By Bret Emrick
Billy Moyer of Batesville,AR captured the World of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series sanctioned “Pepsi Nationals 55” Saturday at I-55 Raceway in Pevely,MO and regained the 2005 Championship points lead by a scant 4 points over ninth place finisher Steve Francis of Ashland,KY. Starting 11th aboard the J&J Steel/Banner Valley Hauling/McCarthy’s One Hour Heating and Cooling/Petroff Towing No. 21 Billy Moyer Racing C.J. Rayburn Race Cars/Pro Power Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo, “Mr. Smooth” tracked down Shannon Babb trading the lead with Babb for two laps until taking the lead for good on lap 42. Moyer then held off early race leader Darrell Lanigan by .982 seconds for his fifth win of the season. Outside pole sitter Brian Shirley rode home third with 16th starting Rick Eckert fourth and Babb fifth. Completing the top ten finishers were Dan Schlieper in sixth trailed by 18th starting Brian Birkhofer, 19th starting Jimmy Mars, Francis and 17th starting Scott Bloomquist.
“Shannon was running good at the beginning of the race and his car was definitely better than what mine was”, stated Moyer from the YJ Stinger® Victory Lane. “I think everybody out here was too tight but maybe Shannon and Darrell. I know I was way too tight. I think the track threw everybody a curve. When Shannon started to smoke I thought something bad was wrong with it but it acted like it didn’t slow him down much except for those couple of laps. I just about got into him here on the frontchute when he hit that slick spot. I came down off the bank and I thought I was gonna’ take us both out. That probably wasn’t too smart. But, it turned out good for us and we finally got some luck on our side.”
The smoke from BabbÂ’s car that Moyer referred to happened to Babb immediately after a lap 37 restart when a power steering hose broke giving Babb a handful to contend with in the final laps.
When asked how it felt to regain the point lead Moyer said, “You know we’ve got six races left and a lot can happen. We just need to run consistent. And, it would be nice to pick off a couple more wins before the year is over.”
Lanigan was happy with his runner-up finish aboard the Gotta’ Race/Bert Transmission No. 29 Lanigan Autosports Rocket Chassis/Cornett Racing Engines Ford Taurus stating, “The car was really pretty good tonight. It really helped starting up front and gave us a big advantage. Being able to keep the tires on it without getting a flat like so many other guys was another big advantage. The car was good all night. I don’t really know what happened to Shannon but it held us both up a little bit and allowed Moyer to sneak past us both on the outside for the winning pass. We pulled out a new car this week and I think the other car we had been running was just plain wore out is why we weren’t running real good lately.”
Shirley drove the Jayco Construction/Petroff Towing No. 3S Brian Shirley Motorsports C.J. Rayburn Race Cars/Pro Power Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo to his career best finish in World of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series competition and was ecstatic with his finish. “To be able to come home third running with these guys is really, really good. I couldn’t have asked for any better night. This group of guys we’re racing against are the best in the business. Hopefully we’ll get good enough soon to be able to beat them. I’ve just got to thank everybody involved with us for making this happen.”
The high-banked 1/3rd mile speedway presented a challenge for the race teams as rain Thursday and Friday made for a lightning quick racing surface but also a choppy racing surface as well. A hole developed midway between turns three and four and despite efforts to remedy the situation by track personnel several cars suffered flat tires and other mechanical damage as well. The main event basically turned into survival mode.
Lanigan and Shirley brought the 25 car starting field to the green flag with Lanigan grabbing the lead from Shirley with Babb third, Chub Frank fourth and Tim McCreadie fifth at the end of the first lap. The first of eight cautions flew when Josh Richards, Shane Clanton, Matt Taylor and Billy Faust all tangled in turn four on the opening lap. Babb powered past Shirley for second on the restart with Frank taking third and Randy Korte grabbing fifth on lap 3. Korte lost the fifth spot back to McCreadie on lap 6 as Babb moved in on Lanigan. Before lap 7 could be recorded Francis slowed to a stop with a flat tire.
Lanigan felt heavy pressure from Babb on the restart as Korte powered past both McCreadie and Shirley for the fourth spot but the action was quickly slowed when contact between Schlieper and Dale McDowell sent McDowell hard into the turn one wall where he got clobbered by Taylor. Taylor was done for the night but McDowell returned to the race 27 laps down after making repairs.
