Volunteer Speedway
Lapped traffic falls Owens way for Volunteer victory
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Owens (20) stalks Shane Clanton (25). (mrmracing.net)
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (Aug. 20) — One year after coming oh-so-close to victory in World of Outlaws Late Model Series action at Volunteer Speedway, Jimmy Owens got the job done in a midweek event. The standout from Newport, Tenn., shined in front of his hometrack fans, passing Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., late in the distance to register his career-first tour triumph in the 60-lapper that opened the fifth annual Scorcher presented by Alltel Wireless. | Slideshow | World of Outlaws @ Volunteer notebook
Owens, 36, erased the memories of his heartbreaking defeat in the 2007's Scorcher, which was run over the 100-lap distance at the high-banked, 4/10-mile oval. Problems in lapped traffic with just five laps remaining in last year’s event cost him dearly, allowing Chris Madden of Gaffney, S.C., to slip by him for a dramatic triumph.
This time it was Owens who benefited from slower cars. When Clanton had trouble lapping Eric Jacobsen of Sea Cliff Beach, Calif., Owens grabbed the lead on lap 50 and sped to a victory worth $10,750. “For once, lapped traffic worked in our favor here,” said Owens, who finished second last year. “I usually get in big trouble when I get to lapped traffic, but tonight all the breaks went our way.
“Clanton was being pretty patient behind those (slower) guys, taking his time and trying not to make any mistakes. But then he lost his momentum (behind Jacobsen in turn two) at the same time I got some good drive off the corner, and I just shot right by him on the bottom.”
Three of the race’s four caution flags flew during the final 10 laps, but Owens mastered each restart. He drove his Mike Reece-owned Bloomquist Chassis across the finish line with a 3.113-second advantage over 2006 WoO LMS champion Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., who snatched second place by overtaking Clanton’s slowing car racing to the white flag.
“I was exceptionally glad to see the restarts inside 10 laps to go because that kept the lapped traffic out of the equation for us,” analyzed Owens, who scored his second win of the season at Volunteer. “We had a clear track, so it was my race to lose then.”
Clanton settled for third place after leading laps 35-49 in the RSD Enterprises Rocket. Fourth place was claimed by Shannon Babb of Moweaqua,Ill., who led laps 1-16 after starting from the pole position in NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer’s Traeger Grills Rocket, and third-starter Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., completed the top five in his Lester Buildings Rocket.
McCreadie, 34, hustled his Sweeteners Plus Rocket to the front quickly, advancing from the fourth starting spot to the lead by lap 17. But he lost the top spot to Clanton’s turn-two slider on lap 35 and spent the remainder of the distance battling to secure a podium finish. Owens drove by McCreadie for second with a powerful outside move on lap 45, but McCreadie regained the position on the final circuit when he snuck by Clanton. He conceded that Owens was the class of the field.
“I saw Owens a couple times below me and I tried to stay on the bottom, but he baited me and just drove right by me on the top,” McCreadie said. “I might’ve stayed ahead of him a little longer if I stayed on the top, but I think the outcome was still gonna be the same.
Clanton, 32, could only mourn his latest missed opportunity for a second 2008 series victory. “I’m really disappointed,” said Clanton, who started from the outside pole. “I took the lead and didn’t win the race. I can’t really complain about another top five, but once again we couldn’t finish it off and get a win.”
Finishing in positions 6-10 were Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.; local standout Jeff Maupin of Greenville, Tenn.; Vic Hill of Morristown, Tenn.; defending WoO champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.; and Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga.
Francis gained six points in the WoO LMS championship battle on points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., whose quiet 12th-place finish marked just his third time finishing outside the top 10 in 33 events this season. Lanigan now leads Francis by 136 points.
The event’s four caution flags were all caused by minor incidents. Jacobsen brought out cautions with spins on laps 50 and 51, while Randy Weaver of Crossville, Tenn., slowed on lap 25 with a right-rear flat tire and Rick Rogers of Knoxville, Tenn., lost a wheel on lap 54.
The Scorcher presented by Alltel Wireless continues Thursday (Aug. 21) with another $10,000-to-win program. Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman will be on hand to sign autographs in the Alltel FanZone from 6:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. before getting behind the wheel of his Alltel No. 12 dirt Late Model to compete in the evening’s action.
World of Outlaws @ Volunteer: (1) Jimmy Owens, (2) Tim McCreadie, (3) Shane Clanton, (4) Shannon Babb, (5) Chub Frank, (6) Brady Smith, (7) Jeff Maupin, (8) Vic Hill, (9) Steve Francis, (10) Dale McDowell, (11) Shanon Buckingham, (12) Darrell Lanigan, (13) Josh Richards, (14) Billy Ogle Jr., (15) Vic Coffey, (16) Eric Jacobsen, (17) Chris Madden, (18) Rick Rogers, (19) Rick Eckert, (20) Clint Smith, (21) Shon Flanary, (22) Randy Weaver, (23) Mark Vineyard, (24) Tim Fuller. Fast qualifier (among 53 cars): Hill, 12.265 seconds. Heat race winners: McCreadie, Maupin, Clanton, Babb. Consolation race winners: Coffey, Vineyard. Provisional starters: C. Smith, Fuller.
