Delaware International Speedway
T-Mac doesn't let victory at Delaware slip away
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Tim McCreadie notched his second victory of 2013. (Kevin Kovac)
DELMAR, Del. (May 30) — Tim McCreadie wasn’t going to let another World of Outlaws Late Model Series race slip through his fingers.
Erasing memories of several recent disappointments on the national tour, McCreadie outdueled Darrell Lanigan down the stretch to capture Thursday night’s Fulton Bank 50 at Delaware International Speedway. | Video
McCreadie, 39, of Watertown, N.Y., started on the outside pole and led all but one lap en route to his second WoO triumph of 2013, but he found himself in a dogfight with Union, Ky.’s Lanigan over the final 10 circuits. After Lanigan slipped ahead to lead lap 43, McCreadie regained command the following circuit and made all the right moves the rest of the way to defeat the defending World of Outlaws champion by 0.875 of a second.
It was a satisfying $10,650 win for McCreadie, who snapped a run of tough luck with his Sweeteners Plus Warrior car.
“It’s been a bunch of races leading with no results for us lately, so this is nice,” said McCreadie, who over the past two weeks suffered heartbreaking losses on May 11 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. (tangled with lapped car while leading with five laps to go) and May 25 at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va. (flat tire while in front). “The Warrior car’s been fast but we haven’t had anything to show for it. It was just our day this time.”
Rick Eckert of York, Pa., finished a hard-earned third. He charged forward from the 14th starting spot to reach the show position on lap 36 and shrank a near-straightaway deficit to Lanigan to a few lengths within 10 laps, but he overheated his tires running down the leaders and thus was unable to mount a challenge.
Ricky Elliott of Seaford, Del., who entered the event undefeated in five Dirt Late Model starts this season at DIS, finished fourth after starting fifth and climbing as high as third. It marked the third time in nine WoO events at DIS that he placed fourth.
Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., finished fifth. He started from the pole position but was outgunned for the lead by McCreadie at the initial green and gradually fell through the top five, finally settling into fifth place when Eckert sailed by him on lap 36.
McCreadie held firm control of the top spot for most of the distance, maintaining a half- to full-second edge until Lanigan pulled close late in the race. Lanigan nosed his Rocket machine underneath McCreadie for the first time on lap 40 and eventually surged in front as lap 43 was scored, but the winningest WoO driver in 2013 couldn’t make the pass stick.
“I was trying to run that middle-to-the-top (line) and he pretty much drove right on by me,” McCreadie said of Lanigan. “I just thought, Oh my God, I just gave this one away. But then he just slipped up in (turns) one and two.
“But we were lucky that Darrell just slipped up a little bit off of (turn) two (the following lap) and I could get back by him. Then we just held on.
“Darrell’s been the guy the last three years,” he added, “and any time you can get lucky enough to beat him, we’ll take it for Sweeteners Plus and our whole program.”
With a fresh Pro Power Racing engine under his car’s hood, McCreadie registered his 22nd career victory on the WoO and first-ever at the half-mile Delaware oval. His previous win this year came on April 20 at 311 Motor Speedway in Madison, N.C.
Lanigan, who will celebrate his 43rd birthday June 3, fell short in his bid for a circuit-leading fifth win of 2013. He was coming off a $15,000-plus triumph in Sunday night’s Jackpot 100 by NAPA Auto Parts finale at Tyler County.
“(McCreadie) changed his groove a little bit and went down to the bottom and kind of blocked our groove,” said Lanigan, who ran his streak of top-three finishes to six in a row. “But that’s what you’re supposed to do. Timmy had a good car tonight. We come home second and we’re happy with that.”
Eckert, 47, might have been able to turn the race into a three-car battle for the winner’s check if he had caught the right break in the closing laps.
“I would’ve really liked to have a caution when I got to third there,” Eckert said. “They were a straightaway ahead, and until I run ‘em down I had my tires overheated from running so hard. If I could’ve cooled ‘em down during a caution I think we would’ve had a shot at it.
“But that’s what you get when you qualify terrible. I dug us a hole and didn’t dig us all the way out.”
Series points leader Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., finished a quiet sixth, improving one position from where he started. Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del., who switched to his backup car after his primary machine was sidelined by engine trouble during hot laps, was next in seventh place; Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., placed eighth; Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., hustled forward from the 20th starting spot to finish ninth; and DIS regular Andrew Mullins of Bethel, Del., smoothly advanced from the 19th starting spot to complete the top 10 in his first career WoO appearance.
Just two caution flags slowed the event. Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., was left spun in turn four on the 15th lap after an apparent scrape with Mark Pettyjohn of Milton, Del., and Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., spun off turn four on lap 28 while running eighth.
Series drivers have a day off before making its first visit of 2013 to the Empire State on Saturday for a 50-lap A-Main at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y.
Fulton Bank 50: (1) Tim McCreadie, (2) Darrell Lanigan, (3) Rick Eckert, (4) Ricky Elliott, (5) Shane Clanton, (6) Josh Richards, (7) Austin Hubbard, (8) Tim Fuller, (9) Dan Stone, (10) Andrew Mullins, (11) Jamie Lathroum, (12) Bub McCool, (13) Clint Smith, (14) Chub Frank, (15) Morgan Bagley, (16) Eric Wells, (17) Vic Coffey, (18) Mark Byram, (19) Donald Lingo Jr., (20) Mark Pettyjohn, (21) David Williams, (22) Andy Haus, (23) Gregg Satterlee, (24) Kenny Pettyjohn. Fast qualifier (among 31 cars): Williams, 19.264 seconds. Heat race winners: Lanigan, K. Pettyjohn, Clanton. Consolation winner: Mullins. Provisional starters: Wells, Satterlee.
