Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com



Auld Lang Syne: World of Outlaws Late Model Series Stars Recall Their Most Memorable New Year’s Eve Experiences



CONCORD, NC – Dec. 30, 2007 – Where do the stars of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series like to spend New Year’s Eve?

Well, three of the top-10 finishers in the tour’s 2007 points standings will tell you that the most memorable experience they’ve had ringing in the new year came Down Under.

Reigning WoO LMS champion Steve Francis, third-place points man Clint Smith and Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller rave about the New Year’s Eve fun they enjoyed in Australia.

Francis, a veteran star from Ashland, Ky., who won his first WoO LMS title in 2007, was in Australia for the holidays during the mid-‘90s while running a dirt Late Model in the country as part of Team USA. Accompanied by his late brother/crew chief Chris and fellow Team USA members, he spent New Year’s Eve in Sydney, a city that welcomes the new year with a world-renowned fireworks display above its harbor.

“We hung out in King’s Cross, which is basically the Bourbon Street of Australia,” Francis says of the effervescent section of Sydney. “There was just all kinds of wild stuff going on there, and we saw the Sydney Harbor fireworks that are just incredible.”

Making the experience even more memorable, Francis saw the new year arrive 16 hours before the East Coast of the United States. Sydney, which is on Australia’s East Coast and sits near the International Date Line, is one of the world’s first major cities to usher in the new year.

“We’re there thinking, People at home are watching this (Sydney fireworks) real early in the morning, and we’re celebrating the new year,” says Francis.

Smith, a 42-year-old WoO LMS standout from Senoia, Ga., also spent a New Year’s Eve in Australia during the ‘90s while touring the country’s dirt tracks as part of Team USA. He partied in Newcastle, a town that also throws one heck of a bash.

“There must have been 100,000 people celebrating New Year’s all along the river there,” remembers Smith. “There were fireworks, lots of partying – it was way more massive than anything I’ve ever been to on New Year’s Eve in the United States.”

New Year’s Eve in the Southern Hemisphere also means summer, and Smith loved that fringe benefit.

“The weather made it even more fun to be there,” says the driver known as ‘Cat Daddy.’ “It’s like 80, 90 degrees, and you’re wearing shorts on New Year’s Eve.”

Fuller, a 40-year-old DIRTcar big-block Modified star from Watertown, N.Y., who made a successful transition to dirt Late Models in 2007, spent the 1999-2000 off-season racing a dirt Modified throughout Australia. Thus he was among the first revelers to usher in the new millennium while partying on the coast in Byron Bay, the easternmost point in Australia.

“It was just a huge party there,” says Fuller. “All these people started lighting flairs with no clothes on, and at midnight they just took off walking into the ocean with the flairs up in the air. That was the wildest thing I’ve ever seen.”…

York, Pa.’s Rick Eckert, the second-winningest driver on the WoO LMS since 2004, says his most memorable New Year’s Eve experience is a ‘Millennium Cruise’ through the Caribbean he went on with his wife and more than two dozen other family members and friends.

“There was that whole ‘Y2K’ thing (entering the year 2000), when the whole world was gonna end,” quips Eckert. “We decided to go on a cruise so that if it did, we’d be in the middle of the ocean and it wouldn’t matter. We figured when the clock struck 12 we wouldn’t know if everything went dead or not because we were on a boat.”…

The low-key Darrell Lanigan, a WoO LMS regular since 2004, also fondly recalls welcoming the new year on the high seas.

“We took a cruise one year over New Year’s,” says Lanigan. “That was pretty neat, something different.”…

Two top-10-ranked WoO LMS racers hailing from central Illinois – ninth-place finisher/Rookie of the Year contender Brian Shirley of Chatham and 10th-place Shannon Babb of Moweaqua – count New Year’s Eve visits to the West Coast as their most memorable celebrations of the holiday.

“Back when I was like 18 (and racing flat-track motorcycles), I went to downtown San Francisco for New Year’s Eve,” says the now 26-year-old Shirley, who was in Northern California with a sponsor of his bike racing effort. “It was chaos. I had never seen so many people in one place for New Year’s Eve before.”

Babb, a five-time WoO LMS winner in ’07, saw 2007 arrive while in Sin City.

“Last year Emalie (Meyer, his fiancee) and I and some friends went out to (Las) Vegas,” says Babb. “We went to some parties, the casinos, just had a good time.”…

Bear Lake, Pa.’s Chub Frank hung out with the beautiful people one memorable New Year’s Eve a few years ago.

“We were going on a cruise (from Miami) so we went down early and went to South Beach for New Year’s Eve,” says Frank, who led the WoO LMS in A-Mains wins in 2007 and finished second in the points standings. “There were four of us – me, my wife Mary, and my cousin and his wife. We had a good time.

“But actually, I think we have more fun when we’re home for New Year’s,” adds a smiling Frank, who is well-known for hosting epic bashes in his race shop, which includes a bar adorned with his racing memorabilia…

Locust Grove, Ga.’s Shane Clanton traveled up to the Tar Heel State to celebrate the arrival of the year 2000.

“My wife and I went to Boone, North Carolina,” says Clanton, who finished fourth in the 2007 WoO LMS points standings. “We went skiing and watched the big fireworks show they put on. It was also the year my Dad passed away, and we took my Mom with us.”…

Hitting the slopes on New Year’s Eve is almost a New Year’s Eve tradition for Shinnston, W.Va.’s Josh Richards, who at 19 years old has seen the fewest New Years of all WoO LMS drivers and is also the tour’s only regular who can’t legally drink at a bar.

“We went skiing for New Year’s for like five or six years,” says Richards, who won four times on the 2007 WoO LMS. “I’m not much of a partier, so that’s really exciting enough for me.”…

Happy New Year from the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, which kicks off the 2008 season on Feb. 14 and 16 during the 37th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com

 Custom Race Engines’ Larry Clark accepting his World of Outlaws Late Model Series ‘Engines Builders Challenge’ Award

(Bob Perran photo)


Custom Race Engines Is Winner Of 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series ‘Engine Builders Challenge’ Award
 

CONCORD, NC – Dec. 29, 2007 – It was a very, very good year on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series for Custom Race Engines.

A stalwart on the dirt Late Model scene for 23 years, the Knoxville, Tenn.-based business shined brighter than ever in 2007. Three of the top-four finishers in the WoO LMS points standings used Custom power in ’07, propelling the well-respected company to the tour’s ‘Engine Builders Challenge’ Award.

Led by founder Larry Clark and his 28-year-old son Jeremy, Custom Race Engines provided the Chevy motors that were bolted inside the cars of WoO LMS champion Steve Francis, runner-up Chub Frank and fourth-place Shane Clanton. Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller also utilized a Custom engine periodically throughout his campaign, adding to the Clarkes’ ’07 WoO LMS success story.

“Winning this award with the World of Outlaws brings us a lot of satisfaction,” Larry Clark said after being honored during the 2007 WoO LMS Awards Banquet on Dec. 6 in Orlando, Fla. “Not only for myself and Jeremy, but for the guys at the shop too.”

Indeed, constructing the engines that laid claim to a dozen highly-competitive WoO LMS A-Main wins – including Frank’s series-leading six victories – was a team effort by the close-knit Custom gang.

“We’ve got a small group of people (working at Custom), five guys, and that makes the success we’ve had even more satisfying,” said Larry Clark, 54. “It’s fun when you run an engine on the dyno and every one of (the employees) will cycle through and look at the numbers. It just shows that everybody pulls in the right direction, nobody’s fighting, and nobody’s above doing anything, including me.

“I’m right in there and work as many or more hours as anybody. I tease them all – I say, ‘I’m the cheapest help I’ve got.’”

Francis brought Custom its seventh national dirt Late Model points championship in the last 12 years. The shop previously captured Hav-A-Tampa/UDTRA/Xtreme series titles with Freddy Smith (1996), Billy Moyer (1997), Dale McDowell (1999) and Scott Bloomquist (2000 and 2003), and Bloomquist also collected the 2004 WoO LMS crown using Custom power.

The would-be championship pairing of Francis and Custom Race Engines developed barely two months before the start of the 2007 WoO LMS season. In search of a new engine program after his long-running deal with Mopar ended in December 2006, Francis looked to Custom after crossing paths with Jeremy Clark during the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Orlando, Fla.

“Jeremy bumped into Steve in the aisles at PRI (in 2006),” said Larry Clark. “I had actually gone back to the hotel on the first day, and when Jeremy got back he said, ‘I talked to Steve Francis today and he wants to talk to you about engines.’ I said, ‘Really? What about his Mopar deal?’ Jeremy said that was gone, so we put a deal together and it worked out well for everybody.

“It was a real honor this year to win the World of Outlaws championship with Steve coming on board.”

Clark paused, and then said, “I’ve watched the Outlaws transition – for the better – and I’m proud to be doing engines for guys that run in this series. Like what I said when I was up on stage (accepting his WoO LMS ‘Engine Builders Challenge’ Award’) – I believe this really is the greatest show on dirt.

“I’ve seen how the series has evolved and brought more people in, how the T.V. races like the (live SPEED broadcast) show at Charlotte (of the ‘Outlaws World Finals’) is bringing a lot of fans in.

“You’ll never believe how many people I talked to after Charlotte who said to me, ‘Hey, I saw Steve Francis was running your stuff at Charlotte.’ I said, ‘You were there?’ and they said, ‘No, I watched it on T.V.’”

Unfortunately for Clark, Francis won’t chase a second consecutive WoO LMS title using Custom power. That’s because Francis is moving to Maryland team owner Dale Beitler’s Reliable Painting No. 19 machine for the 2008 season and will utilize the Jack Cornett-built engines that Beitler already has in his arsenal.

But Custom will continue to handle the engine program for Francis’s own No. 15 team, which will see action in selected major events with 2006 WoO LMS champion Tim McCreadie behind the wheel. Custom will also have Frank, Clanton and Fuller among its clients in ’08, and WoO LMS star Rick Eckert has announced that he will switch to Custom Chevy engines for the 2008 season after several years using Cornett Fords.

