Darrell Lanigan is all smiles after winning the Buckeye Classic at Wayne County Speedway Friday. Photo courtesy WoO
Darrell Lanigan of Union, KY, returned to his winning ways on Friday night, slipping by Tim McCreadie of Watertown, NY, with a dramatic late-race pass to capture the World of Outlaws Late Model Series ‘Buckeye Classic’ at NAPA Auto Parts Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, OH.
The former series champion overtook McCreadie for the lead on lap 47 of the 50-lap A-Main and rolled on to his third triumph of 2012. No other driver has won more than once through 12 events this season.
“We’ve been running good, but it’s been a while since we won,” said Lanigan, who entered Friday’s action with nine top-five finishes but winless since topping the first two races of the ’12 WoO LMS campaign in February. “It feels good to get back in victory lane.”
Lanigan, who turns 42 on June 3, worked hard for his 29th career WoO LMS triumph – a score that gave him sole possession of second place on the national tour’s win list since 2004, breaking a tie with Steve Francis of Ashland, KY. He started seventh and needed nearly the entire distance to reach the front of the pack.
After hustling his Rocket machine up to fourth by lap seventh, Lanigan ran in the position until passing early leader Walker Arthur of Forest, VA, for third on lap 30. He inherited second when WoO LMS rookie Bub McCool of Vicksburg, MS, retired during a lap-32 caution period due to a broken rear axle and then took up the chase of McCreadie.
McCreadie, 38, appeared primed to register his second win in the last three WoO LMS events after grabbing the lead from Arthur on lap 22, but he struggled after the race’s third and final restart, on lap 41, and was unable to hold off Lanigan.
Lanigan flashed under the checkered flag 1.562 seconds ahead of McCreadie, who steered the Sweeteners Plus Warrior to his third consecutive finish among the top four.
Fifth-starter Chub Frank of Bear Lake, PA, rallied to place third in his Rocket after falling as far back as eighth. McCreadie’s teammate, Vic Coffey of Caledonia, NY, advanced from the 14th starting spot to finish fourth in a Rocket car and Arthur, who started second and led laps 1-21 in his first-ever start at Wayne County, settled for a WoO LMS career-best run of fifth driving a MasterSbilt chassis.
“There at the end our tires came in a little bit better,” Lanigan said of the key to his $10,650 victory. “We had a little bit harder tire than they did. They faded, and we got better.”
Lanigan’s patience paid off in the first WoO LMS event since 2006 at Wayne County. A big crowd watched him duck underneath McCreadie for the lead with just three laps remaining.
“There at the beginning where we jumped up to fourth, and we kind of rode there for a little while, I was kind of like just holding my own with that tire,” said Lanigan, who extended his WoO LMS points lead to 86 points over ninth-place finisher Rick Eckert of York, PA. “Then once (the track) blackened up pretty good that tire came on.
“I knew (McCreadie) was a little softer on rubber and he was getting a little loose. I kind of knew right then that we had a shot at it.”
McCreadie might have been doomed by the lap-41 caution flag for Shane McLoughlin of Nashport, Ohio, who spun on the inside of the backstretch.
“I didn’t need the restart,” said McCreadie, who started third. “I think the restarts hurt me, but I don’t know what to say. We just got beat – it’s that simple. (Lanigan) did a helluva job. I tried to drive back around him going into (turn) three, but I just couldn’t stick out there.
“We’re running better, though – way better. It’s a far cry from how we’ve been all year. It took us two months to get good.”
The 50-year-old Frank, meanwhile, fell short of adding another Wayne County win to his resume. He won five touring-series events at the track from 1999-2006, including the track’s only previous WoO LMS show in ’06.
“We just didn’t have anything for (Lanigan and McCreadie), but they were racing pretty hard so anything could happen,” said Frank, who reached third place when he passed Arthur on a lap-32 restart. “I was just trying to stay in contact with them in case they got together. If they opened up a hole, I would go for it.”
Finishing in positions 6-10 was fourth-starter Steve Shaver of Vienna, WV; George Lee of Loudonville, Ohio, who drew loud cheers from his home crowd when he won a heat and drew the pole position for the A-Main but slipped to seventh in the final rundown; Ron Davies of Warren, PA; Eckert, who was never a factor after starting eighth; and 18th-starter Clint Smith of Senoia, GA.
The race’s three caution flags were caused by minor incidents. In addition to McLoughlin’s problem on lap 41, Doug Drown of Wooster, Ohio, stopped in turn four on lap 21 and Gregg Satterlee spun between turns one and two on lap 32.
Forty-four cars entered the event on a hot day at the Ohio track, which was purchased last year by Joe McIlvaine and is promoted by the husband-and-wife team of Jason and Kristin Flory.
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Lightning that danced across the sky during the A-Main signaled the strong storms that threatened to the north, but the precipitation stayed away until the racing program was completed.
Shaver was fastest in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials, turning a lap of 18.723 seconds for his sixth career WoO LMS quick-time honor.
Heat winners were Shaver, Lee, Lanigan and Frank. Mike Marlar of Winfield, TN, and Smith captured the B-Mains.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit worldofoutlaws.com.
World Of Outlaws Late Models
Wayne County Speedway – Orrville, OH
Buckeye Classic – May 25, 2012
1. (7) Darrell Lanigan/50 $10,650
2. (3) Tim McCreadie/50 $5,650
3. (5) Chub Frank/50 $3,550
4. (14) Vic Coffey/50 $3,050
5. (2) Walker Arthur/50 $2,500
6. (4) Steve Shaver/50 $1,700
7. (1) George Lee/50 $1,450
8. (9) Ron Davies/50 $1,300
9. (8) Rick Eckert/50 $1,850
10. (18) Clint Smith/50 $1,750
11. (20) Steve Casebolt/50 $1,050
12. (15) Corey Conley/50 $1,050
13. (17) Mike Marlar/50 $1,500
14. (23) Shane Clanton/50 $1,450
15. (11) Jack Sullivan/50 $1,250
16. (19) Brandon Sheppard/50 $850
17. (21) Ryan Markham/50 $820
18. (26) Greg Johnson/50 $110
19. (12) Kent Robinson/50 $1,280
20. (25) Shane McLoughlin/50 $700
21. (10) Devin Moran/50 $700
22. (24) Pat Doar/50 $1,250
23. (13) John Lobb/50 $700
24. (6) Bub McCool/32 $1,225
25. (16) Gregg Satterlee/32 $700
26. (22) Doug Drown/20 $700
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