Babb again was all over Lanigan once the green replaced the yellow and worked his way into the lead at lap 9 as Frank grabbed second. Babb entered lapped traffic on lap 14 and nearly lost the lead when he made contact with Francis in turn three but gathered his car back up. Lap 15 would see another yellow when Ed Dixon rolled to a stop with a flat tire. The restart order had Babb with the lead followed by Frank, Lanigan, Korte and Shirley with Darren Miller now sixth followed by Schlieper, Moyer, Mars and McCreadie.
Another lap was recorded before the yellow waved again when Schlieper tangled with Korte in turn two sliding to a stop. Frank suffered a flat tire at this point dropping him from the runner-up slot. Babb powered away from Lanigan on the restart as Shirley raced past Korte for the third spot at lap 17. Moyer broke into the top five on lap 18 and then took fourth two circuits later. Clint Smith took fifth from Korte on lap 21 only to lose the position the next lap. Babb again entered lapped traffic at lap 23 but a caution at lap 24 when Frank lost the handle in turn three cleared the track for Babb.
Moyer shot past Shirley for the third spot at lap 25 while Babb held a comfortable lead on Lanigan. Lap 31 saw lapped traffic again in front of Babb but another caution at lap 32 for a flat tire on John BlankenshipÂ’s car again cleared the track for Babb. The top ten restart order at this point had Babb in front with Lanigan, Moyer, Shirley and Korte trailing then Smith, Eckert, Mars, Miller and Schlieper. Miller broke an axle on the restart bringing the yellow right back out.
Four laps after going back to green Schlieper had worked his way to fifth but caution at lap 37 for Brady SmithÂ’s spin in turn four. On the restart BabbÂ’s car began to smoke as the power steering hose broke allowing Lanigan and Moyer to move right in on the leader. Moyer shot past Lanigan at lap 38 and reeled in Babb taking the lead on lap 40 only to see Babb rebound back into the lead on lap 41. Moyer came right back at Babb making the winning pass at lap 42. Lanigan and Shirley both worked their way past the ailing car of Babb at lap 44 and Eckert took the fourth spot from Babb as the white flag flew.
The $45,000 purse event attracted 39 drivers with Korte earning fast time honors in time trials with his quick lap of 12.853 seconds at an average speed of 105.034mph. Heat race wins went to Babb, Lanigan, Frank and Shirley while Bloomquist and Birkhofer took the “B” Main events and Lanigan copped the dash.
World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series Race Report For 9-17-05
Round No. 34-2005 Season-“Pepsi Nationals 55"
I-55 Raceway-Pevely,MO-1/3rd Mile Oval
$45,000 Purse-$10,000 To Win-55 Lap Feature Event
Showing Finish Pos.,Start Pos.,Car#,Driver,Residence,Laps Completed,Reason Out(if any) and Purse Money Won
1. (11) #21 Billy Moyer – Batesville,AR 55 Running $10,000
2. (1) #29 Darrell Lanigan – Union,KY 55 Running $6,000
3. (2) #3S Brian Shirley – Chatham,IL 55 Running $3,500
4. (16) #24 Rick Eckert – York,PA 55 Running $2,500
5. (3) #18 Shannon Babb – Moweaqua,IL 55 Running $2,200
6. (9) # 9 Dan Schlieper – Sullivan,WI 55 Running $2,000
7. (18) #15B Brian Birkhofer – Muscatine,IA 55 Running $1,800
8. (19) #28 Jimmy Mars – Menominee,WI 55 Running $1,600
9. (10) #15 Steve Francis – Ashland,KY 55 Running $1,400
10. (17) # 0 Scott Bloomquist – Mooresburg,TN 55 Running $1,200
11. (4) #1* Chub Frank – Bear Lake,PA 55 Running $1,000
12. (6) #39 Tim McCreadie – Watertown,NY 55 Running $900
13. (8) #5WP Eric Jacobsen – Santa Cruz,CA 54 Running $800
14. (21) # 1 Josh Richards® – Shinnston,WV 54 Running $700
15. (23) #25 Shane Clanton – Locust Grove,GA 54 Running $700
16. (8) #44 Clint Smith – Senoia,GA 54 Running $700
17. (20) # 2 Brady Smith – Solon Springs,WI 54 Running $700
18. (5) #00 Randy Korte – Highland,IL 50 Mechanical $700
19. (22) #67 Mark Oller – Highland,IL 36 Tire $700
20. (13) #32D Darren Miller – Chadwick,IL 32 Axle $700
21. (15) #23 John Blankenship – Williamson,WV 31 Steering $700
22. (12) #17M Dale McDowell – Chickamauga,GA 28 Running $700
23. (25) #60 Ed Dixon – Washington,MO 14 Mechanical $700
24. (14) #3L Matt Taylor – Springfield,IL 7 Accident $700
25. (24) #26 Billy Faust – Lebanon,IL 5 Mechanical $700
® = “Rookie of the Year” Driver
Time Of Race: 48 Mins. 31.366 Secs.
