Two-time champ becomes first two-time winner on tour this season

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – May 2, 2014 – G.R. Smith did all he could do to hang onto the lead on Friday night at Fayetteville Motor Speedway, but Darrell Lanigan was too strong down the stretch and swept past Smith to become the first driver with two World of Outlaws Late Model Series wins this season.

Smith and Rick Eckert battled for much of the 50-lap A-main before Lanigan and Jonathan Davenport came on strong in the second half of the feature. A restart with 15 laps to go shook up the contenders when they all tried to go for the same piece of real estate in turn one. By the time it settled, Lanigan jumped from fourth to second and set his sights on Smith.

Then with nine to go, Smith started sliding up the 4/10-mile red clay oval, giving Lanigan a chance to drive under him and into the top spot. A caution with eight to go gave Lanigan the clear track he needed to drive off to a 2.292-second, $10,000 victory over Davenport, who was able to sneak past third-place finishing Smith on the last lap.

Chub Frank and Eckert rounded out the top five.

“The third caution we just got in there and got in the rut in turn one and got into the side of Rambo [Franklin] and couldn’t turn,” said Lanigan, of Union, Ky. “We fell back three or four spots, but got a good restart the next time and I found a little groove in there and the car was good.”

Lanigan became the series’ first two-time winner this season through nine A-mains. His victory Friday in his Club 29 machine is a little redemption for a runner-up performance in last week’s Illini 100.

“I feel like I let the one last week get by me so definitely to win this one makes us feel good,” he said. “It’s hard to believe, we’ve had a good car all year, we’ve been there, just needed a little bit.”

Davenport was in the hunt for a win all night long, but ultimately he wasn’t able to find a way around Lanigan down the stretch.

“I kept getting stuck on the outside and I kept trying to make it work,” said Davenport, of Blairsville, Ga. “We probably had a third-place car there but we stuck with it and didn’t give up.”

Smith, whose team made the three-hour journey from the Charlotte suburbs with his car on the back of an open trailer, was strong all night. He picked up a $200 track bonus for setting quick time, then won his heat, got the outside pole in the redraw and raced hard to hold off Eckert, who was driving the #1 Rocket Chassis car. Ultimately, Smith settled for third, but was pleased with his volunteer crew’s effort.

“We had a real good car, setting fast time and winning the heat race,” said Smith, of Cornelius, N.C. “We just lost it trying too hard. We didn’t know what kind of lead we had and got the right rear tire hot and if you give up a little bit to these guys they’re good enough to pounce on you.

“We define weekend warrior. I never really looked behind me, or looked on the board. I didn’t really care because I knew whether it was Rick Eckert or Darrell Lanigan or Jonathan Davenport, these guys are national champions. I made my mind up in the pit area before we went out there that we were going to go out swinging. We came up about eight laps short. At least we know we’re knocking on the door.”

Interestingly enough, the heat winners were also the top three finishers in the A-main – G.R. Smith, Darrell Lanigan and Jonathan Davenport.

The WoO LMS will be back in action on Saturday at Lavonia (Ga.) Speedway in another 50-lap, $10,000-to-win event.

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

Fans can also follow the WoO LMS on Twitter at Twitter.com/WoOLateModels and Facebook at Facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws .

World of Outlaws Late Model Series Statistical Report; Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway; May 2, 2014

(Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):

