CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 3) —  It seemed no matter how hard Tanner English tried the first half of this World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series season, breakthrough trips to victory lane were often too elusive.

But as any national-touring rookie hopes for, this second half of the season has proven to be fertile ground for English, who Thursday breezed through the second round of the World Finals at the Dirt Track at Charlotte for his third series victory in the last 10 races.

By leading all 40 laps in a caution-free feature, and by virtue of Max Blair’s 20th-place finish, the Benton, Ky., driver not only pocketed the $15,000 winner’s share versus a 68-car field, but he clinched Rookie of the Year honors as well on a night he dazzled from start to finish.

“The car was awesome. It was stuck all night. I just could do no wrong,” English said. “I could go anywhere on the racetrack. It was a pretty awesome race car to drive.”

Coupled with Wednesday’s 10th-place finish, English enters Saturday’s 50-lap, $25,000-to-win finale fourth in event points behind Shane Clanton, Mike Marlar and Tim McCreadie, which lines him up on the pole position of the fourth heat in advance of the World Finals main event.

Hudson O’Neal and Dennis Erb Jr. — fifth and sixth, respectively, in event points — are the remaining two drivers set to lead heat races to green on Saturday.

Clanton emerges as the top points earner ahead of Saturday’s finale, but not without unfinished business considering his back-to-back runner-up finishes through the first two nights. On Wednesday, Clanton led 38 of 40 laps before Marlar overtook him in the nick of time.

While Clanton started from the pole Thursday, he could never clear English on the initial start and thereby make up enough ground to overcome his 0.839-second margin of defeat.

“I just missed it on the setup there a little bit,” Clanton said. “We tightened the car up a little too much. When I sheer it, I’m loose. When I drive it, I push, and I couldn’t catch him. I don’t know. We’ll do something different Saturday.”

If Clanton ever had an optimal chance at reeling English back in, it would have been laps 13 through 17 when English’s pace slowed in the wake of slower traffic. Clanton cut English’s early 1.5-second lead in half by lap 15 and had found the top of turns one and two whereas English stayed committed to the bottom.

Difficulty passing the slower car of Gordy Gundaker, however, held up Clanton just enough to allow English to get away.

“The car’s still good, so we know we’re in the ballpark,” Clanton said. “We just need to fine-tune it and make the right adjustments.”

Chris Madden started fourth and passed just one car all evening — Hudson O’Neal and the Rocket Chassis house car — to finish third. It was a much better result for DirtonDirt.com's third-ranked driver who finished 21st in Wednesday’s opener.

“We made some wholesale changes today and I feel really good about where we’re at right now,” said Madden, who’s set to start second in the third heat alongside McCreadie on Saturday. “We’ll do some fine-tuning and need a good heat race finish to start up front again, and maybe we can get up here in victory lane instead of third.”

As for English, he clinches the runner-up spot in the World of Outlaws points behind series champion Dennis Erb Jr., too. English’s win marked his eighth victory of any kind this season with five of those wins coming in the last 19 races.

While his first two World of Outlaws wins Aug. 26 and 27 at Davenport (Iowa) Speedway mean the most, Thursday’s win at the World Finals — in his second-ever start at the Charlotte 4/10-mile dirt track — is obviously special itself, too.

“It’s pretty big. This is a pretty big stage,” English said. “To do it in this town, it’s something special. I don’t know what to think. Everybody at Longhorn has helped me out a ton. … I knew we were pretty good at the beginning of the night. We just had to capitalize on everything.”

Feature lineup

(40 laps)

Row 1: Shane Clanton, Tanner English
Row 2: Tim McCreadie, Chris Madden
Row 3: Mike Marlar, Hudson O'Neal
Row 4: Kyle Strickler, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 5: Jonathan Davenport, Dale McDowell
Row 6: Ricky Weiss, Tyler Erb
Row 7: Dale Hollidge, Garrett Smith
Row 8: Brandon Overton, Chris Ferguson
Row 9: Brent Larson, Jimmy Owens
Row 10: Trent Ivey, Scott Bloomquist
Row 11: Daulton Wilson, Carson Ferguson
Row 12: Ryan Gustin, Payton Freeman
Row 13: Max Blair, Josh Richards

Consolation race results

(10 laps; top two transfer)

First consolation: Trent Ivey, Carson Ferguson, Zack Mitchell, Ross Bailes, Kenny Collins, Boom Briggs, Brett Hamm, Steven Roberts, Austin Kirkpatrick, Ross Robinson, Anthony Sanders, Freddie Carpenter, Taylor Puckett, Tim Vance, Brian Ledbetter, Max Blair. Scratched: Cody Cubbage.

