Contact: Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series PR Director
kkovac@dirtcar.com | 704-254-7929

McCreadie Controls World of Outlaws Late Model Series Action At 311 Motor Speedway For First Win Of 2013

New Yorker Captures National Tour’s Visit To North Carolina Track For Second Straight Season

PINE HALL, NC – April 20, 2013 – Something about 311 Motor Speedway agrees with Tim McCreadie.
The 39-year-old star from Watertown, N.Y., drove to a convincing victory in Saturday night’s 50-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series at the half-mile oval – the second consecutive year that his first win of the season on the national tour came at the Tar Heel State track.

McCreadie ran a virtually flawless race after surging off the outside pole to grab the lead from front-row partner Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., at the initial green flag. He paced the entire distance in his Sweeteners Plus Warrior car, turning back just a brief late-race challenge from Rick Eckert of York, Pa., en route to a $10,650 payday.

Eckert settled for his third runner-up finish of the 2013 season, steering his Team Zero by Bloomquist machine under the checkered flag 1.046 seconds behind McCreadie. The 2001 WoO LMS champion advanced from the ninth starting spot.

Richards slipped to third at the finish in his father Mark’s Rocket Chassis house car but maintained the WoO LMS points lead. Casey Roberts of Toccoa, Ga., moved up one spot to register a career-best World of Outlaws finish of fourth in his Capital Race Car and Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., placed fifth in the AES Racing Barry Wright car after starting third and running as high as second.

McCreadie ended a 31-race winless streak on the WoO LMS, dating back to June 22, 2012, at Quebec’s Autodrome Granby. That victory north of the border was his third in a nine-race span – a stretch of success that he hopes to extend to a greater degree this season.

“It’s fun to be up front,” said McCreadie, who recorded his 21st career win on the WoO LMS. “This is where I believe this Sweeteners team should be. We’re starting to show through. We’ve been way better this year than we were last year already and our goal is to keep everything rolling.”

McCreadie, who celebrated his 39th birthday on April 12, credited his prime starting spot for propelling him to a breakout triumph.

“That kid who drew the (No. 2) pill probably helped me out the most tonight,” said McCreadie, whose outside pole start was picked for him in the A-Main redraw by nine-year-old Nate Hooker of Danbury, N.C. “It just gets so dirty when you’re behind cars here it’s hard to maneuver, so being up front was definitely where I needed to be.”

McCreadie controlled the action following each of the race’s five restarts and maintained a steady edge ranging from a half to a full second throughout the distance. But he had to contend with Eckert, who reached second with a pass of Richards on a lap-26 restart, before securing the checkered flag.
“You’re never confident with the caliber of guys that are racing with us,” said McCreadie, the 2006 WoO LMS titlist. “I know one thing, and that’s (with) one mistake they’re gonna make you look silly, so we just tried to hold our own. The cushion was good and I just lived on it.

“I got some signals (from crewmen) that somebody was closing (using the bottom groove), but you just don’t know what to do. I ran 35-plus laps up there on the lip so it’s hard to just all of a sudden hang a left and run the bottom. But after I heard somebody under me I moved down and just tried to stay as straight as I could and hold on.”

The driver who made McCreadie alter his line was Eckert, who reached second place with a pass of Richards on a lap-26 restart and then slowly reeled in McCreadie. On lap 38, with lapped traffic looming ahead, Eckert pulled to the inside of McCreadie rounding turns three and four, but McCreadie fought off the 47-year-old’s bid and never felt serious pressure again.

“He was running that top and he left me a lot of room there getting into (turn) three,” said Eckert. “I changed my line, opened up my corner (entry) and got to where I was really making time on him. Then he slipped one time (on lap 38) – he pushed and got bent hard, and I got beside him (on the inside of turns three and four).

“Well, he saw me down there, and after that he moved down. After I showed my nose one time he made sure he was on the bottom coming off of four, and he even moved down into three. That got me down there in the dust to where I could barely keep up.”

Five caution flags slowed the event, including three involving WoO LMS regulars. Scott James of Bright, Ind., slowed on lap nine with a broken left-rear wheel bearing that ultimately caused him to retire his Warrior Chassis house car; rookie Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky., spun into the inside wall on the homestretch on lap 15 after Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., slowed and was hit from behind by Ricky Weeks of Rutherfordton, N.C.; and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., relinquished seventh place on lap 22 when he slowed with a broken left-front upper A-frame (he returned five laps down).

