Steve Casebolt Claims First-Career World of Outlaws Late Model Series Victory In Friday’s Season Opener At Screven Motor Speedway
Indiana Standout Bags $10,600 After Passing Polesitter Brandon Overton Late In The First Leg of Screven’s Winter Freeze Doubleheader
SYLVANIA, Ga. – Feb. 6, 2015 – Steve Casebolt added another major accomplishment to his resume Friday night at Screven Motor Speedway in earning his first-career World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory during the opening race on the national tour’s 2015 season.
Casebolt, 36, of Richmond, Ind., overtook Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., on lap 44 of Friday’s 50-lap Winter Freeze A-Main at Screven’s 3/8-mile oval and turned back Overton’s last-ditched effort to retake the lead in the closing laps. The former Eldora Dream winner earned $10,600 in just his second start behind the wheel of a Club 29 Race Car for new car owner Tye Twarog.
“We started this new team kinda on a whim late last year,” said Casebolt, who recently announced his partnership with Twarog during December’s Performance Racing Industry trade show. “This is unbelievable. I’m thrilled and just couldn’t be any happier. Everything turned out great.”
Overton settled for the runner-up spot, falling just shy of claiming his own breakthrough WoO LMS victory after leading the race’s first 43 laps. He was followed by a pair of three-time WoO LMS champions in third-finishing Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., and fourth-place Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va. Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., rounded out the top five finishers in a race slowed by five cautions.
The yellow flags made things difficult for the race winner. After starting to Overton’s outside on the front row, Casebolt appeared to have the quicker car for much of the race, but multiple cautions spoiled his challenges.
Casebolt’s first serious bid for the lead came just after the lap-20 mark when he began to look under Overton as the two leaders entered lapped traffic. The two cars were side by side on lap 24 when the race’s fourth caution waved and thwarted Casebolt’s strong run.
Overton edged away from Casebolt in the initial laps following the restart, but Casebolt was again looking under the leader before the race’s final caution on lap 31 again slowed his run.
Overton again enjoyed a slight advantage in the laps following the restart, but Casebolt was back looking for the lead by lap 40.
The third time was a charm for Casebolt. Just as Overton reached the tail of the field, Casebolt used a bold move to drive to the outside of Overton in turns one and two on lap 44 and completed the winning pass down the back straightway as Overton remained stuck behind two lapped cars.
Overton quickly moved around the slower cars on the following lap and closed the gap to Casebolt as he had his own struggles with traffic. But it wasn’t enough for Overton to make a serious challenge, and Casebolt pulled away over the final two laps.
“I did not need those cautions,” said Casebolt, who became the first driver in the WoO LMS modern era to claim his first career series victory during a season-opening event. “Every time they came out I was getting ready to pass him. I was sitting there cussing and saying things nobody should ever say, but I finally got to him in lapped traffic. That was what we needed because we had the better car; we just had trouble getting to him and getting around him. He drove one heck of a race.”
Although he missed out on what would have been his biggest career victory, Overton was plenty happy with his performance. Making just his second start in a new MasterSbilt by Huey machine, Overton earned his first top-five in a WoO LMS event with his career-best series finish.
“They were double file in front of me,” Overton said of the lapped cars that slowed his pace and allowed Casebolt to make the winning pass. “When you get in traffic like that it’s way easier to be running second than leading them things. But that’s how it goes. For our second night in the car, I’m definitely happy with the way we ran tonight.”
The race’s only serious accident came on lap four when sixth-running Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas, got over the cushion in turn four and rolled his No. 20 machine. Sanders emerged from his battered car without any apparent injuries, but the wreck ended what began as a promising run in his first-career WoO LMS A-Main start.
Reigning WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill., began his sophomore season with a solid sixth-place performance. He was followed by Jordy Nipper of Gray, Ga., in the seventh spot.
Defending WoO LMS champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., was never a factor in finishing eighth. The result ended a streak of 11 consecutive top-five WoO LMS finishes for Lanigan, who two weeks ago broke his right thumb while racing in a non-series event in Arizona.
Tony Knowles of Tyrone, Ga., was part of a solid showing for home-state drivers, with his ninth-place finish making four top-10 results by Georgia-based teams. Behind him, Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., rallied from 20th to 10th in making his first appearance in a Longhorn Chassis.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series returns to Screven for the final night of the Winter Freeze weekend on Saturday. Another complete program is on tap, featuring time trials, heat races, last-chance qualifiers and a 50-lap, $10,000-to-win A-Main.
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 Winter Freeze at Screven Motor Speedway (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (2) Steve Casebolt/50 $10,600
2. (1) Brandon Overton/50 $5,000
3. (7) Billy Moyer/50 $3,150
4. (4) Josh Richards/50 $2,650
5. (3) Shane Clanton/50 $2,550
6. (6) Frank Heckenast Jr./50 $2,250
7. (10) Jordy Nipper/50 $1,400
8. (11) Darrell Lanigan/50 $1,950
9. (9) Tony Knowles/50 $1,250
10. (20) Chub Frank/50 $1,650
11. (14) Tim McCreadie/50 $1,550
12. (5) Dale McDowell/50 $1,050
13. (13) Morgan Bagley/50 $1,500
14. (21) Eric Wells/49 $1,450
15. (24) Pancho Lawler/49 $850
16. (18) Boom Briggs/49 $1,350
17. (22) Chase Junghans/49 $1,320
18. (12) Mason Zeigler/49 $1,000
19. (16) Rick Eckert/48 $1,380
20. (19) Kyle Beard/29 $700
21. (23) Dan Stone/13 $700
22. (15) Casey Roberts/8 $700
23. (17) Jordan Yaggy/4 $700
24. (8) Rodney Sanders/3 $725
* Earnings include Winners Circle program and cash contingency award bonuses
Time of Race: 28 Mins., 49 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.491 Secs.
Yellow Flags: Five (laps 4, 5, 13, 24 & 31)
Lap Leaders: Overton (1-43); Casebolt (44-50)
Provisional Starters: Stone (WoO points), Lawler (WoO points)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Steve Casebolt ($500)
WoO LMS ‘Rookie of the Race’ Bonus: Zeigler ($250)
Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/
Group A
1. 99jr-Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfort, Ill., 14.840
2. 1-Josh Richards, Shinnston, W.Va., 15.086
3. 20-Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, 15.199
4. 39-Tim McCreadie, Watertown, N.Y., 15.333
5. 77-Jordan Yaggy, Rochester, Minn., 15.341
6. 17m-Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, Ga., 15.348
7. 26-Tony Knowles, Newnan, Ga., 15.378
8. 4-Brian Ligon, Augusta, Ga., 14.433
9. 14m-Morgan Bagley, Longview, Texas, 15.569
10. 1N-Jordy Nipper, Gray, Ga., 15.601
11. 86-Kyle Beard, Trumann, Ark., 15.757
12. 21D-Dan Stone, Thompson, Pa., 15.825
13. 18-Eric Wells, Hazard, Ky., 16.024
14. 93-Pancho Lawler, Glenville, Pa., 16.172
15. 4ds-Chad Hollenbeck, Montrose, Pa., 16.261
16. 60-Jim Manka, Rincon, Ga., 16.318
Group B
1. 21-Billy Moyer, Batesville, Ark., 14.815
2. c9-Steve Casebolt, Richmond, Ind., 14.848
3. 76-Brandon Overton, Evans, Ga., 14.937
4. 25-Shane Clanton, Zebulon, Ga., 14.985
5. 29-Darrell Lanigan, Union, Ky., 14.985
6. 25z-Mason Zeigler, Chalk Hill, Pa., 15.122
7. 101-Casey Roberts, Toccoa, Ga., 15.124
8. 99B-Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, Pa., 15.241
9. 18c-Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., 15.335
10. 7v-Rick Eckert,York, Pa., 15.541
11. R1-Riley Hickman, Cleveland, Tenn., 15.500
12. 98-Casey Barrow, Bloomingdale, Ga., 15.511
13. 1*-Chub Frank, Bear Lake, Pa., 15.567
14. 11-Austin Smith, Cedartown, Ga., 15.681
15. D8-Dustin Mitchell, Princeton, N.C., 16.172
16. 87-Josh Knoll, Lake, Mich., 16.870
Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Heckenast, Sanders, Knowles, Bagley, Yaggy, Wells, Beard, Hollenbeck.
Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Richards, McDowell, Nipper, McCreadie, Lawler, Stone, Ligon, Manka.
Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Moyer, Overton, Lanigan, Roberts, Frank, Junghans, Hickman, Mitchell.
Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Clanton, Casebolt, Zeigler, Eckert, Briggs, Smith, Barrow, Knoll.
B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Yaggy, Beard, Wells, Lawler, Stone, Hollenbeck, Manka, Ligon.
B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Briggs, Frank, Junghans, Smith, Mitchell, Knoll. Did not start: Hickman, Barrow.
World of Outlaws Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners (awards presented to noted finisher/qualifier or next highest displaying decal):
Wrisco (three sheets of aluminum/certificate to A-Main winner): Casebolt
MSD Ignition ($50 cash to A-Main winner): Casebolt
Quartermaster ($100 certificate to A-Main winner): Casebolt
Comp Cams ($50 certificate to A-Main winner): Casebolt
Mobil 1 ($50 cash to 4th-place finisher in A-Main): Richards
JE Pistons ($50 cash to 5th-place finisher in A-Main): Clanton
Lincoln Welders ($50 cash to 6th-place finisher in A-Main): Heckenast
VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash to 8th-place finisher in A-Main): Lanigan
Edelbrock ($50 cash to 9th-place finisher in A-Main): Knowles
Comp Cams ($50 cash to 10th-place finisher in A-Main): Frank
Cometic ($50 cash to 12th-place finisher in A-Main): McDowell
JRI Shocks ($50 cash to 13th-place finisher in A-Main): Bagley
Superflow Dynos ($50 cash to 14th-place finisher in A-Main): Wells
Quartermaster ($25 certificate to 15th-place finisher in A-Main): Lawler
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): Eckert
JE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 21st-place finisher in A-Main): Stone
MSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24th-place finisher in A-Main): Sanders
QA1 ($50 to driver with fastest lap of the night): Casebolt
Ohlins Shocks ($50 cash to fast qualifier): Moyer
Arizona Sports Shirts ($100 certificate to highest-finishing non-WoO driver): Casebolt
2015 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of – A-Mains completed (rank/driver/points/deficit to leader):
1. Steve Casebolt 150
2. Brandon Overton 146 (-4)
3. Billy Moyer 144 (-6)
4. Josh Richards 142 (-8)
5. Shane Clanton 140 (-10)
6. Frank Heckenast Jr. 138 (-12)
7. Jordy Nipper 136 (-14)
8. Darrell Lanigan 134 (-16)
9. Tony Knowles 132 (-18)
10. Chub Frank 130 (-20)