Second consolation: Scott Bloomquist, Ryan Gustin, Mason Zeigler, Josh Richards, Logan Zarin, Ethan Wilson, Ryan King, Larry Grube, Gray Parton, Kevin Wilson, Greg Clark, Chuckie Lepsch, Colton Flinner, Bryan Bernheisel, Jason Miller, Michael Brown. Scratched: Trevor Gundaker.

Third consolation: Daulton Wilson, Payton Freeman, Gordy Gundaker, Brian Shirley, Cla Knight, Parker Martin Jr., Dustin Mitchell, Kyle Bronson, Jordan Koehler, John Blankenship, Mike Benedum, John Price, Dean Bowen, Brandon O’Neil, Mike Lupfer. Scratched: Parker Price-Miller.

Heat race results

(Eight laps, top three transfer)

First heat: Tanner English, Kyle Strickler, Dale Hollidge, Trent Ivey, Carson Ferguson, Kenny Collins, Max Blair, Steven Roberts, Anthony Sanders, Tim Vance, Ross Robinson. Scratched: Cody Cubbage.

Second heat: Tim McCreadie, Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton, Ross Bailes, Zack Mitchell, Brett Hamm, Boom Briggs, Austin Kirkpatrick, Freddie Carpenter, Brian Ledbetter, Taylor Puckett.

Third heat: Shane Clanton, Ricky Weiss, Brent Larson, Ryan Gustin, Trevor Gundaker, Josh Richards, Mason Zeigler, Logan Zarin, Kevin Wilson, Greg Clark, Ryan King.

Fourth heat: Chris Madden, Dennis Erb Jr., Garrett Smith, Colton Flinner, Scott Bloomquist, Bryan Bernheisel, Jason Miller, Ethan Wilson, Michael Brown, Larry Grube, Gray Parton, Chuckie Lepsch.

Fifth heat: Hudson O’Neal, Dale McDowell, Chris Ferguson, Payton Freeman, Gordy Gundaker, Jordan Koehler, Dustin Mitchell, Parker Martin Jr., John Blankenship, Dean Bowen, Kyle Bronson.

Sixth heat: Mike Marlar, Tyler Erb, Jimmy Owens, Daulton Wilson, Brian Shirley, Cla Knight, Mike Lupfer, Mike Benedum, John Price, Brandon O’Neil. Scratched: Parker Price-Miller.

Pre-race notes

The World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series runs for the second straight night of the expanded World Finals, this time joined by the the Super DIRTcar Series for the Northeast’s big-block modifieds. Friday will be an off day for the Late Model division. … Thursday’s 68-car field is down two from the opener; not running tonight is Sprint Car ace Parker Price-Miller of Kokomo, Ind., whose Dirt Late Model debut on Wednesday was shortened by engine trouble that he hopes to rectify for Saturday’s finale, and Michigan’s Chris Nash, whose car was badly damaged in a B-main accident. … Thursday’s weather is absolutely gorgeous with sunny skies and an afternoon high in the low 70s. … Brandon Overton enters Night 2 leading the World Finals points standings, which after the addition of Thursday's results will be used to determine the heat lineups for Saturday's $25,000-to-win finale. Overton's 738 points tops Trent Ivey (737), Shane Clanton (731), Mike Marlar (729), Tim McCreadie (721), Dennis Erb Jr. (716), Jimmy Owens (711), Dale McDowell (706), Daulton Wilson (697) and Max Blair (691). ... Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., who swept last year’s World Finals doubleheader but failed to qualify for Wednesday’s feature after his effort was hampered by two heat-race tangles, decided to switch to his second Longhorn car for Thursday’s program. … Dale Hollidge of Mechanicsville, Md., qualified solidly through a heat for Wednesday’s feature but was the first retiree, taking his Bruce Kane-owned machine to the pits after just two laps because something kicked up on the track hit his four-link with a broken shock resulting. … Trevor Gundaker of St. Charles, Mo., is driving the same Reid Millard-owned car he entered in Wednesday’s action but it now carries the No. 14 after a bodywork change from the Ed Dixon throwback No. 50. … Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., has special-edition T-shirts celebrating his 2022 WoO championship on sale at a table alongside his trailer in the lower pit area. … After there was a discrepancy over the legality of the spec 1350-compound right-rear tire that Trent Ivey of Union, S.C., used in his run to a third-place finish in Wednesday’s feature, WoO officials clarified the tire rule for the remainder of the weekend to specify that spec 1350s are not permitted. WoO Late Model Series director Casey Shuman said any advantage the spec tire gave Ivey was debatable — he finished behind Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., and Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., who both used harder D70 right-rears — but the issue is that the tire truck at the track doesn’t have spec 1350s available for sale.

