Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: Wrapup of Charlotte's World Finals
Here’s the latest edition of Fast Talk, a DirtonDirt.com feature each Monday sponsored by Out-Pace Racing Products. Staffers Michael Rigsby, Todd Turner and Kevin Kovac gather weekly for a roundtable discussion about who’s hot, who’s not and other issues regarding Dirt Late Model racing. Staffer Andy Savary substitutes for a traveling Michael this week (edited for clarity and length):
Todd Turner: There’s lots to cover with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series wrapping up its season at the Bad Boy Buggies World Finals, the Charlotte event that always draws some of the season’s most competitive fields.
It turned out to be a Club 29 kind of weekend with car co-designer Darrell Lanigan and his buddy Jimmy Owens grabbing victories in front of a sellout crowd. Lanigan’s victory was part of a celebratory weekend with his third WoO title while he set a high bar with his record-setting 17th series triumph. He also made news at WoO’s banquet Sunday by saying he’d field a second car for crew chief Jason Jameson. Give me your thoughts about Lanigan’s season, success and plans.
Kevin Kovac: As Lanigan has said over and over, it was an "unbelievable" season. Just look at his statistics from the 2014 WoO tour and they blow you away — 17 wins and 33 top-five finishes in 37 events? No DNFs? Nearly $400,000 in earnings including points-fund money? And topping it off with a last-lap World Finals victory? All of it is just amazing.
Everyone knows Lanigan isn't the biggest talker or most introspective guy, but talking to him at the WoO banquet last night, you could tell he is clearly proud of his accomplishments this year and isn't ready to slow down. He said he feels like he's aging "like fine wine" and is completely confident that he can win every time he drives into a racetrack. His experience and driving ability have converged in perfect harmony, and he's at the top of the sport.
And with the announcement of the second team for Jameson, Lanigan is looking ahead a bit. He said he considers Jameson to be a son he never had, he thinks Jameson is very talented, and he wants to help him realize his own racing dreams — like Lanigan's late father helped him realize his own. I think that's pretty cool.
Andy Savary: As far as the World Finals goes, Lanigan entered the weekend with the luxury of not having to worry about points. He had his third WoO title locked up by just showing up, so he was there to win and went all out Friday night.
The 17 victories Lanigan has recorded this season are absolutely remarkable, but in a larger sample size, how's this for a stat: Lanigan has 44 (!) World of Outlaws victories over the past three seasons. No other driver has more than 10 total victories and Lanigan is averaging nearly 15 victories per season. That's beyond domination.
With adding Jameson in a second car next year, there still seems to be a lot of unknown, but I'm certainly interested to see Jason behind the wheel more. He'll make things fun and it's cool to see Darrell shaking things up, even though he's already got a great thing going.
TT: That Owens was in victory lane in Saturday’s finale shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone. He’s now won the WoO season finale five of the past six seasons. The Tennessean has talked about some of his ups and downs in a season when he was dethroned as the Lucas Oil Series champ by Don O’Neal, but his season was subpar only judging by otherworldly standards. Anyone want to name a favorite for next year’s Charlotte finale?
KK: I believe you have to go with Owens on Saturday night at the World Finals! Ha! A few weeks ago I read in Robert Holman's story on Owens a quote from Owens in which he said his season was "terrible," but he seemed to have come around after winning the World Finals finale.
He spoke of how some people seem to think he hasn't had a good season because he failed to win the Lucas Oil Series title, but he said his year has been "awesome" nonetheless. And he's right — his 15 wins (including the USA Nationals and Topless 100) brought him nearly $200,000 in earnings. I think anyone would take a year like that.
AS: In hindsight, it is funny going through all of our preview content from last week and seeing how little mention we had of Owens, considering, you know, he'd won during the World Finals five times previously. I first realized this Thursday during qualifying and had mentioned to Alli Collis, our fellow DoD staffer, that he'd probably go out and sweep the weekend again just to remind us that Charlotte is his playground. He didn't quite pull off the sweep, but we got the message: Jimmy Owens is alive and well. So sure, Todd... I'll go ahead and take Owens to win a World Finals race next year.
