World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Independence Motor Speedway
July 24, 2014
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Lanigan Rules Independence to Claim 10th World of Outlaws Late Model Series Victory of the SeasonTwo-time Champion tops Heckenast to Win Independence for Third Straight Year
Jim Denhamer Photos |
John Vass PhotosWoOLMS PR
INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (July 24) - Darrell Lanigan is fast at most all of the tracks on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series schedule, but he may be best at Independence Motor Speedway.
Lanigan, the two-time WoO LMS champion and current series points leader, claimed Independence’s WoO LMS event for the third straight year Thursday night, topping Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill., at the 3/8-mile oval to earn $10,650 for his 10th WoO LMS victory of the season.
The second-starting Lanigan, 44, of Union, Ky., led every lap of the 50-lap race to extend his lead atop the national tour’s all-time wins list with his 63rd-career WoO LMS A-Main victory. Lanigan’s self-designed Club 29 Race Car crossed the finish line 3.2 seconds ahead of Heckenast, who also drove a Club 29 car in an event slowed by a single caution on lap 18.
Rick Eckert of York, Pa., advanced from sixth to finish third in the Rocket Chassis house car. Third-starting Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., used a high-side charge to move his Rocket Chassis to second early in the race before fading back to fourth at the finish. Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., finished fifth in his Longhorn Chassis.
Starting from the outside of the front row, Lanigan pulled ahead of Heckenast on the start of the 50-lap race and used the middle groove of the racetrack to quickly build a comfortable lead on the low-running Heckenast.
The high-running McCreadie briefly closed in on Lanigan when he took second around lap 10, but he faded following the lap-18 restart.
The resurgent Heckenast pressured Lanigan as the leaders raced through traffic around race’s halfway point, but Lanigan’s superior experience showed as he knifed his way through traffic and pulled away in the second half of the race.
“He’s got a good car and he’s definitely coming on here at the end of the year,” Lanigan said of Heckenast. “I never did see his nose there, but I had a guy on the backstretch giving my signals. He gave me a big signal there at the end, so I just kinda bided my time with those lapped car.”
Heckenast, who switched to a Club 29 car in late June, fell short of claiming his first career WoO LMS victory, but the 26-year-old driver strengthened his command of the WoO LMS Rookie of the Year chase with his solid performance.
“Everything went our way and we had a pretty good night,” said Heckenast, who recorded his first top-five of the season in a WoO LMS A-Main. “Darrell, he’s got a lot of experience racing in traffic and being out front. I don’t have the confidence just yet to move around on the racetrack.
“He was so much better through traffic, so he’d get out on me. But after the restart ... my car was really good. I hung with him there for a while and didn’t wanna show him everything. But he’s so good, he normally gets faster from lap 40 to 50.”
The third-place finish leaves Eckert still looking for first WoO LMS victory of the season, but the 2011 series champion was pleased with his team’s progress.
“It’s not from lack of effort because we’ve been working hard to get there,” Eckert said of the frustration of his current winless streak. “We couldn’t race by them tonight, but we were pretty close. We’ll take that.
“The guys have been working real hard and giving me a good car. Tonight was about as good as we’ve got. We had a really decent car, so I think we can work from that.”
The WoO LMS moves to Fairbury (Ill.) American Legion Speedway on Friday to kick off the Prairie Dirt Classic weekend at the popular quarter-mile oval. Friday night’s preliminary action will set the lineup for Saturday’s $25,000-to-win main event.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit
www.worldofoutlaws.com..
A-Main
1 29 Darrell Lanigan Union, KY
2 99Jr Frankie Heckenast Orland Park, IL
3 1 Rick Eckert York, PA
4 39 Tim McCreadie Watertown, NY
5 21 Billy Moyer Batesville, AR
6 28m Jimmy Mars Menomonie, WI
7 19 Tim Fuller Watertown, NY
8 25 Shane Clanton Zebulon, GA
9 18 Eric Wells Hazard, KY
10 14M Morgan Bagley Longview, TX
11 15b Brian Birkofer Muscatine, IA
12 18c Chase Junghans Manhattan, KS
13 6m Wendell Wallace Batesville, AR
14 44 Clint Smith Senoia, GA
15 99b Rick Briggs Bear Lake, PA
16 16 Tyler Bruening Decorah, IA
17 60 Dustin Virkus Clarkfield, MN
18 98 Jason Rauen Dubuque, IA
19 29 Spencer Diercks Davenport, IA
20 25 Chad Simpson Mount Vernon, IA
21 1* Chub Frank Bear Lake, PA
22 45 Curt Martin Independence, IA
23 32 Chris Simpson Oxford, IA
24 5M Mike Fryer Freeport, IL
Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Heckenast, Eckert, Wallace, Clanton, Fuller, Rauen, Briggs, Martin, Metcalf.
Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Moyer, McCreadie, Bagley, Chad Simpson, Frank, Smith, Wells, Fryer.
Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Lanigan, Junghans, Diercks, Mars, Birkhofer, Bruening, Chris Simpson, Virkus.
B-Main (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Wells, Martin, Rauen, Chris Simpson, Virkus, Metcalf, Fryer
Time Trial Results
1. 98-Jason Rauen/Farley, Iowa, 14.00
2. 21-Billy Moyer/Batesville, Ar., 14.04
3. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, Ky., 14.08
4. 24-Rick Eckert/York, Pa., 14.37
5. 25-Chad Simpson/Mount Vernon, Iowa, 14.40
6. 18c-Chase Junghans/Manhattan, Kan., 14.40
7. 99jr-Frank Heckenast Jr./Frankfort, Ill., 14.41
8. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, Pa., 14.41
9. 28m-Jimmy Mars/Menomonie, Wis., 14.41
10. 1-Wendell Wallace/Batesville, Ark., 14.42
11. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, N.Y., 14.46
12. 29d-Spencer Diercks/Davenport, Iowa, 14.51
13. 25-Shane Clanton/Zebulon, Ga., 14.55
14.14m-Morgan Bagley/Longview, Texas, 14.56
15. 15b-Brian Birkhofer/Muscatine, Iowa, 14.58
16. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, N.Y., 14.60
17. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, Ga., 14.76
18. 32-Chris Simpson/Oxford, Iowa, 14.63
19. 99B-Boom Briggs/Bear Lake, Pa., 14.71
20. 18-Eric Wells/Hazard, Ky., 14.80
21. 16-Tyler Bruening/Decorah, Iowa, 15.50
22. 45-Curt Martin/Independence, Iowa, 14.90
23. 5m-Mike Fryer/Freeport, Ill., 15.08
24. 60-Dustin Virkus/Clarkfield, Minn., 15.09
25. 2-Rory Metcalf/West Union, Iowa, 15.38
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