Time trials

Driver (car no.), hometown, time
Group A

1. Dale Hollidge (0), Mechanicsville, Md., 15.019
2. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., 15.088
3. Shane Clanton (25), Zebulon, Ga., 15.147
4. Tanner English (81E), Benton, Ky., 15.165
5. Brent Larson (B1), Lake Elmo, Minn., 15.174
6. Brett Hamm (18H), Newberry, S.C., 15.174
7. Ross Robinson (7), Georgetown, Del., 15.178
8. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga.    15.181
9. Ricky Weiss (7W), Headingley, Manitoba, 15.297
10. Max Blair (111v), Centerville, Pa., 15.353
11. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 15.373
12. Ryan King (30), Seymour, Tenn., 15.406
13. Trent Ivey (88), Union, S.C., 15.434
14. Austin Kirkpatrick (11), Harrisburg, N.C., 15.439
15. Josh Richards (1R), Shinnston, W.Va., 15.486
16. Carson Ferguson (93), Lincolnton, N.C., 15.492
17. Ross Bailes (79), Clover, S.C., 15.493
18. Ryan Gustin (19r), Marshalltown, Iowa,15.518
19. Kenny Collins (1c), Colbert, Ga., 15.523
20. Taylor Puckett (28P), Greer, S.C., 15.551
21. Mason Zeigler (9z), Chalk Hill, Pa., 15.558
22. Kyle Strickler (8), Mooresville, N.C., 15.578
23. Zack Mitchell (2X), Enoree, S.C., 15.630
24. Logan Zarin (1Z), Moon Twp., Pa., 15.716
25. Steven Roberts (111), Sylvester, Ga., 15.728
26. Freddie Carpenter (K), Parkersburg, W.Va., 15.779
27. Trevor Gundaker (14), St. Charles, Mo., 15.779
28. Anthony Sanders (421), Spartanburg, S.C., 15.824
29. Boom Briggs (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., 15.893
30. Greg Clark (39C), Stanley, N.C., 15.942
31. Tim Vance (17T), Clover, S.C., 16.018
32. Brian Ledbetter (07), Dallas, N.C., 16.207
33. Kevin Wilson (614), Stoneville, N.C., 16.476
34. Cody Cubbage (12), Waynesboro, Va., no time

Group B

1. Garrett Smith (10), Eatonton, Ga., 14.792
2. Hudson O’Neal (1), Martinsville, Ind., 14.895
3. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 15.010
4. Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C., 15.032
5. Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga., 15.050
6. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 15.069
7. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 15.233
8. Chris Ferguson (22), Mount Holly, N.C., 15.313
9. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, 15.325
10. Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., 15.365
11. Payton Freeman (22), Commerce, Ga., 15.418
12. Daulton Wilson (18D), Fayetteville, N.C., 15.453
13. Jason Miller (94), Berryville, Va., 15.495
14. Dustin Mitchell (32), Pine Level, N.C., 15.518
15. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 15.591
16. Bryan Bernheisel (119), Jonestown, Pa., 15.653
17. Gordy Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., 15.668
18. Cla Knight (42), North Augusta, S.C., 15.677
19. Ethan Wilson (5), Fayetteville, N.C., 15.714
20. Jordan Koehler (114), Mount Airy, N.C., 15.728
21. Mike Lupfer (O6), Shermansdale, Pa., 15.737
22. Colton Flinner (48), Allison Park, Pa., 15.762
23. John Blankenship (23), Williamson, W.Va., 15.802
24. Mike Benedum (25), Salem, W.Va., 15.820
25. Michael Brown (24-D), Pageland, S.C., 15.860
26. Dean Bowen (15), Whiteville, N.C., 15.879
27. John Price (4P), Mill Spring, N.C., 15.954
28. Gray Parton (18P), Rutherfordton, N.C., 15.961
29. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 16.066
30. Larry Grube (29), Cresco, Iowa, 16.326
31. Brandon O’Neil (65), Mooresville N.C., 16.636
32. Chuck Lepsch (1L), Johnstown, Pa., 17.553
33. Parker Martin (6jr), Milledgeville, Ga., no time
34. Parker Price-Miller (9P), Kokomo, Ind., no time

Thursday’s schedule

(All times local)

2 p.m. - Grandstands open
3 p.m. - Late Model registration
4 p.m. - Drivers’ meetings
5 p.m. - On-track activity begins
- Big-block modified hot laps
- Late Model hot laps
- Big-block modified time trials
- Late Model time trials
6:50 p.m. - Opening ceremonies
- Four big-block modified heat races (8 laps)
- Six Late Model heat races (8 laps)
- Two big-block modified consolation races (10 laps)
- Three Late Model consolation races (10 laps)
- Big-block modified feature (30 laps)
- Late Model feature (40 laps)