LMR
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World of Outlaws Late Models Bubba Raceway Park February 17, 2012 ________________________________________
Richards Ends Lanigan’s Domination Of Bubba Raceway Park In Friday-Night 50-Lapper West Virginian Becomes Alltime Winningest Driver On World of Outlaws Late Model Series
by Kevin Kovac OCALA, FL – Feb. 17, 2012 – Josh Richards got the best of Darrell Lanigan on Friday night, ending his friendly rival’s domination of World of Outlaws Late Model Series action at Bubba Raceway Park with a hard-fought victory in the 50-lap Bubba Army Late Model Winter Nationals A-Main.
Richards, 23, of Shinnston, W.Va., made WoO LMS history in the process, becoming the national tour’s alltime winningest driver. He won for the 38 th time in his career, moving him out of tie for first with Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., on the checkered flag list that includes races run in the modern era (2004-present) and the original 1988-89 seasons contested under late WoO Sprint Car Series founder Ted Johnson.
“That’s really crazy,” said Richards, who earned $10,100 for his first win of the 2012 WoO LMS campaign. “To look back at what we’ve accomplished (since 2004) is phenomenal. To win that many races against these guys, I couldn’t be more proud.”
Richards’s milestone score appeared headed toward a repeat of Thursday night’s Winter Nationals opener, however, when Union, Ky.’s Lanigan, who started outside of Richards on the front row for the second consecutive night, surged into the lead at the initial green flag. But Richards turned up the wick on his father Mark’s Rocket Chassis house car after falling to third place and rallied to grab the top spot from Lanigan for good on lap 26.
Lanigan, 41, settled for a runner-up finish in his Rocket mount, flashing under the checkered flag several car lengths behind Richards after his last-ditch bid fell short. It was the first WoO LMS defeat of 2012 for Lanigan, who followed his $20,000-plus victory in the season opener on Feb. 11 at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga., with a wire-to-wire win on Thursday evening.
WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss., finished third in a Victory Circle by Moyer car. He marched forward from the 12 th starting spot to register a career-best placing on the tour, bettering his previous high by eight positions.
Moyer drove his Victory Circle mount to a fourth-place finish after climbing as high as second and falling as far as fifth, and Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., was fifth in the Bryson Motorsports Rocket to earn a top-five finish for the second consecutive night.
Richards gained a dose of redemption for his near-miss on Thursday night, when he finished second to Lanigan after having his bid for the lead turned back with two laps remaining. He didn’t let his opportunity to overtake Lanigan slip through his fingers this time.
“We got off to a little bit of a slow start again,” said Richards, who fell back to third by lap eight. “I kept hitting the black with a 20 on the right front and shoving across the center, and Billy (Moyer) got by me. I just had to get back up on it and get back by.
“Once we got some heat in the right front tire we were able to gain some speed and get up on top and roll. That was the key to getting by Darrell. He runs a really aggressive, wide line, and it’s hard to get clear. I knew when I passed him on the front straightaway (on lap 26) it was a make-or-break deal to try and squeeze up through there.”
Beating Lanigan to the finish line was a satisfying development for Richards, whose team parked alongside Lanigan’s in the BRP pit area.
“It was cool to get the 29 behind us,” smiled Richards.
Lanigan, meanwhile, wore a frustrated scowl following the race. The ultra-competitive driver was disappointed that he couldn’t hold on for another victory.
“Our right-rear (tire) sealed over for some reason,” said Lanigan. “I don’t know why, but it did. It happened under the (lap-15) caution. When we went back racing, it felt like we had an old tire on it. I thought we had a flat.”
Lanigan managed to close within a car length of Richards on lap 47, but his hopes evaporated when he bobbled on the cushion in turns one and two that circuit.
“We just got up there and started winging it on the top,” said Lanigan, who ended the night leading the WoO LMS points standings by eight markers over Richards. “We just missed it one lap and lost too much ground to make up.”
DIRTcar UMP star Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., finished sixth after taking the green flag from the fifth spot. Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., who switched to his backup car after failing to qualify through his heat, used a provisional to start the A-Main and then came alive, charging forward from the 25th spot to place seventh. WoO LMS rookie contender Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., recorded a career-best tour finish of eighth, while Sweeteners Plus teammates Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., who used a provisional and started 24th, and Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., placed ninth and 10th, respectively.
