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Clanton, Mevert & Paquet take wins at the 26th Annual Pepsi Nationals at I-55 Raceway!

Shane Clanton Matt Mevert Brad Paquet CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM I-55 RACEWAY'S PEPSI NATIONALS! Pevely, MO (September 13, 2008) A huge field of 136 racecars turned out for I-55 Raceway's 26th Annual Pepsi Nationals despite all the local weather forecasts calling for rain and thunderstorms throughout the day and night. With rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ike closing in, the surging Clanton outdueled Chub Frank and Josh Richards in a stirring late-race battle to capture Saturday night?s 26th annual Pepsi Nationals at I-55 Raceway. Clanton, 33, of Locust Grove, Ga., beat the impending weather to make the 50-lap A-Main his second straight victory on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. It was his third win in the last five tour events and came one week after he scored the biggest triumph of his career in the UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned World 100 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. ?I?m pretty excited right now,? said Clanton, who earned $10,150 for his fourth WoO LMS win of 2008. ?I was dreading coming out here because we all thought it was going to rain out and I?ve always called this state ?Misery,? not ?Missouri,? because I?ve just always had so much trouble when I race here. ?But when your car?s working good, your luck?s good and your team is gelling, then you tend to have things kind of work out better. We?re in that zone right now.? Clanton steered his RSD Enterprises Rocket car forward from the seventh starting spot, grabbing the lead on lap 30 when he took advantage of a slight slip by race-long pacesetter Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa. He held off the challenges of Frank and Shinnston, W.Va.?s Richards over the remaining distance to register his 10th career WoO LMS victory. Frank, who started from the pole position, settled for a second-place finish in his Lester Buildings Rocket, several car lengths behind Clanton after he lost ground during the final circuits while engaged in a tight tussle for position with Richards. It was the best WoO LMS run for the 46-year-old Frank since he was a runner-up on July 20 at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks. Richards, 20, finished third in his father Mark?s Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket. Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., advanced from the 10th starting spot to secure a career-best WoO LMS finish of fourth in his Bob Pierce-built car, and Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., quietly completed the top five in NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer?s Traeger Grills/Chevy Rocket. Clanton positioned himself for his winning move when he passed defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., for second on a lap-16 restart. He chased Frank until exploding into the lead on lap 30. ?He was hitting his marks until he pushed off turn four and slowed just a little bit,? Clanton said of Frank. ?When he pushed, I just turned left (entering turn one) and went right by him. ?That was the opening I needed. I don?t know if I could have passed him or not without it.? Clanton tried to drive conservatively when he approached lapped traffic late in the race, which was slowed by six cautions flags but none over the final 24 circuits. He got a wakeup call, however, when Frank and Richards went three-wide with him for the lead on lap 42. ?I saw Josh underneath me and I said, ?Holy cow! I?ve got to get going!?? described Clanton, whose previous WoO LMS finishes at the one-third-mile I-55 Raceway were eighth (2007) and 15th (2005). ?I was stopping getting into the corners, trying