Richards Tops Late Battle To Claim Opening Night of Tyler County Speedway’s Jackpot 100 Weekend
Richards Tops Late Battle To Claim Opening Night of Tyler County Speedway’s Jackpot 100 Weekend
Three-Time World of Outlaws Late Model Series Champion Outduels Clanton & Overton to Thrill Home-State Crowd
MIDDLEBOURNE, W.Va. – May 23, 2015 – Josh Richards gave his home-state fans a performance to remember Saturday night at Tyler County Speedway.
Mastering the quarter-mile oval’s high groove, the three-time World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion from nearby Shinnston, W.Va., used a strong charge off of turn four to overtake race-long leader Brandon Overton on lap 37 of Saturday’s 40-lap WoO LMS main event and held off Shane Clanton’s final-lap challenge to score his second series victory of the season.
Richards topped Clanton by 0.733 seconds at the finish in in claiming his 51st career WoO LMS victory. The 27-year-old driver of the Valvoline-sponsored Rocket Chassis house car earned $8,675 for his second-career triumph at Tyler County Speedway.
“Those guys did a great job,” Richards said of Clanton and Overton’s efforts. “We were all racing hard. I knew Shane was right there on us. We just had to get what we could and luckily it worked out.”
Richards’ victory came on the opening night of Tyler County’s fourth annual Jackpot 100 Weekend. The WoO LMS doubleheader concludes on Sunday with another complete program.
Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., settled for second in Saturday’s feature, keeping his lead in the WoO LMS championship chase at 90 points over Richards, who leaped sixth-finishing Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., for second in the standings.
A fading Overton held on to third at the finish, just ahead of seventh-starting Chris Ferguson of Mount Holley, N.C., who earlier in the evening earned fast time honors for the third time in three WoO LMS appearances this season but couldn’t score his third straight series victory. Ninth-starting Tim Dohm of Cross Lanes, W.Va., rounded out the top five in a race slowed by five cautions.
After pressuring Overton for much of the race, Richards appeared to be headed for a runner-up finish when the track’s high line began to fade shortly after the halfway mark. But after Clanton muscled his way by Richards for second on lap 34, Richards gave the top groove another shot and began to make up ground.
Richards retook second from Clanton just two laps later and began closing quickly on the fading Overton. He pulled to the outside of Overton in turns one and two on lap 36 and drove hard into turns three and four.
Overton let his machine drift high exiting turn four in an attempt to block Richards’ momentum off the corner, but Richards used a crossover move to pull to the bottom of Overton down the front straightaway and completed the winning pass with another hard drive into turn one on lap 37.
“It seemed like (Overton) was fading a little bit at the end,” Richards said. “I just tried to go for the top. I knew I’d kick myself for not trying it, so if we would’ve got passed it would’ve been alright. But it worked out.”
Clanton, 39, cleared Overton for second one lap after Richards took the lead and closed on the leader in the final two laps. He took a look under Richards entering turn one on the final circuit, but his Weldbank Energy-sponsored Capital Race Cars house car drifted high exiting turn two, allowing Richards to edge away to the victory.
“I got to showing the nose to Overton there and he kept getting lower and lower,” Clanton said of his brief challenge on Overton for the lead. “Finally, Josh came back around us on that outside.
“We raced back by Overton there. I think we were a little bit better than Josh in the bottom, but he had a good car.”
Overton, 24, once again fell just short of earning his first-career WoO LMS victory, but the national tour’s Rookie of the Year leader added to his impressive season with his fourth top-three finish.
“I’ve lost three or four of these races now in the last three or four laps,” said Overton, who was making his first-ever appearance at Tyler County in his Doug and Cathy Varnadore-owned MasterSbilt by Huey machine. “I just don’t think we tightened up enough. We’ll try it again tomorrow and maybe we’ll hit it right.”
Lanigan, the three-time and defending WoO LMS champion, charged from his 20th starting spot to finish sixth, salvaging a night that began on a poor note when his primary car suffered mechanical problems just before hot laps. Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind., was seventh at the finish with Morgan Bagley of Longview, Texas, eighth. Former WoO LMS champion Rick Eckert of York, Pa., and Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky., rounded out the top 10.