Yellow Flags: Eight – Laps 1, 6, 7, 16, 24, 32, 32(restart), 37
Red Flags: None
Lap Leaders: Three – Lanigan 1-9, Babb 9-39, Moyer 40, Babb 41, Moyer 42-55
"Rookie of the Race": Richards®
Provisional Starters: Clanton, Faust, Dixon
Car Count: 39
Time Trials Fast Qualifier: Korte 12.853 secs. – 105.034 mph
Heat Race Winners: Babb, Lanigan, Frank, Shirley
“B” Main Winners: Bloomquist, Birkhofer
Dash Winner: Lanigan
Heat # 1 (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance To Feature): Babb, Korte, Schlieper, Miller, Mars, Richards, Clanton, Gansmann, Bingham, Lance
Heat # 2 (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance To Feature): Lanigan, McCreadie, Francis, Taylor, Bloomquist, Dixon, James, Baumann, Jumper, McQuerry
Heat # 3 (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance To Feature): Frank, C. Smith, Moyer, Blankenship, Birkhofer, Schulte, Carson, Faust, Hunter, Tretter-NS
Heat # 4 (10 Laps-Top 4 Advance To Feature): Shirley, Jacobsen, McDowell, Eckert, Oller, Shive, B. Smith, Zobrist, Karnes
“B” Main # 1 (12 Laps-Top 3 Advance To Feature): Bloomquist, Mars, Richards, James, Dixon, Clanton, Baumann, Lance, Jumper, Bingham, McQuerry, Gansmann
“B” Main # 2 (12 Laps-Top 3 Advance To Feature): Birkhofer, B. Smith, Oller, Faust, Schulte, Zobrist, Shive, Carson, Hunter, Karnes, Tretter-NS
Dash (4 Laps-Finish Determines First Two Rows Of Feature): Lanigan, Shirley, Babb, Frank
NOTES:
Heat # 1: Babb got the jump at the start and raced away to the win. Clanton, while running sixth, suffered a flat left rear tire at the halfway point. Schlieper made a bid on Korte for the second spot on the restart but couldnÂ’t make the pass. Miller held off Mars on the restart to take the final transfer spot.
Heat # 2: Lanigan and McCreadie raced side by side on the opening lap with Lanigan grabbing the lead. McCreadie stayed right with Lanigan pulling alongside of the leader with 4 laps to go but Lanigan held him off for the win. Francis ran down Bloomquist taking the third spot on lap 7. Bloomquist bobbled in turn two with two laps to go allowing Jeff Taylor to sneak past and take the final transfer spot.
Heat # 3: A dogfight was the best way to describe this race. Smith got the break at the start as Birkhofer slid wide in turn two allowing Frank to take the second spot. Moyer also got by Birkhofer for the third spot. Third starting Faust suffered a flat tire four laps in returning to the race 2 laps down. Birkhofer got a flat left rear tire with 4 laps to go returning to the race before the green waved for the restart. BirkhoferÂ’s misfortune put Blankenship in the fourth spot. Frank was all over Smith for the final laps. Heading for the checkered flag Smith had a left rear tire go down allowing Frank to sneak past for the win by a scant .049 seconds. Moyer held on for third with Blankenship just holding off Birkhofer for the final transfer spot.
Heat # 4: Shirley jumped out front at the drop of the green and never looked back. Pole sitter Jacobsen ran second the entire race with McDowell and Eckert battling hard for position in the early stages of the race with McDowell securing the third spot just past the halfway mark .
“B” Main # 1: Bloomquist led all the way holding off Mars and Richards for the win. James, Dixon, Clanton and Baumann battled hard for position throughout the event trading spots nearly ever lap but only the top three finishers transferred to the main event.
