Ocala Speedway
Live updates: Friday's action from BRP
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com managing editor
Josh Richards and Bubba the Love Sponge Clem in victory lane. (Photos by Crawford)
OCALA, Fla. (Feb. 17) — Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., fell shy Thursday at Bubba Raceway Park with a last-ditch charge against track dominator Darrell Lanigan. One night later, he ended Lanigan's three-race winning streak at Ocala on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
The polesitting Richards, who took the lead from fellow front-row starter Lanigan on the 26th lap, earned $10,000 in the second round of the Bubba Army Winter Nationals at the 3/8-mile oval. He also become the winningest driver in World of Outlaws history with his 38th victory, breaking a tie with Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., who finished fourth.
Lanigan, who has victories each of the last three seasons at Ocala, couldn't stay within striking distance in the final laps and settled for second. Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss., rallied from his 13th starting spot to finish third while Moyer and Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., rounded out the top five.
Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., ran among the leaders most of the way but got too high in turn two running second on the 40th lap, flattening his right-rear tire and knocking him from contention.
The feature was slowed by four cautions, the most serious incident when Ron Davies and Dan Stone got tangled up on the inside of the backstretch after 36 laps. Other cautions appeared on the 16th lap for a slowing Davies, lap 32 when Ivedent Lloyd Jr.'s smoking car slowed and pulled pitside and lap 40 for Clanton.
Bubba Army Winter Nationals (Feb. 17): (1) Josh Richards, (2) Darrell Lanigan, (3) Bub McCool, (4) Billy Moyer Sr., (5) Mike Marlar, (6) Jason Feger, (7) Chub Frank, (8) Brandon Sheppard, (9) Tim McCreadie, (10) Vic Coffey, (11) Rick Eckert, (12) Clint Smith, (13) Dillon Wood, (14) Shane Clanton, (15) Jared Hawkins, (16) Pat Doar, (17) Jason McBride, (18) Frank Heckenast Jr., (19) Billy Moyer Jr., (20) Kent Robinson, (21) John Lobb, (22) Ron Davies, (23) Dan Stone, (24) Ivedent Lloyd Jr., (25) John Lowrey, (26) Casey Roberts, (27) Tim Fuller. Fast qualifier (among 51 cars): Lanigan, 13.938 seconds. Heat race winners: Lanigan, Richards, Clanton, Feger, Moyer Sr. Consolation winners: Roberts, Heckenast. Provisional starters: McCreadie, Frank, Fuller, Lobb.
Consolation races
First consolation (cars running at finish): Casey Roberts, Dillon Wood, Kent Robinson, John Lowrey, Greg Johnson, John Lobb, Nick Lyons, Alan Fink, Mason Zeigler, Bob Gardner, John Gardner Jr., Gregg Satterlee, Chub Frank, Don Gordon, Tim McCreadie, Tyler Ivey. Scratched: Tim Lance, Brian Shirley.
Second consolation (top five): Frank Heckenast Jr., Jason McBride, Jared Hawkins, Dan Stone, Tim Fuller, J.R. Hotovy, John Garvin Jr., Jack Sullivan, Billy Decker, Christian Augspurger, Jill George, Jay Morris, Kevin Weaver, Charlie Sandercock, Mike Hammerle, Austin Kirkpatrick. Scratched: Mike Collins, Steve Shaver.
Redraw
Last night's runner-up and winner Josh Richards and Darrell Lanigan drew the front row for the main event. Jason Feger, Billy Moyer Sr. and Shane Clanton start in the other spots in the top five (Editor's note: Order corrected).
Fifth heat
Polesitter Vic Coffey and fellow front-row starter Billy Moyer pulled away with Coffey in control most of the way, but Moyer nudged underneath in turn four heading for the white flag and took the victory. Coffey settled for second while Billy Moyer Jr. held onto third to get a transfer spot that was up for grabs most of the way. Frank Heckenast Jr., Dan Stone and Kevin Weaver all looked liked they could take a shot at Moyer Jr., but none could get the job done in the caution-free affair.
Finish: Billy Moyer Sr., Vic Coffey, Billy Moyer Jr., Dan Stone, Frank Heckenast Jr., Christian Augspurger, Jared Hawkins, Kevin Weaver, Jay Morris, Mike Hammerle.
Fourth heat
Jason Feger, who got too high and nearly into trouble on the first lap, took the lead on the second lap when polesitter Ron Davies himself got too high in turns one and two. Feger and Davies made it a two-car breakaway until a lap-eight caution for debris on the backstretch. Feger held on the final two laps while Davies held onto second. Clint Smith got the third and final transfer spot ahead of sixth-starting Jack Sullivan. Fourth-starting Austin Kirkpatrick lost ground on Feger's first-lap miscue and never recovered.
Finish: Jason Feger, Ron Davies, Clint Smith, Jack Sulliivan, Tim Fuller, Billy Decker, John Garvin Jr., Charlie Sandercock, Austin Kirkpatrick. Scratched: Steve Shaver.
Third heat
Polesitter Shane Clanton became the third straight repeat heat winner, cruising to victory. Outside front-row starter Rick Eckert slipped back to third early. but retook the second spot from Bub McCool before halfway and held on. McCool got the third and final transfer spot, finishing far ahead of Jason McBride. Fifth-starting Casey Roberts contended for a transfer spot early but faded. The red flag appeared after Mike Collins got into the backstretch wall on the second lap and barrel-rolled into turn three; he wasn't injured and made a long walk to the pits, acknowledging applause from the crowd. Two wreckers were required to remove the wrecked car.
