Volusia Speedway Park
Lanigan edges Richards, T-Mac for Volusia victory
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com managing editor
Darrell Lanigan exults in victory lane. (Jason Shank)
BARBERVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 23) — In a week where he was often in the wrong place at the wrong time, Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., broke through Saturday at Volusia Speedway Park in the finale of the 42nd annual UNOH DIRTcar Nationals presented by Summit Racing Equipment.
Lanigan outdueled Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., then kept Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., at bay in a nine-lap dash to the finish for a $10,000 victory, his first at Volusia’s half-mile oval.
Richards settled for second in the 50-lapper while McCreadie, who led laps 3-11 and again on laps 15 and 16 while battling Lanigan, settled for third. Kennedy Motorsports teammates Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., and Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., rounded out the top five.
Lanigan was up front most of the week at Volusia, but his Tuesday run ended after damage in a front-running scrape with Richards and he was caught up in a turn-three mess Thursday after a Richards spin triggered a pileup. In between, McCreadie edged him by a fraction of a second Wednesday for a 40-lap victory.
On Saturday, Lanigan went to work from the fifth starting spot and was quickly up to third. He went underneath McCreadie on the 12th lap in turn two to take command, and after McCreadie briefly slipped ahead again on lap 15, Lanigan regained the lead on lap 17 inside turn three and led the rest of the way.
Not that it was easy. Lanigan had his hands full with McCreadie for the next 20 laps, then the 12th-starting Richards took over the second spot and began applying pressure. With the last of four caution flags waving on lap 41, fans were itching for a showdown between Lanigan and Richards, long-time traveling mates turned apparent rivals during the week with Lanigan vacating his customary pit stall alongside the Rocket Chassis house car team of Richards.
While Richards made a few challenges at Lanigan, he couldn’t keep up in the final laps as Lanigan continually beat Richards and everyone off turn two in stretching his margin. He took the checkers by nearly a full second ahead of Richards.
All the yellow flags were for slowing cars: Scott Bloomquist on lap 19, Clint Smith on lap 25, Bobby Pierce on lap 27 and fifth-running Stormy Scott on lap 41. The pole-starting Scott led the first two laps and hung with the frontrunners before his departure.
UNOH DIRTcar Nationals presented by Summit (Feb. 23): (1) Darrell Lanigan, (2) Josh Richards, (3) Tim McCreadie, (4) Shane Clanton, (5) Tim Fuller, (6) Rick Eckert, (7) Bub McCool, (8) Brady Smith, (9) Scott James, (10) Dale McDowell, (11) Billy Moyer, (12) Eric Wells, (13) Steve Francis, (14) Jimmy Mars, (15) Eric Jacobsen, (16) Earl Pearson Jr., (17) Bobby Pierce, (18) Chub Frank, (19) Morgan Bagley, (20) Scott Bloomquist, (21) Dennis Erb Jr., (22) Stormy Scott, (23) Pat Doar, (24) Vic Coffey, (25) Clint Smith, (26) Shannon Babb, (27) Eddie Carrier Jr., (28) Billy Ogle Jr. Fast qualifier (among 46 cars): Kenny Pettyjohn, 15.790 seconds. Heat race winners: Fuller, Moyer, Scott, Clanton. Consolation winners: Doar, Erb. Provisional starters: James, Bagley, C. Frank, C. Smith.
Blog-style reports of Saturday's action:
Big-block feature lineup
Row 1: Danny Johnson (27j), Billy Vaniwegen (10)
Row 2: H.J. Bunting III (85j), Stewart Friesen (85f)
Row 3: Rich Laubauch (7), Matt Williamson (6)
Row 4: Justin Haers (3), Neal Wililams (323)
Row 5: Mario Clair (22c), Brett Hearn (20)
Row 6: Rich Scagliotta (8), Francois Bernier (49)
Row 7: Rob Bellinger (8r), Andy Bachetti (34B)
Row 8: Eric Kormann (901), Matt Sheppard (9s)
Row 9: Darwin Greene (1), Jimmy Horton (5)
Row 10: Michel Chicoine (97), Peter Britten (21a)
Row 11: Dan Vauter (85), Tyelr Siri (5*)
Row 12: Dave Rauscher (48T), Chris Ostrowsky (29)
Row 13: Randy Chrysler (21k), Bruno LaPage (99)
Row 14: Jamie Mills (30), Jeremy Markle (79)
Late Model consolation results
First consolation: Pat Doar, Dale McDowell, Vic Coffey, Earl Pearson Jr., Brandon Sheppard, Donnie Moran, Michael Norris, Ricky Weiss, Chad Hollenbeck, Jared Landers, Ron Davies, Mason Zeigler, Scott James. Scratched: Clint Smith, Don O'Neal.