“B” Main # 2: Birkhofer rode home unchallenged from the pole to take the win. B. Smith shot from eighth to fourth on the opening lap then moved into third two laps later. Seventh starting Faust moved into fifth then tangled with Zobrist in turn one bringing out the caution as Zobrist kept going. Faust went to the tail working his way back to fourth coming up one spot shy of making the transfer.
Dash: Lanigan beat outside pole sitter Babb into turn one at the start. Babb pushed up the race track in turn two allowing Frank to move to the inside for the second spot. Frank suffered a flat tire on the opening lap spinning to a stop. Frank headed pitside and did not return. Shirley shot past Babb on the restart to take the second spot but could not catch Lanigan who earned the pole for the main event.
The World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series is brought to the fans across the country by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Stacker 2®, Hoosier Racing Tire and SPEED CHANNEL. Promotional Partners include AMB i.t., RACEceiver, HUMMERSGONEWILD.COM, Zippo Lighters, and The University of Northwestern Ohio. Contingency sponsors include DART Machinery, MSD Ignitions, Wrisco Industries, and Quarter Master.
Miner & Bauman take Pepsi Nationals Modified & Sportsman Victories!
Pevely, MO (September 17, 2005) Mark Miner topped a stellar field of sixty-four UMP Modifieds as he claimed the I-55 Raceway Pepsi Nationals modified main event. Miner led all twenty laps of the main event as he held off Tom Ratajczyk throughout the event.
A frightening accident on lap six of the main event brought out the red flag when Jerry Grither's car flipped in turn two and James Reed was unable to avoid the car as it flipped and the two made hard contact. Both drivers were uninjured and James was able to drive his car back to the pit area but both cars were eliminated from the main event.
Ray Wagner powered his machine to a third place finish as he chased Miner and Ratajczyk across the line. Brian Worley brought his machine home with a fourth place finish. Bobby Bittle roared through the field as he came from the twenty-third starting position in the main event to finish fifth.
Paul Bauman continued his great year in the AARA Sportsman division as he took the lead on lap thirteen and held off Brian Worley the final two laps to take the victory. Ronnie Bader led the first twelve laps before his car apparently broke a suspension part which caused his car to take a hard right turn as he came out of turn two sending him head-on into the outside retaining wall. Bader was not injured but his night was done.
Shane Walters climbed the outside retaining wall in turn two on lap seven causing his car to flip back onto the race track. The car rolled over two times before coming to rest back on it's wheels. Walters also was uninjured in the incident.
Paul Belken crossed the finish line in the third spot, with Troy Naeger taking the fourth position and Troy Medley rounded out the top five.
UMP Modifieds – 64 Entries
Heat 1:
1. 11B Kyle Byerline
2. 1W Ray Walsh
3. 41M Brent Mullins
4. 94 Ed Lenhardt
Heat 2:
1. 7M Mark Miner
2. 59 Rich Whaley
3. 166 Brian Worley
4. 00K Randy Korte
Heat 3:
1. C6 Ray Wagner
2. 13 Timmy Hill
3. 3$ Dan Schlup
4. 14C Rick Conoyer
Heat 4:
1. 12 Tom Ratajczyk
2. 56 Jim Lafferty
3. 00E Steve Ellison
4. 9W Doug Wood
Heat 5:
1. 8X James Reed
2. E55 Chad Sellers
3. 74 Chad Frauenfelder
4. 3R Leon Rakers
Heat 6:
1. 15G Jerry Grither
2. 41G Matt Goulden
3. 41H Larry Hull
4. 1J Floyd Jordan
Heat 7:
1. 4J Scott Weber
2. 16 Rusty Griffaw
3. 88 Joe Puricelli
4. 14W Rick Weekly
Dash:
1. 7M Mark Miner
2. 12 Tom Ratajczyk
3. 11B Kyle Byerline
4. C6 Ray Wagner
Semi #1:
1. 94 Ed Lenhardt
2. 9W Doug Wood
3. 44 Tommie Seets, Jr.