Four caution flags slowed the event. Ron Davies of Warren, Pa., was involved in two incidents, slowing on lap 15 and later tangling on the backstretch with Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., on lap 36. Defending BRP Late Model champion Ivedent Lloyd Jr. of Ocala, Fla., slowed with a smoking car on lap 32 and Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., relinquished second place on lap 40 due to a cut right-rear tire.
Lanigan was fastest in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials for the second time in three 2012 events, besting the 51-car field with a lap of 13.938 seconds. He established a new track record, nipping Richards’s one-day-old mark of 13.994 seconds. Heat winners Lanigan, Richards, Clanton, Feger and Moyer. The B-Mains were captured by Casey Roberts of Toccoa, Ga., and Frankie Heckenast Jr. of Orland Park, Ill.
The Bubba Army Late Model Winter Nationals will conclude on Saturday night (Feb. 18) with a 60-lap A-Main paying
Results of WoO Late Model Series ‘Bubba Army Late Model Winter Nationals’ Night 2 at Bubba Raceway Park (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won): 1. (1) Josh Richards/50 $10,150 2. (2) Darrell Lanigan/50 $5,150 3. (13) Bub McCool/50 $3,550 4. (4) Billy Moyer/50 $2,600 5. (7) Mike Marlar/50 $2,000 6. (3) Jason Feger/50 $1,750 7. (25) Chub Frank/50 $1,450 8. (6) Brandon Sheppard/50 $1,400 9. (24) Tim McCreadie/50 $1,350 10. (10) Vic Coffey/50 $1,150 11. (8) Rick Eckert/50 $1,200 12. (14) Clint Smith/50 $1,050 13. (18) Dillon Wood/50 $950 14. (5) Shane Clanton/50 $1,000 15. (21) Jared Hawkins/50 $850 16. (11) Pat Doar/50 $850 17. (19) Jason McBride/50 $770 18. (17) Frankie Heckenast Jr./50 $750 19. (15) Billy Moyer Jr./50 $730 20. (20) Kent Robinson/50 $700 21. (27) John Lobb/49 $0 22. (9) Ron Davies/35 $750 23. (23) Dan Stone/35 $700 24. (12) Ivedent Lloyd Jr./31 $725 25. (22) John Lowery/15 $700 26. (16) Casey Roberts/15 $700 27. (26) Tim Fuller/1 $50 * Earnings include cash contingency award bonuses Yellow Flags: 4 (Laps 15, 32, 36, 40) Lap Leaders: Lanigan (1-25); Richards (26-50) Provisional Starters: McCreadie, Frank (WoO); Fuller, Lobb (WoO emergency) Rookie of the Race: McCool WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: McCool ($500)
Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Lanigan, Sheppard, Doar, Wood, Lyons, Ziegler, Frank, Fink, J. Gardner (DNS) Shirley
Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Richards, Marlar, Lloyd, Ivey, McCreadie, Satterlee, Lowery, Lobb, Gordon (DNS) B. Gardner
Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Clanton, Eckert, McCool, McBride, Roberts, Hotovy, Johnson, George, Robinson, Collins
Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Feger, Davies, C. Smith, Sullivan, Fuller, Decker, Garvin, Sandercock, Kirkpatrick (DNS) Shaver
Heat No. 5 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Moyer, Coffey, Moyer Jr., Stone, Heckenast, Augspurger, Hawkins, Weaver, Morris (DNS) Hammerle
B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Roberts, Wood, Robinson, Lowery, Johnson, Lobb, Lyons, Fink, Ziegler, B. Gardner, J. Gardner, Satterlee, Frank, Gordon, McCreadie, Ivey (DNS) Lance, Shirley