Clark understands Francis’s situation and wishes him well with the Beitler deal and engines constructed by Cornett, the 2006 WoO LMS ‘Engine Builder of the Year’ and a friendly rival of Clark’s.

“Jack Cornett is my friend, and we’re good competitors,” said Clark. “I told Jack, ‘We’re just switching (drivers). You’re taking one of mine (Francis), and I’m taking one of yours (Eckert).’”

Clark is confident of continued success for Custom Race Engines on the WoO LMS in 2008 and beyond.

“We’re looking forward to (2008),” said Clark. “We’ve already got new 2008 projects we’re testing now, and we should be better.

“It’s a challenge to make power, but it’s a challenge we enjoy.”

The future is certainly bright at Custom Race Engines. With a new facility to house the business in the process of being built about 10 minutes away from the current shop and success enveloping the firm, Clark couldn’t be happier.

“I’m really blessed with the fact that Jeremy, my son, is there with me in the middle of the business and does a great job with it as well,” said Clark, who expects to begin operating out of the new shop within a year. “Jeremy has done it all at the business, and I want him to take over more of it – and he is.”

The 2008 WoO LMS kicks off on Feb. 14 and 16 with two events that are part of the 37th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com



Tis The Season: World of Outlaws Late Model Series Stars Remember Their Favorite Christmas Presents



CONCORD, NC – Dec. 23, 2007 – Tis the season for the top-10 drivers in the 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series points standings to fondly recall their alltime favorite Christmas presents…

Not surprisingly, there’s a motorized theme running through many of these racing boys’ top holiday memories.

Take reigning WoO LMS champion Steve Francis, for instance. The ‘Kentucky Colonel’ has two Christmas gifts from his childhood that he can’t quite separate as being the best.

“I was probably six and my brother (Chris, who passed away in 2001) was four, and when we got up on Christmas morning Mod and Dad had this big slot-car track set up for us downstairs in the basement,” says Francis, 40. “The track crossed, there were loops – it had everything. For a six-year-old kid, that’s pretty entertaining, and we played with that thing all day and for years after that. I loved it – and as a matter of fact, me and my daughter have (a slot-car track) right now and we play with it all the time.

“Another time, when I was probably 10 and my brother was eight, we got up on Christmas morning and we had two new dirt bikes sitting there. We just rode those things and rode those things.”…

Dirt bikes were also the presents that stick out most in the minds of Clint Smith and Darrell Lanigan.

“I was about 10 years old and I got a Suzuki 125 dirt bike,” says Smith, the 42-year-old Georgia star known as ‘Cat Daddy.’ “I asked for it, and that’s what I got. I loved that thing.”

There was an element of surprise, meanwhile, to Lanigan’s Christmas morning.

“I was like 10, and after we opened all our presents, he told us to go out there to the garage like we were gonna go work or something,” the 37-year-old Kentucky standout says of his father. “Well, the (dirt bikes) were sitting out there in the garage.”…
At the young age of 19, Josh Richards isn’t quite as far removed from his joyous childhood memories as his rivals on the WoO LMS. It was only a few years ago, then, that the Shinnston, W.Va., star who goes by the nickname ‘Kid Rocket’ received the present that made him smile the most.

“I was like 12, and I had been bugging my Dad for a four-wheeler for a couple years,” says Richards, the 2005 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year. “I had a little one, but I wanted a new one, a real one. That year I woke up (on Christmas day) at like six in the morning because I kinda thought I might finally be getting one, and there it was sitting out on the porch.

“I ran it all around the yard that day and then took it down to the (Rocket Chassis) shop to really do some riding.”…

Another form of motorized entertainment provided a holiday thrill to 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller.

“I was seven years old, and I got a seven-horse Bombardier snowmobile,” says the 40-year-old Fuller, a lifelong resident of New York’s snowy Northcountry. “I had never asked for one, which made it a big surprise. I opened up this box (that was under the tree), and it said, ‘Look out the window,’ and there it was.

“Man, I rode that thing all day.”…

Rick Eckert didn’t need any gas to power his most memorable Christmas gift, but it did have four wheels.
“I got this little electric car when I was just a little guy,” says the 42-year-old Eckert, the second-winningest driver on the WoO LMS since 2004. “It was one of those cars that you charge it up, sit on it, and and step on the gas pedal.

“My old man has video of me just running into people with it all day. I don’t remember that part, but when I see the video, I’m just driving into people and you can see them all getting mad.”

The youngest of five siblings, Eckert relished a surprise present like his electric car.

“There was a lot of kids in my family, so you didn’t ask for anything,” Eckert says with a smile about his Christmas wish lists. “You got what you got, so an electric car was a pretty big deal.”…

Neither fuel nor electricity was necessary to make Georgia star Shane Clanton’s Christmas present go fast.

“The most memorable thing I ever got for Christmas was a homemade go-kart that my Dad built for me when I was six years old,” says Clanton, who finished fourth in the 2007 WoO LMS points standings. “My two brothers got motorcycles, and I got a hand-built push kart that had four slick tires on it. It was under the tree with a bow on it.

“We lived on top of a hill, so we’d just keep riding it down the hill and pulling it back up to the top. It was the coolest thing – you could do donuts with it and everything. When I was 10 years old, all the kids in the neighborhood still came over to ride it.”…

Shannon Babb calls his most memorable Christmas present “a little crazy.”

“When I was a little kid, I always wanted pig for Christmas,” says Moweaqua, Ill.’s Babb, who won five times on the WoO LMS in 2007 and finished 10th in the points standings. “I bugged my parents for one, but my Dad never said a word. Well, when I was about 18, my Dad got me one of those Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs. I thought it was hilarious!

“We had that pig around the shop for probably six, seven years. It never got bigger than a small house cat, and it was smart. I finally ended up giving it to one of my buddies to take care of.”…

Brian Shirley can’t come up with a specific Christmas gift he’s received that stands above all others. Instead, the question makes him think of a funny holiday tradition with his old man.

“Every year for Christmas I get a card with a dollar bill in it from my father,” quips Chatham, Ill.’s Shirley, a 26-year-old who won his first career WoO LMS A-Main en route to a ninth-place points finish during his rookie touring season in 2007…

Chub Frank is another Outlaw who doesn’t have a personal favorite Christmas gift from his past.

“I got anything I wanted when I was a kid – if you ask my cousins, they’ll tell you that,” says the ever-joking Frank, a 45-year-old from Bear Lake, Pa., who led the WoO LMS in victories and finished second in the points standings in 2007. “When we were growing up my cousins always said, ‘If you wanted to see Christmas (anytime), you come to the Franks’ house.’

“We had racetracks. My Dad owned a snowmobile shop, so I rode all those sleds. I never had to ask for all those ‘exciting’ toys (as a present) because we had all that good stuff.”…

Happy Holidays from the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, which kicks off the 2008 season on Feb. 14 and 16 during the 37th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
 

Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com

Last-Minute Holiday Gift Idea: World of Outlaws & DIRTcar Modified DVDs

CONCORD, NC – Dec. 18, 2007 – Fans of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car and Late Model Series and the DIRTcar Modified division can bring the action of the biggest events from 2007 into their homes this holiday season.

DVDs of exciting Sprint Car, Late Model and big-block Modified races are now available for purchase, led by DIRTVision.com’s release of ESPN2’s “SuperClean Summer of Money” World of Outlaws Sprint Car events.

Fans can relive all the drama and excitement from the 2007 season through the “SuperClean Summer of Money” 8-disc box set. Watch as Bobby Gerould, Brad Doty and Sean Buckley bring you up close to “The Greatest Show on Dirt - the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.

Own a piece of history – the first Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car events televised on ESPN2 – for just $59.99 plus shipping and handling.

You can order the ‘Summer of Money” box set by calling 315-834-6606 ext. 136 or e-mailing customerservice@dirtvision.com  for  an order form. Mention you saw this ad in the DIRTVision.com newsletter and receive free shipping and handling (a value of $8).

Select World of Outlaws Sprint Car and Late Model events that were broadcast on SPEED are also available for purchase in DVD format, including the inaugural ‘World Finals’ from The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The 2007 Super DIRT Week big-block Modified ‘Rite Aid 200’ and 358-Modiifed ‘ITT Corporation Gould’s Pumps Salute to the Troops 150’ are also available for purchase as DVDs.

ESPN’s “SuperClean Summer of Money Box Set”

(All 8 Shows included in the Box Set)


Show 1 – 6/16 Knoxville Raceway (Winner – Terry McCarl)

Show 2 – 6/23 Dodge City Raceway Park (Winner – Daryn Pittman)

Show 3 – 6/30 Red River Valley Speedway (Winner – Jac Haudenschild)

Show 4 – 7/7 I-55 Raceway (Winner – Joey Saldana)

Show 5 – 7/14 “Kings Royal” Eldora Speedway (Winner – Donny Schatz)

Show 6 – 7/17 “Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup” Lernerville Speedway (Winner – Donny Schatz)

Show 7 – 7/28 K-C Raceway (Winner – Terry McCarl)

Show 8 – 8/3 Charter Raceway Park (Winner – Jason Solwold)

Other DVDs Available

(All DVDs below only $20 plus Shipping and Handling)

The World Finals – Watch the historical first World of Outlaws World Finals. Catch all the action in the inaugural event featuring the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series on the same night at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

The Moody Mile the ’90s – 5-race DVD, covering the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on the famed 1-mile track in Syracuse, NY. Witness what many call the greatest Sprint Car race ever, the 1992 Spark Plug Nationals, during which Steve Kinser and Jac Haudenschild put fear aside and waged an epic battle.

The Moody Mile the ’80s – 5-race DVD, covering the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on the famed 1-mile track in Syracuse, NY. Watch Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell and Doug Wolfgang battle the track now outlawed by the Outlaws.

SPEED Shows – Select races broadcast on SPEED featuring the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series (Williams Grove, Eldora, Charlotte, Lernerville, Virginia Motor Speedway). Call 315-834-6606 ext 136 or e-mail customerservice@dirtvision.com  for full list.

