Richards Runs Sixth While Newman Barrel Rolls in the Vienna Sausage Showdown

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series rolled into The Dirt Track @ Lowes’s Motor Speedway last night and put on a show that will be hard for the WoO Sprints to beat.  Among those doing the rolling were NASCAR stars Ryan Newman and Ken Schrader.  Schrader finished 3rd in his heat race before coming in 13th in the Feature.  The real roller of the night was Schrader’s fellow NASCAR driver Ryan Newman.  Newman ran 9th in his heat race which put him in the first of the last chance races.  That didn’t work out to well for Ryan as he was caught up in an accident that saw his car do a few barrel rolls before coming to a stop.

Josh Richards finished the World of Outlaws Late Model Series season by winning his heat race, and then finishing 6th in the feature.  Here’s the full story of the evening by Scott Cooper

CONCORD, N.C. - Gaffney, S.C., resident Chris “Smokey” Madden held on to the lead of the Armour Foods Vienna Sausage Showdown presented by Ferris Commercial Mowers to beat the “Moweaqua Missile” Shannon Babb by 0.077 seconds to win the 50-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series race at The Dirt Track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Madden started the feature from sixth place and took over the lead position on lap five. He was uncontested for most of the race, until Babb closed in to contend for the top spot with five laps to go. The two battled neck and neck in the closing laps, with Madden edging Babb by just a few feet as they took the checkered flag.

“I knew (Shannon Babb) was going to be tough,” Madden said. “He was really good on the top. I was hoping we weren’t going to have all of those restarts whenever he got to the top five, but we were able to hold him off. ‘”I could race with Shannon any time of the week. He’s a great hard racer.”

Madden’s win in the Armour Foods Vienna Sausage Showdown was his fourth at The Dirt Track. He is now tied with Scott Bloomquist for the most Super Late Model Wins at the four-tenths-mile clay oval.

The feature was slowed by six caution periods, including one for World of Outlaws Late Model Series points leader Darrell Lanigan, who stopped on the track due to mechanical problems on lap 34. The “Kentucky Colonel” Steve Francis, second in the point standings, also suffered mechanical issues that sent him to the pit area on lap 28.

Dale McDowell, “Voodoo Child” Scott Bloomquist and Shane Clanton rounded out the top-five finishers.

With 81 cars entered, the field for the feature was set by six heat races and three last-chance qualifiers. The biggest accident of the evening occurred during the first last-chance qualifier when the field bunched up in turn two, sending reigning Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman into a barrel roll down the backstretch.

The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway will end its 2008 season with the VAULT World Finals today through Saturday. The three-day show will feature twin $10,000-to-win features for the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and World of Outlaws Late Model Series on Friday and Saturday nights.

Stewart Hitting the Red Dirt for Charity on Saturday

WOODSTOCK, Georgia - Local racing hero and champion Bill Elliott has drawn a collection of his NASCAR racing friends to join him at the local Georgia short track where his illustrious career began over three decades ago.

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Stewart and Schrader Joining In On Late Model Knoxville Nationals

by Bill Wright

KNOXVILLE, Iowa — The 5th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals presented by SuperClean and the Mid-States 305 Sprint Championship kicks off this Thursday night and roars into Saturday. Unseasonably warm and most importantly, dry weather is forecast for this weekend’s festivities!

The best in the Late Model business will vie for the $40,000 to win 100-lap main event on Saturday night! They’ll work on their starting position by competing in a pair of preliminary events on Thursday and Friday.

The format is similar to the SuperClean Knoxville sprint car Nationals. After qualifying the quick timers go to the back of the heats and have to race their way into the main event in some of the best late model races you’ll see anywhere! Every time they hit the track they earn points, so there’s no time for slacking! The cream always rises to the top on Saturday night!

The four previous champions of the event are scheduled to try to repeat their climb to the top of the podium on Saturday night! Brady Smith (2007), Brian Shirley (2006), Scott Bloomquist (2005) and Brian Birkhofer (2004) are all pre-entered. They’ll be joined by Sprint Cup stars Tony Stewart and Ken Schrader. Stewart charged from the rear of the field to finish third in 2006, so he will be looking for nothing less than a win this time around!