B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Heckenast, McBride, Hawkins, Stone, Fuller, Hotovy, Garvin, Sullivan, Decker, Augspurger, George, Morris, Weaver, Sandercock, Hammerle, Kirkpatrick (DNS) Collins, Shaver
Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap): 1. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 13.938 (NTR) 2. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 14.023 3. 25-Shane Clanton/Fayetteville, GA 14.027 4. 71d-Ron Davies/Warren, PA 14.070 5. 32c-Vic Coffey/Caledonia, NY 14.114 6. 11d-Pat Doar/New Richmond, WI 14.115 7. 5b-Mike Marlar/Winfield, TN 14.116 8. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 14.126 9. 25F-Jason Feger/Bloomington, IL 14.157 10. 21-Billy Moyer/Batesville, AR 14.167 11. b5-Brandon Sheppard/New Berlin, IL 14.197 12. 22s-Gregg Satterlee/Rochester Mills, PA 14.217 13. 57J-Bub McCool/Vicksburg, MS 14.225 14. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 14.275 15. 21Jr.-Billy Moyer Jr./Batesville, AR 14.297 16. 1W-Dillon Wood/Daytona Beach, FL 14.304 17. 81-Ivedent Lloyd Jr./Ocala, FL 14.319 18. 77-Jason McBride/Carbondale, IL 14.321 19. 11-Austin Kirkpatrick/Ocala, FL 14.335 20. 21d-Dan Stone/Thompson, PA 14.354 21. 25x-Mason Ziegler/Chalk Hill, PA 14.373 22. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 14.397 23. 101-Casey Roberts/Toccoa, GA 14.407 24. 91-Billy Decker/Unadilla, NY 14.431 25. 99Jr-Frankie Heckenast Jr./Orland Park, IL 14.472 26. 80-Nick Lyons/Centralia, IL 14.503 27. 28-John Lobb/Frewsburg, NY 14.526 28. 13-J.R. Hotovy/Covert, MI 14.535 29. 1s-Jack Sullivan/Greenbrier, AR 14.553 30. B12-Kevin Weaver/Gibson City, IL 14.602 31. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 14.607 32. 47-Tyler Ivey/Tallahassee, FL 14.651 33. 49-Greg Johnson/Bedford, IN 14.702 34. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 14.709 35. 35-Christian Augspurger/Palm Beach Gardens, FL 14.737 36. 48-Tim Lance/Brimfield, IL 14.739 37. 8-John Lowery/Bakersfield, CA 14.799 38. 3C-Mike Collins/Carter Lake, IA 14.834 39. 57-Charlie Sandercock/Belleville, ONT 14.875 40. 77M-Jay Morris/Watseka, IL 14.886 41. 38G-John Gardner Jr./Germantown Hills, IL 14.894 42. 4G-Bob Gardner/Matamoras, IL 14.973 43. 22G-Jill George/Cedar Falls, IA 14.974 44. J4-John Garvin Jr./Sarver, PA 15.149 45. 16H-Mike Hammerle/St. Charles, MO 15.413 46. 15-Alan Fink/Brewerton, NY 15.814 47. 33-Don Gordon/Chatham, ONT 16.389 48. 7R-Kent Robinson/Bloomington, IN N/T 49. 6-Steve Shaver/Vienna, WV N/T 50. 37-Jared Hawkins/Fairmont, WV N/T 51. 3s-Brian Shirley/Chatham, IL 14.560 (DQ – technical violation)
2012 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of Feb. 17 – 3 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/points/deficit to leader): 1. Darrell Lanigan 446 2. Josh Richards 438 (-8) 3. Shane Clanton 406 (-40) 4. Rick Eckert 402 (-44) 5. Bub McCool 394 (-52) 6. Chub Frank 386 (-60) 7. Tim McCreadie 384 (-62) 8. Mike Marlar 382 (-64) 9. Jared Hawkins 376 (-70) 10. Clint Smith 374 (-72) 11. Vic Coffey 372 (-74) 12. Ron Davies 366 (-80) 13. Brandon Sheppard 364 (-82) 14. Pat Doar 348 (-98) 15. Kent Robinson 336 (-110) 16. John Lobb 326 (-120) 17. Gregg Satterlee 312 (-134) 18. Tim Fuller 310 (-136) 19. Billy Moyer Jr. 308 (-138) 20. Billy Moyer 304 (-142)
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