World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Bubba Raceway Park
February 16, 2012
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Lanigan Turns Back Challenge From Richards To Top Opening Night Of Bubba Army Late Model Winter Nationals
Kentucky Star Remains Undefeated In Three Career World of Outlaws Late Model Series Starts At Bubba Raceway Park

by Kevin Kovac
OCALA, FL – Feb. 16, 2012 – Darrell Lanigan owns Bubba Raceway Park.

The 41-year-old star from Union, Ky., emerged victorious in Thursday night’s 40-lap Bubba Army Late Model Winter Nationals opener, remaining undefeated in three career World of Outlaws Late Model Series starts at the three-eighths-mile oval.

Lanigan drove off the outside pole starting spot to lead the A-Main from flag-to-flag, but his third win at BRP in as many years did not come without a fight. He had to stave off a strong late-race challenge from Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., to preserve a triumph worth $8,700.

The race also gave Lanigan back-to-back wins to start the 2012 WoO LMS campaign and was his 28th career checkered flag on the national tour, tying him with Steve Francis for second on the win list since 2004.

“This new (Rocket) chassis out of the box has been awesome,” said Lanigan, who won the WoO LMS season opener on Feb. 11 at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga. “And a brand-new Cornell motor – man, he’s putting the power down. I think we got some motor for ‘em this year.”

Richards, 23, slid to the inside of Lanigan rounding turns one and two on lap 38, but his bid was thwarted when Lanigan pulled ahead down the backstretch. The two-time WoO LMS champion settled for a runner-up finish in his father’s Rocket car, 1.174 seconds behind Lanigan.

Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., finished third in the Kennedy Motorsports Capital Race Car after climbing as high as second from the fifth starting spot. Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., who hopes to follow the WoO LMS for the first time in 2012, placed fourth in the Bryson Motorsports Rocket and Gregg Satterlee of Rochester Mills, Pa., advanced from the 11th starting spot to complete the top five in a Rocket machine.

Lanigan, who outgunned the pole-sitting Richards for the lead at the initial green flag, nearly become too conservative with the finish in sight.

“I looked at Josh’s tires under that last caution (lap 30) and I saw they were blistered,” said Lanigan. “I thought mine were gonna blow out, so I was trying to take it a little easy and I almost got passed (by Richards on lap 38).

“It got interesting there. He got in there real hard (in turns one and two), but he raced me real clean and I really got to thank him a lot.”

Richards, who slipped to fifth on the opening lap, battled back to second place by lap 14. It took him until lap 38 to draw close enough to Lanigan to make a serious bid for the lead.

“I kind of killed my tires trying to get back up through there, but I gave it all I had those last few laps,” said Richards, who has two runner-up finishes, a fourth and a fifth in four career starts at BRP. “I drove off in there (in turns one and two) and I knew I left just enough room where (Lanigan would) be fine. If he messed up just a little bit I could’ve prevailed, but he held us off.”

Clanton, 36, briefly threatened Lanigan early in the A-Main before losing contact with the leader. He settled into third place for the final 26 circuits to secure his second top-five finish in as many starts this season.

“I thought I had something for Darrell, but he found that bottom where he could just get off of turn four,” said Clanton. “He was better than me in one and two also and Josh was able to slip by us for second, so we just maintained the rest of the way. But I feel good about the car. To keep pace with these two, it feels good right now.”

Marlar, 33, saw his hopes of registering his first-ever WoO LMS victory effectively evaporate once two caution flags and one red flag flew between laps 27 and 30. Prior to that, he appeared ready to challenge the leaders.

“I put a harder right-rear tire on than they had,” said Marlar, who started fifth and was attempting to overtake Clanton for third when the race’s first caution flag was needed on lap 27. “It took me about 20 laps to get going, so right before that first caution flag came out I was able to get to them. But after the caution and then that red (on lap 28), we just weren’t the same.”

Satterlee, 25, cracked the top five on a lap-28 restart and stayed there to the finish. He fell one spot short of matching his career-best finish on the WoO LMS.

Young BRP Late Model regular Dillon Wood of Daytona Beach, Fla., finished sixth, earning a best-ever placing in WoO LMS competition. Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., moved forward from the 16th starting spot to finish seventh, followed by Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., reigning BRP Late Model champion Ivedent Lloyd Jr. of Ocala, Fla., and defending WoO LMS titlist Rick Eckert of York, Pa.

The race’s two caution flags were caused by Rookie of the Year contender Jared Hawkins of Fairmont, W.Va., who slowed with a flat left rear tire on lap 27, and Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., who stopped on lap 30 while running 10th and pitted to change his car’s bald right-rear tire.

The most serious accident occurred on lap 28 when Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., clipped the outside wall between turns one and flip and barrel-rolled. He escaped the accident uninjured and said his car sustained mostly body damage.

With 51 cars signed in for action, Richards was fastest in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials. He turned a blistering lap of 13.994 seconds on a track that sported steeper banking and a wider surface than it did when the WoO LMS last visited in March 2011.

Richards established a new track record, shattering the former standard of 14.873 seconds set by Austin Hubbard on March 25, 2011.

Heat winners were Richards, Marlar, Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., Lanigan and Clanton. The B-Mains were captured by Clint Smith and WoO LMS rookie Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss.

With the five-heat WoO LMS format producing a 25-car field, Keyser’s Port City Racing and Integra Shocks provided backing for the extra starting spot.