World of Outlaws point leader Darrell Lanigan is entered, as are “The Kentucky Colonel” Steve Francis, fan favorite and Iowa native Billy Moyer, “Kid Rocket” Josh Richards, Tim McCreadie, Earl Pearson Jr., Jimmy Mars, Darren Miller, Shannon Babb, Matt Miller and many more!

Over 40 entries have been received for the 2nd Annual Mid-States 305 championship. Several pre-entered drivers should be familiar to Knoxville Raceway fans including Johnny Anderson, John Kearney, Tim St. Arnold, Justin Giannetto, Tasker Phillips, Mitchell Alexander, Wayne Redmond and many more!

For more information, including ticket information, pre-entry lists, purse and format structure, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

Richards Gets Back On Track With A Third Place Finish at I-55 Raceway

SHINNSTON, WV Josh Richards was burning up after last Saturday night’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series ‘Pepsi Nationals’ at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., but only from the heat and humidity.

The 20-year-old sensation from Shinnston, W.Va., was actually beaming under his sweat-covered face, ecstatic that a strong third-place finish in the 50-lap A-Main had gotten him back on track after several struggle-filled weeks.

“I’m just glad we were able to get out of our little slump,” said Josh, who recently slipped one position, to fourth, in the WoO LMS points standings thanks to some frustrating outings. “I would have liked to win, but we needed a good finish like this.”

Josh was fast all night at the high-banked, one-third-mile oval owned by NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader. His blazing qualifying lap of 12.534 seconds was second-fastest in the 39-car time-trial session and he won a heat race, and then he marched forward from the sixth starting spot in the feature to contend for his fifth WoO LMS victory of the season.

After steering his Mark Richards Racing-owned Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB Motorsports/Ernie’s Auto & Hauling Rocket Chassis No. 1 into third place on lap 28, Josh soon found himself in a three-car battle for the $10,000 top prize with eventual winner Shane Clanton and early pacesetter Chub Frank. The three drivers actually raced three-wide for the lead through turns three and four on lap 42, thrilling the crowd.

Josh’s bid effectively ended, however, on lap 46 when he slipped over the track’s cushion in turn four while alongside Frank for second. He lost his momentum and dropped to fourth, though he regained third place from Jason Feger with three laps remaining.

“I thought we had a shot at the win,” said Josh. “I tried to run into turns three and four as hard as I could so I could carry alot of momentum down the straightaway and then try to slide under Clanton in turns one and two, but I got stuck on the cushion in turn four. I had to about stop the car so I wouldn’t hit the wall.”

The hard racing on a hot, muggy night left Josh searching for a cool-down following the checkered flag. He quickly went into his team’s air-conditioned hauler after returning to the pit area so he could bring down his body temperature.

“I’ve never been so hot in a race car before,” said Josh. “But I still had a lot of fun. That was the most fun race I’ve had in a long time.”

With the WoO LMS off this weekend, Josh’s plan is to enter either the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series ‘Jackson 100’ at Brownstown Ind. Speedway or the annual ‘Pittsburgher 100’ at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. Both events are scheduled for Sept. 19-20.

Clanton Takes Pepsi Nationals Victory at I-55 Raceway in Pevely

PEVELY, Mo - And the beat goes on for Shane Clanton.

With rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ike closing in, the surging Clanton outdueled Chub Frank and Josh Richards in a stirring late-race battle to capture Saturday night’s 26th annual Pepsi Nationals at I-55 Raceway.

Clanton, 33, of Locust Grove, Ga., beat the impending weather to make the 50-lap A-Main his second straight victory on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. It was his third win in the last five tour events and came one week after he scored the biggest triumph of his career in the UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned World 100 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

“I’m pretty excited right now,” said Clanton, who earned $10,150 for his fourth WoO LMS win of 2008. “I was dreading coming out here because we all thought it was going to rain out and I’ve always called this state ‘Misery,’ not ‘Missouri,’ because I’ve just always had so much trouble when I race here.

“But when your car’s working good, your luck’s good and your team is gelling, then you tend to have things kind of work out better. We’re in that zone right now.”