to be careful, so after I saw (Richards) I picked up the pace a little bit.? After putting some space on his pursuers, Clanton was met in Victory Lane by his wife Jennifer and son Ryan, 5, who shared a WoO LMS win with his father for the first time this season. Frank, meanwhile, was in good spirits despite remaining winless on the WoO LMS since his lone victory on 2008, on May 18 at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway. ?It feels good to be competitive again,? said Frank, who was the tour?s winningest driver in 2007 with six A-Main triumphs. ?It was a lot of fun racing for the lead with Shane and Josh. ?I think Shane knows that we probably would have won if I didn?t make that one mistake. He told me, ?If you didn?t jump that cushion and give me an opening, I wouldn?t have passed you.? ?There was just a real fine line out there,? he added, describing the top groove that ran close to the outside guardrail. ?I missed it one lap and had to almost stop to stay off the wall.? Richards also lost a struggle with the cushion. He was racing side-by-side with Frank for second on lap 46 when he slipped over the track?s outside lip rounding turn four, causing him to drop to fourth before he could get back up to speed. ?I thought we had a shot at the win,? said Richards, who started sixth. ?I tried to run into (turns) three and four as hard as I could so I could carry a lot of momentum down the straightaway and then try to slide under Clanton in (turns) one and two, but I got stuck on the cushion (in turn four). I had to about stop the car so I wouldn?t hit the wall.? Richards regained third from Feger with three laps remaining, but he didn?t have enough time to make another bid for his fifth WoO LMS win of 2008. ?I?m just glad we were able to get out of our little slump,? said Richards, who had gone without a top-five finish in the tour?s three Pennsylvania events over Labor Day weekend. Feger, 30, was the event?s Cinderella story, racing toe-to-toe with the WoO LMS regulars from start-to-finish in his distinctive No. 25. Coming off a victory in a UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned feature the previous night at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway, he blasted from 10th to fifth on the race?s opening lap and advanced two more positions on a lap-two restart. But Feger couldn?t find the right line to climb higher. ?I was way too tight to run the bottom and I couldn?t run the top consistently enough,? said Feger, who earned the $500 ?Bonus Bucks? cash for being the highest-finishing driver who hadn?t won a WoO LMS A-Main since 2004 and wasn?t ranked among the top 12 of the 2008 points standings. ?But it felt awesome to be up there racing with these guys.? Babb, 34, couldn?t duplicate his dramatic run to a second-place finish in last year?s WoO LMS event at I-55 Raceway. He started fourth and basically settled into position at the back end of the top five for the entire distance. ?Everybody was pretty much married to the top (groove), so I tried running the bottom,? said Babb. ?I was hoping the top would slow down, but it really never did.? Finishing in positions 6-10 were UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., who started from the outside pole and got shuffled back from second on an early restart; Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill.; and Francis, who ran second for laps 3-16 before fading with a car he called ?miserable.? Francis?s frustrating performance cost him a chance to make up some ground on WoOLMS points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who struggled to an 11th-place finish. Lanigan holds a commanding 126-point edge over Francis with only four tour events remaining on the 2008 schedule. Veteran NASCAR driver Ken Schrader, who owns I-55 Raceway, drove his No. 9 dirt Late