Super DIRT Week ’07 ITT Corporation Gould’s Pumps Salute to the troops 150 – Watch the excitement and desperation as Mother Nature throws in a twist that decides the race on the final lap.

Super DIRT Week ’07 Rite Aid 200 – The Grand Daddy of them all, the Rite Aid 200. Witness Vic Coffey show everyone that this time was not a fluke.

Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com

 Raye Vest and Rick Eckert with their wives at the WoO LMS Banquet (Bob Perran photo)

Car Owner Raye Vest Deserving Recipient Of ‘Outstanding Contribution To Sport’ Award From World of Outlaws Late Model Series



CONCORD, NC – Dec. 18, 2007 – Raye Vest received a big surprise during the recent 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Awards Banquet.

And not surprisingly, it got the veteran car owner’s emotions flowing.

After deciding to attend the gala affair on Dec. 6 in Orlando, Fla., thanks to the encouragement of his longtime driver Rick Eckert, Vest was called to the stage by World Racing Group CEO/CFO Brian Carter to accept a well-deserved Outstanding Contribution to the Sport award.

Vest, 74, of Waldorf, Md., was left almost speechless by the unexpected honor.

“This is quite a surprise,” Vest said into the microphone in his distinctive southern drawl. “It’s been a long time (in racing), but I still enjoy every minute of it.

“I don’t know how much longer I got, but I never give up,” he added before pausing a moment to collect himself. “And I’ll let Rick know when it’s time (to disband Raye Vest Racing).”

That time, thankfully, is still at some point in the future. Eckert, who turned 42 on Dec. 14, is set to mark his 13th season driving Vest’s familiar orange No. 24 dirt Late Models in 2008, with another pursuit of the team’s first World of Outlaws Late Model Series at the top of his priority list.

Vest and Eckert have been a stalwart combination on the WoO LMS, entering all 154 events that the tour has contested since its re-launch under the World Racing Group banner in 2004. They have scored 15 series victories – second on the tour’s 2004-2007 win list behind Scott Bloomquist’s 16 – and registered points-race finishes of third (2004), fourth (2005), seventh (2006) and fifth (2007).

Eckert has also brought Vest plenty of glory away from the WoO LMS. The York, Pa., star’s long stint in Vest’s equipment includes back-to-back UDTRA/Xtreme DirtCar Series titles (2001-2002); $100,000 payoffs for winning the 1999 ‘Dream’ at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway and the UDTRA/Xtreme ‘Great Northern Challenge’ in 2002; major-event victories in the Dirt Track World Championship at Kentucky’s Bluegrass Speedway (2004), ‘Scorcher 100’ at Volunteer Speedway (2005) and National 100 at East Alabama Motor Speedway (2004 and 2005); and even a handful of ARCA Series superspeedway starts in the ‘90s.

As far as Vest is concerned, there’s no driver he’d rather have steering his race cars than Eckert.

“I remember Rick came up to me about a year or two before I hired him, and he told me that if I ever needed a driver to let him know,” said Vest. “Well, I kept watching him, and when time came, I called him. We’ve been together ever since.

“There aren’t many people like Rick Eckert,” continued Vest. “He’s a very honest man, a good man, a good boy.

“He’s also a hard worker, and that’s what you’re looking for as a car owner. He’s treats my stuff like it’s his, which is one of the main reasons him and I have been together so long.”

Eckert is the fourth driver that Vest has employed during his 22 years as a dirt Late Model car owner, following George Moreland, Nathan Durboraw and Rodney Franklin.

Vest attended his first dirt-track race in 1949 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway – he was raised in the mountains of western Virginia, about two miles from the home of NASCAR pioneer Curtis Turner – but didn’t become actively involved in the sport until later in life. He decided to begin helping Moreland after his children had grown up and his business, Raye Vest Excavating, had become well-established.

“I never had the money to race when I was raising my family,” said Vest. “I was never going to take food off the table to go racing.

“Once my kids were grown, I wanted to find a hobby. I think everybody’s gotta have a hobby. I picked a very expensive one, but I don’t regret it. If I had my life to live over, I’d do it again.”

There is certainly no car owner who can claim to love dirt-track racing more than Vest. He doesn’t attend as many events as he once did because he’s been slowed by breathing problems that force him to use an oxygen canister (“That’s from a little too much cigarette smoking,” he said), but he’s still present quite often to pick Eckert’s time-trial number and drive his orange golf-cart around the pit area.

“As long as I can find a place at the racetrack where I can see (the races) from my motorhome or the tower, I’ll be out there,” said Vest. “I just can’t be out in the dust during the races.”

And on the occasions that Vest isn’t on hand to watch Eckert in action, he’s sure to be listening or watching on his computer, whether it be from his home in Maryland or his residence on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. If there’s any hiccup with the DirtVision.com internet broadcast of a WoO LMS event, the first person WoO LMS announcer Rick Eshelman can expect to get a call from at the track is Vest, anxious to find out what’s happening.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot for Vest and Eckert to get excited about on the 2007 WoO LMS. In one of the most unexpected storylines of the season, Eckert went winless on the tour – the only driver among the final top-10 in the points standings to finish the year without a victory, in fact. The driver known as ‘Scrub’ recorded five runner-up finishes, failed to finish only one of the season’s 44 A-Mains and improved to fifth in the points race, but, with crew and chassis changes dotting his year, he didn’t perform to his normal lofty standards.

After winning multiple A-Mains in each of the tour’s first three seasons – including a series-leading eight victories in 2006 – a goose-egg in the ’07 win column certainly was disappointing for Eckert and Vest. But Vest is confident that Eckert will be back at the front of the pack with the WoO LMS in 2008.

“This year was a struggle, there’s no doubt about it,” said Vest. “We changed cars (from Rocket to MasterSbilt before the season, then to GRT in August), and now we changed motors (from Cornett to Custom) for next year. We’re going to get it right.

“In 12 years together, we had eight or nine really good years. That’s better than most teams, so we ain’t complaining. We just were not as good this year as we have been in the past, but we will return. We will be back.”

Vest said that his age and health problems have made him realize that his “time is getting short,” so he plans to savor every moment of his racing excursions with Eckert. Finally adding a World of Outlaws title to his team’s ledger would just make him feel even better.

“It would be wonderful to see Rick the World of Outlaws championship,” said Vest. “We won the UDTRA championship twice and just about everything else there is to win, except the World 100 and World of Outlaws.

“I guess the World of Outlaws (crown) would mean the most, because we’re racing with the best. All them boys are good, and it’s good racing.

“Yeah, I’d like to win a championship one more time,” Vest added with a smile. “At least one more.”

The 2008 WoO LMS kicks off on Feb. 14 and 16 with two events that are part of the 37th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com



June’s ‘Great Northern Tour’ Headlines 2008 Action In Northeast For World of Outlaws Late Model Series



CONCORD, NC – Dec. 10, 2008 – Fans living in the Northeast will have plenty of opportunities to witness World of Outlaws Late Model Series action in 2008.

The nation’s richest dirt Late Model tour will contest approximately 40 percent of its 50-plus-event ’08 schedule at tracks in or near the Northeastern corner of the United States, headlined by the seven-race ‘Great Northern Tour’ that barnstorms through the region in late-June.

A 2008 WoO LMS schedule listing 46 confirmed events at 39 tracks in 22 states and three Canadian provinces was released during last week’s Performance Racing Industry trade show in Orlando, Fla. At least a half-dozen additional events are still to be announced, including several that will intrigue fans in the Northeast.

“The World of Outlaws Late Model Series will continue to have a strong presence in the Northeast region,” said Tim Christman, the director of the WoO LMS. “We always receive strong support from all the great racers and fans in dirt Late Model hotbeds like Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio, and we relish the opportunity to expose top-notch dirt Late Model racing to fans in areas like upstate New York and Canada.”

The ‘Great Northern Tour’ will bring the WoO LMS to the Northeast for seven events over a 12-day period in June, culminating with the second annual ‘Firecracker 100’ spectacular on June 27-28 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. A purse increase for the 2008 ‘Firecracker 100’ will push its winner’s share to $40,000, up a robust $10,000 from the blockbuster inaugural event won by 2004 WoO LMS champion Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn.

Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway, which hosted the WoO LMS for the first time in 2007, will kick off the ‘Great Northern Tour’ on Tues., June 17, with a 40-lap A-Main paying $7,000 to win.

Then the ‘series-within-a-series’ heads north for three nights of competition across the border in Canada, visiting Ohsweken (Ont.) Speedway on Thurs., June 19; Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Que., on Sat., June 21; and Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway on Sun., June 22. The first-ever WoO LMS event in Canada was held in 2007 before a standing-room-crowd at Autodrome Drummond – and a huge throng is expected again at the three-eighths-mile oval and for the inaugural WoO LMS shows at Ohsweken and Cornwall.

The Canadian facilities have big plans for their WoO LMS dates. The Drummond WoO LMS event will once again be part of the track’s celebration of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, a holiday in which French Canadians express their cultural pride and rich heritage. Ohsweken, meanwhile, will use its WoO LMS program to commence two huge days of action (an Empire Super Sprints series show is scheduled for the following night), and Cornwall owner Ron Morin is planning a never-before-attempted tripleheader of WoO LMS, Empire Super Sprint and DIRTcar 358-Modified competition on June 22.

Back in the U.S., the ‘Great Northern Tour’ will pay mid-week visits to Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway and Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pa., before heading to Lernerville’s ‘Firecracker 100.’ Canandaigua will host its first-ever WoO LMS event on Tues., June 24, with the BRP CanAm Series for 360 Late Models on the undercard, and the tour will hit Pennsylvania’s Coal Country for the first time with a date on Wed., June 25, at Big Diamond.

The WoO LMS’s first action of ’08 near Northeastern fans will come on Fri., April 11, at Virginia Motor Speedway, which will host the tour for the fourth consecutive season. A traditional springtime date at Lernerville Speedway, on Tues., April 15, is also part of the swing.

