By Brian Dunlap WoO LMS Public Relations
West Fargo, ND (August 7, 2004) World of Outlaws (WoO) Dirty Dozen member Steve Francis has come up just shy of taking the checkered flag several times in recent WoO history, and after running second again at I-35 Speedway in Mason City, had even nicknamed himself “Mr. Second.” But Saturday night at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, ND Francis left his nickname in the dust as he won the battle for the biggest purse of WoO Late Model Series history, taking home a check for $40,000.
Steve Francis in the #15 Valvoline/Mopar/Freeport Recycle Center/Action Auto Mart/Rocket Chassis Dodge Intrepid started in the outside pole position with Darrell Lanigan in the #29 Lanigan Autosports/Accutex Signs/Cornett/AFCO/GottaRace/Hoosier Tire/Rocket Chassis Ford Taurus on his inside making it an all-Kentucky front row. As the field took the green flag it was side by racing down the front chute and through turns one and two. As the field crossed the line completing lap one, Francis had moved into the lead and the top five running order was determined with Lanigan, Billy Moyer, Rick Eckert and Tim McCreadie falling in behind Francis.
Lanigan began to show his strength early on by challenging Francis on the inside, coming down the front chute on lap three, but was unable to complete the pass before both cars reached turns one and two. Lanigan continued to pressure Francis running the low side, pulling along side in turns three and four on lap seven.
Moyer in the #21 J&J Steel/McCarthy One Hour Heating and Air/Banner Valley Hauling Chevrolet Monte Carlo also showed he was a contender for the lead as he pulled under Lanigan on the front straightaway at the line and took charge of the second place position. Both Lanigan and Moyer ran nose to tail chasing down Francis in the lead.
Moyer’s control of second position was short-lived as Lanigan found some bite on the high side and retook the position form Moyer on lap 13. Lanigan continued his charge challenging Francis for the lead.
The first caution of the night was brought out on lap 20 for Dirty Dozen member Clint Smith in the #44 JP Drilling/CSR Aluminum Fabrication/Rocket Chassis Chevrolet Monte Carlo for slowing to a stop in turn two. This bunched the file back up making it anybody’s race.
The restart showed Chub Frank in the 1* Lester Buildings/Corry Rubber Corp/Allstar Performance/Rocket Chassis Chevrolet Monte Carlo challenging Moyer for third, unable to make the pass Frank stayed on Moyer’s tail.
Two laps later Lanigan got his break and moved low for a hard charge around Francis, taking the lead. Lanigan was coming on strong and by lap 25 had pulled a five car length lead over Francis.
Lanigan’s lead would be shortened as he was forced to deal with lap traffic on lap 35 allowing Francis to catch back up and challenge to regain the lead. Francis was unable to take it back as Lanigan quickly got the job done moving through lap traffic.
Lap 39 showed Frank using the low side in turns three and four to make the pass on Moyer and take third position.
The red flag was brought out on lap 40 as Mike Balzano in the #E1 Smoker Friendly/Biscotti’s Restaurant/Eddie’s Auto Parts/Hoosier Tire/West Virginia Motor Speedway/Rocket Chassis Chevrolet Monte Carlo experienced a right rear wheel failure and barrel-rolled in turn one landing upside down on the cement retaining wall. Fortunately Balzano walked away as the role cage in his Rocket Chassis did exactly what it was designed to do protecting him from the hard impact of the wall.
The red flag was open allowing crews to go to work on the cars making adjustments and leaving the crowd in suspense as to who would be fastest after the restart. Fourth place runner Moyer was forced to go to the tail of the field after changing a tire. The change proved to be smart decision on Moyer’s part as he would be able to use the fresh rubber advantage to begin moving back up through the field off of the restart.
Frank who had made a shock change on the red flag, began to challenge second place runner Francis. Frank went low in turns one and two and again in three and four trying to get by Francis, but was unable to complete the pass as Francis’s high-side momentum and Mopar power allowed him to pull ahead of Frank coming off of the corner. The top three cars begin pulling away from the field.