1. (29) Darrell Lanigan/50 $10,000

2. (6) Jonathan Davenport/50 $5,000

3. (22*) G.R. Smith/50 $4,125

4. (1*) Chub Frank/50 $2,550

5. (1) Rick Eckert/50 $2,050

6. (14M) Morgan Bagley/50 $1,750

7. (25) Shane Clanton/50 $1,400

8. (39) Tim McCreadie/50 $1,400

9. (44) Clint Smith/50 $1,250

10. (18) Eric Wells/50 $1,150

11. (6B) Chris Blackwell/50 $1,050

12. (99JR) Frank Heckenhast Jr./50 $1,300

13. (09X) Ross Bailes/50 $950

14. (39B) Steve Blackburn/50 $950

15. (18C) Chase Junghans/50 $850

16. (99B) Rick “Boom” Briggs/49 $850

17. (2) Dennis Franklin/38 $770

18. (76) Brandon Overton/35 $750

19. (A1) Austin Hubbard//35 $730

20. (618) Kevin Wilson/32 $700

21. (40B) Kyle Bronson/19 $700

22. (09) Johnny Pursley/16 $700

23. (72) Mike Parker/15 $700

24. (3) Shawn Harrell/DNS $700

* Earnings include Winners Circle program, cash contingency award bonuses and track bonus for quick time.

Time of Race: 22 Mins., 18 Secs.

Margin of Victory: 2.292 Secs.

Yellow Flags: Five (laps 11, 19, 25, 35, 42)

Red Flags: None

Lap Leaders: G.R. Smith (1-41); Lanigan (42-100)

WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: G.R. Smith ($500)

Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results

(Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):

1. 22*-G.R. Smith/Cornelius, N.C. – 16.782

2. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, Ky. – 17.004

3. 6-Jonathan Davenport/Blairsville, Ga. – 17.159

4. 1-Rick Eckert/York, Pa. – 17.160

5. 3-Shawn Harrell/Raeford, N.C. – 17.356

6. 39B-Steve Blackburn/Brown Summit, N.C. – 17.419

7. 09X-Ross Bailes/Clover, S.C. – 17.454

8. 2-Dennis Franklin/Gaffney, S.C. – 15.578

9. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, Pa. – 17.627

10. 76-Brandon Overton/Appleton, Ga. – 17.642

11. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, N.Y. – 17.730

12. 99B-Rick “Boom” Briggs/Bear Lake, Pa. – 17.752

13. 25-Shane Clanton/Zebulon, Ga. – 17.758

14. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, Ga. – 17.760

15. 09-Johnny Pursley/Clover, S.C. – 17.825

16. 18-Eric Wells/Hazard, Ky. – 17.866

17. 14M-Morgan Bagley/Tyler, Texas – 17.901

18. 18C-Chase Junghans/Manhattan, Kan. – 17.902

19. 6B-Chris Blackwell/Gray’s Creek, S.C. – 17.945

20. A1-Austin Hubbard/Seaford, Del. – 18.017

21. 40B-Kyle Bronson/Tampa, Fla. – 18.023

22. 99*-Frank Heckenast Jr./Orland Park, Ill. – 18.075

23. 618-Kevin Wilson/Stoneboro, N.C. – 18.154

24. 9-Dale Hammond/Nichols, S.C. – 18.867

25. 79-Roger Lucas/Benson, N.C. – 18.877

26. 72-Mike Parker/Fayetteville, N.C. – 19.226

27. 88-Dustin Mitchell/Pine Level, N.C. – NT

Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): 1. G.R. Smith, 2. Rick Eckert, 3. Brandon Overton, 4. Ross Bailes, 5. Shane Clanton, 6. Chris Blackwell, 7. Frank Heckenast Jr., 8. Eric Wells, 9. Mike Parker.

Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): 1. Darrell Lanigan, 2. Dennis Franklin, 3. Shawn Harrell, 4. Morgan Bagley, 5. Tim McCreadie, 6. Clint Smith, 7. Austin Hubbard, 8. Kevin Wilson, 9. Roger Lucas.

Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): 1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Steve Blackburn, 3. Chub Frank, 4. Rick “Boom” Briggs, 5. Kyle Bronson, 6. Chase Junghans, 7. Johnny Pursely, 8. Dale Hammond (DNS), 9. Dustin Mitchell (DNS).

Last Chance Showdown (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. Austin Hubbard, 2. Johnny Pursley, 3. Frank Heckenast Jr., 4. Eric Wells, 5. Kevin Wilson, 6. Roger Lucas, 7. Mike Parker.

