Moyer Ends World of Outlaws Late Model Series Victory Drought Monday At Farmer City

FARMER CITY, IL - Aug. 14, 2006 - The drought is over.

Billy Moyer’s frustratingly long pursuit of a victory on the 2006 World of Outlaws Late Model Series ended Monday night at Farmer City Raceway, where the defending tour champion captured the Farmer City 50 to get in the win column.

“We were tired of not winning,” a relieved Moyer said after celebrating in COESfx Victory Lane. “It feels good to finally get one of these shows.”

Moyer, 48, of Batesville, Ark., came from the seventh starting spot and outdueled Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., and Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., en route to the $10,000 triumph.

An inside pass of McCreadie for the lead on lap 33 was the deciding move for Moyer, who raced away over the remaining distance to defeat McCreadie by a full straightaway margin on the high-banked, quarter-mile oval.

The polesitting Francis, who led laps 1-2 and 9-30, settled for third place, followed by ninth-starter Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., and UMP Late Model standout Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., who paced laps 3-8 after starting from the outside pole.

Moyer’s seventh career WoO LMS victory turned around his mid-summer slump, which reached its low point on Aug. 5 at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway. Shock problems that night left Moyer with a 16th-place finish and completed a four-race free-fall that saw him tumble from first to fifth in the tour points standings.

What got Moyer back on track?

“These guys who work for me never give up,” said Moyer, who drove a Rayburn car from his Billy Moyer Racing stable that he had raced earlier this year. “They do whatever I ask them to do. They changed motors this morning, and then we rescaled the car and put in a different chassis setup.

“You just keep working, keep digging, and eventually things start going your way.”

Indeed, at long last Moyer not only had a fast car, but caught the little breaks necessary to put him over the top.

Moyer first benefited from the misfortune of Moweaqua, Ill.’s Shannon Babb, the 2006 UMP Summernationals champion who drives a Rayburn car owned by Moyer’s father Billy Sr. Babb bolted around the outside of Francis in turn one to take command of the field on lap 14, but seconds later he pulled up lame in turn four with a cut right-rear tire, bringing out a caution flag before he officially led a lap.

“I think Shannon would’ve been a factor tonight,” conceded Moyer, who scored his first WoO LMS win since Sept. 17, 2005, at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo.

Moyer overtook Erb for second on the ensuing restart and quickly began to pressure Francis for the lead. By lap 28 he was in a titanic three-way battle for race supremacy, with McCreadie, who started 12th, joining in.

There was some intense racing for the lead before a caution flag flew for Ryan Dauber’s steaming car on lap 31, just after McCreadie nosed into the top spot.

“We were running three-wide and I was just trying to hold my groove in the middle,” said Moyer. “That was some hard racing.”

Moyer brought an end to the neck-and-neck competition following the the race’s third and final restart. He lurched ahead of McCreadie off turn two on the 32nd lap and officially gained command for good when the 33rd circuit was scored.

Seventeen laps later Moyer flashed under the checkered flag first, proving that falling behind in the WoO LMS points race might not have been a bad thing.

“You go back on offense rather than playing defense,” said Moyer, who picked up only four points on McCreadie but moved to third in the tour standings. “Setup wise, now you just go for it and try to win races, like you’re supposed to race.”

As the points leader entering Farmer City’s show, McCreadie actually played a little defense in hopes of staying in front – not against Moyer, but rather Lanigan, the second-place man in points.

With the event run under UMP’s two-compound 20/40 Hoosier tire rule, McCreadie decided to mirror Lanigan’s tire choice so his closest pursuer wouldn’t have a rubber advantage. His Sweeteners Plus crew made the switch to Lanigan’s tire literally minutes before the start of the feature, changing it as McCreadie’s car sat on the homestretch starting grid.

“Since Moyer fell out of the top three (in points), we were concentrating tonight on who was going real good lately, and that’s been Lanigan,” said McCreadie. “We knew he had 20s on, and we knew Moyer had a 40 and Babb had a 40. During the (pre-race) introductions we said, ‘If we don’t fire on this 40 and finish 12th, and Lanigan finishes fifth, it won’t be good.’

“So we put the 20 on and tried to race Lanigan.”

McCreadie, 32, was able to nose ahead of Moyer for the lead on lap 31, but he didn’t have enough to stay there.

“We had a softer right-rear on than Billy,” said McCreadie. “I just think it kinda gave out. We were hanging on at the end, but that’s what I thought we had to do to get to the front because we put ourselves behind in the heat.

“I really didn’t think we’d get up that far. All of a sudden I was fighting for the lead, and then I was wishing I had a 40 on.

“But we have no complaints” he added. “It was a great run for being off early, and Moyer did a great job. He’s too good not to win these races. He’s been due for a while, and unfortunately for us, he’s probably gonna be going good again.”

Francis, meanwhile, might have lost his shot at winning for the first time since May 5 at Bruschcreek Motorsports Complex in Peebles, Ohio, by making one wrong move in lapped traffic on lap 30.