Finish: Shane Clanton, Rick Eckert, Bub McCool, Jason McBride, Casey Roberts, J.R. Hotovy, Greg Johnson, Jill George, Kent Robinson, Mike Collins.
Second heat
Polesitter Josh Richards cruised to victory, matching Darrell Lanigan with his second straight heat victory at Ocala. Mike Marlar got the second spot, rebuffing a few challenges including one from Ivedent Lloyd Jr. on lap-three restart. The hometowner Lloyd got the third and final transfer spot, finishing far ahead of Tyler Ivey. Third-starting Gregg Satterlee was running third on the third lap when he tried to dive under the second-running Marlar in turn four; Satterlee spun on the frontstretch and restarted on the tail.
Finish: Josh Richards, Mike Marlar, Ivedent Lloyd Jr., Tyler Ivey, Tim McCreadie, Gregg Satterlee, John Lowrey, John Lobb, Don Gordon. Scratched: Bob Gardner.
First heat
Polesitter and Ocala dominator Darrell Lanigan cruised to a 10-lap victory to transfer to the main event along with Brandon Sheppard and Pat Doar. Doar, who started outside the front row, actually got the jump on Lanigan on the initial start, but a caution erased it. Dillon Wood was fourth after pressuring Doar the final five laps. The first two starts were scrapped, first when Chub Frank and Alan Fink tangled in turn four with the right rear of Fink's machine perched on the left rear of Frank's car; both were able to continue. On the second attempted start, Tim Lance spun into the turn three wall; his car was towed off the track.
Finish: Darrell Lanigan, Brandon Sheppard, Pat Doar, Dillon Wood, Nick Lyon, Mason Zeigler, Chub Frank, Alan Fink, John Gardner Jr., Tim Lance, Brian Shirley.
Qualifying
Maintaining his momentum after a victory in Thursday's opener, Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., topped 51 qualifiers Friday in the second round of the Bubba Army Winter National.
Lanigan turned a lap of 13.938 seconds to lower the track record at the reconfigured and rebanked 3/8-mile trioval. Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., set the record last night at 13.994 seconds.
Lanigan will start on the pole of the first of five World of Outlaws Late Model Series heat races. Other heat race polesitters: Richards; Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga.; Ron Davies of Warren, Pa.; and Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y.
Five 10-lap heats are on the schedule followed by a pair of 12-lap consolation races. The night's 50-lap feature pays $10,000 to the winner. Three drivers apiece transfer from heat races and four apiece in consolations.
Pre-race notes
Brandon Sheppard broke a right-rear wheel after posting a solid qualifying time, causing enough damage to the car to require a tow to the pits. ... Kent Robinson got into the turn-two wall in time trials and didn't get a time; he had a broken right rear axle tube. ... Steve Shaver also got into the turn-two wall and suffered right-front damage. ... Jared Hawkins pulled off without a qualifying time; engine problems forced him into a backup car. ... Brian Shirley lost his qualifying time when officials rules the windows in his sailpanels were illegal. ... There were a few afternoon and early evening at sprinkles at Ocala, where there's been a chance of rain all day. ... Extra track prep delayed the start of hot laps more than an hour to 7:20 p.m. or so and it took a few hot-lap sessions to get the track ready for time trials. ... Lanigan is gunning to become the first driver to win three straight WoO events since Josh Richards last August. ... Scott Bloomquist won the first two WoO events of 2011, both at Volusia Speedway Park. ... Newcomers for Friday's action: Casey Roberts of Toccoa, Ga., and Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill. ... Greg Johnson of Bedford, Ind., lost a pole position in a Thursday consolation race when he broke a driveshaft as he attempted to hit the track.
Heat race lineups
Row 1: Darrell Lanigan, Pat Doar
Row 2: Brandon Sheppard, Dillon Wood
Row 3: Mason Zeigler, Nick Lyons
Row 4: Chub Frank, Tim Lance
Row 5: John Gardner Jr., Alan Fink
Row 6: Brian Shirley
Second heat
Row 1: Josh Richards, Mike Marlar
Row 2: Gregg Satterlee, Ivedent Lloyd Jr.
Row 3: Tim McCreadie, John Lobb
Row 4: Tyler Ivey, John Lowrey
Row 5: Bob Gardner, Don Gordon
Third heat
Row 1: Shane Clanton, Rick Eckert
Row 2: Bub McCool, Jason McBride
Row 3: Casey Roberts, J.R. Hotovy
Row 4: Greg Johnson, Mike Collins
Row 5: Jill George, Kent Robinson
Fourth heat
Row 1: Ron Davies, Jason Feger
Row 2: Clint Smith, Austin Kirkpatrick
Row 3: Billy Decker, Jack Sullivan
Row 4: Tim Fuller, Charlie Sandercock
Row 5: John Garvin Jr., Steve Shaver
Fifth heat
Row 1: Vic Coffey, Billy Moyer
Row 2: Billy Moyer Jr., Dan Stone
Row 3: Frank Heckenast Jr., Kevin Weaver
Row 4: Christian Augspurger, Jay Morris
Row 5: Mike Hammerle, Jared Hawkins