A first-ever stop at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park at Fri., May 16, will bring the WoO LMS back to the region, followed by an attractive doubleheader on Thurs., May 29, at Delaware International Speedway (nearby Dover International Speedway begins its NASCAR weekend that day) and Sat., May 31, at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway (the 27th annual ‘Conococheague 50’).

The tour returns to the Northeast region in late-July for a four-race ‘Speedweek’ in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Dates in the Buckeye State are scheduled for Thurs., July 24, at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville (first-ever WoO LMS event at Ronnie Moran’s track), Fri., July 25, at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg (the second consecutive year for a WoO LMS event at the Tony Stewart-owned speed palace), and Sat., July 26, at Dave Blaney’s Sharon Speedway in Hartford, and the swing closes on Sun., July 27, at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa.

The busy summer stretch of racing will close out with what will likely be the final chances for Northeastern fans to see the WoO LMS stars in their backyards. K-C Raceway in Alma, Ohio, hosts the tour on Sat., Aug. 23, and then the series visits Pennsylvania over Labor Day Weekend for events on Fri., Aug. 29, at Bedford Speedway, which drew a big crowd for its first-ever WoO LMS show in 2007, and Aug. 30-31 at Tri-City Speedway in Franklin. The format of Tri-City’s program – separate 50-lap, $10,000-to-win events or a two-day, 100-lap A-Main – is still to be announced.

The 2008 WoO LMS will open on Feb. 14 and 16 with the 37th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., and end on Oct. 30-31/Nov. 1 with the second annual ‘Outlaws World Finals’ at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

There are more than a dozen new tracks on the 2008 schedule. The ‘Firecracker 100’ is one of several extra-distance specials dotting the calendar, joining the $50,000-to-win Circle K Colossal 100 on April 18-19 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway; the $20,000-to-win ‘Freedom 100’ on March 28-29 at Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss.; a 100-lapper paying $20,000 to win on April 4-5 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway; and the ‘Scorcher 100’ on Aug. 20-21 at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

2008 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Schedule (as of Dec. 7, 2007) - Northeast-Region Events In Bold

Date – Day – Track/Location – Event - To Win - Laps

Feb. 14 – Thurs. – Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL – DIRTcar Nationals - $10,000 – 50L

Feb. 16 – Sat. – Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL – DIRTcar Nationals - $10,000 – 50L

March 28-29 – Fri./Sat. – Pike County Speedway/Magnolia, MS – FREEDOM 100 - $20,000 – 100L

April 4-5 – Fri./Sat. – Farmer City (IL) Raceway - $20,000 – 100L

April 11 – Fri. – Virginia Motor Speedway/Jamaica, VA - $10,000 – 50L

April 15 – Tues. – Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA - $10,000 – 50L

April 18-19 – Fri./Sat. – The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – CIRCLE K COLOSSAL 100 - $50,000 – 100L

April 25 – Fri. – TBA

April 26 – Sat. – Lebanon I-44 Speedway/Lebanon, MO - $10,000 – 50L

April 27 – TBA

May 16 – Fri. – Attica (OH) Raceway Park - $10,000 – 50L

May 17 – Sat. – Lawrenceburg (IN) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L

May 18 – Sun. – Lincoln (IL) Speedway - $7,000 – 40L

May 29 – Thurs. – Delaware International Speedway/Delmar, DE - $10,000 – 50L

May 31 – Sat. – Hagerstown (MD) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L

June 1 – Sun. – TBA

June 17 – Tues. – Port Royal (PA) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L

June 19 – Thurs. – Ohsweken (ONT) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $10,000 – 50L

June 21 – Sat. – Autodrome Drummond/Drummondville, QUE – Great Northern Tour - $10,000 – 50L

June 22 – Sun. – Cornwall (ONT) Motor Speedway – Great Northern Tour -$10,000 – 50L

June 24 – Tues. – Canandaigua (NY) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L

June 25 – Wed. – Big Diamond Raceway/Minersville, PA – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L

June 27-28 – Fri./Sat. – Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA – Great Northern Tour (FIRECRACKER 100) - $40,000 – 100L

July 9 – Wed. – Deer Creek Speedway/Spring Valley, MN – Wild West Tour (Gopher 50) - $10,000 – 50L

July 10 – Thurs. – North Central Speedway/Brainerd, MN – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L

July 11 – Fri. – River Cities Speedway/Grand Forks, ND – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L

July 12 – Sat. – Estevan Motor Speedway/Estevan, SAS – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L

July 15 – Tues. – TBA

July 16 – Gillette Thunder Speedway/Gillette, WY – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L

July 18 – Fri. – Brown County Speedway/Aberdeen, SD – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L

July 20 – Sun. – Belleville (KS) High Banks – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 40L

July 21 – Mon. – Boone County Speedway/Albion, NE – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L

July 24 – Thurs. – Muskingum County Speedway/Zanesville, OH – Speedweek - $7,000 – 40L

July 25 – Fri. – Eldora Speedway/Rossburg, OH – Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L

July 26 – Sat. – Sharon Speedway/Hartford, OH – Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L

July 27 – Sun. – Eriez Speedway/Hammett, PA – Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L

Aug. 15 – Fri. – Fayetteville (NC) Motor Speedway - $10,000 – 50L

Aug. 16 – Sat. – Screven Motor Speedway/Sylvania, GA - $10,000 – 50L

Aug. 17 – Sun. – Golden Isles Speedway/Waynesville, GA - $7,000 – 40L

Aug. 20-21 – Wed./Thurs. – Volunteer Speedway/Bulls Gap, TN – SCORCHER 100 – TBA – 100L

Aug. 23 – Sat. – K-C Raceway/Alma, OH - $10,000 – 50L

Aug. 24 – Sun. – TBA

Aug. 29 – Fri. – Bedford (PA) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L

Aug. 30 – Sat. – Tri-City Speedway/Franklin, PA – TBA – TBA

Aug. 31 – Sun. – Tri-City Speedway/Franklin, PA – TBA – TBA

Sept. 12 – Fri. – TBA

Sept. 13 – Sat. – I-55 Raceway/Pevely, MO – Pepsi Nationals - $10,000 – 50L

Sept. 14 – Sun. – TBA


Oct. 8 – Wed. – The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC - Southern Showdown - $30,000 possible – 50L

Oct. 11 – Sat. – Volunteer Speedway/Bulls Gap, TN - $10,000 – 50L

Oct. 12 – Sun. – North Alabama Speedway/Tuscumbia, AL - $7,000 – 40L


Oct. 30 – Thurs. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS (Time Trials)

Oct. 31 – Fri. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS - $10,000 – 50L

Nov. 1 – Sat. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS - $10,000 – 50L

* Schedule subject to change (check www.worldofoutlaws.com  for the latest information)

Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com



Steve Francis Picks Up $100,000 Championship Check At Thursday Night’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series Awards Banquet



ORLANDO, FL – Dec. 6, 2007 – Steve Francis clinched his long-awaited first career World of Outlaws Late Model points title last month.

On Thursday night, the star driver picked up the huge check for his hard work during the 2007 season.

Francis, 40, of Ashland, Ky., received a cool $100,000 championship prize from series officials during the tour’s ‘Night of Champions’ Awards Banquet at the International Plaza Resort & Spa in Orlando, Fla.

The six-figure payoff culminated an impeccable campaign for Francis, who finally broke through to claim the WoO LMS points crown after heartbreaking runner-up finishes in 2004 and 2005.

“At least I don’t have to watch that video anymore of Volusia County a couple years ago,” quipped Francis, who lost the ’05 title to Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., on a tie-breaker after being passed for position by Moyer on the last lap of the season finale at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park. “I’ve seen that (footage) too many times, so I’ve always wanted to win this championship to kinda put that deal behind us.”

Francis was presented the lion’s share of the over $400,000 in cash that was passed out during the banquet by the World Racing Group, which has operated the WoO LMS since 2004.

No one could begrudge Francis a single cent of his championship booty. He certainly earned the big reward by putting together an unmatched performance record in the 44 A-Mains that comprised the 2007 WoO LMS.

Driving his familiar Valvoline Rocket No. 15, Francis registered four wins, 27 top-five and 40 top-10 finishes. After dropping out of two early-season events, he finished the season with a remarkable 38 consecutive lead-lap finishes.

Francis beat Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., by 126 points for the title, which brought him some special personal satisfaction.

“This is the first championship we’ve won since the passing of my brother,” said Francis, whose younger sibling and life-long crew chief died unexpectedly in August 2001. “It means a lot to win it with Lee (Logan, Francis’s chief mechanic in 2007), because Lee and my brother were really, really close friends.”

Lee Logan, 30, and his wife Brandie, who is expecting the couple’s first child in March, were on hand at the banquet to help Francis celebrate his title. They shared a head table with Francis and his girlfriend Jennifer, as well as Francis’s parents and Logan’s father Tim, who fielded the Rocket No. 11 that Francis drove in selected non-Outlaws events in 2007.

Francis hailed the support of the people closest to him, calling them critical cogs in a driver’s push for a championship.

“Our families put up with a lot more than people realize,” said Francis. “They’re the ones who let us do this. There are no Fourths of July at home, or anything like that – we’re always on the road racing and trying to make a living, and they let us do that.

“I want to thank them for all they do for us.”

Francis, who earned nearly $250,000 in WoO LMS purse and points-fund cash in 2007, spent the evening savoring his championship season. But he also noted that he’s already looking ahead to a 2008 campaign that will see him make a change in his racing attack.

The ‘Kentucky Colonel’ recently announced that he will drive Maryland team owner Dale Beitler’s Reliable Painting Rocket No. 19 in 2008. Francis will bring sponsorship from Valvoline to the effort and plans to chase a second consecutive WoO LMS title behind the wheel of Beitler’s red, white and blue machine, which was unveiled on Thursday in the World Racing Group display at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Orlando.

Frank, 45, congratulated Francis when he took to the stage to accept his $60,000 check for a career-high points finish of second on the WoO LMS.

