Moyer Sets New Track Record & Ends Thursday Prelim Night Atop Knoxville Late Model Nationals Points Standings; Lanigan Enjoys Strong Run, McCreadie Wrecks Hard In Heat
by: Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director

KNOXVILLE, IA (Sept. 28, 2006) – Defending World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., got off to a strong start in the third annual Knoxville Late Model Nationals, setting a new track record in time trials and ending the Thursday-night preliminary program sitting atop the event points standings.

Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., led the WoO LMS contingent in Thursday night’s 25-lap preliminary feature, charging from the 12th starting spot to finish third. He crossed the finish line close behind victor Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., and runner-up Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa – the two previous winners of the Late Model Nationals at the famed Knoxville Raceway.

Moyer, 48, flexed his muscle during the 61-car qualifying session, ripping off a lap of 17.525 seconds around the half-mile oval. He was the third driver on the track.

But Moyer couldn’t duplicate his qualifying success in the preliminary feature. After blasting his Rayburn No. 21 off the pole position to lead the race’s first two laps, Moyer was overtaken by Bloomquist. He made a bid to regain command before gradually faded over the remaining distance, finishing sixth.

That was still good enough to give Moyer the highest points total from Thursday’s qualifying and feature action. He accumulated 484 points, nine more than Bloomquist.

If no one is able to surpass Moyer’s points total during Friday’s second preliminary night, he’ll start Saturday night’s 100-lap, $35,000-to-win A-Main from the pole position.

Moyer, who finished third in last year’s Knoxville Late Model Nationals 100, plans to test his two-week-old MasterSbilt car in Friday night’s preliminary action. Under event rules a driver’s best points total of the two nights will be used to determine Saturday’s lineups, so Moyer finds himself in very good shape.

The dirt Late Model legend is also “loose and very confident,” reported John McCarthy Sr., a longtime sponsor of Moyer’s efforts through his McCarthy’s One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchise in Omaha, Neb.

And why not? Moyer spent the days leading up to the Knoxville Nationals visiting with family and friends in his native Iowa (his father, Billy Sr., lives less than an hour from the track) and working on his car at the Hawkeye State shop of his sponsor, Banner Valley Hauling.

“Billy’s in a great mood,” said McCarthy, noting on Friday afternoon that Moyer was unwinding by riding his bicycle around the fairgrounds and the town of Knoxville.

The 36-year-old Lanigan, meanwhile, authored an impressive preliminary-feature run in his first career start at Knoxville. He came within one lap of finishing second.

“I jumped the cushion off (turn) two and that cost me,” Lanigan said of his final-circuit hiccup that allowed Birkhofer to slip by him. “I buried the nose and Birky got a run on me.”

Nevertheless, Lanigan was pleased with his $2,000 third-place effort, especially after he timed a less-than-satisfying 25th in qualifying.

“We were the next-to-last car out for qualifying so we knew we were gonna be a half-second off (the pace),” said Lanigan, who drove his Lanigan Autosports Rocket No. 29. “But we needed to be adjusted better.”

Lanigan, who was impressed by the racy nature of the Knoxville oval, can likely improve his potential starting spot in Saturday’s A-Main with a strong performance on Friday night. He ended Thursday’s action ranked 10th in the Nationals points standings.

“Time trials killed us,” said Lanigan, who is ranked fifth in the current WoO LMS points standings. “We’re gonna try a couple things (on Friday) and hopefully we’ll get some more points.”

Including Moyer and Lanigan, seven of the 10 WoO LMS regulars in attendance for the Knoxville Late Model Nationals made the cut for Thursday night’s preliminary feature. Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., finished fifth (and won a heat race); Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., placed eighth (and also won a heat); Rick Eckert of York, Pa., finished 12th after pitting to change a flat right-rear tire on lap five; Eric Jacobsen of Santa Cruz, Calif., was 19th; and Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va., placed 25th.