Clanton steered his RSD Enterprises Rocket car forward from the seventh starting spot, grabbing the lead on lap 30 when he took advantage of a slight slip by race-long pacesetter Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa. He held off the challenges of Frank and Shinnston, W.Va.’s Richards over the remaining distance to register his 10th career WoO LMS victory.

Frank, who started from the pole position, settled for a second-place finish in his Lester Buildings Rocket, several car lengths behind Clanton after he lost ground during the final circuits while engaged in a tight tussle for position with Richards. It was the best WoO LMS run for the 46-year-old Frank since he was a runner-up on July 20 at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks.

Richards, 20, finished third in his father Mark’s Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket. Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., advanced from the 10th starting spot to secure a career-best WoO LMS finish of fourth in his Bob Pierce-built car, and Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., quietly completed the top five in NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer’s Traeger Grills/Chevy Rocket.

Clanton positioned himself for his winning move when he passed defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., for second on a lap-16 restart. He chased Frank until exploding into the lead on lap 30.

“He was hitting his marks until he pushed off turn four and slowed just a little bit,” Clanton said of Frank. “When he pushed, I just turned left (entering turn one) and went right by him.

“That was the opening I needed. I don’t know if I could have passed him or not without it.”

Clanton tried to drive conservatively when he approached lapped traffic late in the race, which was slowed by six cautions flags but none over the final 24 circuits. He got a wakeup call, however, when Frank and Richards went three-wide with him for the lead on lap 42.

“I saw Josh underneath me and I said, ‘Holy cow! I’ve got to get going!’” described Clanton, whose previous WoO LMS finishes at the one-third-mile I-55 Raceway were eighth (2007) and 15th (2005). “I was stopping getting into the corners, trying to be careful, so after I saw

(Richards) I picked up the pace a little bit.”

After putting some space on his pursuers, Clanton was met in Victory Lane by his wife Jennifer and son Ryan, 5, who shared a WoO LMS win with his father for the first time this season.

Frank, meanwhile, was in good spirits despite remaining winless on the WoO LMS since his lone victory on 2008, on May 18 at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway.

“It feels good to be competitive again,” said Frank, who was the tour’s winningest driver in 2007 with six A-Main triumphs. “It was a lot of fun racing for the lead with Shane and Josh.

“I think Shane knows that we probably would have won if I didn’t make that one mistake. He told me, ‘If you didn’t jump that cushion and give me an opening, I wouldn’t have passed you.’

“There was just a real fine line out there,” he added, describing the top groove that ran close to the outside guardrail. “I missed it one lap and had to almost stop to stay off the wall.”

Richards also lost a struggle with the cushion. He was racing side-by-side with Frank for second on lap 46 when he slipped over the track’s outside lip rounding turn four, causing him to drop to fourth before he could get back up to speed.

“I thought we had a shot at the win,” said Richards, who started sixth.

“I tried to run into (turns) three and four as hard as I could so I could carry a lot of momentum down the straightaway and then try to slide under Clanton in (turns) one and two, but I got stuck on the cushion (in turn four). I had to about stop the car so I wouldn’t hit the wall.”

Richards regained third from Feger with three laps remaining, but he didn’t have enough time to make another bid for his fifth WoO LMS win of 2008.

“I’m just glad we were able to get out of our little slump,” said Richards, who had gone without a top-five finish in the tour’s three Pennsylvania events over Labor Day weekend.

Feger, 30, was the event’s Cinderella story, racing toe-to-toe with the WoO LMS regulars from start-to-finish in his distinctive No. 25. Coming off a victory in a UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned feature the previous night at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway, he blasted from 10th to fifth on the race’s opening lap and advanced two more positions on a lap-two restart.

But Feger couldn’t find the right line to climb higher.

“I was way too tight to run the bottom and I couldn’t run the top consistently enough,” said Feger, who earned the $500 ‘Bonus Bucks’ cash for being the highest-finishing driver who hadn’t won a WoO LMS A-Main since 2004 and wasn’t ranked among the top 12 of the 2008 points standings. “But it felt awesome to be up there racing with these guys.”

