Bristol Motor Speedway
Tight WoO points chase heads to home stretch
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Josh Richards (1) and Steve Francis (19) are part of a tight points chase. (jmsprophoto.com)
The three headliners in the titanic battle for the 2009 World of Outlaws Late Model Series championship reflexively say after each race that they're not counting points. But the truth is, Josh Richards, Darrell Lanigan and Steve Francis definitely have points on their minds. How can they not when the standings are so razor-close, every finishing position could be critical in determining a prestigious title worth $100,000?
The hot-running trio — all WoO stalwarts who are as close off the track as they have been on it this year — find themselves at the center of what is shaping up to be arguably the tightest points race in tour history. With the series now quiet for a mid-summer break until making a first-ever visit to Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa., on Aug. 13, they sit in a near dead-heat atop the standings.
Through 27 of a scheduled 43 events, Richards holds a two-point edge over both Lanigan and Francis, who are tied for second. That's one position in the WoO LMS points breakdown, which awards 150 points for a win, 146 points for second, and then drops two points per spot.
“It doesn't look like anyone's running away with this deal this year,” said Francis, a 41-year-old star from Ashland, Ky., whose 25 career WoO victories (including five this season) leads the tour's all-time victory chart since 2004. “This one's going right down to the end."
After the 2004-2006 seasons produced a succession of dramatic points-championship endings (including Francis's heartbreaking loss of the '05 title to Billy Moyer on a tie-breaker), the last two years have gone down the homestretch with one driver head-and-shoulders above the pack. Francis won the 2007 crown by 126 points over Chub Frank, and Lanigan cruised to last year's title by a record 160-point margin over Richards.
What's more, by the time the series reached 27 events the last two seasons, the eventual champion had already begun separating himself from the competition for what would basically become an extended coronation. Francis held a 22-point lead at this point in '07 and just kept expanding it, while Lanigan was already up 120 points after 27 races in '08 and never saw his advantage drop below 112 points for the remainder of the season.
The development of this year's points race has thrilling finish written all over it. There have already been three ties for the points lead (between Francis-Lanigan, Richards-Lanigan and Richards-Francis), and the largest points lead a driver has built this season is the 34-point advantage that Francis held after winning the May 31 event at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va. — and he proceeded to see that edge fall to just two points when he ran into trouble in the next race.
“It seems like every time somebody looks like they're getting ready to pull away a little (as the leader), they have a problem and we're right back close together,” said Richards, the 21-year-old sensation from Shinnston, W.Va., who leads the tour with seven victories and is seeking his first crown. “It's crazy. Everybody is so good, the difference could end up being who has luck on their side.”
Richards has spent the most time atop the standings, holding at least a share of the points lead after 17 events. Francis, meanwhile, has had at least a share of the lead after seven races, and Union, Ky.'s Lanigan, who has won twice and leads the series in earnings with $139,756 (with help from runner-up finishes in the Lone Star 100, Colossal 100 and Firecracker 100), has had at least a share of the top spot after five races. (Shane Clanton is the only other driver to lead the standings.)
No driver has led the standings for more than five consecutive races (Richards), a clear signal that the game of hopscotch the threesome has been playing is likely to continue.
“It's gonna be fun,” said Francis, who knows the pressure of a late-season points battle more than his chief rivals. “At least for the guy who ends up winning the championship.”
Seventeen races remain on the 2009 WoO LMS schedule to decide that honor. But 11 of those 17 events will be contested over a 25-day span beginning with Grandview's 40-lap, $7,000-to-win event on Aug. 13.
Rick Eckert of York, Pa., who sits 72 points behind Richards in fourth place, would seem to be the only driver who can still crash the Richards-Lanigan-Francis party. He'll try to get back in the hunt during the tour's upcoming swing through his home Northeast region – Grandview, Bedford (Pa.) Speedway on Aug. 14 and Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway on Aug. 15.