Other cautions were caused by Chris Ferguson of Mt. Airy, N.C., who slowed on a lap-26 restart, and Dennis Franklin of Gaffney, S.C., who rolled to a stop in turn four on lap 40.

WoO LMS rookie Morgan Bagley enjoyed a solid night, advancing from the 14th starting spot to score a career-best tour finish of sixth. Kennedy Motorsports teammates Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., and Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., were seventh and eighth, respectively, after recovering from flat tires during qualifying (Fuller in time trials, Clanton on the last lap of his heat); WoO LMS rookie Dillon Wood of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., was a season-best ninth after starting 23rd with a provisional because mechanical trouble during heat action (ball spline broke off the transmission) forced him into his backup car; and Scott Autry of Autryville, N.C., rounded out the top 10.

Roberts topped the 29-car field in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials, earning his first-ever WoO LMS fast-time honor with a lap of 16.254 seconds.

Heat winners were Davenport, Lanigan and Richards, and Clanton captured the B-Main.
The WoO LMS heads to Tennessee next weekend for a massive tripleheader. The swing kicks off on Fri., April 26, at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville and then continues to Tazewell Speedway on Sat., April 27, and Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel on Sun., April 28.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Fans can also follow the WoO LMS on Twitter at Twitter.com/WoOLateModels and Facebook at Facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws .

Results of World of Outlaws Late Model Series at 311 Motor Speedway (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):
1. (2) Tim McCreadie/50 $10,650
2. (9) Rick Eckert/50 $5,650
3. (1) Josh Richards/50 $3,650
4. (5) Casey Roberts/50 $3,000
5. (3) Jonathan Davenport/50 $2,050
6. (14) Morgan Bagley/50 $2,600
7. (17) Tim Fuller/50 $1,950
8. (19) Shane Clanton/50 $1,850
9. (23) Dillon Wood/50 $1,250
10. (11) Scott Autry/50 $1,150
11. (20) Eric Wells/50 $1,650
12. (16) Chub Frank/50 $1,550
13. (10) Justin Labonte/50 $950
14. (18) Jeff Smith/50 $950
15. (6) Darrell Lanigan/45 $1,500
16. (15) Dennis Franklin/38 $800
17. (8) Tim Allen/25 $770
18. (13) Scott James/22 $1,300
19. (7) Bub McCool/22 $1,280
20. (12) Chris Ferguson/22 $700
21. (22) Ricky Weeks/17 $700
22. (21) Dustin Mitchell/16 $700
23. (24) Billy Hicks/13 $750
24. (4) Clint Smith/8 $1,250

* Earnings include Winners Circle program and cash contingency award bonuses
Time of Race: 31 Mins., 44.895 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.046 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 5 (Laps 9, 15, 22, 22, 40)
Lap Leaders: McCreadie (1-50)
Provisional Starters: Wood, Hicks
Rookie of the Race: Bagley ($250)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Roberts ($500)

Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 101-Casey Roberts/Toccoa, GA 16.254
2. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 16.272
3. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 16.285
4. 49-Jonathan Davenport/Blairsville, GA 16.308
5. 17-Tim Allen/Kannapolis, NC 16.310
6. 21-Chris Ferguson/Mt. Holly, NC 16.324
7. 44L-Justin Labonte/Trinity, NC 16.329
8. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 16.349
9. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 16.397
10. 57J-Bub McCool/Vicksburg, MS 16.402
11. 18-Eric Wells/Hazard, KY 16.473
12. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 16.474
13. 25-Shane Clanton/Fayetteville, GA 16.481
14. A1-Scott Autry/Autryville, NC 16.531
15. 2-Dennis Franklin/Gaffney, SC 16.563
16. 1W-Dillon Wood/New Smyrna Beach, FL 16.387***
17. 14M-Morgan Bagley/Longview, TX 16.665
18. 1M-Ricky Weeks/Rutherfordton, NC 16.684
19. 1G-Scott James/Bright, IN 16.702
20. 38-Billy Hicks/Mt. Airy, NC 16.796
21. 51-Dustin Mitchell/Pine Level, NC 16.876
22. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 16.964
23. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 16.998
24. 70-Jeff Smith/Dallas, NC 17.118
25. 6-Chris Blackwell/Grays Creek, NC 17.314
26. 31-Ron Shultz/Cashtown, PA 17.457
27. 618-Kevin Wilson/Stoneville, NC 17.561
28. 72-Mike Parker/Eastover, NC 17.704
29. 07-Brian Ledbetter/Dallas, NC 18.051

Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Davenport, Roberts, McCool, Labonte, James, Frank, Clanton, Blackwell, Parker, Wood
Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Lanigan, C. Smith, Allen, Autry, Bagley, Fuller, Wells, Shultz, Hicks, Ledbetter
Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Richards, McCreadie, Eckert, Ferguson, Franklin, J. Smith, Mitchell, Weeks, Wilson
B-Main (12 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Clanton, Wells, Mitchell, Weeks, Blackwell, Hicks, Ledbetter, Wilson, Wood, Shultz (DNS) Parker

World of Outlaws Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners (awards presented to noted finisher/qualifier or next highest displaying decal:
Ohlins Shocks ($50 cash to fast qualifier): Jonathan Davenport
Eibach Springs (one free spring to each B-Main winner): Eric Wells
VP Race Fuels ‘Nice Jugs’ Award: (One VP 5-gallon container to fastest qualifier who misses A-Main): Ron Shultz
Wrisco Aluminum (3 sheets of aluminum to A-Main winner only): Tim McCreadie
Armor All (One case of product to highest-finishing non-WoO team in A-Main): Jeff Smith
Comp Cams ($50 certificate to A-Main winner): Rick Eckert
QuarterMaster ($100 certificate to A-Main winner, $50 certificate to 5th-place finish): Tim McCreadie/Darrell Lanigan
MSD Ignition ($50 cash to A-Main winner): Tim McCreadie
STP ($50 cash to 2nd-place finisher in A-Main): Rick Eckert
XS Power ($50 cash to 3rd-place finisher in A-Main): Morgan Bagley
Roush Yates ($50 cash to 4th-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Wells
JE Pistons ($50 cash to 5th-place finisher in A-Main): Morgan Bagley
Dominator ($50 cash to 6th-place finisher in A-Main): Morgan Bagley
American Race Wheels ($50 cash to 7th-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Wells
VP Race Fuels ($50 cash to 8th-place finisher in A-Main): Shane Clanton
Edelbrock Manifolds ($50 cash to 9th-finisher in A-Main): Dillon Wood
Comp Cams ($50 cash to 10th-place finisher in A-Main): Scott Autry
XS Power ($60 product certificate to 11th-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Wells
Cometic Gasket ($50 cash to 12th-place finisher in A-Main): Chub Frank
JRI Shocks ($50 cash to 13th-place finisher in A-Main): Bub McCool
Super Flow Dynos ($50 cash to 14th-place finisher in A-Main): Jeff Smith
JE Pistons (one complete set of JE Pro Seal rings to 16th-place finisher in A-Main, redeemable w/next purchase of set): Scott James
Klotz Lubricants ($50 cash to 17th-place finisher in A-Main): Scott James
Roush Yates ($50 gift card to 18th-place finisher in A-Main): Ricky Weeks
QuarterMaster ($50 certificate to 19th-place finisher in A-Main): Bub McCool
Arizona Sport Shirts ($100 certificate to 20th-place finisher in A-Main): Dustin Mitchell
JE Pistons (one complete set of JE Pro Seal rings to 21st-place finisher in A-Main, redeemable w/next purchase of set): Ricky Weeks
Roush Yates ($50 gift card to 22nd-place finisher in A-Main): Billy Hicks
MSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24th-place finisher in A-Main): Billy Hicks
XS Power ‘Power Move of the Race’ ($60 product certificate): Rick Eckert
Roush Yates ($25 gift card to driver who leads most laps in the A-Main): Tim McCreadie

2013 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of April 20 – 10 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/points/deficit to leader):
1. Josh Richards 1424
2. Shane Clanton 1412 (-12)
3. Rick Eckert 1370 (-54)
4. Darrell Lanigan 1358 (-66)
5. Tim McCreadie 1316 (-108)
6. Eric Wells 1278 (-146)
7. Scott James 1272 (-152)
8. Tim Fuller 1268 (-156)
9. Morgan Bagley 1242 (-182)
10. Chub Frank 1236 (-188)
11. Bub McCool 1216 (-208)
12. Clint Smith 1148 (-276)
13. Dillon Wood 1058 (-366)
14. Brandon Sheppard 942 (-482)
15. Casey Roberts 912 (-512)