The fourth annual Jackpot 100 Weekend concludes on Sunday with another complete program of WoO LMS action. Sunday’s slate features WoO LMS times trials, heat races, Last-Chance Showdowns and a 60-lap A-Main paying $10,000 to the winner.
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 atFacebook.com/
Results of World of Outlaws Late Model Series Jackpot 100 Night 1 at Tyler County Speedway (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (2) Josh Richards/40 $8,675
2. (6) Shane Clanton/40 $4,550
3. (1) Brandon Overton/40 $3,500
4. (7) Chris Ferguson/40 $2,350
5. (9) Tim Dohm/40 $2,500
6. (20) Darrell Lanigan/40 $2,250
7. (4) Steve Casebolt/40 $1,500
8. (10) Morgan Bagley/40 $1,850
9. (12) Rick Eckert/40 $1,900
10. (15) Eric Wells/40 $1,650
11. (3) Chris Garnes/40 $1,000
12. (16) Derek Doll/40 $950
13. (5) Frank Heckenast Jr./40 $1,400
14. (23) Chase Junghans/40 $1,350
15. (17) Chub Frank/40 $1,300
16. (18) Boom Briggs/40 $1,250
17. (19) Jordan Yaggy/40 $660
18. (21) Kyle Thomas/27 $640
19. (22) Anthony Kincade/26 $620
20. (13) Shane Hitt/26 $600
21. (8) Jared Hawkins/23 $600
22. (11) Tim McCreadie/23 $1,250
23. (14) Butch McGill/15 $600
24. (24) Mason Zeigler/3 $600
Time of Race: 21 Mins., 54 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.733 Secs.
Yellow Flags: Five (laps 4, 12, 15, 16 & 27)
Lap Leaders: Overton (1-36); Richards (37-40)
Provisional Starters: Junghans, Zeigler
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Tim Dohm ($500)
WoO LMS ‘Rookie of the Race’ Winner: Brandon Overton ($250)
Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/
Group A
1. 22-Chris Ferguson, Mount Holly, N.C., 12.503
2. 1-Josh Richards, Shinnston, W.Va., 12.608
3. 6T-Tim Dohm, Cross Lanes, W.Va., 12.890
4. c9-Steve Casebolt, Richmond, Ind., 12.935
5. 25z-Mason Zeigler, Chalk Hill, Pa., 12.938
6. 57-Kyle Thomas, Pennsboro, W.Va., 13.037
7. 99jr-Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfort, Ill., 13.096
8. 77-Jordan Yaggy, Rochester, Minn., 13.103
9. 5*-Shane Hitt, Buckhannon, W.Va., 13.137
10. 14m-Morgan Bagley, Longview, Texas, 13.219
11. 93-Pancho Lawler, Glenville, Pa., 13.226
12. 17-Zack Dohm, Cross Lanes, W.Va., 13.259
13. 1*-Chub Frank, Bear Lake, Pa., 13.270
14. 1MC-Butch McGill, West Union, W.Va., 13.276
15. 16-Matt Cochran, Williamsport, Pa., 13.278
16. S1-Steve Wilmoth, Clarksburg, W.Va., 13.340
17. 18c-Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., 13.408
18. 75-Steve Weigle, Middlebourne, W.Va., 13.420
19. 27-Jacob Hawkins, Fairmont, W.Va., 13.546
20. B1-Paul Wilmoth, Clarksburg, W.Va., no time
Group B
1. 76-Brandon Overton, Evans, Ga., 12.675
2. 42-Chris Garnes, Evans, W.Va., 12.854
3. 25-Shane Clanton, Zebulon, Ga., 12.905
4. 37-Jared Hawkins, Fairmont, W.Va., 13.021
5. 99B-Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, Pa., 13.038
6. 53C-Anthony Kincade, Zainesville, Ohio, 13.138
7. 18-Eric Wells, Hazard, Ky., 13.172
8. 7v-Rick Eckert, York, Pa., 13.182
9. 39-Tim McCreadie, Watertown, N.Y., 13.189
10. 87-Derek Doll, Greenwood, W.Va., 13.194
11. 29-Darrell Lanigan, Union, Ky., 13.215
12. 32B-Brian Baumberger, Jacobsburg, Ohio, 13.216
13. 44B-Colten Burdette, Parkersburg, W.Va., 13.263
14. 3-Scott Irvin, Pine Grove, W.Va., 13.408
15. 18s-Robbie Scott, Shinnston, W.Va., 13.441
16. 4-Brian Ligon, Augusta, Ga., 13.618
17. 7-Don Conley, Navarre, Ohio, 13.707
18. 1×1-Sonny Conley, New Martinsville, W.Va., 13.741
19. 85-Greg Baumberger, Jacobsburg, Ohio, 13.887
Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Ferguson, Heckenast, Dohm, Hitt, Frank, Junghans, Zeigler, Cochran, Jac. Hawkins, Lawler.
Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Richards, Casebolt, Bagley, McGill, Weigle, Yaggy, Thomas, Dohm, Wilmoth.
Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Clanton, Overton, McCreadie, Wells, Briggs, Lanigan, Burdette, G. Baumberger, Scott, D. Conley.
Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Jar. Hawkins, Garnes, Eckert, Doll, Irvin, Kincade, Ligon, B. Baumberger. DNS: S. Conley.
B-Main No. 1 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Frank, Yaggy, Thomas, Zeigler, Weigle, Junghans, Cochran, Jac. Hawkins, Z. Dohm, Lawler. DNS: S. Wilmoth.
B-Main No. 2 (10 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Briggs, Lanigan, Kinkade, Burdette, B. Baumberger, Ligon, G. Baumberger, Irvin, D. Conley, S. Conley. DNS: Scott.
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): Ferguson
Comp Cams ($50 certificate to A-Main winner): Richards
MSD Ignition ($50 cash to A-Main winner): Richards
Quartermaster ($100 certificate to A-Main winner): Clanton
Wrisco (three sheets of aluminum/certificate to A-Main winner): Richards
Mobil 1 ($50 cash to 4th-place finisher in A-Main): Casebolt
JE Pistons ($50 cash to 5th-place finisher in A-Main): Lanigan
Lincoln Welders ($50 cash to 6th-place finisher in A-Main): Casebolt
VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash to 8th-place finisher in A-Main): Eckert
Edelbrock ($50 cash to 9th-place finisher in A-Main): Eckert
Comp Cams ($50 cash to 10th-place finisher in A-Main): Wells
Cometic ($50 cash to 12th-place finisher in A-Main): Doll
JRI Shocks ($50 cash to 13th-place finisher in A-Main): Frank
Superflow Dynos ($50 cash to 14th-place finisher in A-Main): Junghans
Quartermaster ($25 certificate to 15th-place finisher in A-Main): Frank
JE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 16th-place finisher in A-Main): Briggs
Quartermaster ($50 certificate to 19th-place finisher in A-Main): McCreadie
Mobil 1 (20 percent certificate to 20th-place finisher in A-Main): McCreadie
JE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 21st-place finisher in A-Main): McCreadie
MSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24th-place finisher in A-Main): Richards
QA1 ($50 to driver with fastest lap of the night): Overton
Arizona Sports Shirts ($100 certificate to highest-finishing non-WoO driver): Casebolt
2015 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of May 23 – 15 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/points/deficit to leader):
1. Shane Clanton – 2118
2. Josh Richards – 2028 (-90)
3. Darrell Lanigan – 2020 (-98)
4. Chub Frank – 1966 (-152)
5. Morgan Bagley- 1896 (-222)
6. Rick Eckert – 1892 (-226)
(tie) Tim McCreadie – 1892 (-226)
8. Eric Wells – 1862 (-256)
9. Frank Heckenast Jr. – 1852 (-266)
10. Brandon Overton – 1812 (-306)
11. Chase Junghans – 1776 (-342)
12. Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs – 1658 (-460)
13. Jordan Yaggy – 1558 (-560)
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), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Lincoln Welder (Official Welder), 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, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Mobil 1, MSD, Ohlins Shocks, QA1, QuarterMaster, Superflow Dynos and Wrisco Aluminum; along with manufacturer sponsors Capital Race Cars, Club 29 Chassis, Integra Shocks, Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis, and TNT Rescue.
