Owens Completes Unprecedented Sweep Of Dirt Late Model Action During PEAK Motor Oil World of Outlaws World Finals by NAPA
Lanigan Falls Short Of Victory But Celebrates 2012 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Championship At The Dirt Track At Charlotte
By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director
CONCORD, NC – Nov. 3, 2012 – Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., completed an unprecedented sweep of the PEAK Motor Oil World of Outlaws World Finals Presented by NAPA Auto Parts with a convincing victory in Saturday night’s 50-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-Main at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
The $10,000 triumph marked the fourth consecutive year that Owens captured the Saturday-night finale of the spectacular weekend – and, as a result, shared the post-race spotlight with the newly-crowned WoO LMS champion. Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who finished third, was presented his second career World of Outlaws championship trophy in a confetti- and fireworks-filled ceremony moments after Owens stood on the winner’s stage.
Owens, 40, certainly didn’t have his amazing feat diminished by the dual Victory Lane celebrations. He earned plenty of recognition from the standing-room-only crowd of over 14,000 and the national television audience that watched the PEAK World Finals by NAPA on the SPEED cable network.
“Words can’t describe how much it means to win these two races this weekend,” said Owens, who has been victorious a record five times in 12 WoO LMS A-Mains contested during the PEAK World Finals by NAPA since the event’s birth in 2007. “It just means so much to me to pull this off. The electricity in the air with all these people here for this show is like no other race we run.”
Owens, who started third, passed Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., for the lead on lap five and never looked back. He easily handled two restarts late in the distance to cross the finish line 1.646 seconds in front of Watertown, N.Y.’s Tim McCreadie, who charged forward from the ninth starting spot to register a runner-up finish that moved him past Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., to fourth in the final WoO LMS points standings.
Lanigan swapped second place with McCreadie before finally ceding the position on lap 43 and settling for third. Madden faded to fourth at the finish after starting second and leading laps 1-4 and WoO LMS regular Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., advanced from the 10th starting spot to complete the top five.
Owens, who outdueled Lanigan and 2011 WoO LMS champion Rick Eckert of York, Pa., to win Friday night’s 50-lap A-Main at the four-tenths-mile oval, was never seriously challenged in his history-making repeat effort.
“We had a good car last night but I felt like we could still do some things to make it better,” Owens said of his potent Mike Reece-owned Team Zero by Bloomquist mount. “We worked on it today and it was just awesome. We really found something for this place.”
McCreadie, 38, didn’t get a shot at racing Owens from second place on either of the race’s restarts. He reached third with his Warrior machine two circuits before the first caution flag flew, on lap 38 after Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., slammed the turn-three wall. McCreadie then briefly took second from Lanigan on the ensuing restart before Lanigan nosed back ahead to sit in the runner-up spot when Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., slowed to bring out a caution flag on lap 42.
The bridesmaid finish was McCreadie’s best on the WoO LMS since he was second on July 7 at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn. It came at an opportune time, pushing him past Frank, who finished 19th, for fourth in the points standings – a one position jump worth an extra $5,000 in points-fund cash ($35,000 versus $30,000 for fifth).
Lanigan will receive $100,000 for his WoO LMS championship, giving him over $425,000 in earnings on the 2012 tour. It’s a pretty good consolation for falling short of victory once again at The Dirt Track, where Lanigan is winless in 20 career starts.
“I think we may have been a little bit better (than Owens) before that caution (on lap 38),” said the fourth-starting Lanigan, who steered his Rocket car into second place with a lap-18 pass of Madden. “I think we were catching him a little bit, but I think the caution hurt us a little bit. We just didn’t fire after the restart.
“We were good, but we just missed it a little bit and Jimmy was good this weekend.”
Lanigan’s final championship margin was a record 228 points over Eckert, who finished 21st after relinquishing a top-five spot when his car lost power during the lap-42 caution period.
“It’s definitely been a heck of a year,” said Lanigan, who also won the WoO LMS title in 2008. “To do what we did – win (a record) 15 races, win Cedar Lake (the USA Nationals), everything else – it’s just been a phenomenal year. The first (championship) was nice, but to get your second one the way we did is definitely unbelievable.”
Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., finished sixth in the Childress Racing No. K71. Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., advanced from the 16th starting spot to place seventh; Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., was a quiet eighth; WoO LMS rookie Kent Robinson of Bloomington, Ind., was ninth; and Walker Arthur of Forest, Va., rounded out the top 10.
Heat winners were Owens, O’Neal, Madden, Eckert, Lanigan and McDowell. The B-Mains were captured by Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky., and Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn.
The stars of the 2012 WoO LMS will be honored – and share in nearly $400,000 in points-fund cash – during the tour’s annual awards banquet on Sunday night (Nov. 4) at the Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, N.C
The 2013 WoO LMS campaign is scheduled to kick off on Feb. 8-9 with the ‘Winter Freeze’ doubleheader at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga.