TT: Let’s have some back-and-forth about other World Finals topics. Any drivers surprise you for good or ill? Scott Bloomquist twice settled for third, but his autumn hot streak remains impressive. How about the racing? The feature winners came from within the first three rows, but there were several lead changes and plenty of grooves to make it exciting. And one thing I wondered: Did Chris Madden have a legitimate beef about Chub Frank — who had already drawn two cautions but remained on the track — hampering him in his last-lap loss to Lanigan?
AS: I'll start with two non-winners that impressed. First, as you mentioned, is Scott Bloomquist. The autumn streak really is just unfathomable at this point. Scott admitted that he was off a bit during the features this weekend and his "off" nights were finishing third.
Another that impressed me was Bub McCool. The Mississippi driver really has not been on the national scene much this year and had made little noise outside of his home region prior to the World Finals. He turned in a very solid weekend with a pair strong runs in Chad Stapleton’s No. 32.
KK: Bloomquist certainly didn't have anything to hang his head over after finishing third twice; he was in the mix for the win both nights and he acknowledged afterward that third-place finishes against World Finals-caliber competition is an accomplishment.
As for the racing, I believe it might have been the best across-the-board, start-to-finish action the World Finals has ever seen ... every division produced great competition. Kudos to the Gary Risch Jr.-led track crew — all those cars and all that racing, and they didn't even have to do surface reconditioning during the shows.
And Madden? Well, I thought he might pay a visit to Chub after the race, but he didn't — though he wasn't exactly happy about coming across Chub twice in the race's late stages. Of course, if Madden was running the outside like Lanigan at the end, running up behind the inside-running Chub on the final lap might not have been the factor that it was.
Oh, and one other thing, that World Finals crowd was incredible! If it wasn't the biggest ever on Saturday night, I don't know what could have beat it. There were people seemingly everywhere.
TT: Before we look at upcoming races, a brief personal note about the passing of Randy Weaver’s father, Glen, whose battle with pancreatic cancer became a storyline in the Crossville, Tenn., driver’s impressive 2014 season. It’s one of those stories that reminds us a couple of things: how racing sometimes takes a back seat to what really matters, but also how racing — with Weaver carrying home some big trophies back home to present to his dad — also strengthens the bonds of racing families. Join me in condolences for the Weavers.
KK: Yes, condolences to Randy and his family. Randy spoke often this year about how important his father has been to his career, and it was great to see him put together a superb season — topped by his richest win ever just a few weeks ago — so he could keep bringing trophies home to put on his father's mantle. Randy said last week at East Alabama's National 100 that his father's condition was worsening so he was planning to get home and spend as much time with his dad as he could — and I'm sure there was plenty of racing talk and memories swapped between them during Glen's last days.
AS: My thoughts are also with Randy and his family. Each of his victories carried a special meaning this season. Considering how many of them he logged while dealing with the heavy circumstances back home, it's truly remarkable. I'm sure they meant a lot to his father and provided Randy with a lot of memories to take forward.
TT: With the season winding down, just a couple of high-profile events on tap this weekend with $10,000 on the line at Duck River Raceway Park’s Deep Fried 75 and County Line’s Ultimate-sanctioned Race for the Kids. Pick one or both for a few tidbits of what fans should look for at these mid-November events.
KK: Yes, the season doesn't end with the World Finals! Duck River is simply one of the raciest tracks in the south, if not the country ... anyone who attends this weekend's show can be assured of seeing some pretty cool action. And at County Line, former NASCAR racer Jeremy Mayfield is planning to get back in his Dirt Late Model for the second time this fall — will this appearance go better than his debut last month?
AS: Duck River has built a solid reputation for it's quality racing and fans who attend the Deep Fried 75 should expect to get their money's worth. I expect multiple lead changes and drama down to the end. Dennis Franklin appears to be in line to capture his first Ultimate Series title this year. With the success he's had this fall, I'd say he's probably the favorite to go out with a $10,000 bang in the tour's finale at County Line.