There’s never a dull moment in World of Outlaws racing as Dan Schlieper’s #9 Miller Brothers Coal/Hawkeye Trucking/Pro Power/Rayburn Chevrolet Monte Carlo lost a right rear tire in turn four of lap 52 and brought out the yellow. The caution showed that the race was far from over as the field came down the front straightaway under yellow, the #29 of Lanigan pulled into the infield retiring from the race with engine failure, handing the race lead back over to Francis.
With Francis back in charge and Moyer sitting in sixth with 35 laps less the field on his right rear tire, the race was still up for grabs. The starting line-up after Francis were drivers Frank, Rick Eckert, Dale McDowell and John Blankenship. Francis jumped into the lead off of the restart and Moyer was able to quickly work his way around Blankenship gaining a top five position.
Frank quickly caught up to Francis and began to challenge for the big money position. Frank was hard on Francis’s tail and was able to pull along side several times but was unable to complete a pass. Francis seemed to have the straightaway speed, but Frank was able to take back everything in the corners catching back up to Francis lap after lap.
The caution was brought out yet again with 11 laps to go for the #21 car of Moyer who was slowing to a stop in turn four. Francis had been strong all night, but Frank’s #*1 Lester Buildings ride was hooked up and appeared ready take the lead at any point.
As the race resumed the lead remained unchanged, but Dale McDowell’s #17M Shaw Race Cars/S&H Motorsports/Dover Cylinder Head/Racetek/Petroff Towing/ J&J Steel/New Vision Graphics/Rocket Chassis Pontiac Grand Prix began to challenge the Rick Eckert’s #24 Raye Vest Excavating/Rocket Chassis Ford Taurus for third. With seven laps to go McDowell went low on the front chute, running underneath Eckert ant taking the final podium position. The top three running order remained unchanged as they finished out the 75 lap feature.
“I was saving some until the end,” said a triumphant Francis of his $40,000 win. “I’ve had a tendency lose these things on the last lap and didn’t want it to happen again.” Francis also thanked Larry Mooring of Mooring Motorsports and his crew Ronny Stuckey and Chris Burton as well as sponsors Mopar and Valvoline for helping him get to victory lane.
Second place finisher Chub Frank had a strong run working his way up from a seventh starting position. “The car was good but we just came up a little short,” said Frank. “We lost a lot of ground on that last restart and the track was so fast it was hard to make it up.”
McDowell had raced Eckert for position most of the night and stated, “The track was wet and fast all night and it made real hard pass. I saw Rick (Eckert) push out a little so I took advantage of it and got a round him that way. This was kind of a survival race, but I haven’t been able to survive lately so this feels good.”
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series will make there next appearance in Davenport, IA at Davenport Speedway on Tuesday, August 10th.
