CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THE KNOXVILLE LATE MODEL NATIONALS!
by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA, September 28, 2013 – Darrell Lanigan made up for some hard luck in years past to win his first Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals at the Knoxville Raceway Saturday night. The Union, Kentucky driver pocketed $40,000 for the win.
Josh Richards, who swept the first two nights of qualifying in the event, took the lead in the 100-lap event early on. Except for Dale McDowell edging ahead of him on lap seven, he held the point for the first nineteen laps. Lanigan advanced to third on lap eleven and he was second a pair of circuits later. He shot under Richards for the point on lap twenty.
At the 25-lap mark, Lanigan led Richards, McDowell, Jason Feger and AJ Diemel. The first caution of the event flew on lap 32 for Jared Landers, who blew a right rear tire. Another came seven laps later when Jimmy Owens came to a stop in turn four. At the time, Richards was challenging the leader and appeared to be ready to make a pass.
The next eight laps saw two more cautions, one for Brandon Sheppard, who got in the wall, and a second for Landers, who stopped on the backstretch. At the halfway point, Lanigan led Richards, McDowell, Fegers and a charging Billy Moyer.
The lead trio remained the same until lap 81, when Moyer shot by Feger for third. Richards was all over Lanigan, and took the lead back on lap 84. The lead pair worked hard in traffic in an epic battle, but with six laps to go, Eddie Carrier Jr. flipped in turn three, bringing the red flag. A six lap Dash to the checkers saw Richards leading Lanigan, Moyer, Feger and Don O’Neal.
It was not to be, however, as O’Neal got into Feger, who turned on his side in turn two. McDowell, Scott Bloomquist, and several other cars were involved in the incident. On the ensuing restart, Lanigan was able to get around Richards to complete lap 95 and went on to win ahead of the “Rocket Man”. Tim McCreadie completed a late charge to finish third, ahead of hard-charger, Steve Francis and Moyer. John Blankenship, Brady Smith, Bloomquist, Owens and Chad Simpson completed the top ten.
Earlier in the evening, Steve Lance Jr. won the D main, Brian Birkhofer took the C main and Morgan Bagley took the 20-lap B main in a record 6:19.0.
“My tires were getting over the berm, I was running so hard,” said Lanigan in Victory Lane. “Once I had the cautions, my car got good again. I needed that restart at the end, and this is unbelievable. Anytime you can win the Knoxville Nationals, it’s at the top of the crown jewels. The car was phenomenal.”
10th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals Championship Results
D main (started), 12 laps, 3:56.6: 1. 48x, Steve Lance Jr., Brimfield, IL (3); 2. 3x, Skip Frey, Swisher, IA (2); 3. s1, Michael Smith, Vienna, WV (1); 4. 77A, Dustin Walker, Peculiar, MO (4) / 5. 15c, Curt Schroeder, Ames, IA (7); 6. R21, Ray Sveeggen, Beresford, SD (5); 7. 27, Greg Kimmons, Pleasant Plains, IL (6); 8. 83, Dennis Vandermeesch, Springfield, IL (8); 9. 51E, Stewart Hayward, Calgary, ALB, Can. (9) DNS – 00, Jesse Stovall, Billings, MO, 22B, Jonathan Brauns, Muscatine, IA, 15R, Brian Harris, Davenport, IA
