{"id":9885,"date":"2012-02-19T17:54:46","date_gmt":"2012-02-19T17:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/?p=9885"},"modified":"2012-02-19T17:54:46","modified_gmt":"2012-02-19T17:54:46","slug":"eckert-caps-bubba-army-winter-nationals-at-bubba-raceway-park-with-stirring-12250-triumph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/series\/eckert-caps-bubba-army-winter-nationals-at-bubba-raceway-park-with-stirring-12250-triumph\/","title":{"rendered":"Eckert Caps Bubba Army Winter Nationals At Bubba Raceway Park With Stirring $12,250 Triumph"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marlar\u2019s Last-Lap Bid For Victory Ends Against Turn-Three Wall<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

OCALA, FL \u2013 Feb. 18, 2012 \u2013 Rick Eckert figured out Bubba Raceway Park just in time to score a stirring victory in Saturday night\u2019s 60-lap Bubba Army Late Model Winter Nationals A-Main.<\/p>\n

The defending World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion from York, Pa., found his rhythm in the finale of the national tour\u2019s inaugural three-race meet at the central Florida oval. He surged into the lead on lap 44 and held on for the remainder of the distance, reaching the checkered flag first after Mike Marlar\u2019s last-lap bid ended with the Winfield, Tenn., driver smacking the turn-three wall.<\/p>\n

Eckert, 46, earned $12,250 for his first WoO LMS win of 2012 and the 25th<\/sup> of his career. It also marked his first top-five finish in five career A-Main starts at BRP, including two (10th<\/sup> and 11th<\/sup>-place runs) in the preceding days.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was saying it would take a month of me racing here before I\u2019d win a race,\u201d said Eckert, who ranks fourth on the WoO LMS career win list since 2004. \u201cWe struggled here for the last couple days, but we kept working and making changes and we did finally get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eckert brought an end to the first-place stranglehold on the Winter Nationals held by Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who settled for finishes of second and third, respectively. Lanigan won Thursday night\u2019s 40-lap opener over Richards and Richards beat Lanigan to the checkered flag in Friday evening\u2019s 50-lap headliner.<\/p>\n

Eighth-starter Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., finished fourth in Saturday night\u2019s A-Main \u2013 his second top-five finish of the tripleheader \u2013 and 2011 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Pat Doar of New Richmond, Wis., registered a career-best tour finish of fifth after starting from the pole position.<\/p>\n

Eckert started sixth in the 25-car event, but he slipped to eighth almost immediately and was still running in that position when the race\u2019s second caution flag flew on lap 20 for the slowing Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark. His Team Zero by Bloomquist machine came alive soon after, reaching fourth place when the next caution was needed, on lap 42 for a turn-one spin by WoO LMS rookie Greg Johnson of Bedford, Ind.<\/p>\n

Then the race heated up. Lanigan grabbed second from Richards on the restart and nosed ahead of Marlar, who started second and had led from the initial green flag, to assume command on lap 43. Moments later, however, Lanigan\u2019s car slid sideways in turn two and lost significant momentum, dropping him to fifth and allowing Eckert to vault into the lead at lap 44.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were wrestling pretty hard for the lead there, Darrell and the five car (Marlar),\u201d said Eckert. \u201cI think they might\u2019ve touched (on lap 43) and they slid up the racetrack. I just stuck that bottom and got by \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n

After rookie Jared Hawkins of Fairmont, W.Va., spun in turn four to bring out the race\u2019s fourth and final caution flag on lap 47, Eckert built an edge of over one second on second-place Marlar. But over the final five circuits Eckert noticeably slowed his pace and Marlar drew his Bryson Motorsports Rocket car to Eckert\u2019s rear bumper.<\/p>\n

On the final lap, Marlar attempted to squeeze between Eckert and the outside wall entering turn three. The space closed up, however, and contact with Eckert sent Marlar into the guardrail.<\/p>\n

As Marlar sat against the wall, Eckert went on to win the A-Main under a yellow-checkered condition by 2.044 seconds over Richards. Marlar was able to drive his damaged car across the finish line in 18th<\/sup> place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like everybody \u2013 I was running out of tires,\u201d said Eckert. \u201cI was getting loose off (turn) two, so I\u2019d just let my car drift out there. I drifted out there the last lap like I did every lap, and apparently Mike had a run and I got him in the wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know they\u2019re all mad \u2013 and I\u2019d be mad too,\u201d he continued, speaking of Marlar and his crew. \u201cBut I surely didn\u2019t try that. I didn\u2019t try to crash the guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marlar, 33, was disappointed to come so close to his first-ever WoO LMS victory but gracefully accepted his fate.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Eckert) didn\u2019t give me room, but it is hard to see out of these cars,\u201d said Marlar, who hopes to follow the WoO LMS for the first time in 2012. \u201cI\u2019m not gonna say he wrecked me or, \u2018He did this,\u2019 or, \u2018He did that.\u2019 I definitely knew the chances (of trying an outside pass), and I took them. Our team\u2019s strong and we got good equipment, so I just went for it \u2013 and unfortunately, I got bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we come to win. We have that win hunger, and when it comes to situations like that I guess we\u2019re just gonna tear up some stuff because we\u2019re not backing off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marlar looked wistfully at the lap-42 restart when he lost the lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my fault I got passed,\u201d said Marlar. \u201cI kept pulling the front wheels of the ground scooting through the corner on those restarts. I had done it two or three times, and I was trying my best for that not to happen (on lap 42) so I went in and stood on it with all I could so it wouldn\u2019t. But that made it even worse, and when I pushed it cost us the lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richards, 23, was in the middle of all the late-race action.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt got crazy fast with everybody running so close together,\u201d said Richards, who started third. \u201cEverybody was going for the win.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a great all night, but we weren\u2019t quite set up for that (track) condition when it slowed down. I was pretty much holding on at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lanigan, 41, saw an opportunity for his third win in four WoO LMS events this season slip through his fingers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got the lead there for a second, but I don\u2019t know if we got loosened up or just got too loose getting in there and somebody got in the back of me,\u201d said Lanigan. \u201cWe got it corrected and come back out in fifth, so to get third \u2013 I guess that\u2019s not too bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finishing in positions 6-10 was DIRTcar UMP Late Model star Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., who started fourth and ran as high as second early in the event; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.; Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y.; top WoO LMS rookie Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss.; and Gregg Satterlee of Rochester Mills, Pa.<\/p>\n

Lanigan was quickest in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials, topping the 49-car field with a lap of 13.998 seconds. It was his third fast-time honor of the young season.<\/p>\n

Heat winners were Lanigan, McCool, Eckert and Richards. Dillon Wood of Daytona Beach, Fla., and Jason McBride of Carbondale, Ill., captured the B-Mains.<\/p>\n

All of the A-Main starters posed for a photo during the pre-race introductions with professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, who served as the Grand Marshall of the event. He is a close friend of BRP owner Bubba \u2018The Love Sponge\u2019 Clem, a nationally-syndicated radio show host.<\/p>\n

The WoO LMS will conclude its season-opening southern swing during the 41st<\/sup> UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., contesting 50-lap, $10,000-to-win events on Thurs., Feb. 23, and Sat., Feb. 25.<\/p>\n

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fans can also follow the WoO LMS on Twitter at Twitter.com\/WoOLateModels <\/a>and Facebook at Facebook.com\/WorldofOutlaws <\/a>.<\/p>\n

Results of WoO Late Model Series \u2018Bubba Army Late Model Winter Nationals\u2019 Night 3 at Bubba Raceway Park (Finishing Position\/Start\/Driver\/Laps Completed\/Money Won): <\/strong><\/p>\n

1. (6) Rick Eckert\/60 $12,250<\/p>\n

2. (3) Josh Richards\/60 $6,150<\/p>\n

3. (7) Darrell Lanigan\/60 $4,650<\/p>\n

4. (8) Shane Clanton\/60 $3,550<\/p>\n

5. (1) Pat Doar\/60 $3,050<\/p>\n

6. (4) Jason Feger\/60 $2,600<\/p>\n

7. (9) Chub Frank\/60 $2,050<\/p>\n

8. (10) Vic Coffey\/60 $1,750<\/p>\n

9. (5) Bub McCool\/60 $2,100<\/p>\n

10. (12) Gregg Satterlee\/60 $1,350<\/p>\n

11. (19) Dan Stone\/60 $1,300<\/p>\n

12. (14) Tim Fuller\/60 $1,250<\/p>\n

13. (16) Brandon Sheppard\/60 $1,150<\/p>\n

14. (18) Jason McBride\/60 $1,100<\/p>\n

15. (21) Billy Moyer Jr.\/60 $1,100<\/p>\n

16. (24) Kent Robinson\/60 $1,100<\/p>\n

17. (25) John Lobb\/60 $150<\/p>\n

18. (2) Mike Marlar\/60 $900<\/p>\n

19. (17) Dillon Wood\/59 $850<\/p>\n

20. (15) Clint Smith\/59 $850<\/p>\n

21. (22) Jared Hawkins\/49 $800<\/p>\n

22. (20) Greg Johnson\/40 $800<\/p>\n

23. (23) Ron Davies\/24 $850<\/p>\n

24. (13) Billy Moyer\/19 $925<\/p>\n

25. (11) Tim McCreadie\/15 $950<\/p>\n

* Earnings include cash contingency award bonuses<\/em><\/p>\n

Margin of Victory: 2.044 Secs.<\/p>\n

Yellow Flags: 4 (Laps 11, 20, 42, 47)<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders: Marlar (1-42); Lanigan (43); Eckert (44-60)<\/p>\n

Provisional Starters: Davies, Robinson (WoO); Lobb (WoO emergency)<\/p>\n

Rookie of the Race: Bub McCool<\/p>\n

WoO LMS \u2018Bonus Bucks\u2019 Winner: Bub McCool ($500)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marlar\u2019s Last-Lap Bid For Victory Ends Against Turn-Three Wall By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director OCALA, FL \u2013 Feb. 18, 2012 \u2013 Rick Eckert […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"publish_to_discourse":"","publish_post_category":"","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,3,4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ocala-speedway","category-featured","category-front-page-news","category-race-results","category-series"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9885"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9890,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9885\/revisions\/9890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}