Results of WoO Late Model Series PEAK Motor Oil World of Outlaws World Finals Presented by NAPA Auto Parts Race No. 2 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (3) Jimmy Owens/50 $10,000
2. (9) Tim McCreadie/50 $5,650
3. (4) Darrell Lanigan/50 $3,650
4. (2) Chris Madden/50 $2,500
5. (10) Clint Smith/50 $2,550
6. (5) Don O’Neal/50 $2,200
7. (16) Steve Francis/50 $1,500
8. (7) Josh Richards/50 $1,450
9. (18) Kent Robinson/50 $1,950
10. (13) Walker Arthur/50 $1,100
11. (15) Brandon Sheppard/50 $1,100
12. (12) Jason Feger/50 $1,100
13. (23) Ray Cook/50 $1,000
14. (14) Gregg Satterlee/50 $900
15. (27) Earl Pearson Jr./50 $900
16. (28) Bub McCool/49 $800
17. (29) Vic Coffey/49 $620
18. (22) Dennis Erb Jr./49 $750
19. (26) Chub Frank/49 $1,280
20. (24) Billy Decker/49 $725
21. (1) Rick Eckert/42 $1,350
22. (6) Dale McDowell/42 $700
23. (25) Shane Clanton/37 $1,250
24. (21) Scott Bloomquist/37 $800
25. (19) Jonathan Davenport/36 $700
26. (11) Kenny Moreland/32 $700
27. (20) Eric Wells/28 $700
28. (8) R.J. Conley/16 $700
29. (17) Morgan Bagley/16 $700
* Earnings include Winners Circle program and cash contingency award bonuses
Time of Race: 22 Mins., 6.900 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.646 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 2 (Laps 38, 42)
Lap Leaders: Madden (1-4); Owens (5-50)
Provisional Starters: Clanton, Frank (WoO points); Pearson (fastest pre-entered driver from time trials who failed to qualify); McCool, Coffey (WoO emergency)
Rookie of the Race: K. Robinson ($250)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: O’Neal ($500)
Heat No. 1 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Jimmy Owens, 2. Josh Richards, 3. Walker Arthur, 4. Dennis Erb Jr., 5. Pancho Lawler, 6. Chub Frank, 7. Earl Pearson Jr., 8. Duane Chamberlain, 9. Timothy Culp, 10. B.J. Robinson, 11. Brian Ledbetter, 12. Justin Coulter
Heat No. 2 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Don O’Neal, 2. R.J. Conley, 3. Gregg Satterlee, 4. Jonathan Davenport, 5. Rod Conley, 6. Andrew Reaume, 7. John Mason, 8. Ron Davies, 9. Chad Hollenbeck, 10. Chris Farrell, 11. Joe Ramey, 12. Dale Hollidge
Heat No. 3 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Chris Madden, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Brandon Sheppard, 4. Eric Wells, 5. Tim Fuller, 6. Shane Clanton, 7. Eddie Carrier Jr., 8. Zack Dohm, 9. Chris Ferguson, 10. Dennis Franklin, 11. Bob Gordon, 12. Corey Weaver
Heat No. 4 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Rick Eckert, 2. Clint Smith, 3. Steve Francis, 4. Ray Cook, 5. Vic Coffey, 6. Eric Jacobsen, 7. Josh McGuire, 8. Coleby Frye, 9. Jerry Lierly, 10. Dustin Mitchell, 11. Pat Doar
Heat No. 5 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Darrell Lanigan, 2. Kenny Moreland, 3. Morgan Bagley, 4. Scott Bloomquist, 5. Jared Landers, 6. Steve Shaver, 7. Jacob Hawkins, 8. Jay Sessoms, 9. Rich Bell, 10. Brian Force (DNS) Ross Camponovo
Heat No. 6 (8 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Dale McDowell, 2. Jason Feger, 3. Kent Robinson, 4. Billy Decker, 5. Austin Hubbard, 6. Bub McCool, 7. Dan Stone, 8. Kerry King Sr., 9. Jerry Bowersock, 10. Denny Fenton, 11. Randy Sterling
B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 2 Transfer): 1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Dennis Erb Jr., 3. Chub Frank, 4. Earl Pearson Jr., 5. Duane Chamberlain, 6. John Mason, 7. Timothy Culp, 8. Rod Conley, 9. Pancho Lawler, 10. Chad Hollenbeck, 11. B.J. Robinson, 12. Chris Farrell, 13. Brain Ledbetter, 14. Dale Hollidge, 15. Joe Ramey, 16. Andrew Reaume, 17. Ron Davies, 18. Justin Coulter
B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 2 Transfer): 1. Eric Wells, 2. Ray Cook, 3. Shane Clanton, 4. Eric Jacobsen, 5. Vic Coffey, 6. Eddie Carrier Jr., 7. Zack Dohm, 8. Tim Fuller, 9. Josh McGuire, 10. Jerry Lierly, 11. Dennis Franklin, 12. Corey Weaver, 13. Pat Doar, 14. Bob Gordon, 15. Coleby Frye, 16. Chris Ferguson (DNS) Dustin Mitchell
B-Main No. 3 (12 laps – Top 2 Transfer): 1. Scott Bloomquist, 2. Billy Decker, 3. Jared Landers, 4. Steve Shaver, 5. Austin Hubbard, 6. Bub McCool, 7. Dan Stone, 8. Jacob Hawkins, 9. Rich Bell, 10. Jay Sessoms, 11. Kerry King Sr., 12. Jerry Bowersock, 13. Brian Force, 14. Denny Fenton, 15. Randy Sterling (DNS) Ross Camponovo
