Jane Smith | Karnac Racing News

Lanigan Outduels Owens & Birkhofer to Capture DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH Opener for UMP Late Models

BARBERVILLE, FL – Feb. 8, 2010 – Darrell Lanigan won’t be a bridesmaid during the 39th annual DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio.

The standout racer from Union, Ky., made sure of that on Monday night, scoring a hard-fought victory in the 30-lap UMP Late Model A-Main that opened the meet’s full-fender action at Volusia Speedway Park.

Lanigan, 39, outdueled Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., and Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, to pocket a $7,000 top prize — almost exactly one year after finishing second in the first event of the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH. He went on to record two more runner-up finishes in the remaining five nights of the 2009 series.

“It feels good to get a win right out of the box this year,” said Lanigan, the 2008 World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion. “But we didn’t do anything real different from last year. We just made some little tweaks and got some breaks.”

Driving a Rocket Chassis car he debuted late in the 2009 season, Lanigan used the inside lane to move forward from the fifth starting spot and grab the lead from Birkhofer on lap 14. Birkhofer regained command on lap 16, but Lanigan surged ahead on lap 19 and repelled late-race challenges in lapped traffic from Owens and Birkhofer to emerge victorious.

Owens settled for second place, 0.582 of a second behind Lanigan after his high-side bid rounding turns three and four on the final lap fell short. He started seventh in his Team Zero by Bloomquist machine.

Birkhofer finished third in his MB Customs car after leading laps 1, 3-13 and 16-18 in the wildly competitive affair, which included five lead changes among three drivers.

Completing the top five was 17th-starter Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., and eighth-starter Dan Schlieper of Sullivan, Wis.

“The car was awesome and the track was perfect tonight,” said Lanigan, who made his first start of 2010 in preparation for his seventh consecutive season as a WoO LMS regular. “You could race all over it — so hat’s off to the Volusia Speedway track crew, and hat’s off to my crew too.”

Owens, a four-time DIRTcar UMP Modified national champion, wasn’t disappointed with his second-place finish.

“To race like that with Lanigan and Birkhofer — man, that was fun,” said Owens. “It was a great race.”

Birkhofer, meanwhile, came through his first appearance of the season with a good idea of what he should have done to his machine.

“We thought one thing and should’ve done the other,” said Birkhofer, who didn’t plan to enter the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH until less than two weeks ago. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the week. It’s an awesome racetrack, and you’re gonna have to get your car right if you want to win.”

Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., finished sixth after starting 20th, followed by Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark., who started from the pole position and led lap two, Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., and Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.

Two cautions flags slowed the feature — on lap five for a spin by Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., and lap 10 for the slow car driven by Tommy Kerr of Maryville, Tenn.

Sixty-seven cars entered the evening’s action.

Owens turned the best overall lap of the evening’s group time-trial session, blistering the sweeping track in 15.962 seconds.

Other group fast-timers included Kyle Berck of Marquette, Neb. (16.360), Erb (16.268), McCreadie (16.347), Will Vaught of Crane, Mo. (16.328) and Jared Landers of Batesville, Ark. (16.704).

Heat winners were Sullivan, Birkhofer, Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., Jordan Bland of Campbellsville, Ky., Lanigan and Ross Camponovo of Clarksdale, Miss., who pulled off an impressive prelim triumph in his first-ever start at Volusia. The B-Mains were captured by Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., Pearson and Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa.

The 39th annual DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH continue on Tuesday (Feb. 9) with a DIRTcar UMP Late Model/Modified doubleheader. Race time is 7:30 p.m.

For more information visit www.dirtcar.com, www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com or www.dirtcarnationals.com.

DIRTcar UMP Late Model A-Main Finish (30 laps):

1. Darrell Lanigan
2. Jimmy Owens
3. Brian Birkhofer
4. Billy Moyer
5. Dan Schlieper
6. Earl Pearson Jr.
7. Tim McCreadie
8. Jack Sullivan
9. Dennis Erb Jr.
10. Tim Fuller
11. Dale McDowell
12. Josh Richards
13. Jason Feger
14. Vic Coffey
15. Rick Eckert
16. Rick Briggs
17. Brady Smith
18. Clint Smith
19. Steve Francis
20. Tommy Kerr
21. Jordan Bland
22. Tyler Ivey
23. Eric Jacobsen
24. Ross Camponovo

Lap Leaders: Birkhofer (1); Sullivan (2); Birkhofer (3-13); Lanigan (14-15); Birkhofer (16-18); Lanigan (19-30)