“You didn’t falter, not a bit,” Frank told Francis. “I thought maybe you might, but you didn’t.

“Actually, I think we probably were the ones who faltered, but I’m not complaining. We had a great year (scoring a series-high six wins), and it was fun racing with you.”

Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., received $40,000 for finishing third in the 2007 WoO LMS points standings. Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., picked up a $35,000 check for placing fourth and Rick Eckert of York, Pa., pocketed $30,000 for fifth.

Rounding out the top 10 in the points standings were Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va. ($25,000), Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. ($24,000), Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y. ($23,000), Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill. ($22,000) and Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill. ($21,000).

Of the top-10 finishers, only Shirley was unable to attend the banquet. He did not make the trip because his car owner, Ed Petroff, underwent surgery on Wednesday.

Fuller, 40, received an additional $10,000 and a new ButlerBuilt racing seat for winning the 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Award over Shirley, who earned a $5,000 bonus for finishing second in the rookie standings. The top rookie was determined using a driver’s best 30 finishes on the tour.

“You know, this Late Model (racing) was a lot tougher than I thought it would be,” smiled Fuller, a longtime DIRTcar Racing big-block Modified star. “It was a rough learning curve for me, but we learned a little bit along the way and hopefully we can do a little better next year.

“I just want to thank everybody for taking me in and accepting me as a Late Model driver.”

The WoO LMS Crew Chief of the Year Award went to Brad Baum, who turns the wrenches for Frank. Baum received the coveted mechanic’s honor by a vote of the tour’s crew chiefs and WoO LMS officials.

Unfortunately, Baum did not attend the banquet, so Frank accepted the award for his employee.

“I know Brad’s not gonna be happy about not being here,” said Frank, noting that Baum decided to stay home and work on the team’s cars. “I know if he was here, he’d be jumping up and down and having a good time, not believing he actually got this.

“He did a great job for me, and I probably wouldn’t have had as good a year as I did without him.”

Babb, who ran a majority of the WoO LMS for the first time in 2007, earned a $1,000 bonus for winning the most National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Awards during the season. He was quick-timer on six occasions.

Custom Race Engines in Knoxville, Tenn., was announced as the winner of the 2007 WoO LMS Engine Builders’ Challenge. Francis, Frank and Clanton exclusively used Custom powerplants in ’07, and Fuller utilized a Custom motor in numerous events.

“It was a great year for us, and we enjoyed our participation in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series,” Larry Clark of Custom Race Engines told the assemblage after accepting the award. “I think it certainly is the premier racing series on dirt.”

Rocket Chassis of Shinnston, W.Va., out-pointed Rayburn Chassis and GRT Chassis to win the 2007 WoO LMS Chassis Builders’ Challenge. Rocket’s Mark Richards accepted the award.

“We need to thank all the owners, drivers and crews who support Rocket Chassis,” said Richards. “This award is a product of all the great drivers and teams that use Rocket Chassis.”

Roger Slack and Matt Long of The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., were honored as the 2007 WoO LMS Promoters of the Year. They received recognition for hosting four very successful WoO LMS A-Mains in ’07 – the Circle K Colossal 100, Jani-King Southern Showdown and the inaugural ‘Outlaws World Finals’ that closed the season in blockbuster fashion.

World Racing Group CEO Brian Carter presented a special ‘Contribution to the Sport’ award to Maryland’s Raye Vest, the well-respected owner of the orange No. 24 cars driven by Rick Eckert.

“This is quite a surprise,” said the 74-year-old Vest, who became emotional while making remarks on the stage. “It’s been a long time (in racing), but I still enjoy every minute of it.

“I don’t know how much longer I got, but I never give up – and I’ll let Rick know when it’s time.”

Integra Shocks, which sponsored the ‘Wrench of the Race’ Award during the 2007 season, gave specially-designed leather coats to Lee Logan and his father Tim for winning the Integra Shocks ‘Crew Chief Challenge’ at the ‘Outlaws World Finals.’

The top-three finishers in the points standings also received 10 sheets of aluminum apiece from Wrisco Industries, a contingency sponsor throughout the 2007 season.

WoO LMS director Tim Christman addressed the banquet attendees during the gala.

“Mostly I’d like to thank the teams, the sponsors and the families for being involved and allowing us to take this show on the road and be the success that it is,” said Christman. “It’s a great joy for us to be the biggest show at a lot of tracks around the country and deal with a great group of champions.”

Christman also touched upon the 2008 WoO LMS schedule, which was released earlier in the day at the PRI trade show. Forty-six events at 39 tracks in 22 states and three Canadian provinces are currently listed on the sked, with at least a half-dozen more dates to be announced in the near future.

The 2008 WoO LMS kicks off on Feb. 14 and 16 with the 37th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Chris Dolack, VP Media/PR • cdolack@dirtcar.com
Kevin Kovac, UMP DIRTcar PR • kkovac@dirtcar.com
704-795-7223





UMP DIRTcar Roundup Will Rock I-55 Raceway With More Than 500 Competitors In Eight Divisions


CONCORD, N.C. — Dec. 7, 2007 — Four days of racing. Eight classes of cars. More than 500 competitors and thousands of laps. The thrilling high banks of Ken Schrader’s I-55 Raceway will never be the same after the inaugural UMP DIRTcar Roundup, the largest event in UMP DIRTcar Racing history.

From Oct. 15-18, Super Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, Pro Modifieds, Pro Late Models, Sportsman, Street Stocks, Factory Stocks and 4-Cylinders all will have a chance to shine on four consecutive days, which include feature events every night in the Mississippi River town of Pevely, Mo., just south of St. Louis in the heart of UMP DIRTcar Racing country.

“We’ve been looking for the right event to showcase I-55 Raceway and create a signature race that all the participants of UMP DIRTcar Racing want to attend,” said NASCAR star Ken Schrader. “I’m excited I-55 Raceway will be the host. There isn’t a faster or more competitive 11/32-mile track in the world. Plus, the atmosphere will be unlike any other race. This won’t be just a bunch of races, this will be a four-day party in Pevely.”

No doubt, with at least 500 cars expected to compete, the UMP DIRTcar Roundup will be the most unique dirt track event in the world.

“Building off of the success of the inaugural World of Outlaws World Finals, Florida DIRTcar Nationals and our annual Super DIRT Week, we’re excited to finally have a destination event for all of the UMP DIRTcar Racing competitors and fans,” said World Racing Group President Tom Deery. “We’re thrilled that Ken Schrader and Ray Marler are on board, too, because there isn’t a better venue than I-55 Raceway to host what will no doubt become one of dirt racing’s biggest successes. I can’t wait for October to see all of the motorhomes and competitors take over the grounds at I-55 for four days of fun.”

Keep up with the latest news on the inaugural UMP DIRTcar Roundup at DIRTcar.com and I55Raceway.com.

Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com



World of Outlaws Late Model Series Blazes New Trails With 2008 Schedule



CONCORD, NC – Dec. 7, 2007 – The World of Outlaws Late Model Series will blaze new trails during the 2008 season.

With Friday’s announcement of the tour’s ambitious ’08 schedule, it’s clear that the stars of the WoO LMS will be exposed to a record number of fans across the United States and Canada.

More than a dozen tracks are slated to host a WoO LMS event for the first time ever and there are visits to 22 different states and three Canadian provinces currently on the schedule, which was released at the annual Performance Racing Industry trade show in Orlando, Fla.

There are also several big-money, extra-distance events dotting the 2008 sked, highlighted by the $50,000-to-win Circle K Colossal 100 on April 18-19 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., and the $40,000-to-win ‘Firecracker 100’ on June 27-28 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.

The 2008 schedule, which currently lists 46 confirmed events at 39 tracks, kicks off on Feb. 14 and 16 with two 50-lap A-Mains during the 37th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.

“The goal that we have set is to continue to be the number one dirt Late Model racing series in the country,” said Tim Christman, the director of the WoO LMS. “To achieve that we need to continue to grow the series and broaden its horizons, and there’s no doubt we are doing that with the schedule of events we have put together for 2008.

“We have 46 confirmed dates and we’ll be adding several more. We’re thrilled that the demand for dates from track promoters is so great, and we’ll ultimately end up with a schedule of over 50 events in up to 25 states.”

A centerpiece of the ’08 sked will be the farthest trip west in the history of the WoO LMS. The ‘Wild West Tour’ – a series-within-the-series of at least eight events paying $10,000 to win – is currently scheduled to barnstorm through six states and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan from July 9-21.

The ‘Wild West Tour’ will begin on July 9 with the annual ‘Gopher 50’ at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., which will be part of the WoO LMS for the fourth consecutive season. The swing will also include return visits for the series on July 10 at North Central Speedway in Brainerd, Minn., (back on the tour after a year’s absence); July 11 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., which hosts the series for the third consecutive year; and July 20 at the Belleville (Kans.) High Banks, a legendary oval that drew a standing-room-only crowd for its inaugural WoO LMS event in 2007.

Never-before-visited territory that the WoO LMS will chart during the ‘Wild West Tour’ includes Saskatchewan’s Estevan Motor Speedway, a three-eighths-mile oval that will bring the series just across the North Dakota border to Canada on July 12; Gillette (Wyo.) Thunder Speedway (July 16); Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, S.D. (July 18); and Boone County Speedway in Albion, Neb., which closes the swing on July 21 with an event that will be part of the annual county fair. An additional event for July 15 is under negotiation.

The series will close out a busy month of July by heading east for another series-within-a-series: a four-night ‘Speedweek’ in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. A first-ever visit to Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio, on July 24 starts the stretch of racing, followed by return engagements at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, on July 25; Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, on July 26; and Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa., on July 27.

The WoO LMS will also make an extended swing through the Northeast from June 17-28, contesting the seven-event ‘Great Northern Tour’ that features three nights of racing in Canada and the second annual two-day ‘Firecracker 100’ spectacular at Lernerville Speedway.

A reprise of the successful 2007 mid-week event at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway will commence the ‘Great Northern Tour’ on June 17. Then the WoO LMS will make a first-ever trip across the border to Ontario for a June 19 event at Ohsweken Speedway, followed by a return to Quebec’s Autodrome Drummond for the second consecutive year on June 21 and an inaugural race at Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway on June 22.

