-Main): Morgan Bagley
Arizona Sport Shirts ($100 certificate to 20th-place finisher in A-Main): Scott Bloomquist
JE Pistons (one complete set of JE Pro Seal rings to 21st-place finisher in A-Main, redeemable w/next purchase of set): Dennis Erb Jr.
Roush Yates ($50 gift card to 22nd-place finisher in A-Main): Scott Bloomquist
MSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24th-place finisher in A-Main): Vic Coffey
XS Power ‘Power Move of the Race’ ($60 product certificate): Stormy Scott
Roush Yates ($25 gift card to driver who leads most laps in the A-Main): Darrell Lanigan
2013 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of Feb. 23 – 8 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/points/deficit to leader):
1. Josh Richards 1154
2. Shane Clanton 1136 (-18)
3. Darrell Lanigan 1102 (-52)
4. Rick Eckert 1092 (-62)
5. Tim McCreadie 1050 (-104)
6. Eric Wells 1022 (-132)
7. Scott James 1018 (-136)
8. Tim Fuller 1012 (-142)
9. Bub McCool 990 (-164)
10. Morgan Bagley 980 (-174)
11. Chub Frank 976 (-178)
12. Clint Smith 934 (-220)
13. Pat Doar 906 (-248)
14. (tie) Dillon Wood 804 (-350)
14. (tie) Brandon Sheppard 804 (-350)
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Gravely Tractors (Official Lawn Equipment), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), Vicci (Official Uniform), VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel), DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award) and McCarthy’s One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning (Raye Vest Memorial Pill Draw Award); in addition to contingency sponsors Butlerbuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Dominator Race Products, Edelbrock, Eibach Springs, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, MSD Ignition, Ohlins Shocks, QuarterMaster, Roush Yates Performance Parts, Superflow Dynos, Wrisco Aluminum and XS Power Racing Batteries; along with manufacturer sponsors Capital Race Cars, Integra Shocks, GRT Chassis, Jake’s Carts, Longacre, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis, TNT Rescue, and Warrior Chassis.
Written By: By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director
