Ferguson Leads All The Way At Fayetteville Motor Speedway To Sweep World of Outlaws Late Model Series North Carolina Doubleheader
One Night After Earning First Career WoO LMS Victory, Ferguson Dominates Again To Earn $10,050 Payday At Fayetteville’s Tar Heel 100
By Joshua Joiner, WoO LMS PR
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – May 2, 2015 – It didn’t take Chris Ferguson long to prove his first career World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory was no fluke.
One night after scoring a breakthrough WoO LMS triumph at Friendship Motor Speedway, Ferguson, 25, of Mount Holly, N.C., led every lap of Saturday’s Tar Heel 100 main event at Fayetteville Motor Speedway to complete a sweep of the weekend’s WoO LMS North Carolina doubleheader.
Much like he did Friday at Friendship in Elkin, N.C., Ferguson dominated the entire program at Fayetteville, setting fast time in qualifying, running unchallenged in his heat race and dominating the majority of the 50-lap A-Main. He cruised through most of the race in his Clements-powered Longhorn Chassis and smoothly handled lapped traffic on his way to a $10,050 victory.
“This is unbelievable. It’s the greatest weekend of my whole life,” said Ferguson, who became just the second repeat WoO LMS winner of the season. “This car is amazing. I’m not even doing nothing special. The car is so fast, I’m just holding the steering wheel.”
Leading WoO LMS rookie Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., equaled his best career WoO LMS finish with a runner-up performance. Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., ran second for much of the way but slid back to third after a back-and-forth battle with fourth-place finisher Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind. Rick Eckert of York, Pa., rounded out the top five in a race slowed by six cautions.
Starting from the pole, Ferguson easily pulled away from Lanigan and Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., early in the race and built more than a half-straightaway advantage before lapped traffic slowed his pace around lap 10.
Ferguson struggled to overtake the slower cars using the track’s preferred low groove, allowing Lanigan and Richards to close the gap. Langian pulled alongside Ferguson exiting turn two on lap 13, but Ferguson charged the top of the track entering turn three on that lap and pulled back ahead.
The move to the outside line also allowed Ferguson to begin passing traffic more easily, and he soon began to ease away from his challengers.
“I was kind of worried because I wasn’t sure how good the top was,” Ferguson said. “Everybody was running the middle to the bottom. I thought I might have saw (Lanigan) on the left side of me coming off of two one time, so I just started pressing the issue and driving in as hard as I could. I thought I was gonna be over there on the dragstrip a few times going into turn one.”
The fourth-starting Overton faded early in the race, dropping as far back as seventh before charging forward after the halfway mark. He moved by both Lanigan and Casebolt to take second following a lap-33 restart. But he never could mount a serious challenge on Ferguson and instead had to hold off a resurgent Lanigan in a side-by-side finish for the runner-up spot.
“That wasn’t too bad,” said Overton, whose previous second-place WoO LMS finish came in the tour’s season opener at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga. “We definitely got the car a little better. We just gotta keep digging and we’ll keep getting better.”
Dennis Franklin of Gaffney, S.C., finished sixth in the final rundown, while Richards slid back to seventh after running third for much of the race. Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky., was eighth, while Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., salvaged an otherwise forgettable night with a ninth-place finish. Johnny Pursley of Clover, S.C., rounded out the top 10 finishers.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series returns to action Fri., May 8 with its first ever visit to Ponderosa Speedway in Junction City, Ky., for a $10,000-to-win program at the 3/8-mile track. The series then moves to Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tenn., on Sat., May 9 for another $10,000-to-win event at the Mountain Outlaw 50 Presented by NAPA.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com. Fans can also follow the WoO LMS on Twitter at Twitter.com/WoOLateModels and Facebook at Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsLateModelSeries.
Results of World of Outlaws Late Model Series Tar Heel 100 at Fayetteville Motor Speedway (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (1) Chris Ferguson/50 $10,050
2. (4) Brandon Overton/50 $5,850
3. (2) Darrell Lanigan/50 $3,600
4. (7) Steve Casebolt/50 $2,550
5. (5) Rick Eckert/50 $2,650
6. (8) Dennis Franklin/50 $2,200
7. (6) Josh Richards/50 $2,000
8. (10) Eric Wells/50 $1,850
9. (12) Shane Clanton/50 $1,750
10. (9) Johnny Pursley/50 $1,100
11. (21) Boom Briggs/50 $1,650
12. (16) Chub Frank/50 $1,550
13. (23) Chase Junghans/50 $1,550
14. (3) Frank Heckenast Jr./50 $1,450
15. (14) Jordan Yaggy/48 $900
16. (18) Morgan Bagley/36 $1,350
17. (11) Dean Bower/35 $770
18. (15) Tim McCreadie/32 $1,400
19. (22) Dustin Mitchell/30 $780
20. (13) Justin Labonte/30 $700
21. (20) G.R. Smith/22 $700
22. (19) Donald Bradsher/15 $700
23. (17) Jeff Smith/14 $700
24. (24) Brian Ligon/1 $725
Time of Race: 35 Mins., 50 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.443 Secs.
