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Weekend At Randy Mooneyham’s Show-Me State Tracks Set To Usher In May For World of Outlaws Late Model Series Tour Returns To Lebanon I-44 Speedway On May 3, Makes First-Ever Visit To Monett Speedway On May 4 LEBANON, MO (April 25) -One track has become a staple on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. The other, meanwhile, has never before played host to the nation’s premier dirt Late Model tour. It will be a mix of the familiar and the unknown for most of the WoO LMS stars when the trail invades Missouri the first weekend in May to contest two nights of action at veteran promoter Randy Mooneyham’s tracks – Lebanon I-44 Speedway on Sat., May 3, and Monett Speedway on Sun., May 4. “It’s going to be one of the biggest weekends of the year for racing in Southwestern Missouri,” said Mooneyham. “Two World of Outlaws shows back-to-back sets up a perfect weekend for the fans and racers.” Lebanon I-44 Speedway, a high-banked, three-eighths-mile oval that was paved in the ‘90s before switching back to a clay surface, is on the WoO LMS schedule for the fourth consecutive season. But there’s something different about this year’s 40-lap, $10,000-to-win event – it’s the first time that the Outlaws visit on the fast track’s regular night of operation. The WoO LMS has made its annual stop at Lebanon I-44 on summer mid-week dates for the past three years – July 3, 2007 (winner: Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.), July 25, 2006 (Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa) and July 26, 2005 (Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.). “We’re excited to have the Outlaws coming to Lebanon on a Saturday night,” said Mooneyham, who has operated the facility for six years. “Running on our regular night could make this our best World of Outlaws show ever.” Following Lebanon’s checkered flag the WoO LMS will shift its action 100 miles to the southwest on Sunday night (May 4) for a first-ever stop at Monett Speedway, a 38-year-old track known as ‘The Grand Old Lady’ that Mooneyham has promoted for the last 28 years. “Without a doubt this is the biggest race ever run at Monett,” Mooneyham said of the 40-lap WoO LMS A-Main that offers a top prize of $7,000. “With the great names that are coming, it’s going to be a show like no one has ever seen at Monett.” While at three-eighths-of-a-mile Monett is similarly-sized to Lebanon I-44, drivers will face a different set of challenges at Mooneyham’s longer-running oval. “Monett is a little flatter and the turns are a little tighter than Lebanon,” said Mooneyham. “It takes a little more of a slick-track style, but it’s good and wide. The drivers always love to race at Monett.” Plenty of nationally-known all-stars will be invading Monett – many for the first time in their careers – as well as Lebanon. Former Lebanon I-44 WoO LMS winners Smith and Francis will lead the charge to the sister tracks, hitting town as returning tour regulars. Francis is the defending WoO LMS champion, while Smith is coming off a career-high third-place finish in the 2007 points standings. Birkhofer has also indicated that he plans to be in the field to chase another WoO LMS win at Lebanon I-44 as well as a triumph at Monett. And three-time WoO LMS champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., who won a WoO LMS event at Lebanon I-44 in 1988 during the tour’s first incarnation (1988-89) under late Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series founder Ted Johnson, has plans to take a shot at extending his early-season hot streak on the WoO LMS (four wins in seven events so far and the points lead) at two tracks where he’s enjoyed plenty of success of the years. Also part of the talented roster of WoO LMS regulars who have Lebanon and Monett in their crosshairs is Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., who won the 2006 Larry Phillips Memorial event and finished second in last year’s WoO LMS A-Main at Lebanon I-44; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who drives a dirt Late Model owned by NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; 20-year-old Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who sits second in the current tour points standings; Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.; and John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va. With both events co-sanctioned by the O’Reilly MARS DIRTcar Series, that tour’s top talents will join the battle at two tracks they have run at often in recent years. Reigning series champion Bill Frye of Greenbrier, Ark., heads the MARS contingent, which also includes former titlist Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo., Will Vaught of Seneca, Mo., and Jeremy Payne of Springfield, Mo. Other drivers expected to compete in the weekend events include Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis.; Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kans., who won the season-opening DLRA event at Monett on April 20; David Turner of Adrian, Mo.; John Anderson of Omaha, Neb.; and Lebanon I-44 dominator Brad Looney of Republic, Mo. Gates are scheduled to open at 4:30 p.m. at both tracks, with race time set for 7:30 each evening. General admission for both events is $30 for adults, $10 for juniors (ages 13-15) and free for kids 12-and-under. Pit passes will be $35. For more information visit www.lebanoni44speedway.net, www.monettspeedway.net or call Randy Mooneyham at 417-224-7074. Lebanon I-44’s raceday track hotline is 417-532-2060, while Monett’s is 417-236-0600 Additional info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com . |