The ‘Great Northern Tour’ continues with first-time WoO LMS events at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway on June 24 and Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pa., on June 25, leading into the blockbuster ‘Firecracker 100,’ which will see its winner’s share boosted $10,000 – to a cool $40,000 – in celebration of Lernerville’s 40th anniversary.

More exciting details on the WoO LMS ‘mini-series’ swings will be released in the coming weeks.

Joining the ‘Firecracker’ and Circle K Colossal 100 as extra-distance specials on the ’08 schedule are the $20,000-to-win ‘Freedom 100’ on March 28-29 at Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss., which will host its first WoO LMS event after having its initial attempt rained out in 2007; a 100-lapper paying $20,000 to win on April 4-5 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway, which will present the biggest dirt Late Model ever run in Illinois; and the ‘Scorcher 100’ on Aug. 20-21 at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn., which returns to the WoO LMS for the second consecutive season.

Other tracks that will hold WoO LMS events for the first time in 2008 include Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park, which had its first attempt at a WoO LMS washed out in July 2007 but will try again on May 16; Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway (Aug. 15); and Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga. (Aug. 16).

Tracks returning to the tour in ’08 after hosting shows for the first time during the past season include Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway, which will have an enlarged three-eighths-mile layout ready for a May 17 program; Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway (May 18); Bedford (Pa.) Speedway (Aug. 29); and North Alabama Speedway in Tuscumbia, Ala. (Oct. 12).

Two facilities will be back as part of the trail after being absent for a year: Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, Ga., on Aug. 17 and K-C Raceway in Alma, Ohio, on Aug. 23.

The WoO LMS will also visit several stalwart tracks, including Virginia Motor Speedway (April 11); Missouri’s Lebanon I-44 Speedway (April 26); Delaware International Speedway in Delmar (May 29); Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway (May 31); Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa. (Aug. 30-31); and I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. (Sept. 13). Hagerstown has hosted a WoO LMS event every season since 2004; VMS, Lebanon I-44 and Tri-City have been on the tour each year since 2005; Delaware will conduct a race for the fourth time in five years; and I-55 will hold its third tour show in five years.

Just five tracks are scheduled to host multiple WoO LMS events in 2008. The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway leads the list with four dates (April 18-19, Oct. 8, Oct. 30-31/Nov. 1), and two races will be held at Lernerville (April 15, June 27-28), Volunteer (Aug. 20-21, Oct. 11), Volusia and Tri-City.

The WoO LMS will conclude for the second consecutive year at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, where the WoO Sprint Cars will join the Late Models for the ‘Outlaws World Finals’ on Oct. 30-31 and Nov. 1.

WoO LMS officials expect to announce additional dates in the near future.

Check www.worldofoutlaws.com  for the latest schedule information.

2008 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Schedule (as of Dec. 7, 2007)

Date – Day – Track/Location – Event - To Win - Laps

Feb. 14 – Thurs. – Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL – DIRTcar Nationals - $10,000 – 50L

Feb. 16 – Sat. – Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL – DIRTcar Nationals - $10,000 – 50L

March 28-29 – Fri./Sat. – Pike County Speedway/Magnolia, MS – FREEDOM 100 - $20,000 – 100L

April 4-5 – Fri./Sat. – Farmer City (IL) Raceway - $20,000 – 100L

April 11 – Fri. – Virginia Motor Speedway/Jamaica, VA - $10,000 – 50L

April 15 – Tues. – Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA - $10,000 – 50L

April 18-19 – Fri./Sat. – The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – CIRCLE K COLOSSAL 100 - $50,000 – 100L

April 25 – Fri. – TBA

April 26 – Sat. – Lebanon I-44 Speedway/Lebanon, MO - $10,000 – 50L

April 27 – TBA

May 16 – Fri. – Attica (OH) Raceway Park - $10,000 – 50L

May 17 – Sat. – Lawrenceburg (IN) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L

May 18 – Sun. – Lincoln (IL) Speedway - $7,000 – 40L

May 29 – Thurs. – Delaware International Speedway Delmar, DE - $10,000 – 50L

May 31 – Sat. – Hagerstown (MD) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L

June 1 – Sun. – TBA

June 17 – Tues. – Port Royal (PA) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L

June 19 – Thurs. – Ohsweken (ONT) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $10,000 – 50L

June 21 – Sat. – Autodrome Drummond/Drummondville, QUE – Great Northern Tour - $10,000 – 50L

June 22 – Sun. – Cornwall (ONT) Motor Speedway – Great Northern Tour -$10,000 – 50L

June 24 – Tues. – Canandaigua (NY) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L

June 25 – Wed. – Big Diamond Raceway/Minersville, PA – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L

June 27-28 – Fri./Sat. – Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA – Great Northern Tour (FIRECRACKER 100) - $40,000 – 100L

July 9 – Wed. – Deer Creek Speedway/Spring Valley, MN – Wild West Tour (Gopher 50) - $10,000 – 50L

July 10 – Thurs. – North Central Speedway/Brainerd, MN – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L

July 11 – Fri. – River Cities Speedway/Grand Forks, ND – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L

July 12 – Sat. – Estevan Motor Speedway/Estevan, SAS – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L

July 15 – Tues. – TBA

July 16 – Gillette Thunder Speedway/Gillette, WY – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L

July 18 – Fri. – Brown County Speedway/Aberdeen, SD – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L

July 20 – Sun. – Belleville (KS) High Banks – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 40L

July 21 – Mon. – Boone County Speedway/Albion, NE – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L

July 24 – Thurs. – Muskingum County Speedway/Zanesville, OH – Speedweek - $7,000 – 40L

July 25 – Fri. – Eldora Speedway/Rossburg, OH – Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L

July 26 – Sat. – Sharon Speedway/Hartford, OH – Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L

July 27 – Sun. – Eriez Speedway/Hammett, PA – Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L

Aug. 15 – Fri. – Fayetteville (NC) Motor Speedway - $10,000 – 50L

Aug. 16 – Sat. – Screven Motor Speedway/Sylvania, GA - $10,000 – 50L

Aug. 17 – Sun. – Golden Isles Speedway/Waynesville, GA - $7,000 – 40L

Aug. 20-21 – Wed./Thurs. – Volunteer Speedway/Bulls Gap, TN – SCORCHER 100 – TBA – 100L

Aug. 23 – Sat. – K-C Raceway/Alma, OH - $10,000 – 50L

Aug. 24 – Sun. – TBA

Aug. 29 – Fri. – Bedford (PA) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L

Aug. 30 – Sat. – Tri-City Speedway/Franklin, PA – TBA – TBA

Aug. 31 – Sun. – Tri-City Speedway/Franklin, PA – TBA – TBA

Sept. 12 – Fri. – TBA

Sept. 13 – Sat. – I-55 Raceway/Pevely, MO – Pepsi Nationals - $10,000 – 50L

Sept. 14 – Sun. – TBA

Oct. 8 – Wed. – The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC - Southern Showdown - $30,000 possible – 50L

Oct. 11 – Sat. – Volunteer Speedway/Bulls Gap, TN - $10,000 – 50L

Oct. 12 – Sun. – North Alabama Speedway/Tuscumbia, AL - $7,000 – 40L

Oct. 30 – Thurs. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS (Time Trials)

Oct. 31 – Fri. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS - $10,000 – 50L

Nov. 1 – Sat. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS - $10,000 – 50L

* Schedule subject to change (check www.worldofoutlaws.com  for the latest information)

MEDIA ADVISORY




Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Chris Dolack, VP Media/PR
815-735-6477 • cdolack@dirtcar.com




World of Outlaws and DIRTcar Racing To Make Major Announcements At PRI Trade Show


CONCORD, N.C. — Dec. 4, 2007 — The World of Outlaws and DIRTcar Racing will make several major announcements regarding 2008 events and sponsorship on Friday, Dec. 7, at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

Among those participating in the announcements will be NASCAR star and I-55 Raceway co-owner Ken Schrader.

Media already credentialed for the PRI Show are encouraged to participate in the announcements at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 7, in the PRI Press Room at the Orange County Convention Center. Media seeking credentials must obtain them through the Performance Racing Industry show.

Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com



Young Josh Richards Achieved Almost All His Goals On 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series



CONCORD, NC – Dec. 3, 2007 – Josh Richards set some personal goals for his 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series season – and he came within a hair of achieving them all.

* A minimum of four A-Main wins on the series – check.

* Victories at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway and Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway – check.

* A top-five finish in the WoO LMS points standings – well, almost.

Richards, 19, of Shinnston, W.Va., fell a mere four points shy of cracking the top five in the tour’s final rankings, but a career-high sixth-place points finish and the realization of his other goals gave the 2005 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year plenty to be excited about.

“I would’ve liked to get a top-five in the points, but I still had a lot of fun this year,” said the low-key Richards, who campaigns his father Mark’s familiar Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket Chassis house car. “I’d give our season a ‘B-plus’ (grade). We accomplished a lot of what we wanted to, and I know that if we didn’t have some bad luck when we were running up front in a few races, it would’ve definitely been a great year.”

For Richards, the 2007 season was another step in his steady rise to the top of the dirt Late Model world. A winner once in each of the past two WoO LMS campaigns, he broke through with four triumphs in ’07, tying him with champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., and third-place points finisher Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., as the tour’s third-winningest driver.

The precocious talent known as ‘Kid Rocket’ signaled his emergence as a serious title contender by winning the 2007 season opener, the DIRTcar Nationals finale on Feb. 17 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. Later, he was one of only three drivers to score back-to-back victories with successes on July 21 at Hagerstown ($12,000-to-win ‘60th Anniversary Classic’) and July 22 at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa., and he rolled to an overwhelming triumph on Sept. 22 in the 19th annual ‘Pittsburgher’ event at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway.