Second consolation: Dennis Erb Jr., Steve Francis, Scott Bloomquist, Eddie Carrier Jr., Mike Benedum, Jason McBride, Chuck Julien, Morgan Bagley. Scratched: Chub Frank, Justin Rattliff, Casey Roberts, Dillon Wood, Jerry Lierly, Tyler Reddick, Kenny Pettyjohn.
Late Model consolation lineups
First consolation
Row 1: Dale McDowell (17m), Mason Zeigler (25z)
Row 2: Pat Doar (11), Earl Pearson Jr. (44)
Row 3: Vic Coffey (32c), Ron Davies (71D)
Row 4: Jared Landers (5), Donnie Moran (99)
Row 5: Brandon Sheppard (B5), Ricky Weiss (7w)
Row 6: Michael Norris (72), Clint Smith (44)
Row 7: Chad Hollenbeck (4DS), Don O’Neal (1)
Row 8: Scott James (1G)
Second consolation
Row 1: Steve Francis (15), Dennis Erb Jr. (28)
Row 2: Scott Bloomquist (0), Eddie Carrier Jr. (28)
Row 3: Kenny Pettyjohn (38), Jason McBride (77)
Row 4: Mike Benedum (25), Tyler Reddick (11)
Row 5: Morgan Bagley (14m), Jerry Lierly (7L)
Row 6: Chuck Julien (57), Dillon Wood (1w)
Row 7: Casey Roberts (101), Justin Rattliff (16)
Row 8: Chub Frank (1*)
Fourth Late Model heat
Outside front-row starter Shane Clanton raced to victory in a heat where everyone's eyes were on fueding drivers Darrell Lanigan and Josh Richards. The polesitting Lanigan and Richards had a tight battle for the second spot early in the 10-lapper before Richards edged away. But on a one-lap dash to the checkers, Lanigan slid past Richards in turn four to get the second spot. Richards was third and Bub McCool, who appeared to briefly lose power on lap seven in turn one, managed to hold on to the final transfer spot over Dennis Erb Jr. Fifth-starting Eddie Carrier Jr. was in contention for a transfer spot on the first lap, but slipped way out of the high groove in turn four and fell back. The heat's lone caution appeared on the eighth lap when Tyler Reddick spun in turn three and a late-arriving Jerry Lierly caught a piece of him. Both rolled away while Lierly had a flat right-rear tire and heavy rear body damage.
Finish: Shane Clanton, Darrell Lanigan, Josh Richards, Bub McCool, Dennis Erb Jr., Eddie Carrier Jr., Jason McBride, Tyler Reddick, Jerry Lierly, Dillon Wood, Justin Rattliff.
Third Late Model heat
Rookie Stormy Scott got the jump from outside the front row and raced to victory over Brady Smith, who took the second spot from polesitter Kenny Pettyjohn on lap four. Seventh-starting Shannon Babb got rolling in the high groove midway through the race and rallied to finish third, while Wells took the fourth and final transfer spot from Steve Francis on the last lap. Pettyjohn faded to finish seventh. A second-lap caution appeared when Morgan Bagley, Casey Roberts and Chub Frank got tangled up on the frontstretch with Chuck Julien spinning to avoid the mess. Bagley kept moving after the incident while Roberts and Frank were banged around, and Frank required a push off the track. Roberts headed to the pits.
Finish: Stormy Scott, Brady Smith, Shannon Babb, Eric Wells, Steve Francis, Scott Bloomquist, Kenny Pettyjohn, Mike Benedum, Morgan Bagley, Chuck Julien, Casey Roberts, Chub Frank.
Second Late Model heat
Friday's winner Billy Moyer picked up where he left off in Saturday's prelims, racing to victory from his third starting spot. Fifth-starting Tim McCreadie chased him home in second while outside front-row starter Billy Ogles Jr. was third. Rick Eckert made a last-ditch move on polesitter Mason Zeigler exiting turn four for the checkers to get the final transfer spot.
Finish: Billy Moyer, Tim McCreadie, Billy Ogle Jr., Rick Eckert, Mason Zeigler, Earl Pearson Jr., Ron Davies, Donnie Moran, Ricky Weiss, Clint Smith, Don O'Neal.
First Late Model heat
Tim Fuller slid under polesitter Bobby Pierce to take the lead in turns three and four on the first lap and pulled away to his first heat race victory of the week. Pierce fought off fifth-starting Eric Jacobsen early and ran the low groove to second place while Jimmy Mars got third after a lap-four slide job on Jacobsen exiting turn four. Jacobsen held onto the fourth and final transfer spot over Dale McDowell.