Yellow Flags: Six (laps 21, 30, 33, 35, 35, 41)
Lap Leaders: Ferguson (1-50)
Provisional Starters: Junghans, Ligon
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Franklin ($500)
WoO LMS ‘Rookie of the Race’ Winner: Overton ($250)
Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 22-Chris Ferguson, Mount Holly, N.C., 16.586
2. 76-Brandon Overton, Evans, Ga., 16.862
3. 99jr-Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfort, Ill., 16.998
4. c9-Steve Casebolt, Richmond, Ind., 17.081
5. 1-Josh Richards, Shinnston, W.Va., 17.090
6. 7v-Rick Eckert,York, Pa., 17.098
7. 29-Darrell Lanigan, Union, Ky., 17.124
8. 15-Dean Bowen, Whiteville, N.C., 17.173
9. 09-Johnny Pursley, Clover, S.C., 17.213
10. 18c-Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., 17.287
11. 2-Dennis Franklin, Gaffney, S.C., 17.344
12. 39-Tim McCreadie, Watertown, N.Y., 17.411
13. 44-Justin Labonte, Trinity, N.C., 17.412
14. 93-Donald Bradsher, Burlington, N.C., 17.418
15. 14m-Morgan Bagley, Longview, Texas, 17.431
16. 4-Brian Ligon, Augusta, Ga., 17.456
17. 77-Jordan Yaggy, Rochester, Minn., 17.498
18. 25-Shane Clanton, Zebulon, Ga., 17.549
19. 18-Eric Wells, Hazard, Ky., 17.607
20. 00-Jeff Smith, Dallas, N.C., 17.703
21. 51-Dustin Mitchell, Princeton, N.C., 17.822
22. 99B-Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, Pa., 17.889
23. 22*-G.R. Smith, Cornelius, N.C., 17.963
24. 6-Chris Blackwell, St. Pauls, N.C., 17.991
25. 1*-Chub Frank, Bear Lake, Pa., 18.031
26. 79-Roger Lucas, Benson, N.C., 18.146
27. 72-Mike Parker, Fayetteville, N.C., 19.375
Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Ferguson, Lanigan, Casebolt, Wells, Labonte, Frank, Briggs, Junghans, Ligon.
Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Overton, Richards, Franklin, Bower, Yaggy, J. Smith, Bradsher, G. Smith, Lucas.
Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Heckenast, Eckert, Pursley, Clanton, McCreadie, Bagley, Mitchell, Blackwell, Parker.
B-Main No. 1 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Bradsher, G. Smith, Briggs, Mitchell, Blackwell, Junghans, Lucas, Ligon, Parker.
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): Ferguson
Comp Cams ($50 certificate to A-Main winner): Overton
MSD Ignition ($50 cash to A-Main winner): Overton
Quartermaster ($100 certificate to A-Main winner): Overton
Wrisco (three sheets of aluminum/certificate to A-Main winner): Overton
Mobil 1 ($50 cash to 4th-place finisher in A-Main): Casebolt
JE Pistons ($50 cash to 5th-place finisher in A-Main): Eckert
Lincoln Welders ($50 cash to 6th-place finisher in A-Main): Wells
VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash to 8th-place finisher in A-Main): Briggs
Edelbrock ($50 cash to 9th-place finisher in A-Main): Clanton
Comp Cams ($50 cash to 10th-place finisher in A-Main): Briggs
Cometic ($50 cash to 12th-place finisher in A-Main): Frank
JRI Shocks ($50 cash to 13th-place finisher in A-Main): Mitchell
Superflow Dynos ($50 cash to 14th-place finisher in A-Main): Yaggy
Quartermaster ($25 certificate to 15th-place finisher in A-Main): Yaggy
JE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 16th-place finisher in A-Main): Bagley
Quartermaster ($50 certificate to 19th-place finisher in A-Main): Mitchell
Mobil 1 (20 percent certificate to 20th-place finisher in A-Main): G.Smith
JE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 21st-place finisher in A-Main): G.Smith
MSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24th-place finisher in A-Main): Ligon
QA1 ($50 to driver with fastest lap of the night): Overton
Arizona Sports Shirts ($100 certificate to highest-finishing non-WoO driver): Mitchell
2015 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of May 2 – 12 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/points/deficit to leader):
1. Shane Clanton 1690
2. Darrell Lanigan 1630 (-60)
3. Josh Richards 1598 (-92)
4. Chub Frank 1562 (-128)
5. Morgan Bagley 1524 (-166)
6. Tim McCreadie 1518 (-172)
7. Frank Heckenast Jr. 1518 (-194)
8. Rick Eckert 1484 (-206)
9. Eric Wells 1474 (-216)
10. Brandon Overton 1448 (-242)*
11. Chase Junghans 1426 (-264)
12. Boom Briggs 1374 (-316)
13. Jordan Yaggy 1274 (-416)*
*Rookie of the Year contender
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), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Lincoln Welder (Official Welder), 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, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Mobil 1, MSD, Ohlins Shocks, QA1, QuarterMaster, Superflow Dynos and Wrisco Aluminum; along with manufacturer sponsors Capital Race Cars, Club 29 Chassis, Integra Shocks, Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis, and TNT Rescue.