FEATURE (75L):
1 15 - Steve Francis $40,000
2 1* - Chub Frank $15,000
3 17M - Dale McDowell $7,500
4 24 - Rick Eckert $5,000
5 75 - Bart Hartman $3,500
6 44 - Clint Smith $3,000
7 23 - John Blankenship $2,500
8 9 - Dan Schlieper $2,250
9 21 - Billy Moyer $2,000
10 O - Scott Bloomquist $2,000
11 1 - Josh Richards $2,000
12 29 - Darrell Lanigan $2,000
13 12 - Rick Aukland $2,000
14 39 - Tim McCreadie $2,000
15 E1 - Mike Balzano $2,000
16 25 - Kerry Hanson $2,000
17 22 - Randy Shilling $2,000
18 5 - Eddie Kirchoff $2,000
19 4 - Harold Schill Jr. $2,000
20 OO - Mitch Johnson $2,000
21 10 - Mike Balcaen $2,000
22 50 - Jeff Wildung $2,000
23 42 - Terry Casey $2,000
24 92 - John Seitz $2,000
TIME TRIALS:
1 24 - Rick Eckert 18.022
2 29 - Darrell Lanigan 18.097
3 21 - Billy Moyer 18.277
4 15 - Steve Francis 18.282
5 75 - Bart Hartman 18.286
6 39 - Tim McCreadie 18.305
7 1* - Chub Frank 18.307
8 25 - Kerry Hanson 18.365
9 50 - Jeff Wildung 18.375
10 17M - Dale McDowell 18.395
11 44 - Clint Smith 18.463
12 5 - Eddie Kirchoff 18.522
13 1 - Josh Richards 18.555
14 9 - Dan Schlieper 18.567
15 42 - Terry Casey 18.573
16 O - Scott Bloomquist 18.602
17 E1 - Mike Balzano 18.678
18 23 - John Blankenship 18.710
19 10 - Mike Balcaen 18.888
20 12 - Rick Aukland 18.892
21 12S - Brad Seng 18.924
22 OO - Mitch Johnson 19.040
23 OT - Troy Olsan 19.080
24 92 - John Seitz 19.152
25 5M - John Vandenberg 19.225
26 3M - Greg Meyer 19.342
27 O1 - Myron Tschakert 19.360
28 16 - Chad Ohnstad 19.432
29 22 - Randy Shilling 19.616
30 4 - Harold Schill Jr. 19.643
31 6M - Corky Thomas 19.782
33 37 - Roger Gendron 19.788
34 U1 - Dave Tyrchniewiecz 19.834
35 11 - Troy Schill 19.949
36 12A - Matt Aukland 20.428
LAST CHANCE 1: Dan Schlieper, Harold Schill Jr., Randy Shilling.
LAST CHANCE 2: Rick Aukland, Mike Balcaen, John Seitz.
HEAT 1: Rick Eckert
HEAT 2: Darrell Lanigan
HEAT 3: Billy Moyer
HEAT 4: Steve Francis
DASH: Darrell Lanigan, Steve Francis, Rick Eckert, Billy Moyer.
West Fargo, ND (August 7, 2004) World of Outlaws (WoO) Dirty Dozen member Steve Francis has come up just shy of taking the checkered flag several times in recent WoO history, and after running second again at I-35 Speedway in Mason City, had even nicknamed himself “Mr. Second.” But Saturday night at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, ND Francis left his nickname in the dust as he won the battle for the biggest purse of WoO Late Model Series history, taking home a check for $40,000.
Steve Francis in the #15 Valvoline/Mopar/Freeport Recycle Center/Action Auto Mart/Rocket Chassis Dodge Intrepid started in the outside pole position with Darrell Lanigan in the #29 Lanigan Autosports/Accutex Signs/Cornett/AFCO/GottaRace/Hoosier Tire/Rocket Chassis Ford Taurus on his inside making it an all-Kentucky front row. As the field took the green flag it was side by racing down the front chute and through turns one and two. As the field crossed the line completing lap one, Francis had moved into the lead and the top five running order was determined with Lanigan, Billy Moyer, Rick Eckert and Tim McCreadie falling in behind Francis.
Lanigan began to show his strength early on by challenging Francis on the inside, coming down the front chute on lap three, but was unable to complete the pass before both cars reached turns one and two. Lanigan continued to pressure Francis running the low side, pulling along side in turns three and four on lap seven.
Moyer in the #21 J&J Steel/McCarthy One Hour Heating and Air/Banner Valley Hauling Chevrolet Monte Carlo also showed he was a contender for the lead as he pulled under Lanigan on the front straightaway at the line and took charge of the second place position. Both Lanigan and Moyer ran nose to tail chasing down Francis in the lead.
Moyer’s control of second position was short-lived as Lanigan found some bite on the high side and retook the position form Moyer on lap 13. Lanigan continued his charge challenging Francis for the lead.