Model in the event. He finished 15th in the A-Main after rallying from a spin between turns one and two on a lap-16 restart. Thirty-nine cars were signed in for the evening?s action, which was run under a constant threat of rain. Forecasts called for a 100-percent chance of precipitation developing on Saturday night, but the rain stayed north of the track and the remnants of Hurricane Ike did not begin reaching the area until after midnight. Despite the dire weather forecast, a solid crowd turned out for the event. Babb was fastest in time trials, blazing around the high-banked oval in 12.464 seconds. It was his third fast-time honor of the 2008 WoO LMS season. Heat winners were Erb, Richards, Francis and Clanton. The B-Mains were captured by Ed Dixon of Washington, Mo., and Jeff Johns of Belleville, Ill. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fifty-one U.M.P. DIRTcar Modifieds filled the pit area to compete for the Pepsi Nationals crown. Matt Mevert of Steeleville, IL claimed an excitiving victory. Mark Miner and Brian Worley started on the front row and paced the field to the green flag in the twenty-five lap main event. However, it was Bobby Bittle who led the first lap as he took the lead down the back stretch on the opening lap from his second row starting spot. Bittle would pace the field for the first seven laps before Tim Hancock took over. Hancock looked strong but it wasn't long before Mevert found a fast line around the 1/3 mile oval and worked his way past Hancock for the lead. Mevert, Hancock and Bittle would race two and three wide throughout the middle part of the race as they battled for the lead. Bittle would jump the cushion late in the race and get into the outside wall, causing his right front tire to go flat and eliminated him from the event. U.M.P. DIRTcar Modified National point leader Jeff Leka joined the battle for the lead as well in the closing laps. However, Mevert proved too strong at the end and took the victory. Leka would get second just ahead of Hancock. Miner would fight back for a fourth place finish with Jerry Grither rounding out the top five. Brad Paquet won his first ever U.M.P. DIRTcar Sportsman main event as he topped a field of forty-six cars. Kevin Mosier jumped out to the early lead and led the first eight laps before Paquet made the pass for the lead. Paquet would then have to hold off a fierce group of cars that included Mosier, Jimmy Cummins and Gary Haynes over the final few laps. Mosier, Cummins and Haynes raced three wide on the final lap for second, allowing Paquet to take the victory by a car-length over Cummins who just beat out Haynes for the second spot. Mosier would have to settle for fourth behind Haynes. Troy Medley would complete the top five. World of Outlaw Late Models - 39 Entries Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap): 1. 18-Shannon Babb/Moweaqua, IL 12.464 2. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 12.534 3. 19-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 12.708 4. 1-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 12.756 5. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 12.796 6. 9-Ken Schrader/Fenton, MO 12.800 7. 19T-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 12.825 8. 25-Shane Clanton/Locust Grove, GA 12.840 9. 50-Ed Dixon/Washington, MO 12.849 10. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 12.911 11. 00K-Randy Korte/Highland, IL 12.913 12. 92b-Billy Faust/Highland, IL 12.929 13. 32c-Vic Coffey/Leicester, NY 12.932 14. 11z-Bryan Collins/Elsbury, MO 12.955 15. 3s-Brian Shirley/Chatham, IL 12.957 16. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 12.958 17. 28-Dennis Erb Jr./Carpentersville, IL 12.985 18. 25F-Jason Feger/Bloomington, IL 13.004 19. 95-Jeff Johns/Belleville, IL 13.006 20. 28x-Jason McBride/Carbondale, IL 13.038 21. 