Avenges Last Month’s Losses to Regional-Favorite Madden
Photo Courtesy World of Outlaws
JUNCTION CITY, Ky. – May 6, 2016 – Shane Clanton claimed his third World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series victory of the season under Friday night’s Ponderosa Speedway lights, winning the 24th-annual “Kentucky Klassic.”
“Well, just catching those lapped cars, I was able to get in better position in the corners,” Clanton said. “I knew if I got up against that berm, I could go down the straight-away and it would be difficult for someone to pass me.”
On the first lap, Clanton used the outside groove to wheel his No. 25 Weldbank Energy/Coopers Meat Packers Capital machine into the No. 1 spot. He thereon led the remainder of the race. This is the defending points champion’s first win since Feb. 20 at DIRTcar Nationals in Barbersville, Fla.
“I think our car had a good balance as choppy as the track was,” said Clanton, who first dealt with lapped cars on Lap 9. “If you got a good balance, you don’t upset your car when you go over the holes. Our car is so balanced right now it could go wherever you want it to go.”
Although Clanton led the field for the majority of the race, second-place finisher Chris Madden made a late push in his No. 44 Crowder Trucking/ Gentry Plastics Longhorn car with 15 laps to go – revisiting two out-of-series barn-burners the drivers had on April 23 at Senoia Raceway and Rome Speedway on April 24.
Madden, a regional favorite, challenged the Outlaws – specifically Clanton. But, it may have been the luck of the draw that diminished Madden’s chances of catching Clanton in the end.
“We just drew a bad number tonight,” said Madden, who drew a number six for the feature event. “We had a great racecar, but we just needed to start toward the front.
“Right toward the end we got into lap traffic when we went to make that late-charge. I won two in a row that night in Senoia and went to Rome Speedway and beat him again. I’m still up on him.”
Madden beat Clanton at Senoia by a .013 margin, but he was only able to close the gap to four-one-hundredths of a second at Ponderosa. Clanton with five laps remaining doubled the margin, slamming the door on both Madden’s late-pursuit and the possibility of a non-Outlaw winning a feature for a third-straight weekend.
In an uncanny resemblance, Clanton was doomed by lapped traffic in both prior battles with Madden; this time however, Clanton was able to weave through the field where Madden could not. It took slicing through a three-wide group of lapped cars to widen the gap.
“Madden was closing in on me, but in the middle of lapped cars I did all that I can do,” Clanton said. “I just knew I had to meet my marks and get passed those lapped cars as best as I could and let him play havoc trying to get by them. To outrun him and the field feels pretty good.
“Lapped cars cost me my race two weeks ago at Senoia with Madden, and I didn’t want to do it tonight. Luckily, we prevailed.”
Rounding out the podium was the No. 22 Satterlee Petroleum Distributors/ Keyser Manufacturing Rocket car of Gregg Satterlee. He started the race in the lead position. Satterlee kept to the bottom groove of the track, but said it was the harder tires that caused him to fade quicker than Clanton and Madden.
“I guess we were a little harder on our tires than they were,” Satterlee said. “I think they had a softer right-rear tire, and I think that allowed them to get going a little quicker. We went 30 laps and I knew we were right with these guys, and in those last nine laps, it kind of got away.”
The series concludes this weekend’s stretch with Smoky Mountain Speedway on Saturday, May 7. Tickets for the 4th annual Mountain Outlaw 50 Presented by Napa Auto Parts will be sold at the gate. General admission is $25. Children 6 to 11 are $5 and kids 5-and-under are free.
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World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series Statistical Report; May 6, 2016; Ponderosa Speedway; Junction City, Ky.
A-Main (50-laps): 1. 25- Shane Clanton [2] [$10,000]; 2. 44- Chris Madden [6] [$5,100]; 3. 22- Gregg Satterlee [1] [$3,050]; 4. 18- Eric Wells [8] [$3,200]; 5. 5- Don O’Neal [5] [$2,500]; 6. 1- Josh Richards [3] [$2,550]; 7. 12- Jason Jameson [9] [$1,400]; 8. 97- Michael Chilton [12] [$1,350]; 9. 88. Greg Johnson [16] [$1,250]; 10. 7- Rick Eckert [7] [$1,950]; 11. 15- Steve Francis [18] [$1,200]; 12. 21JR- Billy Moyer Jr. [14] [$2,000]; 13. 157- Mike Marlar [15] [$950]; 14. 15L- Darrell Lanigan [17] [$1,000]; 15. 76- Brandon Overton [11] [$1,400]; 16. C9- Steve Casebolt [24] [$1,350]; 17. 18c- Chase Junghans [19] [$1,270]; 18. 3s- Brian Shirley [23] [$1,300]; 19. 1*- Chub Frank [21] [$1,280]; 20. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr. [20] [$1,250]; 21. 1R- B.J. Robinson [22] [$700]; 22. 91- Tyler Erb [10] [$700]; 23. 14M- Morgan Bagley [25] [$660]; 24. D8- Dustin Linville [4] [$700]; 25. 16- Justin Rattliff [13] [$700]
