Georgia Driver Scores First World of Outlaws Late Model Series Win Of 2012 In Front Of Packed House

SPRING VALLEY, MN – July 7, 2012 – Shane Clanton showed some true NAPA Know How on Saturday night at Deer Creek Speedway.

The standout driver from Fayetteville, Ga., made all the right moves in the final laps of the 33^rd annual NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 Charity Late Model Race, holding off the two hottest drivers on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series to earn a thrilling victory before a standing-room-only crowd.

Clanton, 36, raced three-wide for the lead with Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., off turn two on the last lap before making a timely dive to the inside of the three-eighths-mile oval entering turn three, dulling his challengers’ momentum and preserving his first triumph of 2012 on the WoO LMS. His win in the kickoff event of the circuit’s ‘Wild West Tour’ was worth $11,650, including a $1,000 bonus from NAPA.

McCreadie, 38, settled for a runner-up finish in his Sweeteners Plus Warrior, just 0.217 of a second behind Clanton’s Kennedy Motorsports Capital Race Car. The 42-year-old Lanigan had his Rocket machine right on McCreadie’s rear bumper in third place at the conclusion of one of the most memorable three-car races to the finish in the history of the WoO LMS.

World of Outlaws veterans Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., in a Rocket, and Rick Eckert of York, Pa., in a Team Zero by Bloomquist car, finished fourth and fifth, respectively. They were about two seconds behind the winner at the checkered flag.

McCreadie and Lanigan entered Saturday’s special event, which was co-promoted by the Blooming Prairie (Minn.) Lions Club and Deer Creek’s Queensland family, having won eight of the last 13 WoO LMS A-Mains. Lanigan had five of those victories and McCreadie accounted for three.

But while the sizzling Outlaws ran in the second and third positions for the race’s last 21 laps, they were unable to shake Clanton from the top spot. The Peach State star started from the pole position and led the entire distance to secure his car owner, John Kennedy, a first-ever WoO LMS triumph in deserving fashion.

“It feels real good,” Clanton said of defeating McCreadie and Lanigan. “Just being able to keep pace with them two is a big deal because they’ve set a torrid pace the past month, but this night has been coming for us. We’ve been getting closer and closer to a (WoO LMS) win.

“We started on a roll at the Dream (Clanton’s captured the $100,000 crown-jewel event on June 9 at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway) and carried it over to last weekend (with a fourth-place finish in the Firecracker 100 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa). We should’ve had a car that could run second (in the Firecracker), but we got a little tight there at the end of the race and they beat me.”

No one outshined Clanton at Deer Creek. After the race’s lone caution flag, on lap 29, stopped Lanigan’s initial bids for the lead, Clanton withstood an all-out assault from both Lanigan and McCreadie over the final 10 laps to reach Victory Lane on the WoO LMS for the first time since July 19, 2011, at Gillette (Wyo.) Thunder Speedway.

Lanigan, who started sixth and reached second place by lap 22, ducked underneath Clanton several times to no avail before McCreadie used the extreme inside of the track to nip Lanigan for the runner-up spot as lap 48 was scored. McCreadie, who started third, stayed on the bottom of the track and pulled alongside Clanton at the start/finish line with the white flag flying.

But after McCreadie, Lanigan and Clanton stacked up three abreast through turn two on the last lap, Clanton made the move that decided the race. With a sudden charge to the inside of turn three, Clanton shut off his rivals’ hopes.

“With four laps to go I could see (Lanigan’s) nose just a little bit right in the middle of the corner,” said Clanton, who snapped a 36-race winless streak on the WoO LMS with his 16^th career victory. “As long as I just kept a good pace I could beat him off the corner.

“(After getting) the white flag I went into turn one and looked left and I see two cars, and I said, ‘Oh, no.’ I seen it was a red car and I knew McCreadie was on softer tires than what we (were running), so going down the back straightaway I said to myself, ‘Just go down there and take their line. You beat ‘em down the straightaway, it’s your racetrack.’

“So I did,” continued Clanton, who joined Lanigan as just the second driver to win at least one WoO LMS A-Main in each season since 2004. “I turned left and just protected the bottom there and didn’t let ‘em get beside me off turn four to beat to the line. I just held my pace and beat ‘em to the line.”

McCreadie attempted to go around the outside of Clanton after having his inside lane blocked, but he slid high and lost traction. Lanigan got bottled up behind McCreadie as well, ending any hope the current WoO LMS points leader had of vaulting from third to first in the final corners.

“He did what you had to do – he covered every lane,” McCreadie, who recorded his 12^th top-five finish in his last 14 WoO LMS starts, said of Clanton. “I should’ve stayed where I was at instead of trying to drive through the middle. I should’ve just slowed down even more and crabbed around the bottom. I probably could’ve still nipped him at the line.

“He just came down so fast that I got in the back of him, and when I did I lost the nose. I just couldn’t steer for a second. I got hung behind him in a drift.