6J-Joe Isabell/Pennellville, NY 13.100 22. 6K-Michael Kloos/Washington, MO 13.106 23. 45DW-Denny Woodworth/Mendon, IL 13.161 24. 33-Tim Manville/Highland, IL 13.188 25. 1HR-Ron McQuerry/St. Albans, MO 13.193 26. 9z-Jayme Zidar/Greenfield, WI 13.236 27. 13-Dewayne Kiefer/St. Genevieve, MO 13.336 28. 30-Mark Voigt/Marine, IL 13.339 29. 99J-Jimmy Dehm/Lexington, IL 13.365 30. 16-Rusty Griffaw/Festus, MO 13.439 31. 18J-Sean Beardsley/Central Square, NY 13.521 32. 67-Dylan Sharp/Hillsboro, MO 13.564 33. 21-Kerry Gaultney/Collinsville, IL 13.670 34. 27-Mike Schulte/Summerfield, IL 13.680 35. 7JR-Jeff Isabell Jr./Pennellville, NY 13.812 36. 31-Brent Helmkamp/Greenville, IL 13.835 37. 66H-Allen Hammond II/Bonne Terre, MO 15.757 38. 47-Danny Haynes/House Springs, MO N/T 39. 14U-Bruce Unterbrink/Greenville, IL N/T Heat 1 1. 28 Dennis Erb 2. 18 Shannon Babb 3. 44 Clint Smith 4. 32 Vic Coffey 5. 50 Ed Dixon 6. 99JR Jimmy Dehm 7. 1HR Ron McQuerry 8. 21 Kerry Gaultney 9. 6J Joe Isabell 10. 66H Allan Hammond Heat 2 1. 1 Josh Richards 2. 29 Darrell Lanigan 3. 25 Jason Feger 4. 9 Ken Schrader 5. 11Z Bryan Collins 6. 6 Michael Kloos 7. 9Z Jamie Zidar 8. 16 Rusty Griffaw 9. 27 Mike Schulte DNS. 47 Danny Haynes Heat 3 1. 19 Steve Francis 2. 19T Tim Fuller 3. 3S Brian Shirley 4. 45D Denny Woodworth 5. 95 Jeff Johns 6. 13 Dewayne Keifer 7. 7JR Jeff Isabell 8. 18J Sean Beardsley 9. 00 Randy Korte DNS. 14U Bruce Unterbrink Heat 4 1. 25 Shane Clanton 2. 1 Chub Frank 3. 24 Rick Eckert 4. 92B Billy Faust 5. 28X Jason McBride 6. 33 Tim Manville 7. 30 Mark Voigt 8. 67 Dylan Sharp 9. 31 Brent Helmkamp Semi 1 Top 3 advance 1. 50 Ed Dixon 2. 11Z Bryan Collins 3. 6J Joe Isabell 4. 16 Rusty Griffaw 5. 21 Kerry Gaultney 6. 27 Mike Schulte 7. 9Z Jamie Zidar 8. 66H Allan Hammond 9. 1HR Ron McQuerry 10. 99J jimmy Dehm 11. 6 Michael Kloos Semi 2 Top 3 Advance 1. 95 Jeff Johns 2. 28X Jason McBride 3. 33 Tim Manville 4. 30 Mark Voigt 5. 13 Dewayne Keifer 6. 31 Brent Helmkamp 7. 7JR Jeff Isabell DNS. 18J Sean Beardsley DNS. 67 Dylan Sharp DNS. 00 Randy Korte Feature 1. (7) Shane Clanton/50 $10,150 2. (1) Chub Frank/50 $5,100 3. (6) Josh Richards/50 $3,000 4. (10) Jason Feger/50 $3,100 5. (4) Shannon Babb/50 $2,000 6. (8) Dennis Erb Jr./50 $1,700 7. (12) Rick Eckert/50 $1,400 8. (2) Tim Fuller/50 $1,300 9. (11) Brian Shirley/50 $1,200 10. (3) Steve Francis/50 $1,100 11. (5) Darrell Lanigan/50 $1,050 12. (16) Billy Faust/50 $1,000 13. (13) Vic Coffey/50 $1,200 14. (9) Clint Smith/50 $900 15. (14) Ken Schrader/50 $850 16. (18) Jeff Johns/50 $800 17. (20) Jason McBride/49 $770 18. (22) Tim Manville/49 $750 19. (17) Ed Dixon/32 $730 20. (15) Denny Woodworth/26 $700 21. (21) Joe Isabell/26 $700 22. (23) Sean Beardsley/16 $700 23. (19) Bryan Collins/6 $700 24. (24) Jeff Isabell Jr./3 $700 Yellow Flags: 6 (Laps 2, 3, 8, 16, 16, 26) Lap Leaders: Frank (1-29); Clanton (30-50) Provisional Starters: Beardsley, Jeff Isabell Jr. Rookie of the Race: Coffey ($250) WoO LMS ?Bonus Bucks? Winner: Feger ($500) Integra Shocks Crew Chief of the Race ($50): Mark Lloyd (Clanton) Chick Hawk Racing Hot Lap Award: Frank (half-off tire warmers) Super Clean ?Start of the Race?: Feger ($100) U.M.P Modifieds - 51 Entries Heat 1 1. 0 Tim Hancock 2. 88J Sreve Meyer Jr. 3. 24 Paul Bauman 4. 17V Mike Vanderiet 5. 9 John Dumas 6. 98 Nathan Walsh 7. 59 Rich Whaley 8. Z1 Zac Oedewaldt 9. 9B Michael Bantz 10. 7C James Sewell 11. D22 Jim Brown Heat 2 1. 166 Brian Worley 2. 15 Jerry Grither 3. 64 Gary Cook, Jr. 4. 88 Joe Puricelli 5. 41M Brent Mullins 6. 67 Ken Rumble 7. 1W Ray Walsh 8. 17T Brad Thurston 9. 2J Jason Russell 10. 1D Dean Hoffman Heat 3 1. 7 Mark Miner 2. 6 Ray Wagner 3. 7Z Matt Zimmerly 4. 12 Tom Ratajczyk 5. 155 Chris Smith 6. 14 Leroy Haney 7. 76 Eric Goetter 8. 2H Nick Hoffman 9. 5W Ralph Wiltrout 10. 7J Josh Clack Heat 4 1. 22 Matt Mevert 2. 