The first caution of the night was brought out on lap 20 for Dirty Dozen member Clint Smith in the #44 JP Drilling/CSR Aluminum Fabrication/Rocket Chassis Chevrolet Monte Carlo for slowing to a stop in turn two. This bunched the file back up making it anybody’s race.
The restart showed Chub Frank in the 1* Lester Buildings/Corry Rubber Corp/Allstar Performance/Rocket Chassis Chevrolet Monte Carlo challenging Moyer for third, unable to make the pass Frank stayed on Moyer’s tail.
Two laps later Lanigan got his break and moved low for a hard charge around Francis, taking the lead. Lanigan was coming on strong and by lap 25 had pulled a five car length lead over Francis.
Lanigan’s lead would be shortened as he was forced to deal with lap traffic on lap 35 allowing Francis to catch back up and challenge to regain the lead. Francis was unable to take it back as Lanigan quickly got the job done moving through lap traffic.
Lap 39 showed Frank using the low side in turns three and four to make the pass on Moyer and take third position.
The red flag was brought out on lap 40 as Mike Balzano in the #E1 Smoker Friendly/Biscotti’s Restaurant/Eddie’s Auto Parts/Hoosier Tire/West Virginia Motor Speedway/Rocket Chassis Chevrolet Monte Carlo experienced a right rear wheel failure and barrel-rolled in turn one landing upside down on the cement retaining wall. Fortunately Balzano walked away as the role cage in his Rocket Chassis did exactly what it was designed to do protecting him from the hard impact of the wall.
The red flag was open allowing crews to go to work on the cars making adjustments and leaving the crowd in suspense as to who would be fastest after the restart. Fourth place runner Moyer was forced to go to the tail of the field after changing a tire. The change proved to be smart decision on Moyer’s part as he would be able to use the fresh rubber advantage to begin moving back up through the field off of the restart.
Frank who had made a shock change on the red flag, began to challenge second place runner Francis. Frank went low in turns one and two and again in three and four trying to get by Francis, but was unable to complete the pass as Francis’s high-side momentum and Mopar power allowed him to pull ahead of Frank coming off of the corner. The top three cars begin pulling away from the field.
There’s never a dull moment in World of Outlaws racing as Dan Schlieper’s #9 Miller Brothers Coal/Hawkeye Trucking/Pro Power/Rayburn Chevrolet Monte Carlo lost a right rear tire in turn four of lap 52 and brought out the yellow. The caution showed that the race was far from over as the field came down the front straightaway under yellow, the #29 of Lanigan pulled into the infield retiring from the race with engine failure, handing the race lead back over to Francis.
With Francis back in charge and Moyer sitting in sixth with 35 laps less the field on his right rear tire, the race was still up for grabs. The starting line-up after Francis were drivers Frank, Rick Eckert, Dale McDowell and John Blankenship. Francis jumped into the lead off of the restart and Moyer was able to quickly work his way around Blankenship gaining a top five position.
Frank quickly caught up to Francis and began to challenge for the big money position. Frank was hard on Francis’s tail and was able to pull along side several times but was unable to complete a pass. Francis seemed to have the straightaway speed, but Frank was able to take back everything in the corners catching back up to Francis lap after lap.
The caution was brought out yet again with 11 laps to go for the #21 car of Moyer who was slowing to a stop in turn four. Francis had been strong all night, but Frank’s #*1 Lester Buildings ride was hooked up and appeared ready take the lead at any point.
As the race resumed the lead remained unchanged, but Dale McDowell’s #17M Shaw Race Cars/S&H Motorsports/Dover Cylinder Head/Racetek/Petroff Towing/ J&J Steel/New Vision Graphics/Rocket Chassis Pontiac Grand Prix began to challenge the Rick Eckert’s #24 Raye Vest Excavating/Rocket Chassis Ford Taurus for third. With seven laps to go McDowell went low on the front chute, running underneath Eckert ant taking the final podium position. The top three running order remained unchanged as they finished out the 75 lap feature.
