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Eckert Downs Lanigan For First World of Outlaws Late Model Series Victory Of 2013 At Gillette Thunder Speedway

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World of Outlaws Late Model SeriesWild West Tour Event In Wyoming Ends Pennsylvanian’s Season-Long Pursuit Of Checkered Flag

GILLETTE, WY – July 9, 2013 – Rick Eckert’s turn to lead the World of Outlaws Late Model Series pack finally came on Tuesday night at Gillette Thunder Speedway.

The 47-year-old star from York, Pa., broke into Victory Lane for the first time this season on the national circuit, passing defending series champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., for the top spot on lap 18 and then holding on to capture the Wild West Tour’s ‘Cowboy 40.’

After registering four runner-up finishes in 2013 without grabbing a checkered flag, Eckert was excited to at long last bag his milestone 30th career win on the WoO LMS. His last victory came on Oct. 10, 2012, at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C.

“We’ve been so close so many times this year and haven’t got it done,” said Eckert, who ranks third on the alltime WoO LMS win list. “You come to win every race, and when you don’t get it done for like 27 races (entering Tuesday night’s action) it’s not very good on your morale or your team. They’ve worked very hard to try and get us a win, they’ve done their job – and I just haven’t got my job done.

“Finally tonight we had all the pieces together and got the job done. Hopefully there will be some more to come.”

Lanigan, 43, started from the pole position and led laps 1-17, but he had to settle for second place after being unable to regain command from Eckert. The circuit’s winningest driver this season fell short in his bid for two straight victories on the Wild West Tour, crossing the finish line 0.884 of a second behind Eckert.

Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., marched forward from the ninth starting spot to finish a strong third, nearly five seconds behind Eckert. Seventh-starter Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., placed fourth after climbing as high as third early in the distance and WoO LMS rookie Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky., who started 11 th, slipped into fifth place in the final laps and finished there for his second consecutive top-five outing.

Eckert started third in his self-owned Team Zero by Bloomquist car – a welcomed position for the green flag after he picked the worst starting spot possible in the feature redraw at the first two events on the Wild West Tour. He immediately snatched second place when the race began and chased Lanigan’s Rocket machine until surging by for the lead off the inside of turn four on lap 18.

“He got to rolling that middle (lane) in (turns) one and two and I just got to him,” Eckert said of his pursuit of Lanigan. “It got a slippery spot out and in (the corners), and there was one spot of brown through the middle – and that was the key thing. I just started aiming for those brown spots, and as it got more technical it got more into my favor.

“I think (Lanigan) was a little too tight to hit the brown spots. He ran a good wide, hustle line, but he couldn’t cross back to the brown spots like I could.”

Eckert’s pace was slowed by just one caution flag once he gained command, on lap 25 when David Karst of Casper, Wyo., spun into an inside marker tire in turn two just a short distance in front of Eckert. He handled the restart and smoothly negotiated lapped traffic down the stretch to become the 10 th different WoO LMS A-Main winner this season.

Lanigan, who won the 2009 WoO LMS event at the one-third-mile Gillette oval, felt he let a golden opportunity to score his eighth win of the season slip through his fingers.

I just gave him the bottom (groove),” said Lanigan. “It’s my own fault. When we were lapping cars (early) we were running a groove in the middle and coming off the bottom and I thought we were pretty good, but it was definitely better around the very bottom.”

Smith, 48, briefly challenged Lanigan for second on the lap-25 restart before settling into the third position for the remainder of the distance. It was just the second top-five finish of the season for ‘Cat Daddy,’ who reached third place on a lap-16 restart following a caution flag for a blown right-rear tire on the car driven by Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.

“My car was good,” Smith said of his Rocket mount. “We’ve been working hard and again Lanigan helped me with some setup tips. We’re making up ground – and if I can get my motor program straightened out a little bit better, I think we got something to compete. I had my RaceTek 412 (engine) back in tonight and it’s good on these short tracks, but we need a little more for the big tracks.”

Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., started and finished sixth, but he had to rally after slipping out of the top 10 on the opening lap when he took evasive action between turns one and two to avoid the sideways Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga. Clanton, who started fourth, maintained control of his car and spent much of the distance running in fifth before settling for a seventh-place finish.

Finishing in positions 8-10 was rookie Morgan Bagley of Longview, Texas, who survived a slide over the backstretch berm on lap four; fifth-starter Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., whose points lead shrank to 30 points over Clanton and 32 over Lanigan; and Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.

Ohlins Shocks Time Trials were split into ‘A’ and ‘B’ groups, with the first half competing for starting positions in heats one and two and the second half racing against the clock to align heats three and four.

Lanigan’s lap of 13.641 seconds during Group ‘B’ was the quickest overall, earning him not only his fourth WoO LMS fast-time honor of 2013 – tying him with Richards for the lead in the category – but also a new track record. He bested the standard of 13.971 seconds set by Doar in 2009.

Heat winners were Clanton, Bagley, Lanigan and Doar. The B-Mains were captured by Scott Lewis of Henderson, Colo., and Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.

The WoO LMS Wild West Tour will be idle on Wednesday for teams to travel to the swing-ending doubleheader on Thursday night (July 11) at Red River Co-op Speedway in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Friday night (July 12) at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D.

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

Results of WoO Late Model Series ‘Cowboy 40’ at Gillette Thunder Speedway (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):

1. (3) Rick Eckert/40 $8,700

2. (1) Darrell Lanigan/40 $4,650

3. (9) Clint Smith/40 $3,250

4. (7) Jimmy Mars/40 $2,350

5. (11) Eric Wells/40 $2,900

6. (6) Tim McCreadie/40 $2,250

7. (4) Shane Clanton/40 $1,950

8. (8) Morgan Bagley/40 $1,850

9. (5) Josh Richards/40 $1,850

10. (15) Brady Smith/40 $1,150

11. (16) Bub McCool/40 $1,550

12. (12) Chub Frank/40 $1,450

13. (18) Tim Fuller/40 $1,400

14. (10) Eric Mass/39 $1,300

15. (2) Pat Doar/39 $750

16. (20) John Mason/39 $700

17. (14) Bumper Jones/39 $760

18. (13) John Winge/39 $640

19. (23) David Karst/38 $620

20. (19) Scott Anderson/37 $610

21. (24) Chris Dunn/35 $600

22. (17) Scott Lewis/25 $600

23. (21) Mike Stadel/17 $600

24. (22) Dan Henrickson/13 $625

* Earnings include Winners Circle program and cash contingency award bonuses

Time of Race: 17 Mins., 43.315 Secs.

Margin of Victory: 0.884 Secs.

Yellow Flags: 2 (laps 16, 25)

Lap Leaders: Lanigan (1-17); Eckert (18-40)

Provisional Starters: Karst, Dunn

Rookie of the Race: Wells ($250)

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

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

Group ‘A’

1. 25-Shane Clanton/Zebulon, GA 13.708

2. 14M-Morgan Bagley/Longview, TX 13.822

3. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 13.837

4. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 13.902

5. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 14.317

6. 44M-Eric Mass/Rapid City, SD 14.318

7. 17J-John Winge/Sioux Falls, SD 14.522

8. 99-Scott Lewis/Henderson, CO 14.633

9. F16-Scott Anderson/Spearfish, SD 14.703

10. 19-Bumper Jones/Mesill Park, NM 14.868

11. 81-Mike Stadel/Rapid City, SD 15.264

12. 27J-Chris Johnson/Rapid City, SD 15.587

13. 01-Jason Snyder/Gillette, WY 15.971

14. 33A-Austin Long/Gillette, WY 16.106

15. 27H-Stewart Hayward/Calgary, Alberta 16.749

16. 23DB-Maklain Harrison/Gillette, WY 17.499

Group ‘B’

1. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 13.641 (NTR)