C main (started), 15 laps, NT: 1. 15B, Brian Birkhofer, Muscatine, IA (6); 2. 56E, Andy Eckrich, Oxford, IA (1); 3. 58, Dave Eckrich, Oxford, IA (4); 4. 16, Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA (9) 5. 21B, Rich Bell, Sheffield, IL (5); 6. 29, Spencer Diercks, Davenport, IA (13) 7. 5m, Mike Fryer, Freeport, IL (11); 8. 56, Chris Spieker, Massena, IA (10) / 9. 93, Jay Johnson, West Burlington, IA (17); 10. 21T, Travis Dickes, Madison, NE (15); 11. Steve Lance Jr. (19); 12. Michael Smith (21); 13. 99D, Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown, IA (16); 14. 21JR, Billy Moyer Jr., Batesville, AR (2); 15. Dustin Walker (20); 16. 7R, Kent Robinson, Bloomington, IN (3); 17. Skip Frey (18); 18. 22, Charlie McKenna, Clear Lake, IA (8); 19. 9T, Tim Isenberg, Marshfield, WI (14); 20. 48, Tim Lance, Brimfield, IL (7); 21. 58x, Ray Guss Jr., Milan, IL (12); DNS – 32J, Jason Jaggers, Wyanet, IL
B main (started), 20 laps, 6:19.0 (NTR): 1. 14m, Morgan Bagley, Longview, TX (1); 2. 50, Denny Eckrich, Tiffin, IA (10); 3. 18B, Shannon Babb, Moweaqua, IL (4); 4. 56J, Tony Jackson Jr., Lebanon, MO (3); 5. 24, Ryan Unzicker, El Paso, IL (2); 6. 15K, Justin Kay, Wheatland, IA (9) / 7. 11, Austin Hubbard, Seaford, DE (6); 8. 18, Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS (12); 9. Brian Birkhofer (17); 10. 98, Jason Rauen, Farley, IA (14); 11. 20x, Rodney Sanders, Happy, TX (5); 12. 77m, Jason McBride, Carbondale, IL (13); 13. Tyler Bruening (20); 14. Mike Fryer (23); 15. 40, Joel Callahan, Dubuque, IA (8); 16. 75, Terry Phillips, Springfield, MO (15); 17. 28E, Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL (11); 18. 3s, Brian Shirley, Chatham, IL (16); 19. Andy Eckrich (18); 20. Dave Eckrich (19); 21. 51, Matt Furman, Columbus, OH (7); 22. Chris Spieker (24); 23. Rich Bell (21); 24. Spencer Diercks (22) DNS – 7, Ricky Weiss, Headingley, MB, Can., 5B, Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN
A main (started), 100 laps, NT: 1. 29x, Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY (3); 2. 1, Josh Richards, Shinnston, WV (2); 3. 39, Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY (6); 4. 15, Steve Francis, Ashland, KY (22); 5. 21, Billy Moyer, Batesville, AR (14); 6. 23, John Blankenship, Williamson, WV (12); 7. 2, Brady Smith, Solon Springs, WI (21); 8. 0, Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN (9); 9. 20, Jimmy Owens, Newport, TN (13); 10. 25x, Chad Simpson, Mt. Vernon, IA (19); 11. 31, Jason Utter, Columbus Junction, IA (15); 12. Ryan Unzicker (29); 13. Dennis Erb Jr. (31, pr.); 14. 25, Jason Feger, Bloomington, IL (5); 15. 71, Don O’Neal, Martinsville, IN (11); 16. 17M, Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA (1); 17. 28, Eddie Carrier Jr., Salt Rock, WV (17); 18. 19R, Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA (10); 19. 99JR, Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfort, IL (24); 20. Denny Eckrich (26); 21. Billy Moyer Jr. (32, pr.); 22. 5, Jared Landers, Batesville, AR (20); 23. 28M, Jimmy Mars, Menomonie, WI (7); 24. 44, Earl Pearson Jr., Jacksonville, FL (8); 25. B5, Brandon Sheppard, Berlin, IL (18); 26. 58D, AJ Diemel, Elk Mound, WI (4); 27. Shannon Babb (27); 28. Morgan Bagley (25); 29. 32s, Chris Simpson, Oxford, IA (23); 30. 57J, Bub McCool, Vicksburg, MS (16); 31. Justin Kay (30); 32. Tony Jackson Jr. (28). Lap Leaders: Richards 1-6, McDowell 7, Richards 8-19, Lanigan 20-83, Richards 84-94, Lanigan 95-100. Hard-charger: Francis.