Late Model Recap

Home State Crowd Cheers Jared Hawkins To $20,000 Victory In ‘Sweet Sixteen’ Finale Of ‘Black Diamond 125’ At Tyler County Speedway

Qualifying Feature Triumphs Worth $10,000 Go To World of Outlaws Rookie Pat Doar & West Virginia’s Steve Shaver

By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director

MIDDLEBOURNE, WV – Sept. 3, 2011 – Jared Hawkins lived a fairy tale on Saturday night.

Racing in front of his home-state fans on a track he knows well, the rising young star from Fairmont, W.Va., rolled to the biggest win of his career in the 45-lap ‘Sweet Sixteen’ finale of the second annual Black Diamond 125 at Tyler County Speedway.

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Brady Smith Sweeps To Victory In First-Ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series Stop At Michigan’s Merritt Raceway

By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director

LAKE CITY, MI – Aug. 20, 2011 – Brady Smith scrawled his name all over Saturday night’s first-ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at Merritt Raceway.

The 34-year-old driver from Solon Springs, Wis., was perfect at the quarter-mile oval, sweeping the program in convincing fashion. He set fast time, won a heat race and dominated the Lane Automotive/All-Star Performance 50 from start-to-finish.

Smith was never seriously challenged en route to his first WoO LMS triumph since Feb. 13, 2010, at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. It was his fourth career triumph overall on the national tour.

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Richards Rolls To Third Straight World of Outlaws Late Model Series Victory Friday At Winston Speedway

West Virginia Star Will Attempt To Tie Tour’s Consecutive Win Record On Saturday Night At Michigan’s Merritt Raceway

ROTHBURY, MI – Aug. 19, 2011 – Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., rolled to his third straight victory on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, dominating Friday night’s inaugural ‘Keyser Manufacturing 50’ before a standing-room-only crowd at Winston Speedway.

The two-time defending series champion made short work of the field, vaulting forward from the fifth starting spot to grab the lead from Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., on lap 14. He wasn’t challenged the remainder of the distance en route to a triumph worth $10,875.

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Richards Repels Eckert For Second Straight World of Outlaws Late Model Series Victory Monday At Independence Motor Speedway

By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director

INDEPENDENCE, IA – Aug. 8, 2011 – Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., backed up his USA Nationals triumph in fine fashion, closing a three-race World of Outlaws Late Model Series swing through the Upper Midwest with a victory in Monday night’s 50-lap A-Main at Independence Motor Speedway.

The two-time defending series champion’s sixth win of 2011 came just two days after he pocketed $50,000 for capturing his first-ever crown-jewel dirt Late Model event at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis.

Richards, 23, survived a late-race scare to top the inaugural WoO LMS event at the three-eighths-mile Independence oval. After pacing the race from the initial green flag, he slipped out of the groove off turn four on lap 36, allowing WoO LMS points leader Rick Eckert of York, Pa., to dive underneath and lead the circuit.

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Richards Makes Saturday’s USA Nationals At Cedar Lake Speedway His Long-Awaited First Crown-Jewel Victory

By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director

NEW RICHMOND, WI – Aug. 6, 2011 – Josh Richards finally has a victory in a crown-jewel dirt Late Model event on his resume.

The 23-year-old star’s breakthrough performance came on Saturday night in the 24th annual USA Nationals presented by U.S. Steel at Cedar Lake Speedway, a three-eighths-mile oval that will forever be close to his heart.

“It hasn’t even sunk in yet,” Shinnston, W.Va.’s Richards said when asked to describe his emotions following a 100-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series triumph worth $50,125. “This place has always been real special to me. Back in 2000 whenever Davey Johnson was driving for us (his father Mark’s Rocket Chassis house car) I remember coming here and watching the (USA Nationals). I was just in awe. I just fell in love with this track at a young age.

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Iowa’s Jason Rauen Pulls Off Surprise Sweep Of Qualifying Night To Earn Pole Starting Spot In USA Nationals At Cedar Lake Speedway

By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director

NEW RICHMOND, WI – Aug. 5, 2011 – Jason Rauen of Farley, Iowa, surprised even himself with a clean sweep of Friday night’s qualifying program for the USA Nationals presented by U.S. Steel at Cedar Lake Speedway.

An upstart 31-year-old dirt Late Model driver making just his third career appearance at the high-banked, three-eighths-mile oval, Rauen was fastest in the 54-car Ohlins Shocks Time Trials session, won a heat race and captured the 10-lap dash to earn the pole position starting spot in Saturday night’s 24th annual 100-lap, $50,000-to-win A-Main. He will lead the field to the green flag in what will be both his first-ever start in the USA Nationals and a World of Outlaws Late Model Series event.

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Red-Hot Lanigan Rolls To Seventh Victory Of 2011 In Wednesday-Night Visit To Shawano Speedway

By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director

SHAWANO, WI – Aug. 3, 2011 – Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., continued his mid-summer surge, rolling to victory in Wednesday night’s 50-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-Main at Shawano Speedway.

The 41-year-old former series champion overtook Chad Simpson of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, for the lead on lap 26 and cruised to his second straight and seventh overall win of the 2011 season. He matched his single-season career-high win total on the national tour and moved within two triumphs of equaling Scott Bloomquist’s WoO LMS record of nine victories in 2004.

“We’ve just been doing our own little thing and it’s definitely been working,” said Lanigan, whose $10,775 win was his third in four starts over an eight-day span. “Our car’s been awesome.”

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World of Outlaws Late Model Series Resets Labor Day Weekend Doubleheader For WV’s Tyler County & PA’s Roaring Knob

Tyler County’s ‘Black Diamond 125’ & First-Ever WoO LMS Event At Roaring Knob Replace Two-Day Show Scheduled For PA’s Closed Tri-City Speedway

By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director

CONCORD, NC – Aug. 1, 2011 – World of Outlaws Late Model Series officials have reset the national tour’s schedule for the upcoming Labor Day weekend, inking dates at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va., on Sat., Sept. 3, and Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex in Markleysburg, Pa., on Sun., Sept. 4.

The new events were announced on Monday to replace the circuit’s originally scheduled Oil Region Labor Day Classic on Sept. 3-4 at Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa., which was closed indefinitely by its owners late last week.

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Lanigan Holds Off Richards For World of Outlaws Late Model Series Triumph At Eriez Speedway

By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director

HAMMETT, PA – July 31, 2011 – Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., capped the three-race World of Outlaws Late Model Series swing through western Pennsylvania in fine fashion, mastering Eriez Speedway to capture Sunday night’s 50-lap A-Main.

The 2008 WoO LMS champion led from start-to-finish to register his first-ever victory at the one-third-mile oval outside Erie. He drove away from Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., following a late-race restart en route to his series-leading sixth win of the 2011 season behind the wheel of his self-owned GottaRace.com Rocket car.

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Richards Overtakes Coffey For ‘Penn Gold 40’ Victory In Front Of Overflow Crowd At McKean County Raceway

By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director

EAST SMETHPORT, PA – July 27, 2011 – Josh Richards – and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series – sparkled on Wednesday night at McKean County Raceway.

Racing in front of a standing-room-only crowd that ranked as the biggest in the history of the one-third-mile oval, Shinnston, W.Va.’s Richards overtook Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., for the lead on lap 27 and marched on to victory in the ‘Penn Gold 40.

The two-time defending WoO LMS champion pocketed $8,875 for his fourth win of 2011 on the national tour. It was his 32nd career World of Outlaws triumph – more than any other driver since 2004.

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