New Yorker Captures National Tour’s Visit To North Carolina Track For Second Straight Season

PINE HALL, NC – April 20, 2013 – Something about 311 Motor Speedway agrees with Tim McCreadie.

The 39-year-old star from Watertown, N.Y., drove to a convincing victory in Saturday night’s 50-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series at the half-mile oval – the second consecutive year that his first win of the season on the national tour came at the Tar Heel State track.

McCreadie ran a virtually flawless race after surging off the outside pole to grab the lead from front-row partner Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., at the initial green flag. He paced the entire distance in his Sweeteners Plus Warrior car, turning back just a brief late-race challenge from Rick Eckert of York, Pa., en route to a $10,650 payday.

Eckert settled for his third runner-up finish of the 2013 season, steering his Team Zero by Bloomquist machine under the checkered flag 1.046 seconds behind McCreadie. The 2001 WoO LMS champion advanced from the ninth starting spot.

Richards slipped to third at the finish in his father Mark’s Rocket Chassis house car but maintained the WoO LMS points lead. Casey Roberts of Toccoa, Ga., moved up one spot to register a career-best World of Outlaws finish of fourth in his Capital Race Car and Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., placed fifth in the AES Racing Barry Wright car after starting third and running as high as second.

McCreadie ended a 31-race winless streak on the WoO LMS, dating back to June 22, 2012, at Quebec’s Autodrome Granby. That victory north of the border was his third in a nine-race span – a stretch of success that he hopes to extend to a greater degree this season.

“It’s fun to be up front,” said McCreadie, who recorded his 21^st career win on the WoO LMS. “This is where I believe this Sweeteners team should be. We’re starting to show through. We’ve been way better this year than we were last year already and our goal is to keep everything rolling.”

McCreadie, who celebrated his 39^th birthday on April 12, credited his prime starting spot for propelling him to a breakout triumph.

“That kid who drew the (No. 2) pill probably helped me out the most tonight,” said McCreadie, whose outside pole start was picked for him in the A-Main redraw by nine-year-old Nate Hooker of Danbury, N.C. “It just gets so dirty when you’re behind cars here it’s hard to maneuver, so being up front was definitely where I needed to be.”

McCreadie controlled the action following each of the race’s five restarts and maintained a steady edge ranging from a half to a full second throughout the distance. But he had to contend with Eckert, who reached second with a pass of Richards on a lap-26 restart, before securing the checkered flag.

“You’re never confident with the caliber of guys that are racing with us,” said McCreadie, the 2006 WoO LMS titlist. “I know one thing, and that’s (with) one mistake they’re gonna make you look silly, so we just tried to hold our own. The cushion was good and I just lived on it.

“I got some signals (from crewmen) that somebody was closing (using the bottom groove), but you just don’t know what to do. I ran 35-plus laps up there on the lip so it’s hard to just all of a sudden hang a left and run the bottom. But after I heard somebody under me I moved down and just tried to stay as straight as I could and hold on.”

The driver who made McCreadie alter his line was Eckert, who reached second place with a pass of Richards on a lap-26 restart and then slowly reeled in McCreadie. On lap 38, with lapped traffic looming ahead, Eckert pulled to the inside of McCreadie rounding turns three and four, but McCreadie fought off the 47-year-old’s bid and never felt serious pressure again.

“He was running that top and he left me a lot of room there getting into (turn) three,” said Eckert. “I changed my line, opened up my corner (entry) and got to where I was really making time on him. Then he slipped one time (on lap 38) – he pushed and got bent hard, and I got beside him (on the inside of turns three and four).

“Well, he saw me down there, and after that he moved down. After I showed my nose one time he made sure he was on the bottom coming off of four, and he even moved down into three. That got me down there in the dust to where I could barely keep up.”

Five caution flags slowed the event, including three involving WoO LMS regulars. Scott James of Bright, Ind., slowed on lap nine with a broken left-rear wheel bearing that ultimately caused him to retire his Warrior Chassis house car; rookie Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky., spun into the inside wall on the homestretch on lap 15 after Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., slowed and was hit from behind by Ricky Weeks of Rutherfordton, N.C.; and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., relinquished seventh place on lap 22 when he slowed with a broken left-front upper A-frame (he returned five laps down).