Last-Chance Showdown (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. 18c- Chase Junghans; 2. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr.; 3. 1*- Chub Frank; 4. 1R- B.J. Robinson; 5. C9- Steve Casebolt; 6. 11- Tommy Bailey; 7. 15J- Scott James; 8. 18K- Brandon Kinzer; 9. 2c- Joey Coulter; 10. 14M- Morgan Bagley; 11. 3s- Brian Shirley
Qualifying: 1. 1-Steve Josh Richards, 13.51; 2. 22- Gregg Satterlee, 13.571; 3. 97- Michael Chilton, 13.594; 4. 44- Chris Madden. 13.596; 5. 5- Don O’Neal, 13.672; 6. D8- Dustin Linville, 13.676; 7. 7- Rick Eckert, 13.717; 8. 15L- Darrell Lanigan, 13.721; 9. 157- Mike Marlar, 13.749; 10. 91- Tyler Erb, 13.787; 11. 18- Eric Wells, 13.792; 12. 25- Shane Clanton, 13.807; 13. 16- Justin Rattliff, 13.839; 14. 76- Brandon Overton, 13.851; 15. 12- James Jameson, 13.878; 16. 18c- Chase Junghans- 13.898; 17. 21JR- Billy Moyer Jr., 13.939; 18. 15- Steve Francis, 13.944; 19 1R- B.J. Robinson, 14.035; 20. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr., 14.046; 21. C9- Steve Casebolt, 14.079; 22. 88- Greg Johnson, 14.13; 23. 11- Tommy Bailey, 14.141; 24. 1*- Chub Frank, 14.161; 25. 18K- Brandon Kinzer, 14.165; 26. 15J- Scott James, 14.175; 27. 14M- Morgan Bagley, 14.227; 28. 2c- Joey Coulter, 14.26; DNS- Brian Shirley
Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): 1. 1- Josh Richards; 2. 44- Chris Madden; 3. 7- Rick Eckert; 4. 91- Tyler Erb; 5. 16- Justin Rattliff; 6. 88- Greg Johnson; 7. 18c- Chase Junghans; 8. 1R- B.J. Robinson; 10. 18K- Brandon Kinzer
Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): 1. 5- Don O’Neal; 2. 22. Gregg Satterlee; 3. 18- Eric Wells; 4. 76- Brandon Overton; 5. 21JR- Billy Moyer Jr.; 6. 15L- Darrell Lanigan; 7. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr.; 8. 11- Tommy Bailey; 9. 15J- Scott James
Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): 1. D8- Dustin Linville; 2. 25- Shane Clanton; 3. 12- Jason Jameson; 4. 97- Michael Chilton; 5. 157- Mike Marlar; 6. 15- Steve Francis; 7. 1*- Chub Frank; 8. C9- Steve Casebolt; 9. 14M- Morgan Bagley
World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners (awards presented to noted finisher/qualifier or next highest displaying decal):
Comp Cams – $50 Product certificate : Shane Clanton
MSD – $50 Cash: Shane Clanton
QuarterMaster – $100 Product certificate: Shane Clanton
Wrisco Aluminum – 3 Sheets of aluminum: Shane Clanton
Penske Shocks – TBD Product certificate: Eric Wells
JE Pistons – $50 Cash: Josh Richards
VP Racing Fuels – $50 Cash: Michael Chilton
Edelbrock – $50 Cash: Greg Johnson
Comp Cams – $50 Cash: Rick Eckert
Morton Buildings – $50 Cash: Steve Francis
Cometic Gasket – $50 Cash: Billy Moyer Jr.
JRI Shocks – $50 Cash: Chub Frank
SuperFlow – $50 Cash: Brandon Overton
QuarterMaster – $25 Product certificate: Brandon Overton
JE Pistons – Set of rings: Steve Casebolt
QuarterMaster – $50 Product certificate: Chub Frank
Arizona Sport Shirts – $100 Product certificate: Billy Moyer Jr.
JE Pistons – Set of rings: Shane Clanton
MSD – $25 Cash: Shane Clanton
QA1 – $50 Cash: Gregg Satterlee
Bonus Bucks – $500 Cash: Don O’Neal
Rookie Bonus – $250 Cash: Billy Moyer Jr.
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Shane Clanton
Craftsman Bonus – $100 Cash: Chris Madden
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Eric Wells
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Josh Richards
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Rick Eckert
Craftsman Bonus – $200 Cash: Billy Moyer Jr.
2016 World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series Point Standings as of May 6 – 11 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/residence/points/deficit to leader):
Pos. Car # Driver Residence Earnings Points Trail By
1 1 Josh Richards Clarksburg, WV $73,825 1600 0
2 25 Shane Clanton Zebulon, GA $46,525 1482 118
3 7 Rick Eckert York, PA $30,700 1450 150
4 3S Brian Shirley Chatham, IL $22,810 1434 166
5 76 Brandon Overton Evans, GA $16,545 1358 242
6 C9 Steve Casebolt Richmond, IN $14,460 1352 248
7 21JR Billy Moyer Jr. Batesville, AR $17,760 1348 252
8 1* Chub Frank Bear Lake, PA $18,760 1344 256
9 14M Morgan Bagley Gladewater, TX $14,260 1334 266
10 99JR Frank Heckenast Jr. Frankfort, IL $14,710 1308 292
11 18 Eric Wells Hazard, KY $13,000 1296 304
12 18C Chase Junghans Manhattan, KS $11,605 1288 312
13 91 Tyler Erb New Waverly, TX $5,660 1132 468
14 2C Joey Coulter Union Grove, NC $5,010 1118 482
15 99B Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs Bear Lake, PA $10,110 1010 590
16 77 Jordan Yaggy Rochester, MN $2,865 892 708
17 2F Dennis Franklin Gaffney, SC $6,630 834 766
18 25F Jason Feger Bloomington, IL $3,050 672 928
19 B1 Paul Wilmoth Jr. Clarksburg, WV $2,010 646 954
20 5 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN $7,250 636 964
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Bad Boy Buggies (Official Side-by-Side Vehicle), The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Morton Buildings (Official Building) and DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Mobil 1, MSD, Ohlins Shocks, Penske Shocks, QA1, QuarterMaster, Superflow Dynos and Wrisco Aluminum; along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, Integra Shocks, Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis and TNT Rescue.