Each of Richards’s checkered flags had some special meaning, but the Hagerstown and PPMS wins really stick out in his mind. While he took pride in defeating one of the season’s most star-studded fields at Volusia and winning at a bullring like Eriez that hasn’t been his specialty, he deeply coveted victories at Hagerstown and PPMS.

“I’ve always wanted to win at both Hagerstown and Pittsburgh,” said Richards, who lives within a three-hour drive of the two tracks. “Hagerstown is where I ran my first feature (as a dirt Late Model driver in 2004), and I’ve always considered it one of the toughest tracks around. And I’ve been going to the ‘Pittsburgher’ since I was a little kid, so winning it was pretty awesome.”

There was one thing for certain about Richards’s performance in ’07: when he was on, he was on. In all four of his victories, he dominated the action from flag-to-flag. Those 210 laps he paced accounted for the bulk of his series-leading 304 laps led this season – a giant leap from 2006, when he led a total of 35 circuits on the tour.

Richards registered 12 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes while competing in all 44 WoO LMS A-Mains run in 2007. He earned one National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award (May 12 at Charter Raceway Park in Beaver Dam, Wis.) and notably was the only driver in the top 10 of the final points standings who didn’t use a single provisional to start an A-Main all season.

A handful of slaps from Lady Luck, however, prevented Richards from placing higher in the final points standings and perhaps even challenging Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., for the honor of winningest WoO LMS driver in 2007.

Richards could only wonder what might have been if he…hadn’t been spun into the inside wall at the original start of the April 17 event at Pennsy’s Lernerville Speedway…didn’t break a power-steering cylinder while challenging for the lead on April 21 in the Circle K Colossal 100 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C…didn’t tangle with a lapped car while leading on May 31 at Delaware International Speedway…hadn’t cracked a right-rear axle tube while dominating the June 15 event at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway…didn’t bust a jackshaft challenging Frank for the lead on July 27 at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway…hadn’t caught the cushion and damaged his nosepiece after blasting from 21st to the lead in 10 laps of the Oct. 10 Jani-King Southern Showdown at The Dirt Track.

Yes, it could have been a truly memorable season for Richards if the breaks had gone his way. But the heartbreaks are part of racing for all rising young drivers, and the always-positive Richards never let the disappointments get him down.

Richards, whose father co-owns Rocket Chassis, considered 2007 to be a successful season.

“I think I’ve improved a lot as a driver this year,” said Richards, who pocketed $105,707 to rank as one of six drivers to reach the six-figure mark in purse earnings. “I’ve probably improved more from last year to this year than I have in any other years. I kinda felt like last year I had plateaued a little bit, but this year I feel like I’ve learned a lot more and become a better driver.

“I’ve always liked the big, fast tracks best, but this year I learned more about running the smaller tracks. I’ve also always seemed to struggle the most with (track) conditions that are in between slick and wet because you can’t tell how hard you have to drive; there’s a fine line there, but I think I’m getting better at that.”

Richards paused. He considered his progression on the WoO LMS – from entering selected events as a 16-year-old in 2004 to points finishes of eighth (2005) and ninth (2006) – and then talked about how becoming a success on the tour is tougher than anyone can ever imagine.

“We’re slowly getting better,” said Richards, who was one of two WoO LMS regulars under the age of 30 in ‘07 (26-year-old Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., was the other). “I feel like we’re not too far off from being really good, but it just takes time.

“Everybody on the series who’s good, they’ve been racing for so many years and they’re just awesome at it. For a while there I thought they were so good just because they had better cars, but I’ve realized that experience is the biggest factor.”

Richards will join his fellow WoO LMS regulars in celebrating the 2007 season this Thursday night (Dec. 6) during the tour’s ‘Night of Champions’ Awards Banquet at the International Plaza Resort & Spa in Orlando, Fla.

For more info on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
 

Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, DIRTcar Racing Public Relations
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com


Missouri’s Troy Naeger Doubled His Pleasure By Repeating As UMP DIRTcar Racing Sportsman National Champion In 2007



EVANSVILLE, IN – Nov. 30, 2007 – Troy Naeger enjoyed winning the 2006 UMP DIRTcar Racing Sportsman National championship so much, he decided to go after a repeat this season.

The veteran racer from Festus, Mo., made good on his goal for 2007, winning the UMP DIRTcar Racing support-division crown for the second consecutive year.

Title number two, however, had a slightly different feel for Naeger. This time around he was focused on winning the national championship from the first green flag of the season.

“Last year I had no intention of running for the national title,” said the 39-year-old Naeger. “I thought if you wanted to win it you would have to run a lot more races than I was willing to run, so I started the year just planning to run on Saturday nights at my local track (I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo.).

“But about three-quarters of the way through the (2006) season, I started looking at the points and I told my guys, ‘You know, this is do-able. If we really set our mind to it, we could win this thing.’ We spent the rest of the year going to some other tracks in Illinois to get some more races under our belt (the national title was determined using a driver’s best 20 finishes) and we were able to pull it out.”

The points-chasing experience Naeger gained en route to the championship led him to alter his strategy for the 2007 campaign.

“This year I said, ‘I’m not gonna run around at the end of the year trying to get points,’” said Naeger. “I knew that winning the championship this year would probably take running about 30 or 35 races because UMP made it the best 25 races (to determine the national champion), so we decided to run Friday (at Auto Tire & Park Speedway in Benton, Mo.) and Saturday (at I-55) every week.”

Racing two nights per week was “a big commitment,” said Naeger. A married father of two young sons (ages 11 and 8) who makes his living as the owner of a trucking company that hauls mobile homes from factories to dealers, Naeger fields his own racing equipment and does most of the preparation work on it himself.

“I have some good guys who help me at the track and come by the shop occasionally, but I pretty much do all my own work on the car,” said Naeger. “That definitely makes it harder to race two nights a week, but everybody has different things that they like about racing, and what I enjoy most is the time I spend working in the garage.

“For me, going to the racetrack is the proving ground for what you do in the garage. Running well on Saturday night is validation of what you do in the shop.”

Naeger’s handiwork earned plenty of validation in 2007. He won 16 features – just one less than UMP DIRTcar Racing Sportsman national win leader Pete Stefanski of Wheatfield, N.Y. – behind the wheel of his No. 12 machine, an ’85 Chevy Monte Carlo built by Impressive Race Cars and powered by a 350 Chevy engine.

After overtaking Greg Kimmons of Pleasant Plains, Ill., for the national points lead about three-quarters of the way through the season, Naeger was never headed. But a strong late push by Missouri’s Troy Medley gave Naeger reason to worry.

“We started off the season really good, but when the weather got hot and the tracks dried out and got slick we kinda struggled for a little bit,” said Naeger. “Then Troy Medley started catching fire, and it was a real challenge to hold him off.”

Naeger took the championship by a narrow 22-point margin (1,637-1,615) over Medley, who won eight features. He’ll collect a $5,000 national title check on Jan. 12, 2008, during the UMP DIRTcar Racing ‘Night of Champions’ Awards Banquet in Springfield, Ill.

“That $5,000 makes life a lot easier,” smiled Naeger, who also captured the UMP DIRTcar Racing Sportsman Missouri State points title. “Before UMP started the national points for the Sportsman, if you won a track championship all you had to look forward to was probably about $500 (in points-fund cash). That money from the track was definitely appreciated, but having a national championship and some bigger money to shoot for really means something to a driver.”

It also gives a race team a nice shot in the arm. Just ask Naeger, who uses the championship cash to fill his racing bank account and the championship glory to help entice more sponsors to back his operation.

“I’ve been lucky enough during my career to accumulate a great bunch of sponsors,” said Naeger, whose dozen-plus backers include longtime sponsor Brookside Homes, Tire Bargains, High Caliber Graphics and Oil Time. “And now, after winning the UMP championship, instead of having to go hunting for more sponsors, I’ve had people asking me if they can be on my car. When that started happening, I said, ‘This is different!’”

With the exception of a couple seasons away from competition after he got married and bought a house, Naeger has been racing since 1987. He’s driven in an array of different divisions – including Street Stocks, economy Late Models, open-wheel Modifieds, Mod Lights and 600cc Mini-Sprints – but he’s found a home with the UMP DIRTcar Racing Sportsman.

Naeger loves the Sportsman class, which encompasses such similar divisions as Super Streets, Pro Stocks and Limited Sportsman. UMP DIRTcar Racing sanctions Sportsman/Pro Stock racing in 10 states and Canada.

“I’ve had people ask me, ‘Why don’t you move up? Why don’t you get a Modified?’” said Naeger. “I tell them that the Sportsman class just fits me budget-wise. I’m not going to take money away from my family to go racing – and with all the great sponsors I have, I don’t have to spend my own money to run a Sportsman.

“Racing is my hobby, and if I run in a division that’s more expensive, it will take the fun out of it for me. If I can’t afford to race competitively, I don’t want to do it.”

Naeger paused, and then added, “When UMP picked up the Sportsman and made a national points race for the division, it was the best thing that ever happened – especially for me. You always used to wonder how you stacked up against other drivers like you around the country who don’t really travel a lot, and now we have a chance to see.”

Will Naeger see if he can top the UMP DIRTcar Racing Sportsman Nation for a third straight year in 2008? He’s not committing to a title assault – not yet, at least.

But there’s little doubt Naeger would be a favorite to three-peat. His championship reputation, after all, now precedes him.

For more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing, visit www.umpracing.com.