Other cautions were caused by Chris Ferguson of Mt. Airy, N.C., who slowed on a lap-26 restart, and Dennis Franklin of Gaffney, S.C., who rolled to a stop in turn four on lap 40.

WoO LMS rookie Morgan Bagley enjoyed a solid night, advancing from the 14^th starting spot to score a career-best tour finish of sixth. Kennedy Motorsports teammates Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., and Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., were seventh and eighth, respectively, after recovering from flat tires during qualifying (Fuller in time trials, Clanton on the last lap of his heat); WoO LMS rookie Dillon Wood of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., was a season-best ninth after starting 23^rd with a provisional because mechanical trouble during heat action (ball spline broke off the transmission) forced him into his backup car; and Scott Autry of Autryville, N.C., rounded out the top 10.

Roberts topped the 29-car field in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials, earning his first-ever WoO LMS fast-time honor with a lap of 16.254 seconds.

Heat winners were Davenport, Lanigan and Richards, and Clanton captured the B-Main.

The WoO LMS heads to Tennessee next weekend for a massive tripleheader. The swing kicks off on Fri., April 26, at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville and then continues to Tazewell Speedway on Sat., April 27, and Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel on Sun., April 28.

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 World of Outlaws Late Model Series at 311 Motor Speedway (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):

1. (2) Tim McCreadie/50 $10,650

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

3. (1) Josh Richards/50 $3,650

4. (5) Casey Roberts/50 $3,000

5. (3) Jonathan Davenport/50 $2,050

6. (14) Morgan Bagley/50 $2,600

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

8. (19) Shane Clanton/50 $1,850

9. (23) Dillon Wood/50 $1,250

10. (11) Scott Autry/50 $1,150

11. (20) Eric Wells/50 $1,650

12. (16) Chub Frank/50 $1,550

13. (10) Justin Labonte/50 $950

14. (18) Jeff Smith/50 $950

15. (6) Darrell Lanigan/45 $1,500

16. (15) Dennis Franklin/38 $800

17. (8) Tim Allen/25 $770

18. (13) Scott James/22 $1,300

19. (7) Bub McCool/22 $1,280

20. (12) Chris Ferguson/22 $700

21. (22) Ricky Weeks/17 $700

22. (21) Dustin Mitchell/16 $700

23. (24) Billy Hicks/13 $750

24. (4) Clint Smith/8 $1,250

* Earnings include Winners Circle program and cash contingency award bonuses

Time of Race: 31 Mins., 44.895 Secs.

Margin of Victory: 1.046 Secs.

Yellow Flags: 5 (Laps 9, 15, 22, 22, 40)

Lap Leaders: McCreadie (1-50)

Provisional Starters: Wood, Hicks

Rookie of the Race: Bagley ($250)

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

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

1. 101-Casey Roberts/Toccoa, GA 16.254

2. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 16.272

3. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 16.285

4. 49-Jonathan Davenport/Blairsville, GA 16.308

5. 17-Tim Allen/Kannapolis, NC 16.310

6. 21-Chris Ferguson/Mt. Holly, NC 16.324

7. 44L-Justin Labonte/Trinity, NC 16.329

8. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 16.349

9. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 16.397

10. 57J-Bub McCool/Vicksburg, MS 16.402

11. 18-Eric Wells/Hazard, KY 16.473

12. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 16.474

13. 25-Shane Clanton/Fayetteville, GA 16.481

14. A1-Scott Autry/Autryville, NC 16.531

15. 2-Dennis Franklin/Gaffney, SC 16.563

16. 1W-Dillon Wood/New Smyrna Beach, FL 16.387***

17. 14M-Morgan Bagley/Longview, TX 16.665

18. 1M-Ricky Weeks/Rutherfordton, NC 16.684

19. 1G-Scott James/Bright, IN 16.702

20. 38-Billy Hicks/Mt. Airy, NC 16.796

21. 51-Dustin Mitchell/Pine Level, NC 16.876

22. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 16.964

23. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 16.998

24. 70-Jeff Smith/Dallas, NC 17.118

25. 6-Chris Blackwell/Grays Creek, NC 17.314

26. 31-Ron Shultz/Cashtown, PA 17.457

27. 618-Kevin Wilson/Stoneville, NC 17.561

28. 72-Mike Parker/Eastover, NC 17.704

29. 07-Brian Ledbetter/Dallas, NC 18.051

Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Davenport, Roberts, McCool, Labonte, James, Frank, Clanton, Blackwell, Parker, Wood

Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Lanigan, C. Smith, Allen, Autry, Bagley, Fuller, Wells, Shultz, Hicks, Ledbetter

Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Richards, McCreadie, Eckert, Ferguson, Franklin, J. Smith, Mitchell, Weeks, Wilson

B-Main (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Clanton, Wells, Mitchell, Weeks, Blackwell, Hicks, Ledbetter, Wilson, Wood, Shultz (DNS) 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): Jonathan Davenport

Eibach Springs (one free spring to each B-Main winner): Eric Wells

VP Race Fuels ‘Nice Jugs’ Award: (One VP 5-gallon container to fastest qualifier who misses A-Main): Ron Shultz

Wrisco Aluminum (3 sheets of aluminum to A-Main winner only): Tim McCreadie

Armor All (One case of product to highest-finishing non-WoO team in A-Main): Jeff Smith

Comp Cams ($50 certificate to A-Main winner): Rick Eckert

QuarterMaster ($100 certificate to A-Main winner, $50 certificate to 5^th-place finish): Tim McCreadie/Darrell Lanigan

MSD Ignition ($50 cash to A-Main winner): Tim McCreadie

STP ($50 cash to 2^nd-place finisher in A-Main): Rick Eckert

XS Power ($50 cash to 3^rd-place finisher in A-Main): Morgan Bagley

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

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

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

American Race Wheels ($50 cash to 7^th-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Wells

VP Race Fuels ($50 cash to 8^th-place finisher in A-Main): Shane Clanton

Edelbrock Manifolds ($50 cash to 9^th-finisher in A-Main): Dillon Wood

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

XS Power ($60 product certificate to 11^th-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Wells

Cometic Gasket ($50 cash to 12^th-place finisher in A-Main): Chub Frank

JRI Shocks ($50 cash to 13^th-place finisher in A-Main): Bub McCool

Super Flow Dynos ($50 cash to 14^th-place finisher in A-Main): Jeff Smith

JE Pistons (one complete set of JE Pro Seal rings to 16^th-place finisher in A-Main, redeemable w/next purchase of set): Scott James

Klotz Lubricants ($50 cash to 17^th-place finisher in A-Main): Scott James

Roush Yates ($50 gift card to 18^th-place finisher in A-Main): Ricky Weeks

QuarterMaster ($50 certificate to 19^th-place finisher in A-Main): Bub McCool

Arizona Sport Shirts ($100 certificate to 20^th-place finisher in A-Main): Dustin Mitchell

JE Pistons (one complete set of JE Pro Seal rings to 21^st-place finisher in A-Main, redeemable w/next purchase of set): Ricky Weeks

Roush Yates ($50 gift card to 22^nd-place finisher in A-Main): Billy Hicks

MSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24^th-place finisher in A-Main): Billy Hicks

XS Power ‘Power Move of the Race’ ($60 product certificate): Rick Eckert

Roush Yates ($25 gift card to driver who leads most laps in the A-Main): Tim McCreadie

2013 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of April 20 – 10 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/points/deficit to leader):

1. Josh Richards 1424

2. Shane Clanton 1412 (-12)

3. Rick Eckert 1370 (-54)

4. Darrell Lanigan 1358 (-66)

5. Tim McCreadie 1316 (-108)

6. Eric Wells 1278 (-146)

7. Scott James 1272 (-152)

8. Tim Fuller 1268 (-156)

9. Morgan Bagley 1242 (-182)

10. Chub Frank 1236 (-188)

11. Bub McCool 1216 (-208)

12. Clint Smith 1148 (-276)

13. Dillon Wood 1058 (-366)

14. Brandon Sheppard 942 (-482)

15. Casey Roberts 912 (-512)

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: American Racing Custom Wheels (Official Custom Wheel), Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), KMC (Official Custom Truck Wheel), 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 Gasket, Comp Cams, Dominator Race Products, Edelbrock, Eibach Springs, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, MSD Ignition, Ohlins Shocks, QuarterMaster, Roush Yates Performance Parts, Superflow Dynos, Wrisco Aluminum and XS Power Racing Batteries; along with manufacturer sponsors Capital Race Cars, Integra Shocks, GRT Chassis, Jake’s Carts, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis, TNT Rescue, and Warrior Chassis.