Heat No. 1 (8 laps — Top 3 Transfer): 1. Jack Sullivan, 2. Jimmy Owens, 3. Rick Eckert, 4. Jason Feger, 5. Jason McBride, 6. John Blankenship, 7. Dan Stone, 8. Mike Knight, 9. Ronnie Rihn, 10. Chuck Julien, 11. Steve Sheppard Jr. (DNS) Brandon Kinzer

Heat No. 2 (8 laps — Top 3 Transfer): 1. Brian Birkhofer, 2. Dan Schlieper, 3. Tim Fuller, 4. Justin Rattliff, 5. Dale McDowell, 6. Eric Wells, 7. Kyle Berck, 8. Dave Zona, 9. Dillan White, 10. Danny Mitchell (DNS) Brent Robinson

Heat No. 3 (8 laps — Top 3 Transfer): 1. Vic Coffey, 2. Dennis Erb Jr., 3. Josh Richards, 4. Brady Smith, 5. Ricky Weiss, 6. Bub McCool, 7. Russell King, 8. Chub Frank, 9. Tim Dohm, 10. Brandon Sheppard, 11. Mason Ziegler

Heat No. 4 (8 laps — Top 3 Transfer): 1. Jordan Bland, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Steve Francis, 4. Earl Pearson Jr., 5. Eddie Carrier Jr., 6. Brad Neat, 7. Austin Hubbard, 8. Dwight Falcon, 9. Jonathan DeHaven, 10. Darren Peters (DNS) Jeff Phipps

Heat No. 5 (8 laps — Top 3 Transfer): 1. Darrell Lanigan, 2. Billy Moyer, 3. Tyler Ivey, 4. Clint Smith, 5. Ronnie DeHaven Jr., 6. Randy Korte, 7. Whitney McQueary, 8. Will Vaught, 9. Tyler Bruening, 10. Stacy Boles, 11. Wendell Wallace

Heat No. 6 (8 laps — Top 3 Transfer): 1. Ross Camponovo, 2. Eric Jacobsen, 3. Tommy Kerr, 4. Rick Briggs, 5. Jared Landers, 6. Jeff Beyers, 7. Joe Callahan, 8. Kevin Colston, 9. Donald Beyers, 10. Mike Hammerle (DNS) Tyler Reddick

B-Main No. 1 (10 laps — Top 2 Transfer): Feger, McDowell, Stone, Rattliff, Blankenship, Berck, Wells, Knight, Zona, S. Sheppard, McBride, Kinzer, White, Rihn, Julien, Mitchell (DNS) Robinson

B-Main No. 2 (10 laps — Top 2 Transfer): Pearson, B. Smith, Neat, Carrier, McCool, Dohm, Hubbard, Frank, B. Sheppard, Peters, Ziegler, J. DeHaven, Falcon, Weiss, King (DNS) Phipps

B-Main No. 3 (10 laps — Top 2 Transfer): Briggs, C. Smith, Korte, R. DeHaven, Wallace, J. Beyers, Bruening, Boles, Callahan, McQueary, D. Beyers, Colston, Reddick, Hammerle, Vaught (DNS) Landers

By Jane Smith|2010-09-09T04:03:10-04:00February 9th, 2010|Race Results, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Troy DeCaire tops Sprints on Night 2 of Sprint Cars at New Smyrna Speedway

by Marty Little

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – Troy DeCaire was a man on a mission Monday night at New Smyrna Speedway as he worked the high banked oval to perfection to capture the 30 lap Tampa Bay Area Racing Assn. winged sprint car feature.

Brian Gingras and Sunday night winner Bo Hartley brought the 17 car field to the green but it was a short lived night for Hartley as his car lost power on lap three to bring out the first caution. Once back underway it was Gingras on the point and looking strong, but DeCaire had George Rudolph’s No. 68 wound up and flying as he sliced through the field as if they were lapped cars.

By lap 15 DeCaire was the new leader and leaving the field in his wake when a yellow flew on lap 19 for debris. The field quickly reformed and it was good night Irene as DeCaire stormed to his second victory in three nights of TBARA action to kick off the 2010 tour. Gingras gave it his best shot for runner-up money over Joey Aguilar and Shane Butler with Ryan Litt rounding out the top five to the stripe.

Bo Hartley and Gingras topped the pair of heat races.

