Little Valley Speedway
Notes: Davies settles for role as Little Valley fan
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
WoO's Bret Emrick stands by before Ron Davies gives the command to fire engines. (Kevin Kovac)
LITTLE VALLEY, N.Y. (Aug. 22) — No driver was more looking forward to Thursday’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at Little Valley Speedway than Ron Davies, the veteran from nearby Warren, Pa., who has been one of the track's biggest winners in recent years.
Davies even took his Capital Race Car down to Georgia recently for a thorough check-up from Capital's main men — Davies's son-in-law Shane Clanton and Marshall Green — in hopes of "getting it right" for the event.
Alas, the 55-year-old veteran was a spectator instead of a competitor for the race won by Darrell Lanigan. A wicked crash Davies rode out during heat action last Friday night at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., kept him out of action. | Lanigan gets 50th WoO win
The machine Davies planned to run tonight was virtually demolished after he flipped wildly into the concrete wall and catchfence in front of Lernerville's pit grandstand off turn four. A stuck throttle sent him hurtling off the track at high speed; witnesses said his car flew at least 20 feet into the air before crashing down on the wall that sits well over the outside lip of the speedway.
Davies was extremely shaken up from the impact and was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He suffered a concussion and other assorted injuries, including an extremely sore left shoulder and bruised hip. He also bit down hard on the side of his tongue, drawing blood that scared the first responders to the scene.
"Fortunately my car held up well and all the safety equipment worked," Davies said while sitting in a director's chair near Clanton's trailer Thursday as a long line of well-wishers stopped by to check how he was feeling. "My shoulder is probably the worst. The doctors said I might need surgery on it — and that would be at least a two-month recovery, so racing for the rest of this year is probably done.”
Davies said he had been contemplating retirement at the end of this season after 37 years behind the wheel, but he's not so sure about going through with that now.
"You never say never,” said Davies, who gave the command to fire engines. "We might have to come back now next year.”
Stone’s charge falls short
Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., charged from fourth to second over the final seven laps of Thursday’s WoO feature at Little Valley, but fell just shy of denying Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., his 50th career victory on the tour.
The 37-year-old Stone went by Rick Eckert on lap 43 and Josh Richards on lap 45 and nearly caught Lanigan in the closing laps.
“I didn’t get tired midway through the race, but I kind of got hypnotized or something running behind those guys and wasn’t running where I needed to be,” said Stone, who owns two career WoO victories. “Once we caught that lapped traffic I tried (the outside lane) and I was like, ‘Ugh! I should’ve been here the whole time.’
“We really ran Lanigan down after getting to second. I can’t believe it. Maybe two more laps would’ve been enough, but 50 laps should be long enough so congratulations to him – man, he’s just good everywhere he goes.”
Juror No. 14M
On Wednesday morning, WoO rookie Morgan Bagley feared that he would end up missing the event at Little Valley. After reporting on Tuesday for jury duty near his home in Longview, Texas, he found himself picked to sit on a jury in a case starting Wednesday.
Fortunately for Bagley, the case he heard didn't take long. By Wednesday evening the courtroom session was completed and he and his fellow jurors reached a guilty verdict on the defendant, who was charged with possession of a controlled substance.
Bagley was able to fly into Buffalo (N.Y.) International Airport on Thursday afternoon — not long after Air Force One landed there with President Barack Obama beginning a two-day trip through upstate New York and northeast Pennsylvania — and met crew members Randall Edwards and Nick Hoover at the track.
Bagley finished 16th in the main event at Little Valley.