Results of WoO Late Model Series ‘Bubba Army Late Model Winter Nationals’ Night at Bubba Raceway Park (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (2) Darrell Lanigan/40 $8,650
2. (1) Josh Richards/40 $4,700
3. (4) Shane Clanton/40 $3,250
4. (5) Mike Marlar/40 $2,800
5. (11) Gregg Satterlee/40 $2,000
6. (6) Dillon Wood/40 $1,700
7. (16) Clint Smith/40 $1,950
8. (7) Chub Frank/40 $1,850
9. (9) Ivedent Lloyd Jr./40 $1,250
10. (13) Rick Eckert/40 $1,750
11. (12) Ron Davies/40 $1,600
12. (21) Brandon Sheppard/40 $900
13. (15) Pat Doar/40 $1,450
14. (17) Bub McCool/40 $850
15. (8) Jared Hawkins/40 $750
16. (20) Jason Feger/40 $750
17. (24) Vic Coffey/40 $1,210
18. (10) Tim McCreadie/40 $1,190
19. (22) Tim Lance/40 $620
20. (14) Billy Moyer Jr./40 $610
21. (25) John Lobb/40 $600
22. (19) Kent Robinson/39 $600
23. (23) Tyler Ivey/39 $600
24. (3) Billy Moyer/29 $725
25. (18) Tim Fuller/28 $1,150
* Earnings include Winners Circle program and cash contingency award bonuses
Margin of Victory: 1.174 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 2 (Laps 27, 30); 1 Red Flag (Lap 28)
Lap Leaders: Lanigan (1-40)
Provisional Starters: Coffey, Lobb
Rookie of the Race: Sheppard ($250)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Marlar ($500)

Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Richards, Wood, Satterlee, Johnson, Fuller, Coffey, Weaver, Augspurger, Lobb, B. Gardner (DNS) Plummer

Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Marlar, Frank, Davies, C. Smith, Feger, Lance, George, Garvin, Collins (DNS) Hammerle

Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Moyer, Hawkins, Eckert, McCool, Kirkpatrick, Ivey, Decker, Hotovy, Ziegler, Fink

Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Lanigan, Lloyd, Moyer Jr., Sheppard, Robinson, Morris, J. Gardner, Fletcher, Lyons, Lowery

Heat No. 5 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Clanton, McCreadie, Doar, McBride, Shaver, Sullivan, Shirley, Stone, Sandercock, Gordon

B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): C. Smith, Fuller, Feger, Lance, Coffey, Decker, George, Lobb, Ziegler, B. Gardner, Hammerle, Augspurger, Kirkpatrick, Weaver (DNS) Johnson, Garvin, Collins, Plummer

B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): McCool, Robinson, Sheppard, Ivey, Sullivan, Shaver, Stone, Hotovy, Sandercock, McBride, Morris, J. Gardner, Fletcher, Gordon (DNS) Shirley, Lyons, Fink, Lowery

Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 13.994 (NTR)
2. 5b-Mike Marlar/Winfield, TN 14.127
3. 57J-Bub McCool/Vicksburg, MS 14.164
4. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 14.195
5. 25-Shane Clanton/Fayetteville, GA 14.256
6. 1W-Dillon Wood/Daytona Beach, FL 14.334
7. 71d-Ron Davies/Warren, PA 14.360
8. 21-Billy Moyer/Batesville, AR 14.401
9. 21Jr.-Billy Moyer Jr./Batesville, AR 14.409
10. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 14.410
11. 22s-Gregg Satterlee/Rochester Mills, PA 14.415
12. 25F-Jason Feger/Bloomington, IL 14.495
13. 37-Jared Hawkins/Fairmont, WV 14.502
14. 7R-Kent Robinson/Bloomington, IN 14.503
15. 11-Pat Doar/New Richmond, WI 14.519
16. 49-Greg Johnson/Bedford, IN 14.538
17. J4-John Garvin Jr./Sarver, PA 14.541
18. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 14.544
19. 81-Ivedent Lloyd Jr./Ocala, FL 14.556
20. 77-Jason McBride/Carbondale, IL 14.571
21. 32c-Vic Coffey/Caledonia, NY 14.595
22. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 14.696
23. 25Z-Mason Ziegler/Chalk Hill, PA 14.715
24. 8-John Lowery/Bakersfield, CA 14.728
25. 3s-Brian Shirley/Chatham, IL 14.737
26. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 14.758
27. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 14.764
28. 11K-Austin Kirkpatrick/Ocala, FL 14.809
29. 80-Nick Lyons/Centralia, IL 14.825
30. 6-Steve Shaver/Vienna, WV 14.844
31. 35-Christian Augspurger/Palm Beach Gardens, FL 14.867
32. 48-Tim Lance/Brimfield, IL 14.873
33. 47-Tyler Ivey/Tallahassee, FL 14.890
34. b5-Brandon Sheppard/New Berlin, IL 14.892
35. 1s-Jack Sullivan/Greenbrier, AR 14.940
36. B12-Kevin Weaver/Gibson City, IL 14.943
37. 3C-Mike Collins/Carter Lake, IA 15.026
38. 13-J.R. Hotovy/Covert, MI 15.094
39. 38G-John Gardner Jr./Germantown Hills, IL 15.095
40. 21d-Dan Stone/Thompson, PA 15.127
41. 28-John Lobb/Frewsburg, NY 15.159
42. 22G-Jill George/Cedar Falls, IA 15.252
43. 91-Billy Decker/Unadilla, NY 15.307
44. 77M-Jay Morris/Watseka, IL 15.374
45. 57-Charlie Sandercock/Belleville, ONT 15.391
46. 4G-Bob Gardner/Matamoras, IL 15.521
47. 16H-Mike Hammerle/St. Charles, MO 15.598
48. 15-Alan Fink/Brewerton, NY 15.867
49. 33F-Jim Fletcher/Chatham, ONT 17.021
50. 33-Don Gordon/Chatham, ONT N/T
51. 75-Larry Plummer Jr./Warsaw, IN N/T