Feature finish (30 laps) – 1. Troy DeCaire, 2. Brian Gingras, 3. Joey Aguilar, 4. Shane Butler, 5. Ryan Litt, 6. Ben Fritz, 7. Dakotah Stephens, 8. Larry Brazil, 9. Sonny Hartley, 10. Jeff Banyas, 11. Wendy Mathis, 12. Dude Teate, 13. Johnny Gilbertson, 14. Craig Skene, 15. Ray Bragg, 16. Bo Hartley, 17. Steve Heisler.

By Jane Smith|2010-02-09T14:46:49-05:00February 9th, 2010|New Smyrna Speedway, Race Results|Comments Off

Back on Track: Steve Kinser Wins Finale of DIRTcar Nationals

Barberville, FL- February 7, 2010-

Kinser battled Tim Kaeding for most of the 30-lap contest and had Joey Saldana challenging him in the late going. For the Hall of Famer, it was his third career World of Outlaws A-Feature win at Volusia Speedway Park and his fifth overall triumph at the half-mile. Kinser now has 553 career A-Feature wins with the World of Outlaws.

“It feels good to get the first win of the year earlRy on,” Kinser said. “The car got better as the race went on and I had to let it come to me. I was able to run low and also up top. I’m just glad to be in Victory Lane. That’s what we want to do, win races with this car.” (more…)

By Jane Smith|2010-02-08T14:37:46-05:00February 8th, 2010|Front Page News, Race Results, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Austin Dillon Drives Away from Star-Studded Field

BARBERVILLE, FL – February 7, 2010 – Austin Dillon has been one of the toughest DIRTcar UMP Modified competitors at Volusia Speedway Park during the past two years of the DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio events.

The teenager from Welcome, N.C., lived up to his reputation on Sunday night, capturing the division’s second 20-lap qualifying feature for Monday’s big ‘The Gator Championship’ event. (more…)

By Jane Smith|2010-02-08T14:33:46-05:00February 8th, 2010|Front Page News, Race Results, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Bo Hartley Wins at New Smyrna Speedway

by Marty Little

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – It was race time for the Tampa Bay Area Racing Association for the second time in as many nights as the winged warriors invaded the lightning fast half-mile of New Smyrna Speedway Sunday night with former series champion Bo Hartley the class of the field in the 30 lap feature.

The headliner need but one restart after Frankie Hurst smacked the wall on lap one. Pole sitter Hartley wasted no time hustling into the lead when the green waved a second time with third starting Brian Gingras in hot pursuit. This lead duo worked the high banks to perfection but Hartley began to put some distance between himself and Gingras as the laps clicked off.

From deep in the 19 car field Shane Butler was making great headway and got around Gingras at lap 22 for second spot then began his charge for Hartley. It was a case of too little too late as Butler managed to catch Hartley but ran out of laps for a challenge. At the checkers it was Hartley, Butler, Gingras, Troy DeCaire and Joey Aguilar.

Gingras and Aguilar won the heat races.

Feature finish (30 laps) – 1. Bo Hartley, 2. Shane Butler, 3. Brian Gingras, 4. Troy DeCaire, 5. Joey Aguilar, 6. Ryan Litt, 7. Dude Teate, 8. Sonny Hartley, 9. Ben Fritz, 10. Jeff Banyas, 11. Johnny Gilbertson, 12. Dakotah Stephens, 13. Jason Blonde, 14. Steve Heisler, 15. Wendy Mathis., 16. Larry Brazil Jr, 17.Ray Bragg 18. Frankie Hurst, 19. Skeeter Falconer.

By Jane Smith|2010-02-08T05:37:02-05:00February 8th, 2010|New Smyrna Speedway, Race Results|Comments Off

Lonnia Sommerville tops Super Lates at New Smyrna Speedway

FLORIDA MODIFIEDS RESULTS

1 15 Tank Tucker 2 78 Travis Eddy 3 66 Jerry Symons 4 41 Doc McKinney 5 4B Alan Bruns 6 57 Timothy Moore 7 71 William Skaggs 8 13 Kevyn Terry 9 39 Mark Chrudimsky 10 75 Johnny Allen 11 86 Maverick McDonald 12 99 AJ Winstead 13 8 Nevin Gainey 14 15D Robert Deal 15 9 Art Kunzeman 16 22 Jason Boyd 17 54 David Hite