Finish: Tim Fuller, Bobby Pierce, Jimmy Mars, Eric Jacobsen, Dale McDowell, Pat Doar, Vic Coffey, Jared Landers, Brandon Sheppard, Michael Norris, Chad Hollenbeck, Scott James.
Big-block modified consolations
(10 laps; three transfer)
First consolation
Row 1: Randy Chrysler (21k), Dave Rauscher (48T)
Row 2: David Allen (88), Jamie Mills (30)
Row 3: Dan Vauter (85), Jeremy Markle (79)
Row 4: Daniel Nadeau (64)
Second consolation
Row 1: Chris Ostrowsky (29), Tyler Siri (5*)
Row 2: C.G. Morey (14), Roger Chrysler (T21)
Row 3: Kyle Sheldon (518), Dexter Stacey (66w)
Row 4: Bruno LaPage (99)
Big-block modified heat results
First heat: Stewart Friesen, H.J. Bunting III, Rob Bellinger, Mario Clair, Darwin Greene, Randy Chrysler, David Allen, Dan Vauter, Daniel Nadeau.
Second heat: Rich Laubauch, Neal Williams, Brett Heart, Andy Bachetti, Jimmy Horton, Dave Rauscher, Jamie Mills, Jeremy Markle, Bruno LaPage.
Third heat: Billy Vaniwegen, Justin Haers, Rich Scagliotta, Eric Kormann, Michel Chicoine, Chris Ostrowsky, C.G. Morey, Kyle Sheldon.
Fourth heat: Matt Williamson, Danny Johnson, Francois Bernier, Matt Sheppard, Peter Britten, Tyler Siri, Roger Chrysler, Dexter Stacey.
Late Model qualifying
Kenny Pettyjohn of Millsboro, Del., topped 46 qualifiers Saturday at Volusia Speedway Park for the finale of the 42nd annual UNOH DIRTcar Nationals presented by Summit Racing Equipment, a $10,000-to-win World of Outlaws Late Model Series event.
Pettyjohn tripped the clock at 15.790 seconds on the half-mile oval and will start on the pole of the first heat race. Other heat race polesitters: Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., Mason Zeigler of Chalk Hill, Pa.; and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.
The night’s Late Model action continues with four heat races, two consolation races and a 50-lap main event. Super DIRTcar Series big-block modifieds are also running a complete program.
Pre-race notes
The event wraps up the the busiest Georgia-Florida Speedweeks ever for the World of Outlaws with eight races over 16 days. ... The race also wraps up the busiest-ever Speedweeks for Super Late Models with 19 events overall in 16 days. ... Volusia inners earlier this week are Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va. (Monday and Tuesday), Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y. (Wednesday), Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn. (Thursday) and Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark. (Friday). ... Among drivers who won’t compete tonight are Billy Moyer Jr., Kent Robinson and Todd Frank. ... Big-block modified driver Alan Johnson departed Florida after his son-in-law was killed in a snowmobilie accident. ... After Speedweeks, the World of Outlaws takes a month-long break before a March 22-24 weekend at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, Miss., and Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel, Tenn. Each pay $10,000-to-win.
Late Model heat lineups
(10 laps; top four transfer)
First heat
Row 1: Bobby Pierce (32), Tim Fuller (19)
Row 2: Dale McDowell (17m), Jimmy Mars (28)
Row 3: Eric Jacobsen (5), Vic Coffey (32c)
Row 4: Pat Doar (11), Brandon Sheppard (B5)
Row 5: Jared Landers (5), Chad Hollenbeck (4DS)
Row 6: Scott James (1G), Michael Norris (72)
Second heat
Row 1: Mason Zeigler (25z), Billy Ogle Jr. (201)
Row 2: Billy Moyer (21), Earl Pearson Jr. (44)
Row 3: Tim McCreadie (39), Rick Eckert (24)
Row 4: Ron Davies (71D), Donnie Moran (99)
Row 5: Ricky Weiss (7w), Clint Smith (44)
Row 6: Don O’Neal (1)
Third heat
Row 1: Kenny Pettyjohn (38), Stormy Scott (20r)
Row 2: Eric Wells (18), Mike Benedum (25)
Row 3: Steve Francis (15), Brady Smith (2)
Row 4: Shannon Babb (18), Scott Bloomquist (0)
Row 5: Morgan Bagley (14m), Casey Roberts (101)
Row 6: Chub Frank (1*), Chuck Julien (57)
Fourth heat
Row 1: Darrell Lanigan (29), Shane Clanton (25)
Row 2: Josh Richards (1), Dillon Wood (1w)