“I misjudged Little Billy (Moyer Jr.) when I went into the corner,” said Francis. “It wasn’t anything Little Billy did wrong. I just made a mistake, lost my momentum, and hung myself in that little slick spot off four. Then I heard Timmy and Billy on the outside of me, and they got ahead of me at the line.

“I was hoping to try getting them back in traffic the next lap, but then the caution flag came out.”

Forty-one cars entered the event, which was completed after the tour’s two earlier visits to the track this year were wiped out by bad weather.

Babb set fast time with a lap of 12.667 seconds.

Heat winners were Babb, Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., Francis and Erb. John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., and Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., captured the B-Mains, and Francis topped the pole dash.

The WoO LMS continues a two-night Midwest swing tonight (Tues., Aug. 15) at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo.

Results of WoO Late Model Series(Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won): 1. (7) Billy Moyer/50 $10,000; 2. (12) Tim McCreadie/50 $6,000; 3. (1) Steve Francis/50 $3,500; 4. (9) Darrell Lanigan/50 $2,500; 5. (2) Dennis Erb Jr./50 $2,200; 6. (8) Eric Jacobsen/50 $2,000; 7. (5) Josh Richards/50 $1,800; 8. (17) Shane Clanton/50 $1,600; 9.
(18) Clint Smith/50 $1,400; 10. (11) Rick Eckert/50 $1,200; 11. (3) Shannon Babb/50 $1,000; 12. (14) Chub Frank/50 $900; 13. (21) Eric Smith/50 $1,800; 14. (13) Dale McDowell/50 $700; 15. (23) Garrett Durrett/50 $700; 16. (22) Jason Feger/50 $700; 17. (20) Eddie Carrier Jr./50 $700; 18. (4) Wes Steidinger/50 $700; 19. (17) John Blankenship/49 $700; 20. (19) Matt Taylor/49 $700; 21. (26) Joe Harlan/48 $700; 22. (6) Steve Hillard/48 $700; 23. (24) Billy Moyer Jr./31 $700; 24. (10) Ryan Dauber/31 $700; 25. (16) Junior Shickel/17 $700; 26. (25) Joe Ross Jr./13 $700.

Yellow Flags: 3 (Laps 15, 17, 31)
Lap Leaders: Francis (1-2); Erb (3-8); Francis (9-30); McCreadie (31-32); Moyer (33-50). Provisional Starters: Durrett, Moyer Jr., Ross, Harlan.

Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):

1. 18-Shannon Babb/Moweaqua, IL 12.667
2. 1s-Wes Steidinger/Fairbury, IL 12.776
3. 15-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 12.826
4. Z-Joe Harlan/El Paso, IL 12.868
5. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 12.874
6. 34-Steve Hillard/Sadorus, IL 12.897
7. B12-Kevin Weaver/Gibson City, IL 12.948
8. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr./Carpentersville, IL 12.948
9. 9s-Eric Smith/Bloomington, IL 13.023
10. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 13.036
11. 21-Billy Moyer/Batesville, AR 13.037
12. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 13.073
13. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 13.117
14. 9-Billy Drake/Bloomington, IL 13.117
15. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 13.157
16. 5-Eric Jacobsen/Santa Cruz, CA 13.169
17. 17M-Dale McDowell/Chickamauga, GA 13.171
18. 64-Ryan Dauber/Tonica, IL 13.200
19. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 13.206
20. S10-Junior Shickel/Bloomington, IL 13.221
21. 117-Joe Ross Jr./Springfield, IL 13.243
22. 23-John Blankenship/Williamson, WV 13.248
23. 25-Shane Clanton/Locust Grove, GA 13.266
24. 3s-Brian Shirley/Chatham, IL 13.278
25. 58c-Garrett Durrett/Simsboro, LA 13.283
26. 1w-Donny Walden/Towanda, IL 13.287
27. 25F-Jason Feger/Bloomington, IL 13.287
28. 28-Eddie Carrier Jr./Salt Rock, WV 13.322
29. 3L-Matt Taylor/Springfield, IL 13.338
30. 88-Terry Babb/Decatur, IL 13.348
31. 89-Darren Friedman/Forrest, IL 13.374
32. F15-Jeremy Conaway/Springfield, IL 13.571
33. 21jr-Billy Moyer Jr./Batesville, AR 13.650
34. 99jr-Frank Heckenast Jr./Orland Park, IL 13.658
35. 35-Derek Chandler/Pontiac, IL 13.677
36. 22-Chris Dick/Deland, IL 13.859
37. 59-Chad Evans/Mattoon, IL 13.994
38. 27B-Tim Lance/Brimfield, IL 13.994
39. 13-Mike Fannin/LeRoy, IL 14.101
40. 5s-Steve Sheppard Jr./New Berlin, IL N/T
41. 1G-Rocky Griffin/Bloomington, IL N/T


Heat No. 1 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): S. Babb, Richards, Lanigan, McDowell, Ross, Taylor, E. Smith, Moyer Jr., Durrett, Griffin, Evans.

Heat No. 2 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Steidinger, