The Dirt Track at Charlotte
Owens wins as Richards nabs WoO title at Lowe's
By Joshua Joiner
DirtonDirt.com correspondent
Josh Richards shows off his WoO title trophy. (thesportswire.net)
CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 7) – Jimmy Owens was quiet for nearly the entire World of Outlaws Late Model Series World Finals weekend at the Dirt Track at Lowe’s. But when it counted the most, the Newport, Tenn., driver flexed his muscle, dominating the second half of the series final race of the season for a $10,000 payday. | Slideshow | Complete Lowe's coverage
Owens passed Shannon Babb for the lead on lap 33 in traffic and pulled away from the Moweaqua, Ill., driver until a final restart on lap 40 slowed the field one last time. But Owens pulled away to nearly a straightaway lead as he cruised to the second victory of his career at Lowe’s.
“It’s kind of been a rough weekend for us, but the car was great tonight,” said Owens, who failed to make Thursday’s Topless Showdown feature and Friday's opening World Finals feature. “We were able to get a good run in the heat race, and then we just had a great car in the feature. It got a little tight there a few times trying to get by Babb in lapped traffic, but I knew if I could get out front, I could probably pull away.”
It was a complete turnaround for Owens who was knocked out of a heat race Friday night with a broken rear end.
“My crew worked hard all night to get this thing fixed. They were working at four or five this morning and thankfully it paid off for us tonight.”
While Owens won the race, Josh Richards did just what he needed to do to win the World of Outlaws championship. Richards, of Shinnston, W. Va., started 14th while his closest competitor Steve Francis started from the 10th position. Needing to finish no more than two spots behind Francis, Richards caught and passed him on lap 9, then cruised to a seventh-place finish while Francis faded to the 12th position.
The World of Outlaws title is the first touring series championship of any kind for the 21-year-old driver who grew up working in his father’s Rocket Chassis shop.
“I don’t even know what to say. It’s been an awesome ride,” said Richards. “We’ve gone through so much and to be a champion on this series and it’s just so amazing to me to be here.
“We’ve been in a tight battle all year with Francis and I knew it would come right down to the end. Tonight I was just doing my best to get the points we needed and not get caught up in anything. It worked out and man, it’s just been a great year for us.”
Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., moved up to finish second while Babb faded to a fifth-place finish. Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., finished third and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., finished fourth.
World Finals: (1) Jimmy Owens, (2) Tim McCreadie, (3) Earl Pearson Jr., (4) Darrell Lanigan, (5) Shannon Babb, (6) Clint Smith, (7) Josh Richards, (8) Rick Eckert, (9) Dale McDowell, (10) Scott Bloomquist, (11) Chris Madden, (12) Steve Francis, (13) Tim Fuller, (14) Brady Smith, (15) Brad Neat, (16) Shane Clanton, (17) John Blankenship, (18) Mike Knight, (19) Gregg Satterlee, (20) Russ King, (21) Dan Schlieper, (22) Kenny Schrader, (23) Jason Feger, (24) Brent Robinson, (25) Tommy Kerr, (26) Jordan Bland, (27) Matt Lux, (28) Chris Ferguson. Fast qualifier (among 79 cars): Bloomquist, 15.912. Heat race winners: McCreadie, Eckert, Smith, Pearson, Lanigan, Babb. Consolation winners: Bland, Feger, Neat.
First heat: Tim McCreadie, Chris Madden, Scott Bloomquist, Jordan Bland, Eric Jacobsen, Vic Coffey, Booper Bare, Jeremy Miller, Bo Feathers, Al Shawver Jr., Justin Labonte.
Second heat: Rick Eckert, Jimmy Owens, Josh Richards, Eric Wells, John Blankenship, Randy Korte, Jared Landers, Dan Stone, Doug Horton, Jeep Van Wormer, Ben Faircloth, Spencer Liggon.
Third heat: Clint Smith, Brady Smith, Greg Satterlee, Matt Lux, Jeremy Faircloth, Rick Briggs, Will Vaught, Petey Ivey, Ricky Elliott, Chuck Harper, Larry Blankenship, Dustin Mitchell.
Fourth heat: Earl Pearson Jr., Steve Francis, Chris Ferguson, Jason Feger, Tim Dohm, Russell King, Johnny Pursley, Brian Ruhlman, Donnie Moran, Eddie Carrier Jr., Cruz Pedregon, Jim Yoder.
Fifth heat: Darrell Lanigan, Dale McDowell, Tim Fuller, Brad Neat, Mike Knight, Kenny Schrader, Mike Gault, Jeff Rine, Brent Robinson, Bob Gordon, Tre Martin, Dan Schlieper.
Sixth heat: Shannon Babb, Shane Clanton, Tommy Kerr, Tyler Reddick, Austin Hubbard, Dennis Franklin, Austin Dillon, Adam Hensel, Devin Friese, D.J. Wells, Walker Arthur.
First consolation: Jordan Bland, John Blankenship, Eric Wells, Randy Korte, Vic Coffey, Jeep Van Wormer, Eric Jacobsen, Bo Feathers, Booper Bare, Dan Stone, Doug Horton, Al Shawver Jr., Justin Labonte, Spencer Liggon, Jared Landers. Scratched: Jeremy Miller, Ben Faircloth.
Second consolation: Jason Feger, Matt Lux, Tim Dohm, Russell King, Brian Ruhlman, Rick Briggs, Donnie Moran, Will Vaught, Jim Yoder, Dustin Mitchell, Petey Ivey, Chuck Harper, Jeremy Faircloth. Scratched: Johnny Pursley, Ricky Elliot, Eddie Carrier Jr., Larry Blankenship, Cruz Pedregon.
Third consolation: Brad Neat, Mike Knight, Austin Hubbard, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, Adam Hensel, Kenny Schrader, Mike Gault, Dennis Franklin, Jeff Rine, Bob Gordon, Devin Friese, Brent Robinson, Walker Arthur, Tre Martin, D.J. Wells. Scratched: Dan Schlieper.