Official Final 2007 UMP DIRTcar Racing Sportsman Points Standings


National Points Standings (Rank/Driver/Races Counted/State/Points): 1. Troy Naeger 25 MO 1637; 2. Troy Medley 25 MO 1615; 3. Kent Nations 25 MO 1609; 4. Jimmy Cummins 25 IL 1561; 5. Greg Kimmons 25 IL 1558; 6. Pete Stefanski 25 NY 1503; 7. Justin Ketrow 25 IL 1493; 8. Dave Bissonnette NY 1483; 9. Jeff Herzog 25 MO 1479; 10. Mike Jessen 25 OH 1476; 11. Ronnie Bader 25 MO 1444; 12. Kyle Borgman 25 MI 1430; 13. Tom Smallwood 25 IL 1425; 14. Chad Weinrick 25 MI 1425; 15. Stephene Lebrun 25 NY 1403; 16. Mike Harris 25 IL 1400; 17. Robbie Eilers 24 IL 1390; 17. Louie Jackson 25 NY 1390; 19. Justin Delong 25 IL 1389; 20. Clayton Benedict 25 NY 1381; 21. Joey Ladouceur 25 NY 1368; 22. Jason Keller 25 MO 1361; 23. Jason Unzicker 25 IL 1356; 24. Joseph Hamm 24 TN 1346; 25. Denis Gauvreau 25 NY 1343; 26. Jason Jackson 24 LA 1343; 27. Darrell Dick 25 IL 1341; 28. Josh Steinacker 22 OH 1315; 29. Allen Peters NY 1309; 30. Joel Funk 25 IL 1304; 31. Robert Brooks 24 TN 1298; 32. Stan Dodds 25 MI 1255; 33. Mike Hodges 24 TN 1246; 34. Alan Crowder 25 IL 1245; 35. Ricky Thompson 25 NY 1225; 36. Bruce Takach 22 OH 1214; 37. Brock Bauman 25 IL 1209; 37. Jeff Graham 25 IL 1209; 39. Brian Fisher 21 OH 1199; 40. Jarred Fremin 22 LA 1184; 41. Dion Oakes 25 NY 1178; 42. Kyle Stolzer 25 MO 1170; 43. Rock Aubin 25 NY 1160; 44. P.J. Peters 24 NY 1136; 45. Mike Guinon 20 MI 1129; 46. Tom Johnson 21 OH 1126; 47. Ralph Sternberg 20 MI 1122; 48. Tim Fisher 20 OH 1114; 49. Chris Smith 21 OH 1091; 50. Neal Grisham 21 TN 1088

ILLINOIS STATE: 1. Greg Kimmons 1558; 2. Justiin Ketrow 1493; 3. Justin Delong 1389; 4. Mike Harris 1373; 5. Tom Smallwood 1357; 6. Jason Unzicker 1356; 7. Darrell Dick 1341; 8. Joel Funk 1304; 9. Jimmy Cummins 1272; 10. Alan Crowder 1245

TENNESSEE STATE: 1. Joseph Hamm 1346; 2. Robert Brooks 1298; 3. Mike Hodges 1246; 4. Neal Grisham 1088; 5. Jon Wix 968; 6. Jimmie Davenport 330; 7. Kent Nations 58

OHIO STATE: 1. Mike Jessen 1465; 2. Bruce Takach 1214; 3. Brian Fisher 1199; 4. Josh Steinacker 1135; 5. Tom Johnson 1128; 6. Tim Fisher 1114; 7. Chris Smith 1091; 8. Joe Derbeck 1083; 9. Terry Hinkle 1004; 10. Robert Mayle 944

FLORIDA STATE: 1. Chris Day 970; 2. Stanton Mills 948; 3. Barry Sheffield 740; 4. Nick Kerr 616; 5. Robby Richardson 540

MICHIGAN STATE: 1. Kyle Borgman 1430; 2. Chad Weinrick 1425; 3. Stan Dodds 1255; 4. Mike Guinon 1124; 5. Ralph Sternberg 1122; 6. Mike Peterson 1027; 7. Kurt Woodard 992; 8. Jared Gunnin 964; 9. Rob Sternberg 961; 10. Mike Anderson 937

INDIANA STATE: 1. Ryan Huddleston 1084; 2. Doug McCullough 968; 3. Kenny Sweat 966; 4. Kenny Carmichael Jr. 936; 5. Troy Overstreet 913; 6. Brad Hancock 910; 7. Scott Buchanan 852; 8. Joe Whisler 837; 9. David Huff 822; 10. Mike Staggs 816

MISSOURI STATE: 1. Troy Naeger 1646; 2. Troy Medley 1585; 3. Kent Nations 1572; 4. Jeff Herzog 1479; 5. Ronnie Bader 1412; 6. Jason Keller 1369; 7. Jimmy Cummins 1341; 8. Kyle Stolzer 1133; 9. Joe McCain 1017; 10. Tim Hollerback 851

LOUISIANA STATE: 1. Jason Jackson 1343; 2. Jarred Fremin 1184

COLORADO STATE: 1. John Anderson 892; 2. Eric McGowan 752; 3. Don Adams 120

NEW YORK STATE: 1. Pete Stefanski 927; 2. Dave Bissonette 907; 3. Louie Jackson 889; 4. Joey Ladouceur 876; 5. Stephenn Lebrun 875; 6. Allen Peters 870; 6. Clayton Benedict 870; 8. Jason Parkhurst 866; 9. Bob Waters Jr. 837; 10. Don Barnes 834; 10. Denis Gauvreau 834

Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com



World of Outlaws Late Model Series Stars Francis & Frank Receive Nominations For AARWBA All-America Team



CONCORD, NC – Nov. 28, 2007 – Steve Francis and Chub Frank – the top-two finishers in the 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series points standings – are among the nominees for the prestigious 2007 All-America Auto Racing Team, which is determined by the 400-plus voting members of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AARWBA).

Francis, who won his first-ever WoO LMS title, and Frank earned nominations in the ‘Short Track’ category. A total of seven different divisions comprise the AARWBA balloting, with the top-two vote-getters in each category being named to the All-America Auto Racing First Team.

Other ‘Short Track’ nominees include 2007 World of Outlaws Sprint Car champion Donny Schatz and series runner-up Joey Saldana, as well as USAC open-wheel national titlists Levi Jones (Sprint Cars) and Jerry Coons Jr. (Midgets).

A dirt Late Model driver has never been voted to the AARWBA All-America First Team, which has been chosen annually by the group’s membership since 1970.

“It’s a significant achievement for Steve Francis and Chub Frank to receive nominations for the AARWBA All-America Auto Racing Team,” said WoO LMS director Tim Christman. “Only the best short-track racers in the country are considered for the team, so we’re extremely excited and proud that two of the nominees were regulars with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.”

The drivers placing third and fourth in each category’s voting will be named to the All-America Auto Racing Second Team, and all other drivers receiving at least five percent of the vote will receive ‘Honorable Mention’ status.

Both Francis and Frank will also be in the running for the Jerry Titus Award, which is presented annually to the All-America team driver who receives the most votes in the balloting, regardless of category.

The AARWBA will honor its standout drivers from the 2007 season during the 38th annual AARWBA Banquet in Indianapolis on Jan. 12, 2008.

Francis, 40, of Ashland, Ky., earned his All-America Team nomination thanks to a dream season on the WoO LMS in 2007. With a performance record that featured four wins, 27 top-five and 40 top-10 finishes in 44 A-Main starts on the tour, the ‘Kentucky Colonel’ ran away with the $100,000 title for the first time after finishing a heartbreaking second in the standings in both 2004 and 2005.

Frank, 45, of Bear Lake, Pa., fell short in his second-half pursuit of Francis for the WoO LMS championship, but he enjoyed a career season nonetheless. The popular driver known as ‘Chubzilla’ led the competitive tour in A-Main victories, with six, and finished a personal-best second in the points standings. He also won the unsanctioned Dirt Track World Championship event at Ohio’s K-C Raceway, which brought him a $50,000 top prize.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Contact: DIRT MotorSports d/b/a World Racing Group
Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director
704-254-7929 • kkovac@dirtcar.com


World of Outlaws Late Model Series Champion Steve Francis Receives Nomination For 2007 Economaki Champion of Champions Award



CONCORD, NC – Nov. 28, 2007 – World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Steve Francis is among the nominees for the fifth annual Economaki Champion of Champions Award.

Ten drivers are finalists for the award, which is presented by National Speed Sport News. Bestowed upon the racer deemed the newspaper’s driver of the year, it is named after the longtime Editor and Publisher Emeritus of NSSN, legendary writer and commentator Chris Economaki.

Each of the ‘Champion of Champions’ finalists won a series title while racing in North America during the 2007 and represents a different type of auto racing discipline that is covered extensively within the pages of NSSN.

Francis, 40, of Ashland, Ky., earned his nomination thanks to an impeccable season in which he captured his first-ever WoO LMS points championship. A heartbreaking runner-up in the tour’s points standings in both 2004 and 2005, the ‘Kentucky Colonel’ broke through in ’07 on the strength of four wins, 27 top-five and 40 top-10 finishes in 44 A-Mains.

Driving his own Steve Francis Racing Valvoline Custom/Rocket No. 15, Francis authored an incredible performance record on the nation’s toughest dirt Late Model series. He dropped out of just two early-season events and ran off 38 consecutive lead-lap finishes to end the campaign, clinching the title during the blockbuster ‘Outlaws World Finals’ event that was held for the first time Nov. 1-3 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Francis, who will enter his 25th anniversary season as a fulltime dirt Late Model driver in 2008, earned nearly a quarter-million dollars racing on the WoO LMS this season, including the $100,000 check he will receive at the tour’s awards banquet on Thurs., Dec. 6, at the International Plaze Resort & Spa in Orlando, Fla.

The winner of the Economaki Champion of Champions will also be announced on Dec. 6, during the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Orlando, Fla. Economaki will present the award, and the year-end Dec. 19 issue of NSSN will feature the winner.

Donny Schatz, the 2007 World of Outlaws Sprint Car series champion, is also a nominee for the award.

Other 2007 ‘Champion of Champions’ finalists include: Sebastien Bourdais, who won the Champ Car World Series title; USAC National Midget champ Jerry Coons Jr.; Indy Racing League titlist Dario Franchitti; Fogarty/Alex Gurney, who won a title with the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday; NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champ Jimmie Johnson; NASCAR Busch East Series titlist Joey Logano; and Tony Schumacher, who won the NHRA Top Fuel title.

Previous winners of the Economaki Champion of Champions Award are J.J. Yeley (2003), World of Outlaws Sprint Car legend Steve Kinser (2004), Tony Schumacher (2005) and Jimmie Johnson (2006).

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.