No other dirt Late Model touring series was represented in Thursday’s preliminary feature by more of its regulars than the WoO LMS.

WoO LMS racers missing the preliminary feature field were Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., who finished fifth in the B-Main (one spot from transferring); John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., who was 10th in the C-Main; and Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., who was done for the night after being involved in a grinding crash during heat action.

McCreadie, who leads the 2006 WoO LMS points standings with the only the Pittsburgher 100 at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway (Oct. 8) and the Gator 100 at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park (Oct. 13-14) remaining on the schedule, experienced the worst night of the Outlaw clan.

After timing ninth-fastest in qualifying, McCreadie started 11th in the fourth heat thanks to the event’s total-inversion format. He was on the gas trying to advance on the race’s opening lap when he slammed head-on into the spinning car driven by dirt Late Model rookie G.R. Smith, a a a New Jersey native who now lives in Mooresville, N.C.

“I was under (Eric) Jacobsen and didn’t see (Smith) when he spun across the track,” said McCreadie, who ironically shares a DIRT Modified racing background with Smith. “I hit him so hard I almost knocked the motor out of our car.”

McCreadie, who called the wreck “the worst we’ve had in three years of dirt Late Model racing,” said his Sweeteners Plus Rocket No. 39 will need a new front clip. His team will take the car to the Rocket Chassis shop in Shinnston, W.Va., following the Knoxville Nationals and have the frame work done on Monday – with the hope that McCreadie’s favorite car will be back running strong in the Pittsburgher on Oct. 8.

McCreadie, 32, was ranked 40th in the Knoxville Nationals points standings after Thursday’s action. His crew spent Friday afternoon readying their backup car for the weekend’s remaining competition.

“We need to go to work and get our backup running fast,” said McCreadie, who was sporting a sore wrist following the crash. “We can’t quit and fold up the tent for the weekend.”

Knoxville Late Model Nationals Points Standings (after Preliminary Night 1 – WoO LMS Drivers In Caps):

1. BILLY MOYER 484
2. Scott Bloomquist 475
3. Darren Miller 472
4. Brian Birkhofer 471
5. Jimmy Mars 470
6. Dan Schlieper 467
7. JOSH RICHARDS 460
8. STEVE FRANCIS 454
9. Chris Madden 446
10. DARRELL LANIGAN 442
11. Shannon Babb 439
12. Tony Stewart 439
13. Brady Smith 438
14. RICK ECKERT 431
15. Matt Furman 429
16. ERIC JACOBSEN 419
17. Scott James 412
18. EDDIE CARRIER JR. 393
19. Bart Hartman 387
20. CHUB FRANK 387
21. Curt Martin 387
22. Steve Shaver 386
23. Kerry Hansen 382
24. Kenny Schrader 382
25. Andy Eckrich 380
26. Jeff Aikey 374
27. Trent Follmer 372
28. Justin Fegers 370
29. Mike Balcaen 369
30. Jackie Boggs 367
31. Chris Spieker 366
32. Jeep VanWormer 363
33. Nick Marolf 362
34. Chris Smyser 345
35. Johnny Spaw 345
35. Brian Shirley 344
36. Todd Shute 343
37. Jay Johnson 341
38. Donnie Moran 325
39. Mike Marlar 321
40. TIM McCREADIE 316
40. Jeff Tharp 316
42. Dennis Woodworth 314
43. Matt Aukland 305
44. Boone McLaughlin 300
45. JOHN BLANKENSHIP 294
46. Paul Glendenning 294
47. Darrell DeFrance 287
48. Steve Kosiski 285
49. Billy Drake 281
50. Andrew McKay 267
51. G.R. Smith 255
52. Todd Cooney 254
53. Levi Benn 246
53. Johnny Johnson 246
55. Mitch Johnson 239
56. Jason Conoyer 237
57. Alonzo Grosse 233
58. Jill George 226
59. Junior Coover 224
60. Richard Bell 0