Row 3: Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Eddie Carrier Jr. (28)
Row 4: Tyler Reddick (11), Bub McCool (57j)
Row 5: Jerry Lierly (7L), Justin Rattliff
Row 6: Jason McBride (77)
Late Model time trials (unofficial)
Driver (car no.), hometown
First group
Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 15.824
Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa., 15.827
Tim Fuller (19), Watertown, N.Y., 15.837
Billy Ogle Jr. (201), Knoxville, Tenn., 15.847
Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga., 15.865
Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., 15.881
Eric Jacobsen (5), Santa Cruz, Calif., 15.893
Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis., 15.893
Earl Pearson Jr. (44), Jacksonville, Fla., 15.913
Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., 15.939
Vic Coffey (32c), Caledonia, N.Y., 15.960
Rick Eckert (24), York, Pa., 15.970
Pat Doar (11), New Richmond, Wis., 15.994
Ron Davies (71D), Warren, Pa., 16.078
Brandon Sheppard (B5), New Berlin, Ill., 16.089
Donnie Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, 16.100
Jared Landers (5), Batesville, Ark., 16.118
Ricky Weiss (7w), Winnipeg, Manitoba, 16.130
Chad Hollenbeck (4DS), Kingsley, Pa., 16.209
Clint Smith (44), Senoia, Ga., 16.226
Scott James (1G), Lawrenceburg, Ind., 16.277
Don O’Neal (1), Martinsville, Ind., 16.303
Michael Norris (72), Sarver, Pa., 16.432
Second group
Kenny Pettyjohn (38), Millsboro, Del., 15.790
Darrell Lanigan (29), Union, Ky., 15.871
Stormy Scott (2s), Las Cruces, N.M., 15.917
Shane Clanton (25), Fayetteville, Ga., 15.97
Eric Wells (18), Hazard, Ky., 15.985
Josh Richards (1), Shinnston, W.Va., 16.014
Mike Benedum (25), Bristol, W.Va., 16.040
Dillon Wood (1w), New Smyrna Beach, Fla., 16.136
Steve Francis (15), Ashland, Ky., 16.146
Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 16.179
Brady Smith (2), Solon Springs, Wis., 16.218
Eddie Carrier Jr. (28), Salt Rock, W.Va., 16.267
Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 16.269
Tyler Reddick (11), Corning, Calif., 16.294
Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., 16.312
Bub McCool (57j), Vicksburg, Miss., 16.322
Morgan Bagley (14m), Longview, Texas, 16.428
Jerry Lierly (7L), Camp Point, Ill., 16.428
Casey Roberts (101), Toccoa, Ga., 16.467
Justin Rattliff (16), Campbellsville, Ky., 16.600
Chub Frank (1*), Bear Lake, Pa., 16.634
Jason McBride (77), Carbondale, Ill., 16.818
Chuck Julien (57), Apopka, Fla., 17.878
Big-block modified heats
(Eight laps; top five transfer)
First heat
Row 1: Stewart Friesen (85f), H.J Bunting III (85j)
Row 2: Mario Clair (22c), Rob Bellinger (8r)
Row 3: Darwin Greene (1), Randy Chrysler (21k)
Row 4: Dan Vauter (85), David Allen (88)
Row 5: Daniel Nadeau (64)
Second heat
Row 1: Rich Laubauch (7), Neal Williams (323)
Row 2: Brett Hearn (20), Jamie Mills (30)
Row 3: Dave Rauscher (48T), Jimmy Horton (5)
Row 4: Andy Bachetti (34B), Jeremy Markle (79)
Row 5: Bruno LaPage (99)
Third heat
Row 1: Justin Haers (3), Billy Vaniwegen (10)
Row 2: Eric Kormann (901), Rich Scagliotta (8)
Row 3: Chris Ostrowsky (29), Kyle Sheldon (518)
Row 4: Michel Chicoine (97), C.G. Morey (14)
Fourth heat
Row 1: Matt Williamson (6), Francois Bernier (49)
Row 2: Matt Sheppard (9s), Danny Johnson (27j)
Row 3: Peter Britten (21a), Tyler Siri (5*)
Row 4: Roger Chrysler (T21), Dexter Stacey (66w)
Saturday’s race schedule
6 p.m.: Late Model hot laps
6:30 p.m.: Big-block modified hot laps/time trials
7 p.m.: Late Model time trials
7:30 p.m.: Opening ceremonies
7:40 p.m.: Big-block heat races (four eight-lap heats; top five transfer)
8:20 p.m.: Late Model heat races (four 10-lap heats; top four transfer)
9:10 p.m.: Late Model consolations (two 12-lap consies; top four transfer)
9:40 p.m.: Big-block consolations (two 10-lap consies; top three transfer)
10 p.m.: Late Model 50-lap feature
10:30 p.m.: Big-block modified 50-lap feature