21A Karl Adams 3. 128 Charlie Hess 4. 8X James Reed 5. 28 Mike Haas 6. 2 Robbie Helms 7. 21 Dennis Richards 8. C4 Chris Soutia 9. 6B Brock Bauman 10. 05 David Wiethholder Heat 5 1. 89 Bobby Bittle 2. 3L Jeff Leka 3. 1S Tommie Seets, Jr. 4. 11 Dane Gundaker 5. 9W Doug Wood 6. 48 Bobby Martintoni 7. 87S Tony Patterson 8. 3E Aaron Kleine 9. 29 Jeff LeBaube 10. 36 Conrad Miner Semi 1 - Top 3 Advance 1. 155 Chris Smith 2. 11 Dane Gundaker 3. 87S Tony Patterson 4. 59 Rich Whaley 5. 76 Eric Goetter 6. 98 Nathan Walsh 7. 1D Dean Hoffman 8. 29 Jeff LeBaube 9. 9B Michael Bantz 10. D22 Jim Brown 11. 5W Ralph Wiltrout DQ. 2 Robbie Helms DQ. 88 Joe Puricelli DNS. 9W Doug Wood DNS. 17T Brad Thurston DNS. 3E Aaron Kleine DNS. 05 David Wietholder Semi 2 - Top 3 Advance 1. 41M Brent Mullins 2. 48 Bobby Martintoni 3. 67 Ken Rumble 4. 1W Ray Walsh 5. 21 Dennis Richards 6. 2J Jason Russell 7. C4 Chris Soutia 8. 28 Mike Haas 9. 36 Conrad Miner 10. 14 Leroy Haney 11. 2 Nick Hoffman 12. Z1 Zac Oedewaldt 13. 7C Jason Sewell 14. 6B Brock Bauman 15. 7J Josh Clack DNS . 12 Tom Ratajczyk Feature 1. 22 Matt Mevert (5) 2. 3L Jeff Leka (8) 3. 0 Tim Hancock (4) 4. 7 Mark Miner (1) 5. 15 Jerry Grither (6) 6. 64 Gary Cook, Jr. (13) 7. 128 Charlie Hess (14) 8. 48 Bobby Martintoni (22) 9. 41M Brent Mullins (20) 10. 1S Tommie Seets, Jr. (7) 11. 6 Ray Wagner (11) 12. 21A Karl Adams (12) 13. 17V Mike Vanderiet, Jr. (9) 14. 24 Paul Bauman (15) 15. 88JR Steve Meyer, Jr. (10) 16. 11 Dane Gundaker (21) 17. 155 Chris Smith (19) 18. 87S Tony Patterson (23) 19. 7Z Matt Zimmerly (16) 20. 9 John Dumas (18) 21. 89 Bobby Bittle (3) 22. 8X James Reed (17) 23. 166 Brian Worley (2) 24. 67 Kenny Rumble (24) U.M.P. Sportsman - 46 Entries Heat 1 1. 18 Buddy Lowry 2. 62 Troy Naeger 3. 95 Jeremy Nash 4. 92J Rick Johnson 5. 3E Ryan Eilers 6. 11 Jeff Herzog 7. 27E Troy Ernst 8. 128 Ryan Gegg 9. 20X Robin Fee 10. C16 Cory Brown Heat 2 1. 49 Brad Paquet 2. 3 Scott Hensler 3. 19S Nathan Schmitt 4. 87 Gary Haynes 5. 28D Justin Durbin 6. 911 Gary Range 7. 20M Jimmy Miller 8. 2C Pete Cory 9. 5H Scott Hammer Heat 3 1. 40 Kevin Mosier 2. 105 Matt Hancock 3. 23B Mark Bohnenstiehl 4. 36 Danny Ems 5. 52 Billy Knebel 6. 07 Andy Casper 7. 192 Mark Spraul 8. 96 Tim Hollerbach DNS. 04 Chris Soutia Heat 4 1. M16 Joe McCain 2. 12 Mark Schaefer 3. 12 Troy Naeger 4. 444 Marc Roberson 5. 5 Mike McMullen 6. 57 Trey Harris 7. 11L Rob Lee 8. 109 Jeff Robbins 9. 28S Tommy Smallwood Heat 5 1. 8E Russell Eilers 2. 19 Jimmy Cummins 3. 69 Derek Bryant 4. 18 Paul Bauman 5. 55K Jason Keller 6. 86 Eric Hogenmiller 7. 43 Dave Armstrong 8. 66 Sam Lopretta 9. 55S Marty Smith, Jr Semi 1 1. 3E Ryan Eilers 2. 55K Jason Keller 3. 28 Tom Smallwood 4. 92J Rick Johnson 5. 57 Trey Harris 6. 20 Jimmy Miller 7. 128 Tyson Gegg 8. 11L Rob Lee 9. 43 Dave Armstrong 10. 52 Billy Knebel 11. C16 Cory Brown DNS. 07 Andy Casper DNS. 96 Tim Hollerbach DNS. 20X Robin Fee Semi 2 1. 28 Justin Durbin 2. 11 Jeff Herzog 3. 86 Eric Hogenmiller 4. 5 Mike McMullen 5. 55S Marty Smith, Jr. 6. 27E Troy Ernst 7. 192 Mark Spraul 8. 66 Sam Lopretta 9. 911 Gary Range 10. 2C Pete Cory 11. 5H Scott Hammer 12. 109 Jeff Robbins 13. 444 Marc Roberson DNS. 04 Chris Soutia Feature 1. 49 Brad Paquet (3) 2. 19 Jimmy Cummins (13) 3. 87 Gary Haynes (14) 4. 40 Kevin Mosier (1) 5. 62 Troy Medley (2) 6. 12 Mark Schaefer (12) 7. 36 Danny Ems (17) 8. 55K Jason Keller (21) 9. 3H Scott Hensler (10) 10. 18 Buddy Lowry (6) 11. 95 Jeremy Nash (8) 12. 28D Justin Durbin (20) 13. 3E Ryan Eilers (19) 14. 11 Jeff Herzog (22) 15. 18 Paul Bauman (18) 16. 19S Nathan Schmitt (15) 17. 28S Tommy Smallwood (23) 18. 86 Eric Hogenmiller (24) 19. 69 Dereck Bryant (16) 20. 23B Mark Bohnenstiehl (7) 21. M16 Joe McCain (4) 22. 105 Matt Hancock (11) 23. 12 Troy Naeger (9) 24. 8E Russell Eilers (5)

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