TBARA SPRINTS RESULTS

1 3 Bo Hartley 2 18 Shane Butler 3 1 Brian Gringas 4 68 Troy DeCaire 5 78 Joey Augilar 6 41 Ryan Litt 7 0 Dude Teate 8 27 Sonny Hartley 9 16 Ben Fritz 10 87 Jeff Banyas 11 2 Johnny Gilburtson 12 19 Dakota Stephens 13 07 Jason Blonde 14 01 Steve Heisler 15 80 Wendy Mathis 16 20 Larry Brazil 17 66 Ray Bragg Jr 18 6 Frankie Hurst 19 61 Skeeter Faulkener

SUPER LATE MODEL RESULTS

1 23 Lonnie Sommerville 2 78 BJ McLeod 3 80 Brian Finney 4 93x David Russell 5 75 Dave Pletcher 6 32 John Long 7 16 Gary Passer 8 18 Bruce Gowland 9 16x Kelsey Steele 10 112 Stephen Weaver Jr 11 13 Frank Alberson 12 68 Russell Shaw 13 21 Kevin Ingram 14 5 Shane Snipes 15 93 Brandon Johnson 16 33x Ricky Wood 17 29 Karl Willard 18 12 David Green DQ 33 Jeff Choquette DQ 10 David Rogers DQ 36 Tim Russell DQ 2 A.J. Curreli DQ 10 Jack Landis

By Jane Smith|2010-02-08T05:22:54-05:00February 8th, 2010|New Smyrna Speedway, Race Results|Comments Off

RESULTS OF TBARA OPENER AT CITRUS COUNTY SPEEDWAY

INVERNESS, FL 2-6-10

Contact Marty Little (954) 584-2814 For Immediate Release ___________________________________________________________________________________________ INVERNESS, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Area Racing Association kicked off their 2010 season on a cold and windy evening at the tight confines of Citrus County Speedway with former champion Troy DeCaire collecting his first checkered flag of the new season in the 30 lap headliner.

Things got off to a rough begining for the 22 car field of winged sprints as two complete starts were needed for everyone to behave themselves. Larry Brazil and DeCaire brought the field to green with second generation driver Brazil gaining the lead.

The first yellow waved on lap 4 for a spin by Joey Aguilar. Back underway, Brazil lead but DeCaire got past on lap 10 for with Shane Butler and Jason Blonde in tow.

On lap 14 Wendy Mathis, just back from racing in Australia, looped her family owned racer in turn 2 to once again bunch the field for a restart. The green waved again but only for a single circuit as visitor Craig Skene suffered a broken axle on lap 15, spun and collected Mathis, ending the night for both.

When the green waved again it was still DeCaire being chased by Butler, Blonde and Brazil as they worked traffic on the quarter-mile oval but on lap 20 D.J. Hoelzle pounded the front stretch wall and the yellow was out again. Hoelzle was not injured and the field regrouped for the final 10 lap run to the checkers.

Once again they only had five laps of green flag racing before a caution waved for Tommy Nichols when the wing on his No. 55 collapsed and he stopped on the track.

The final five circuits were trouble free with DeCaire the victor over Butler, Blonde, Ben Fritz and Canadian invader Ryan Litt. Heat races went to Dude Teate, Dakotah Stephens and Butler.

Feature finish (30 laps) – 1. Troy DeCaire. 2. Shane Butler, 3. Jason Blonde, 4.Ben Fritz, 5. Ryan Litt, 6. Dude Teate, 7. Dakotah Stephens, 8. Sonny Hartley, 9.Matt Mercer, 10.Larry Brazil Jr. 11John Gilbertson, 12. Steve Heisler, 13. Tommy Nichols, 14. D.J. Hoelzle, 15. Joey Aguilar, 16. Craig Skene, 17. Wendy Mathis, 18. Jeff Banyas, 19. Ray Bragg, 20. Skeeter Faulconer, 21. Brian Gingras, 22. Frankie Hurst.

By Jane Smith|2010-02-07T22:09:38-05:00February 7th, 2010|Citrus County Speedway, Race Results|Comments Off

On Top Again: Donny Schatz Wins 2010 World of Outlaws Season Opener

Written by Kellen

Saturday, 06 February 2010

Barberville, FL – February 6, 2010 – Donny Schatz wrapped up 2009 standing on top of the podium after claiming his fourth consecutive World of Outlaws title, and he began the 2010 season on top again taking the win on Saturday night in the season opening 39^th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio at Volusia Speedway Park.