2. 11-Pat Doar/New Richmond, WI 13.698

3. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 13.843

4. 28-Jimmy Mars/Menomonie, WI 13.972

5. 18-Eric Wells/Hazard, KY 13.981

6. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 14.079

7. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 14.123

8. 57J-Bub McCool/Vicksburg, MS 14.137

9. 2-Brady Smith/Solon Springs, WI 14.191

10. E5K-Eddie Kirchoff/Gillette, WY 14.352

11. 72-John Mason/Millersburg, OH 14.499

12. 97-Dan Henrickson/Rapid City, SD 14.639

13. 33-David Karst/Casper, WY 14.722

14. 0-Chris Dunn/Great Falls, MT 15.413

15. 12s-Jason Schierkolk/Casper, WY 15.516

16. 71-Morris Oberle/Lead, SD 15.979

Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Clanton, Eckert, C. Smith, Winge, Anderson, Stadel, Snyder, Hayward, Harrison

Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Bagley, Richards, Mass, Jones, Lewis, Johnson, Long, Robertson

Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Lanigan, McCreadie, Wells, B. Smith, Fuller, Mason, Karst, Schierkolk

Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Doar, Mars, Frank, McCool, Henrickson, Orberle, Dunn (DNS) Kirchoff

B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Lewis, Anderson, Stadel, Johnson, Snyder, Hayward, Harrison, Long

B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Fuller, Mason, Henrickson, Karst, Schierkolk, Oberle, Dunn

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): Rick Eckert

Eibach Springs (one free spring to each B-Main winner): Scott Lewis/John Mason

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

Wrisco Aluminum (3 sheets of aluminum to A-Main winner only): Darrell Lanigan

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

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

QuarterMaster ($100 certificate to A-Main winner, $50 certificate to 5th-place finish): Rick Eckert/Pat Doar

MSD Ignition ($50 cash to A-Main winner): Rick Eckert

STP ($50 cash to 2nd-place finisher in A-Main): Darrell Lanigan

XS Power ($50 cash to 3rd-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Wells

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

JE Pistons ($50 cash to 5th-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Wells

Dominator ($50 cash to 6th-place finisher in A-Main): Tim McCreadie

American Race Wheels ($50 cash to 7th-place finisher in A-Main): Morgan Bagley

VP Race Fuels ($50 cash to 8th-place finisher in A-Main): Brady Smith

Edelbrock Manifolds ($50 cash to 9th-finisher in A-Main): Josh Richards

Comp Cams ($50 cash to 10th-place finisher in A-Main): Bub McCool

XS Power ($60 product certificate to 11th-place finisher in A-Main): Bub McCool

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

JRI Shocks ($50 cash to 13th-place finisher in A-Main): Bumper Jones

Super Flow Dynos ($50 cash to 14th-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Mass

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

Klotz Lubricants ($50 cash to 17th-place finisher in A-Main): Bumper Jones

Roush Yates ($50 gift card to 18th-place finisher in A-Main): David Karst

QuarterMaster ($50 certificate to 19th-place finisher in A-Main): David Karst

Arizona Sport Shirts ($100 certificate to 20th-place finisher in A-Main): Scott Anderson

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

Roush Yates ($50 gift card to 22nd-place finisher in A-Main): Scott Lewis

MSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24th-place finisher in A-Main): Dan Henrickson

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): Rick Eckert

Reliable Painting Award (one free tire): Darrell Lanigan

2013 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of July 9 – 28 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/points/deficit to leader):

1. Josh Richards 3938

2. Shane Clanton 3908 (-30)

3. Darrell Lanigan 3906 (-32)

4. Rick Eckert 3836 (-102)

5. Tim McCreadie 3638 (-300)

6. Tim Fuller 3624 (-314)

7. Eric Wells 3622 (-316)

8. Morgan Bagley 3560 (-378)

9. Bub McCool 3552 (-386)

10. Chub Frank 3526 (-412)

11. Clint Smith 3392 (-546)

12. Scott James 1958 (-1980)

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. 

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