Babb, 34, couldn’t duplicate his dramatic run to a second-place finish in last year’s WoO LMS event at I-55 Raceway. He started fourth and basically settled into position at the back end of the top five for the entire distance.

“Everybody was pretty much married to the top (groove), so I tried running the bottom,” said Babb. “I was hoping the top would slow down, but it really never did.”

Finishing in positions 6-10 were UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., who started from the outside pole and got shuffled back from second on an early restart; Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill.; and Francis, who ran second for laps 3-16 before fading with a car he called “miserable.”

Francis’s frustrating performance cost him a chance to make up some ground on WoOLMS points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who struggled to an 11th-place finish. Lanigan holds a commanding 126-point edge over Francis with only four tour events remaining on the 2008 schedule.

Veteran NASCAR driver Ken Schrader, who owns I-55 Raceway, drove his No. 9 dirt Late Model in the event. He finished 15th in the A-Main after rallying from a spin between turns one and two on a lap-16 restart.

Thirty-nine cars were signed in for the evening’s action, which was run under a constant threat of rain. Forecasts called for a 100-percent chance of precipitation developing on Saturday night, but the rain stayed north of the track and the remnants of Hurricane Ike did not begin reaching the area until after midnight.

Stewart and Schrader Running Late Models At Paducah International Raceway

Paducah, KY - The biggest national and regional racing stars are coming to Paducah International Raceway Thursday and Friday, August 21 and 22. And those stars will include NASCAR Cup icons Tony Stewart and Ken Schrader. WPSD, News Channel 6, will sponsor the events.

On Thursday, August 21, PIR presents the third in its famous Night of NASCAR Stars Series with former NASCAR Cup Champion, Tony Stewart. Stewart, a part owner of PIR, is a NASCAR icon, having won two Cup Championships, one in 2002 and the other coming in 2005. The driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series made headlines recently by announcing he will leave JGR to field his own team in 2009.

Ken Schrader, also a part owner of PIR, will be joining Stewart on August 21. Because of his exploits on tracks of all sizes, shapes, and surfaces, Schrader is well known nationally as a “racer’s racer”. Earlier this season Schrader won the Tri-Track Challenge Late Model feature at PIR. Fans will have a chance to get “up close and personal” with both NASCAR stars in a pre-race autograph session, after which both drivers plan to compete on the lightning-fast 3/8 mile dirt oval.

The Super Late Model racing action on August 21 also will be star-studded as two major sanctioning bodies will be represented. The $1500 to win feature will carry both MARS and UMP points. Local divisions on the Thursday card include the Modifieds, Crate Late Models, and Street Stocks.

Then on Friday, August 22, the nationally famous USA World 50 for Super Late Models takes center stage. Both UMP and MARS again will sanction the Friday night event with a $5000 to win feature. Bill Frye of Greenbriar, Arkansas will be looking to repeat his 2007 USA World 50 victory. Local Modifieds, Crate Late Models, and Warriors also will be racing.

With two major events on consecutive nights, PIR officials are expecting large fields of Super Late Models from all parts of the Midwest. Paducah’s WPSD-TV, News Channel 6, will sponsor these two days of family fun entertainment. After sponsoring PIR’s annual fireworks display in July, WPSD is “working to make a difference” in local motorsports with their support of the August double header.

Pit gates will open each day at 3 PM. The grandstand gate and ticket office will open at 5 PM both days.

Adult grandstand admission on Thursday is $25.
Adult grandstand admission on Friday is $20.
Presenting Thursday’s adult grandstand ticket stub on Friday will earn a $5 discount on Friday’s adult grandstand ticket.
Tickets for children 12 and under will be $5 each day.
Reserved seats for Thursday’s Night of NASCAR Stars can be purchased by calling PIR during regular business hours at (270) 898-7469.
PIR Press Release

A Rather Old Video For Your Viewing Pleasure

I’m not sure how old this video is, or where it was taken, but that seems to be a very young Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace and Jeff Gordon.  It sounds like it might be the first time Kenny Wallace drove an open wheeled car.  Can anyone tell me, is that Tony behind those eyes?

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