World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Bubba Raceway Park
February 16, 2014
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Lanigan Finds Winning Touch With Club 29 Car In Sunday Night’s Bubba Army Dirt Late Model Winter Nationals Finale
Kentucky Star Holds Off O’Neal For $12,000 Top Prize At Bubba Raceway Park



by Kevin Kovac
OCALA, FL (February 16) - Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., ended the Bubba Army Dirt Late Model Winter Nationals on a high note, breaking through to capture Sunday night’s 60-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series ‘Super Sunday Showdown’ at Bubba Raceway Park.

Mike Ruefer Photos |

Finding the winning touch with his self-designed Club 29 car after top-five finishes in each of the first two events of the weekend, Lanigan passed Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., for the lead on lap seven and controlled the remainder of the distance. The two-time WoO LMS champion turned back a late challenge from O'Neal while racing through lapped traffic to pocket the race’s $12,650 top prize.

O’Neal settled for second place, about one second behind Lanigan at the checkered flag. The driver of NASCAR star Clint Bowyer’s Barry Wright car once again fell short of his elusive first-ever WoO LMS triumph.

Friday-night winner Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., finished close behind O’Neal in third place in his Rocket machine, sending him out the gates of the three-eighths-mile oval with the WoO LMS points lead. He scored a podium finish in all three events.



O’Neal’s Bowyer Racing teammate, Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., placed fourth in his Barry Wright car after getting shuffled back to eighth on a lap-22 restart. Morgan Bagley of Tyler, Texas, finished fifth in Wayman McMillan’s Rocket machine – just his second career top-five finish on the WoO LMS – after battling past Saturday-night winner Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., for the position on lap 48.

The 21-year-old Sheppard was in position to sweep a WoO LMS program for the second consecutive night after setting fast time and winning a heat, but he settled for a sixth-place finish after starting eighth. He steered the Rocket Chassis house car as high as fourth midway through the A-Main but slipped backward in the closing circuits while unsuccessfully searching for traction on the outside of the track.

Lanigan, 43, also found the top side of the egg-shaped speedway difficult to grip late in the race. He tried using the outside line to overtake a pack of lapped cars with less than 10 laps remaining and it nearly cost him the race.

After racing virtually unchallenged for most of the distance, Lanigan suddenly found O’Neal on his back bumper on lap 53. With Lanigan’s pace hampered by two slower cars ahead of him, the door was open for O’Neal to duck to the inside and come within inches of grabbing the lead on lap 54.

But then Lanigan summarily dived to the inside in turn one, breaking O’Neal’s momentum and building just enough of an edge to carry him to his first WoO LMS win of 2014 and his fifth victory in 11 starts at BRP over the past five years.

“The lapped cars were tough,” said Lanigan, who sits atop the alltime WoO LMS win list. “We were definitely a lot faster than they was (lapped cars), but there just wasn’t no (outside) groove. I just lost too much ground up there so I had to get back to the bottom.”



O’Neal saw the golden opportunity to steal the race from Lanigan’s grasp, but his hopes were effectively snuffed out by Lanigan’s move to the inside. He had to be satisfied with matching his career-best WoO LMS finish.

“He got on the outside of that (lapped) traffic and the outside wasn’t the place to be,” O’Neal said of Lanigan. “Now, if he would’ve stayed out there just a little bit longer, we may have gotten him, but that’s part of racing.

“He just cut down real hard in front of me, but that’s part of it. I would’ve done the same thing if I was him. We made it exciting there at the end but just didn’t get the job done.”

One of the most accomplished veterans in dirt Late Model racing, O’Neal remained winless in 31 career WoO LMS A-Main starts over the past decade. He has 17 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes in his limited appearances on the tour.

Lanigan’s series record 54th career win was his first in World of Outlaws action since debuting the Club 29 chassis he partnered with noted crew chief Ronnie Stuckey to build and market. He needed a couple nights to get the machine tuned just right.

“It’s a little bit different from what we’ve been used to,” said Lanigan, who scored finishes of third and fifth in the first two legs of the Winter Nationals. “We’ve been close (in the previous events), but it needed a little bit more. We found some stuff tonight and it seemed to like it.”

Putting a WoO LMS victory on his ledger so early in the season certainly gave Lanigan a boost.

“It relieves a lot of pressure,” said Lanigan. “I had a lot of pressure on myself to do good with this piece. We put a lot into it to do well.”



Finishing in positions 7-10 was 17th-starter Mark Whitener of Middleburg, Fla., who enjoyed a career-best WoO LMS outing; Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., who quietly moved forward from the 13th starting spot; Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., who used a provisional to start 23 rd after breaking a driveshaft in his car during heat action; and Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark., who rose as high as sixth before a worn right-front tire slowed his pace.

Four caution flags slowed the race, all for slowed or stopped cars: Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn. (lap 17), Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan. (lap 22), Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa. (lap 28) and Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa. (lap 39).

Thirty-two cars were entered in the event.

Sheppard was quickest in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials, which were split into two groups. His lap of 14.626 seconds in Group ‘A’ was the overall fastest, giving him his third fast-time honor in as many nights.

Heat winners were Sheppard, Brady Smith, Francis and O’Neal. The B-Mains were captured by Whitener and Raymond Merrill of Sallisaw, Okla.