4. 14W Rick Weekly
5. N2 Mike Null, Jr.
6. 33 Tim Manville
7. 66 Chris Hall
8. 21M Emmett Groves
9. 97 Dave McDougal
10. 31P Mitch Parmeley
11. 17M Mark Lund
12. P0 Tim Hancock
DNS. 20 Brad McKinnon
DNS. 77R Jeff Ray
DNS. 11G Brian Shirley
Semi #2:
1. 89 Bobby Bittle
2. 3R Leon Rakers
3. 17$ Jim Shereck
4. 00K Randy Korte
5. 69 Scott Sugg
6. C4 Chris Soutiea
7. 31$ Kent Schoeck
8. 22W Bob Waterhouse
9. 20Z Dan Zander
10. W1 Ricky Huebner
11. 15P Jason Pritz
12. 77S Rick Stevenson
DNS. 90 Nick Todtenhaupt
DNS. 67 B.J. Seets
Semi #3:
1. 14C Rick Conoyer
2. 1J Floyd Jordan
3. 31H Ricky Horton
4. 71 Jay Hughes
5. 21R Dennis Richards
6. 75 Doug Blair
7. 21A Karl Adams
8. 21P Adam Parmeley
9. 78 Paul Belken
10. 4W Dave Shepard
11. 7Z Matt Zimmerly
12. 87 Gary Haynes
DNS. 3D Lou Driemeier
DNS. 45M Eric Mabery
Feature:
1. 7M Mark Miner
2. 12 Tom Ratajczyk
3. C6 Ray Wagner
4. 166 Brian Worley
5. 89 Bobby Bittle
6. 13 Timmy Hill
7. 59 Rich Whaley
8. 16 Rusty Griffaw
9. 00E Steve Ellison
10. E55 Chad Sellers
11. 14C Rick Conoyer
12. 94 Ed Lenhardt
13. 56 Jim Lafferty
14. 88 Joe Puricelli
15. 3$ Dan Schlup
16. 41H Larry Hull
17. 11B Kyle Byerline
18. 41M Brent Mullins
19. 4J Scott Weber
20. 1W Ray Walsh
21. 9W Doug Wood (alternate in place of Matt Goulden)
22. 74 Chad Frauenfelder
23. 15G Jerry Grither
24. 8X James Reed
DNS. 41G Matt Goulden
AARA Sportsman – 34 Entries
Heat 1:
1. D5 Dave Jenkins
2. 46 Paul Belken
3. 19 Jimmy Cummins
4. 26 Kasey Nations
Heat 2:
1. 67 Ronnie Bader
2. 32 Jerry Fleming
3. 50 Kent Nations
4. 91 Shane Walters
Heat 3:
1. 2 Chuck Adams
2. 29 Jeff LeBaube
3. 12 Troy Naeger
4. 155 Jason Keller
Heat 4:
1. 28 Brian Worley
2. 24 Paul Bauman
3. 8 Steve Edgecombe
4. 77 Brandon Hogenson
Dash:
1. 67 Ronnie Bader
2. 2 Chuck Adams
3. D5 Dave Jenkins
4. 28 Brian Worley
Semi:
1. 62 Troy Medley
2. 4 Mark Schnurbusch
3. 186 Jake Robbins
4. 87 Jim Hardesty
5. 147 Kyle Stolzer
6. 6 Brian Noeth
7. 36 Bob Schmidt
8. 92 Jim Abshier
9. 53 Rob Stuart
10. 105 Steve Borgetti
11. 59 Rich Whaley, Sr.
DNS. 14 Mike Kurtz, Jr.
DNS. 36 Danny Haynes
DNS. 00 Scott Stuppy
DNS. 55 Chris Smith
Feature:
1. 24 Paul Bauman
2. 28 Brian Worley
3. 46 Paul Belken
4. 12 Troy Naeger
5. 62 Troy Medley
6. 2 Chuck Adams
7. 19 Jimmy Cummins
8. 31 Brian Shubirg
9. 32 Jerry Fleming
10. 26 Kasey Nations
11. 8 Steve Edgecombe
12. 96 Tim Hollerbach
13. 4 Mark Schnurbusch
14. 87 Jim Hardesty
15. 186 Jake Robbins
16. 147 Kyle Stolzer
17. D5 Dave Jenkins
18. 67 Ronnie Bader
19. 100 Mark Schaefer
20. 77 Brandon Hogenson
21. 155 Jason Keller
22. 50 Kent Nations
23. 29 Jeff LeBaube
24. 91 Shane Walters