World of Outlaws Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners:
Arizona Sport Shirts ($100 product certificate to 23rd-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Kent Robinson
Armor All (one case of product to highest-finishing non-WoO team in A-Main or next highest w/decal):
Cometic Gasket ($50 cash to 12th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Bub McCool
Comp Cams ($50 cash to 10th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Brandon Sheppard
Comp Cams ($50 product certificate to A-Main winner or next highest w/decal): Tim McCreadie
Dominator ($50 cash to 6th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Ray Cook
Eibach Springs (one free spring to each B-Main winner or next highest w/decal): Chris Farrell/Pat Doar/Bub McCool
Gravely ($50 cash to 7th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Jason Feger
JE Pistons ($50 cash to 16th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Bub McCool
JE Pistons (one compete set of JE Pro Seal rings to 11th-place finisher or next highest w/decal – $285 value): Brandon Sheppard
JE Pistons (one complete set of JE Pro Seal rings to 21st-place finisher or next highest w/decal – $285 value): Kenny Moreland
Klotz Synthetic Lubricants ($50 cash to 17th-place finisher or next highest finisher): Vic Coffey
MSD Ignition ($50 cash to A-Main winner or next highest w/decal): Clint Smith
MSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Billy Decker
Ohlins Pole Award ($50 cash to fast qualifier or next highest w/decal): Rick Eckert
Quartermaster ($100 product certificate to A-Main winner or next highest w/decal): Tim McCreadie
Quartermaster ($50 product certificate to 5th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Clint Smith
Quartermaster ($25 product certificate to 15th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Bub McCool
Roush-Yates Performance Products ($50 cash to 4th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Josh Richards
Roush-Yates Performance Products (carburetor repair kit to 18th-place finish in A-Main or next highest w/decal – $100 value): Chub Frank
Roush-Yates Lap Leader Award (one pair of Wiley X Sunglasses to driver who leads most laps in A-Main): Jimmy Owens
STP ($50 cash to 2nd-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Tim McCreadie
SuperFlow ($50 cash to 14th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Bub McCool
VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash to 9th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Jason Feger
VP Racing Fuels ‘Nice Jugs Award’ (one VP 5-gallon container to fastest qualifier who misses A-Main or next highest with decal – $30 value):
WIX Filters ($50 cash to 13th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Bub McCool
Wrisco Aluminum (three sheets of aluminum to A-Main winner if decal displayed – $200 value): Tim McCreadie
XS Power ($50 cash to 3rd-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Earl Pearson Jr.
XS Power ($60 product certificate to 8th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Earl Pearson Jr.
XS ‘Power Move of the Race’ ($60 product certificate): Tim McCreadie
Final 2012 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings 40 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/points/deficit to leader):
1. Darrell Lanigan 5628
2. Rick Eckert 5400 (-228)
3. Shane Clanton 5162 (-466)
4. Tim McCreadie 5094 (-534)
5. Chub Frank 5080 (-548)
6. Clint Smith 5026 (-602)
7. Bub McCool 4970 (-658)
8. Vic Coffey 4856 (-772)
9. Tim Fuller 4712 (-916)
10. Pat Doar 4554 (-1074)
11. Kent Robinson 4498 (-1130)
12. Jack Sullivan 3474 (-2154)
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, Eibach Springs, JE Pistons, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, MSD Ignition, Ohlins Shocks, QuarterMaster, Roush Yates Performance Parts, Superflow Dynos, Wix Filter, Wrisco Aluminum and XS Power Racing Batteries; along with manufacturer sponsors Integra Shocks, GRT Chassis, Jake’s Carts, Longacre, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis, TNT Rescue, and Warrior Chassis.