Schatz lined up third in the Armor All J&J and quickly moved into second and then battled Tim Shaffer and led the first lap, before the latter retook the top spot on the second circuit. Schatz tracked Shaffer back down in lapped traffic and drove under him on the 12^th lap in turn one to take the lead. He would lead the remainder of the 30-lapper, including after two double file restarts to score the win over Joey Saldana and Steve Kinser. (more…)

By Jane Smith|2010-02-07T18:03:29-05:00February 7th, 2010|Front Page News, Race Results, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Remember Me: Dave Hess Jr. Wins Night One of “The Gator Championship”

Written by Kellen

Saturday, 06 February 2010

BARBERVILLE, FL — February 6, 2010 — It didn’t take long for Dave Hess Jr. to find his way back to Victory Lane during the 39th annual DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio at Volusia Speedway Park.

The Waterford, Pa., driver battled early with friend and competitor Stormy Scott of Las Cruces, N.M., as the two broke away from the rest of the field. After many attempts using multiple grooves, Hess settled into the low lane behind Scott until finding an opening on lap 14 to grab the lead and march on to victory in Saturday night’s 20-lap DIRTcar UMP Modified ‘The Gator Championship’ preliminary feature. (more…)

By Jane Smith|2010-02-07T17:47:00-05:00February 7th, 2010|Front Page News, Race Results, Volusia Speedway Park|Comments Off

Heartbreaking Finish for Owens at Daytona

Alli Owens put on an outstanding performance in the season-opening Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway, unfortunately the record books won’t reflect it. In front of her hometown, and on racing’s grandest stage, Owens ran her No. 15 ElectrifyingCareers com Chevrolet in the top-three for the majority of the event and was poised for a career-best finish. However, Owens’ promising run came to and end when she was shuffled out of the draft in the final ten laps and spun out after driving through fluid on the track. Owens and her Venturini Motorsports crew settled for a 23rd-place finish.

Owens started the race from the inside of row 10. Not wanting to force the issue too early, Owens settled into the 25th position after the green flag waved. She was content clicking off laps before she found a partner to draft with to the front.

Things took an interesting turn on lap five. Owens reported that her seatbelt had become loose and she needed to make an unscheduled pit stop for the team to re-secure it. Owens went one lap down as her team fixed the problem, but an auspicious yellow flag waved while the No. 15 car was on pit lane. Owens was awarded the “Lucky Dog” pass and returned to the field on the lead lap. Owens lined up in 28th-place for the ensuing restart.

The race went green on lap 16. A wreck brought out the caution flag before the field completed one circuit. TheElectrifyingCareers.com Chevy moved up three positions prior to the yellow halting the race. The No. 15 team decided to make Owens’ one scheduled pit stop during caution period, so the ElectrifyingCareers com Chevy came down pit lane for service. The crew changed four tires and topped off the fuel cell. Owens returned to the track in 28th-place.

Green flag action resumed on lap 24. Another caution flag waved on lap 26, with Owens holding down 23rd-place. The majority of the field chose this caution period to make pit stops, but Owens stayed on the track and moved up to third-place.

On lap 31, the race returned to green. With Owens sniffing the lead, the No. 15 car held strong in the third position. Owens’ spotter issued constant reminders for Owens to hold the No. 15 machine on the yellow line, and Owens followed instructions to the tee. Owens fended off several challenges from other cars who aimed to pass her on the outside. Owens remained in the top-five for the next 40 laps and appeared ready to top her previous best finish of sixth-place.

On lap 71, with nine laps remaining, Owens was bumped from behind and knocked out of the bottom groove. Owens was passed by several competitors before she could settle back in line. As she was fighting to rejoin the leaders, the car in front of Owens dropped fluid on the track and the No. 15 car ran through it. Owens spun out and blew a tire in the process. She was forced to make a trip down pit lane for her crew to change her tires. She rejoined the field on the final lap of the event. After a hopeful start, Owens crossed the finish line in 23rd-place.

“We had an amazing car today,” said Owens after the race. “I was biding my time in third-place. I was just waiting for the final few laps to make a move for the lead. I had no doubt that the ElectrifyingCareers com car was going to win the race today. Everything was shaping up for us. Unfortunately I got knocked out of the bottom groove in the final 10 laps. I was trying to work my way back into the lead draft when I ran through some fluid that another car dropped on the track. I spun out and that took away any chance of a decent finish.

“My team did an awesome job today. I wish we had a finish that reflected the hard work and effort that they put into my car. If we keep this up, I know that it won’t be long before the ElectrifyingCareers com car lands a win.” www.girlracer.co.uk

By Jane Smith|2010-02-07T17:04:09-05:00February 7th, 2010|Upcoming Events|Comments Off

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