Bedford Speedway
Francis rules Bedford but Lanigan makes his points
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Francis shows off his big check. (Kevin Kovac)
BEDFORD, Pa. (Aug. 29) — Steve Francis became the winningest driver on the 2008 World of Outlaws Late Model Series with a triumph in Friday night’s 50-lap feature at Bedford Speedway. But the defending tour champion from Ashland, Ky., gained little ground on points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who moved another step closer to a first career WoO title with a second-place finish. | Slideshow | WoO @ Bedford notebook
Francis, 40, still trails Lanigan by 140 points with just eight events remaining on the ’08 schedule — a hefty deficit that has him thinking more about checkered flags than defending his championship. “Our goal is to win every race for the rest of the year,” said Francis, who has driven Dale Beitler’s Reliable Painting-Valvoline Rocket No. 19 to victory in four of the last 10 WoO shows. “That’s the only thing we can do. We’re not gonna catch (Lanigan) if he finishes right behind us every night, so we’re focusing on going for wins and having fun.”
Francis, who earned $10,150 for his fifth WoO victory of the season, broke a tie atop the 2008 victory list with four-time winners Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., and Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark. It was his 19th career WoO win — the most of any driver on the tour since 2004.
It was a convincing win for Francis, who was never seriously challenged after passing Rick Eckert of York, Pa., for the lead on lap 17. He easily handled two restarts during the race’s second half, defeating Lanigan by a margin of nearly a full straightaway on the big half-mile fairgrounds oval. Eckert settled for third place after leading laps 1-16. Polesitter Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., took fourth and Rookie of the Year points leader Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., registered a season’s-best finish of fifth.
A winner of a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at Bedford one month ago, Francis attributed his success at the facility to the rubber on his Cornett-powered machine. “I think we had a tire advantage here tonight,” said Francis, who uses American Racer tires in a field dominated by drivers from the Hoosier camp. “These tires seem to really like this place.”
Lanigan, 38, didn’t dispute Francis’s assessment. The ultra-steady competitor managed to race toe-to-toe with Francis inside the top five early in the event with Hoosier shoes on his Rocket No. 29, but after losing second to his prime championship rival on a lap-10 restart he couldn’t keep pace.
“Tires were the difference,” said Lanigan, who started fifth and held the runner-up spot from lap 17 to the finish. “I ran with (Francis) a little bit early, but when the track got crusty the American Racers were better.”
Lanigan fell short of victory in his first start carrying sponsorship from Fusion Energy Drink. He will sport the product’s logo and colors on his car for the remainder of the 2008 season and is in negotiations to extend the pact to 2009. “It would’ve been nice to win one for Fusion the first time out,” said Lanigan, who changed his car’s familiar look as part of the Fusion deal.
Francis, meanwhile, had some worries even as he was pulling away from Lanigan during the race’s late stages. “We had something going on with the motor there,” said Francis, who started fourth. “It was getting real, real flat, so I ran a little conservative for the last 10 or 15 laps. It wasn’t something serious, but Kevin (Miller), Robby (Allen) and Dale (Beitler) will change motors and we’ll go after ‘em again tomorrow (Saturday) at Tri-City (Speedway in Franklin, Pa.).”
Francis hailed Bedford Speedway, which hosted the WoO for the second consecutive year. “Obviously I like this place this year because we’ve won twice,” grinned Francis. “But in general, the surface is so much better than it was (over 600 truckloads of new clay were applied prior to the 2008 season thanks to a state grant). There’s not even a comparison to last year. You can race two- or three-wide all the way around it, and that’s all you can ask for from a track.”
Finishing in positions 6-10 were Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., who charged from the 22nd starting spot after qualifying through the consolation race because a malfunctioning ground wire caused his car to shut off during heat action; Smith, who ran fifth for much of the distance but was beaten in the final circuits by “two drivers (Coffey and Clanton) on harder tires”; Richards, who was hampered by a well-worn motor that was down on power; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., whose car sustained right-rear bodywork damage when he slapped the outside wall during the event; and Gary Stuhler of Greencastle, Pa., who earned a $500 bonus as the highest finishing non-regular on the series.
The WoO will remain in Pennsylvania for the remainder of the holiday weekend, contesting a pair of $10,000-to-win events as part of the fourth annual Oil Region Labor Day on Saturday (Aug. 30) and Sunday (31) at Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa.
World of Outlaws @ Bedford: (1) Steve Francis, (2) Darrell Lanigan, (3) Rick Eckert, (4) Shannon Babb, (5) Vic Coffey, (6) Shane Clanton, (7) Clint Smith, (8) Josh Richards, (9) Chub Frank, (10) Gary Stuhler, (11) Devin Friese, (12) Jeff Rine, (13) Tim Fuller, (14) Sean Beardsley, (15) Joe Isabell, (16) D.J. Myers, (17) Scott Rhodes, (18) Randy Burkholder, (19) Steve Everhart, (20) Jeff Isabell Jr., (21) Tyler Hershey, (22) Scott Haus, (23) Nick Dickson, (24) Dan Stone, (25) Tim McCreadie. Fast qualifier (among 32 cars): Eckert, 19.632 seconds. Heat race winners: Eckert, Lanigan, Babb. Consolation winner: Stone. Provisional starters: Beardsley, Isabell, Everhart.