World of Outlaws Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners (awards presented to noted finisher/qualifier or next highest displaying decal):

Ohlins Shocks ($50 cash to fast qualifier): G.R. Smith

Comp Cams ($50 certificate): G.R. Smith

MSD Ignition ($50 cash): G.R. Smith

Quartermaster ($100 certificate): G.R. Smith

Wrisco (three sheets of aluminum/certificate to A-Main winner): Darrell Lanigan

STP ($50 cash to 2^nd-place finisher in A-Main): G.R. Smith

Penske Racing Shocks ($50 to 3^rd-place finisher in A-Main): G.R. Smith

Roush-Yates ($50 cash to 4^th-place finisher in A-Main): Chub Frank

JE Pistons ($50 cash to 5^th-place finisher in A-Main): Rick Eckert

Lincoln Welders ($50 cash to 6^th-place finisher in A-Main): Morgan Bagley

American Racing Wheels ($50 cash to 7^th-place finisher in A-Main): Tim McCreadie

VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash to 8^th-place finisher in A-Main): Tim McCreadie

Edelbrock ($50 cash to 9^th-place finisher in A-Main): Clint Smith

Comp Cams ($50 cash to 10^th-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Wells

Cometic ($50 cash to 12^th-place finisher in A-Main): Frank Heckenast Jr.

JRI Shocks ($50 cash to 13^th-place finisher in A-Main): Rick “Boom” Briggs

Superflow Dynos ($50 cash to 14^th-place finisher in A-Main): Steve Blackburn

Quartermaster ($25 certificate to 15^th-place finisher in A-Main): Chase Junghans

JE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 16^th-place finisher in A-Main): Rick “Boom” Briggs

Roush-Yates ($50 certificate to 18^th-place finisher in A-Main): Austin Hubbard

Quartermaster ($50 certificate to 19^th-place finisher in A-Main): Kevin Wilson

Arizona Sports Shirts ($100 certificate to 20^th-place finisher in A-Main): Kevin Wilson

JE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 21^st-place finisher in A-Main): Kyle Bronson

Roush-Yates ($50 certificate to 22^nd-place finisher in A-Main): G.R. Smith

MSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24^th-place finisher in A-Main): G.R. Smith

Armor All (one case of product to highest-finishing non-WoO driver): G.R. Smith

Reliable Painting Award (one free tire): Rick Eckert

World of Outlaws Late Model Series 2014 Event Winners:

Feb. 14 – Brady Smith-Bubba Raceway Park

Feb. 15 – Brandon Sheppard-Bubba Raceway Park

Feb. 16 – Darrell Lanigan-Bubba Raceway Park

Feb. 20 – Casey Roberts-Volusia Speedway Park

Feb. 22 – Kyle Bronson-Volusia Speedway Park

March 29 – Billy Moyer Sr.-I30 Speedway

April 12 – Mike Marlar-Tazewell Speedway

April 26 – Shannon Babb-Farmer City Raceway

May 2 – Darrell Lanigan-Fayetteville Motor Speedway

World of Outlaws Late Model Series Championship Standings

Upcoming World of Outlaws Late Model Series Events:

May 3-Lavonia Speedway-Lavonia, GA-$10,000 to win

May 16-201 Speedway-Sitka, KY-$10,000 to win

May 17-Smoky Mountain Speedway-Maryville, TN-$10,000 to win

May 18-Duck River Raceway Park-Wheel, TN-$10,000 to win

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: American Racing Custom Wheel (Official Custom Wheel), Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Lincoln Welders (Official Welder), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel), DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award) and McCarthy’s One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning (Raye Vest Memorial Pill Draw Award); in addition to contingency sponsors: Butlerbuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, MSD, Ohlins Shocks, Penske Shocks, QuarterMaster, Roush Yates Performance Parts, Superflow Dynos and Wrisco Aluminum; along with manufacturer sponsors Capital Race Cars, Integra Shocks, Jake’s Carts, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis and TNT Rescue.