“I don’t think anybody expected him to do that,” he added. “I got spooked I guess and slid up the track, and then it was over. We were close (to winning), but that’s not enough.”

Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., finished a quiet sixth, advancing from the 11^th starting spot. Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., placed seventh and jumped one spot in the WoO LMS points standings, overtaking Pat Doar of New Richmond, Wis., for ninth. Top-rookie Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss., was eighth, while brothers Chad Simpson of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and Chris Simpson of Oxford, Miss., were ninth and 10^th, respectively.

The lap-29 caution flag was disastrous for contenders Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., and Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, who were running third and fourth, respectively, when they were swept up in a backstretch tangle. Contact between several slower cars sent Mike Prochnow of Memononie, Wis., sideways in front of the leaders, and Smith, who started second and ran behind Clanton until being passed by Lanigan on lap 22, slammed into Prochnow with the right side of his machine. Birkhofer, meanwhile, slid into Smith’s car.

Smith limped into the pit area to have his car’s damage patched up and returned for the restart, but he only managed a 17^th-place finish. Birkhofer retired due to his car’s right-rear body damage without completing another lap.

Chad Simpson was the quick qualifier in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials, topping the 31-car field with a lap of 14.550 seconds. It was his second career WoO LMS fast-time honor.

Heat winners were Clint Smith, McCreadie and Clanton, and Prochnow captured the B-Main.

The WoO LMS ‘Wild West Tour’ continues on Tues., July 10, at Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, S.D.; Thurs., July 12, at Red River Co-op Speedway in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Fri., July 13, at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D.; and Sat., July 14, at North Central Speedway in Brainerd, Minn.

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 .

Results of WoO Late Model Series ‘NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50’ at Deer Creek Speedway (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):

1. (1) Shane Clanton/50 $11,650

2. (3) Tim McCreadie/50 $5,750

3. (4) Darrell Lanigan/50 $3,650

4. (6) Chub Frank/50 $3,050

5. (7) Rick Eckert/50 $2,650

6. (11) Jimmy Mars/50 $1,700

7. (12) Tim Fuller/50 $1,950

8. (9) Bub McCool/50 $2,150

9. (10) Chad Simpson/50 $1,800

10. (8) Chris Simpson/50 $1,150

11. (14) Jake Redetzke/50 $1,050

12. (13) Terry Casey/50 $1,000

13. (17) Vic Coffey/50 $1,500

14. (18) Kent Robinson/50 $1,500

15. (15) Jack Sullivan/50 $1,400

16. (16) Pat Doar/50 $1,350

17. (2) Clint Smith/50 $1,420

18. (25) Kyle Jumbeck/50 $750

19. (22) Rick Wendling/48 $730

20. (23) Jill George/47 $750

21. (5) Brian Birkhofer/28 $700

22. (19) Mike Prochnow/28 $700

23. (24) Brady Smith/28 $700

24. (21) Lance Matthees/27 $725

25. (20) Nick Herrick/3 $700

* Earnings include Winners Circle program and cash contingency award bonuses

Time of Race: 20 Mins., 47.296 Secs.

Margin of Victory: 0.217 Secs.

Yellow Flags: 1 (Lap 29)

Lap Leaders: Clanton (1-50)

Provisional Starters: George, B. Smith (WoO); Jumbeck (track)

Rookie of the Race: McCool ($250)

WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Chad Simpson ($500)

Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):

1. 25s-Chad Simpson/Mt. Vernon, IA 14.550

2. 28-Jimmy Mars/Menomonie, WI 14.685

3. 25-Shane Clanton/Fayetteville, GA 14.693

4. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 14.706

5. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 14.721

6. 15b-Brian Birkhofer/Muscatine, IA 14.796

7. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 14.797

8. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 14.854

9. 57J-Bub McCool/Vicksburg, MS 14.904

10. 2-Brady Smith/Solon Springs, WI 14.905

11. 32-Chris Simpson/Oxford, IA 14.906

12. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 14.945

13. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 15.123

14. 98-Jason Rauen/Farley, IA 15.124

15. 51-Matt Furman/Columbus, OH 15.127

16. 68-Mike Prochnow/Menomonie, WI 15.243

17. 27-Jake Redetzke/Eau Claire, WI 15.272

18. 78-Rick Wendling/Hazleton, IA 15.331

19. 6-Nick Herrick/Kenyon, MN 15.349

20. 32c-Vic Coffey/Caledonia, NY 15.407

21. 1s-Jack Sullivan/Greenbrier, AR 15.484

22. 42-Terry Casey/New London, WI 15.499

23. 90-Lance Matthees/Winona, MN 15.577

24. 7R-Kent Robinson/Bloomington, IN 15.624

25. 11-Pat Doar/New Richmond, WI 15.679

26. 33-Joe Ludemann/Grand Meadow, MN 15.925

27. 01-Kyle Jumbeck/Houston, MN 16.039

28. 40-Nick Kramer/Pine Island, MN 16.167

29. 35-Jerry Bloom/Grand Meadow, MN 16.239

30. 22-Jill George/Cedar Falls, IA 16.313

31. 65-Lucas Peterson/Grand Meadow, MN 16.387

Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): C. Smith, Lanigan, Eckert, Chad Simpson, Casey, Doar, Prochnow, Herrick, Kramer, Peterson, B. Smith

Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): McCreadie, Frank, Chris Simpson, Mars, Redetzke, Coffey, Matthees, Bloom, Rauen, Ludemann

Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Clanton, Birkhofer, McCool, Fuller, Sullivan, Robinson, Furman, Wendling, Jumbeck, George

B-Main (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Prochnow, Herrick, Matthees, Wendling, Bloom, Jumbeck, Furman, Ludemann, Kramer, Rauen, Peterson, B. Smith, George

World of Outlaws Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners:

Arizona Sport Shirts ($100 product certificate to 23^rd-place finisher I n A-Main or next highest w/decal): Lance Matthees

Armor All (one case of product to highest-finishing non-WoO team in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Chad Simpson

Cometic Gasket ($50 cash to 12^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Kent Robinson

Comp Cams ($50 cash to 10^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Chris Simpson

Comp Cams ($50 product certificate to A-Main winner or next highest w/decal): Shane Clanton

Dominator ($50 cash to 6^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Bub McCool

Eibach Springs (one free spring to each B-Main winner or next highest w/decal): Mike Prochnow

Gravely ($50 cash to 7^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Bub McCool

JE Pistons ($50 cash to 16^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Pat Doar

JE Pistons (one compete set of JE Pro Seal rings to 11^th-place finisher or next highest w/decal – $285 value): Terry Casey

JE Pistons (one complete set of JE Pro Seal rings to 21^st-place finisher or next highest w/decal – $285 value): Mike Prochnow

Klotz Synthetic Lubricants ($50 cash to 17^th-place finisher or next highest finisher): Jill George

MSD Ignition ($50 cash to A-Main winner or next highest w/decal): Shane Clanton

MSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Lance Matthees

Ohlins Pole Award ($50 cash to fast qualifier or next highest w/decal): Chad Simpson

Quartermaster ($100 product certificate to A-Main winner or next highest w/decal): Shane Clanton

Quartermaster ($50 product certificate to 5^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Rick Eckert

Quartermaster ($25 product certificate to 15^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Jack Sullivan

Roush-Yates Performance Products ($50 cash to 4^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Chub Frank

Roush-Yates Performance Products (carburetor repair kit to 18^th-place finish in A-Main or next highest w/decal – $100 value): Kyle Jumbeck

Roush-Yates Lap Leader Award (one pair of Wiley X Sunglasses to driver who leads most laps in A-Main): Shane Clanton

STP ($50 cash to 2^nd-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Tim McCreadie

SuperFlow ($50 cash to 14^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Kent Robinson

VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash to 9^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Chad Simpson

VP Racing Fuels ‘Nice Jugs Award’ (one VP 5-gallon container to fastest qualifier who misses A-Main or next highest with decal – $30 value): Lucas Peterson

WIX Filters ($50 cash to 13^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Vic Coffey

Wrisco Aluminum (three sheets of aluminum to A-Main winner if decal displayed – $200 value): Shane Clanton

XS Power ($50 cash to 3^rd-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Darrell Lanigan

XS Power ($60 product certificate to 8^th-place finisher in A-Main or next highest w/decal): Bub McCool

XS ‘Power Move of the Race’ ($60 product certificate): Tim McCreadie

2012 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of July 7 – 23 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/points/deficit to leader):

1. Darrell Lanigan 3274

2. Rick Eckert 3118 (-156)

3. Tim McCreadie 3092 (-182)

4. Chub Frank 3010 (-264)

5. Shane Clanton 3002 (-272)

6. Bub McCool 2870 (-404)

7. Vic Coffey 2832 (-442)

8. Clint Smith 2824 (-450)

9. Tim Fuller 2682 (-592)

10. Pat Doar 2672 (-602)

11. Kent Robinson 2584 (-690)

12. Jack Sullivan 2496 (-778)

13. John Lobb 2300 (-974)

14. Mike Marlar 1906 (-1368)

15. Jill George 1574 (-1700)

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Gravely Tractors (Official Lawn Equipment), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), Vicci (Official Uniform), 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 Gaskets, Comp Cams, Dominator Race Products, Eibach Springs, JE Pistons, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, MSD Ignition, Ohlins Shocks, QuarterMaster, Roush Yates Performance Parts, Superflow Dynos, Wix Filter, Wrisco Aluminum and XS Power Racing Batteries; along with manufacturer sponsors Integra Shocks, GRT Chassis, Jake’s Carts, Longacre, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis, TNT Rescue, and Warrior Chassis.