“I was saving some until the end,” said a triumphant Francis of his $40,000 win. “I’ve had a tendency lose these things on the last lap and didn’t want it to happen again.” Francis also thanked Larry Mooring of Mooring Motorsports and his crew Ronny Stuckey and Chris Burton as well as sponsors Mopar and Valvoline for helping him get to victory lane.
Second place finisher Chub Frank had a strong run working his way up from a seventh starting position. “The car was good but we just came up a little short,” said Frank. “We lost a lot of ground on that last restart and the track was so fast it was hard to make it up.”
McDowell had raced Eckert for position most of the night and stated, “The track was wet and fast all night and it made real hard pass. I saw Rick (Eckert) push out a little so I took advantage of it and got a round him that way. This was kind of a survival race, but I haven’t been able to survive lately so this feels good.”
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series will make there next appearance in Davenport, IA at Davenport Speedway on Tuesday, August 10th.
FEATURE (75L):
1 15 - Steve Francis $40,000
2 1* - Chub Frank $15,000
3 17M - Dale McDowell $7,500
4 24 - Rick Eckert $5,000
5 75 - Bart Hartman $3,500
6 44 - Clint Smith $3,000
7 23 - John Blankenship $2,500
8 9 - Dan Schlieper $2,250
9 21 - Billy Moyer $2,000
10 O - Scott Bloomquist $2,000
11 1 - Josh Richards $2,000
12 29 - Darrell Lanigan $2,000
13 12 - Rick Aukland $2,000
14 39 - Tim McCreadie $2,000
15 E1 - Mike Balzano $2,000
16 25 - Kerry Hanson $2,000
17 22 - Randy Shilling $2,000
18 5 - Eddie Kirchoff $2,000
19 4 - Harold Schill Jr. $2,000
20 OO - Mitch Johnson $2,000
21 10 - Mike Balcaen $2,000
22 50 - Jeff Wildung $2,000
23 42 - Terry Casey $2,000
24 92 - John Seitz $2,000
TIME TRIALS:
1 24 - Rick Eckert 18.022
2 29 - Darrell Lanigan 18.097
3 21 - Billy Moyer 18.277
4 15 - Steve Francis 18.282
5 75 - Bart Hartman 18.286
6 39 - Tim McCreadie 18.305
7 1* - Chub Frank 18.307
8 25 - Kerry Hanson 18.365
9 50 - Jeff Wildung 18.375
10 17M - Dale McDowell 18.395
11 44 - Clint Smith 18.463
12 5 - Eddie Kirchoff 18.522
13 1 - Josh Richards 18.555
14 9 - Dan Schlieper 18.567
15 42 - Terry Casey 18.573
16 O - Scott Bloomquist 18.602
17 E1 - Mike Balzano 18.678
18 23 - John Blankenship 18.710
19 10 - Mike Balcaen 18.888
20 12 - Rick Aukland 18.892
21 12S - Brad Seng 18.924
22 OO - Mitch Johnson 19.040
23 OT - Troy Olsan 19.080
24 92 - John Seitz 19.152
25 5M - John Vandenberg 19.225
26 3M - Greg Meyer 19.342
27 O1 - Myron Tschakert 19.360
28 16 - Chad Ohnstad 19.432
29 22 - Randy Shilling 19.616
30 4 - Harold Schill Jr. 19.643
31 6M - Corky Thomas 19.782
33 37 - Roger Gendron 19.788
34 U1 - Dave Tyrchniewiecz 19.834
35 11 - Troy Schill 19.949
36 12A - Matt Aukland 20.428
LAST CHANCE 1: Dan Schlieper, Harold Schill Jr., Randy Shilling.
LAST CHANCE 2: Rick Aukland, Mike Balcaen, John Seitz.
HEAT 1: Rick Eckert
HEAT 2: Darrell Lanigan
HEAT 3: Billy Moyer
HEAT 4: Steve Francis
DASH: Darrell Lanigan, Steve Francis, Rick Eckert, Billy Moyer.