The WoO LMS will return to action with three consecutive nights of action (Feb. 20-22) during the 43rd DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. The traditional race meet at the Volusia half-mile also includes three evenings of DIRTcar-sanctioned Late Model competition from Feb. 17-19 that will see many WoO LMS regulars in action.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

A-Main
1 3 29 Darrell Lanigan Union, KY $12,000
2 2 5 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
3 1 2 Brady Smith Solon Springs, WI
4 5 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
5 4 14M Morgan Bagley Longview, TX
6 8 1 Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL
7 17 58 Mark Whitener Middlebourne, FL
8 13 39 Tim McCreadie Watertown, NY
9 23 25 Shane Clanton Fayetteville, GA
10 14 18x Jack Sullivan Greenbriar, AR
11 19 24 Rick Eckert York, PA
12 11 99jr Frank Heckenast Jr Orland Park, IL
13 24 1* Chub Frank Bear Lake, PA
14 9 76 Brandon Overton Appling, GA
15 12 19 Tim Fuller Watertown, NY
16 7 21L Ivedent Lloyd Jr. Ocala, FL
17 20 18 Eric Wells Hazard, KY
18 10 18c Chase Junghans Manhattan, KS
19 18 12m Raymond Merrill Salisaw, OK
20 21 44 Clint Smith Senoia, GA
21 16 99b Boom Briggs Bear Lake, PA
22 15 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
23 6 21d Dan Stone Thompson, PA
24 22 22 Gregg Satterlee Rochester Mills, PA

B-Main #1  (top 3 transfer)
1 58 Mark Whitener Middlebourne, FL
2 24 Rick Eckert York, PA
3 44 Clint Smith Senoia, GA
4 101 Casey Roberts Toccoa, GA
5 1* Chub Frank Bear Lake, PA
6 157 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN
7 25 Shane Clanton Fayetteville, GA
8 11 Austin Kirkpatrick Ocala, FL

B-Main #2  
1 12m Raymond Merrill Salisaw, OK
2 18 Eric Wells Hazard, KY
3 22 Gregg Satterlee Rochester Mills, PA
4 32 David Gibson Jr Charleston, WV
5 17j John Winge Sioux Falls, SD
6 1G Michael Lake Uniontown, PA
7 60 Jim Manka Rincon, GA
8 33 Brian Reese Sharpsburg, GA

Heat #1  (top 4 transfer)
1 1 Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL
2 29 Darrell Lanigan Union, KY
3 76 Brandon Overton Appling, GA
4 39 Tim McCreadie Watertown, NY
5 101 Casey Roberts Toccoa, GA
6 58 Mark Whitener Middlebourne, FL
7 44 Clint Smith Senoia, GA
8 157 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN

Heat #2  
1 2 Brady Smith Solon Springs, WI
2 21L Ivedent Lloyd Jr. Ocala, FL
3 18c Chase Junghans Manhattan, KS
4 18x Jack Sullivan Greenbriar, AR
5 24 Rick Eckert York, PA
6 1* Chub Frank Bear Lake, PA
7 25 Shane Clanton Fayetteville, GA
8 11 Austin Kirkpatrick Ocala, FL

Heat #3  
1 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
2 21d Dan Stone Thompson, PA
3 99jr Frank Heckenast Jr Orland Park, IL
4 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
5 12m Raymond Merrill Salisaw, OK
6 18 Eric Wells Hazard, KY
7 17j John Winge Sioux Falls, SD
8 33 Brian Reese Sharpsburg, GA

Heat #4  
1 5 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
2 14M Morgan Bagley Longview, TX
3 19 Tim Fuller Watertown, NY
4 99b Boom Briggs Bear Lake, PA
5 22 Gregg Satterlee Rochester Mills, PA
6 32 David Gibson Jr Charleston, WV
7 60 Jim Manka Rincon, GA
8 1G Michael Lake Uniontown, PA

Group 'A'
1 1 Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL 14.626
2 2 Brady Smith Solon Springs, WI 14.785
3 39 Tim McCreadie Watertown, NY 14.846
4 25 Shane Clanton Zebulon, GA 14.879
5 29 Darrell Lanigan Union, KY 15.051
6 18c Chase Junghans Manhattan, KS 15.091
7 76 Brandon Overton Appleton, GA 15.114
8 18x Jack Sullivan Greenbrier, AR 15.153
9 101 Casey Roberts Toccoa, GA 15.173
10 21L Ivedent Lloyd Jr Ocala, FL 15.189
11 58 Mark Whitener Middleburg, FL 15.190
12 24 Rick Eckert York, PA 15.220
13 44 Clint Smith Senoia, GA 15.242
14 1* Chub Frank Bear Lake, PA 15.640
15 157 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN 16.482
16 11 Austin Kirkpatrick Ocala, FL no time

Group 'B'
1 21d Dan Stone Thompson, PA 14.937
2 5 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN 14.941
3 99Jr Frankie Heckenast Jr Orland Park, IL 14.996
4 14M Morgan Bagley Tyler, TX 15.123
5 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY 15.135
6 19 Tim Fuller Watertown, NY 15.318
7 12M Raymond Merrill Sallisaw, OK 15.359
8 22 Gregg Satterlee Indiana, PA 15.385
9 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN 15.424
10 99B Rick Briggs Bear Lake, PA 15.476
11 33 Brian Reese Sharpsburg, GA 15.521
12 1G Michael Lake Uniontown, PA 15.912
13 18 Eric Wells Hazard, KY 16.010
14 32 David Gibson Jr Charleston, WV 16.177
15 17J John Winge Sioux Falls, SD 16.717
16 60 Jim Manka Rincon, GA 17.321