World of Outlaws Late Model Series Makes Historic Visit to Eldora Speedway
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by Kevin Kovac
ROSSBURG, Ohio — The World of Outlaws Late Model Series will make a historic visit to Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway this Friday night.
And Stewart will do more than play cordial host as the tour appears at his famed high-banked, half-mile oval for the first time ever. The two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup champion will don a driver’s suit and compete in the evening’s ‘Subway 50.’
Stewart will make the short drive over from the Brickyard 400 activities at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to challenge the Outlaws. He will drive the Bass Pro Shops-sponsored Rocket that is wrenched by Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., the 19-year-old standout who enters this week’s four-race ‘National Interstate Speedweek’ as the hottest racer on the WoO LMS.
The presence of Stewart in competition will only add more spice to what promises to be an intriguing, star-studded event.
Friday’s $10,000-to-win ‘Subway 50’ will undoubtedly be the biggest touring dirt Late Model series program ever presented at Eldora. The track has been regularly hosting events for the Sunoco American Late Model Series and sanctioning its ‘Dream’ and ‘World 100’ spectaculars under the UMP DIRTcar Racing banner, but major touring series shows have been few and far between at the Big E.
The last dirt Late Model tour with a wide-ranging reach that made a stop at Eldora was the defunct STARS/Renegade Series, in 1995. Prior to that, the track hosted events for the old USAC Late Model Series from 1985-88 and a single race in 1981 for the discontinued All-Star Circuit of Champions Late Model Series.
“We’re honored that Tony Stewart, Larry Kemp and Larry Boos have agreed to bring the World of Outlaws Late Model Series to Eldora Speedway,” said WoO LMS director Tim Christman, hailing the track’s management team. “It’s a big step for the series to run at one of the most well known speedways in the country.”
The stars of the WoO LMS certainly realize the importance of a tour event at Eldora.
“To get a race at Eldora means a lot for the series,” said Richards, who is coming off back-to-back WoO LMS victories at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway (July 21) and Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa. (July 22). “It’s the first time they’ve ever had a big series race at Eldora, so it shows where the series stands (in the industry).”
“I think it’s a great to have an Outlaw race at Eldora,” added Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., a WoO LMS stalwart and former World 100 winner at Eldora. “I know that there will be a lot of cars there.”
Indeed, it’s expected that Friday night’s field will be huge. With only one more dirt Late Model event scheduled at Eldora this season before the Sept. 7-8 World 100 weekend, drivers from far-and-wide will descend on the facility in search of valuable track time.
Richards and Frank will highlight the traveling WoO LMS contingent, which also includes points leader Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., a former World 100 winner; Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; former ‘Dream’ victors Rick Eckert of York, Pa., and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; Rookie of the Year contenders Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., and Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill.; and Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., whose four WoO LMS wins in 2007 is tied with Frank for the most on the tour.
A talented array of regional stars is expected to join the Outlaws, including Eldora’s ‘Million Dollar Man’ Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio; Bart Hartman of Zanesville, Ohio; former World 100 winners Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, and Dan Schlieper of Sullivan, Wis.; 2007 UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals champion Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill.; recent Dream victor Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind.; Scott James of Greendale, Ind.; Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.; Steve Shaver of Vienna, W.Va.; and Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich.
Ohio-based drivers and teams in the field will have bonus money to race for courtesy of National Interstate Insurance, the Richfield, Ohio-headquartered company that is the title sponsor of the four-race Speedweek. The three highest-finishing Ohio-based drivers or teams in the event will receive bonuses of $500, $300 and $200, respectively, for their efforts.
The program will also include the UMP DIRTcar Racing Modifieds and a special appearance by Subway’s Jared Fogel, the sandwich chain’s spokesman who appears in television commercials with Stewart.
And the night’s action will be run in front of the SPEED television cameras. The ‘Subway 50’ will be broadcast by SPEED on Sun., Aug. 19, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Ticket windows are scheduled to open at 2 p.m. on Friday, with gates opening at 3 p.m. Hot laps are set for 6 p.m. and racing will begin at 7:30 p.m.
General admission is $25 for ages 16 and over, $12 for ages 11-15, $6 for ages 7-11 and free for kids 6 and under. Reserved seats are available for an additional $2, and pit passes are $30.
For more information, visit www.eldoraspeedway.com or call 937-338-3815.
The WoO LMS’s National Interstate Speedweek will also visit Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park on Wed., July 25; Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway on Thurs., July 26; and Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, on Sat., July 28.
Additional info is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com or www.nationalinterstateracing.com.
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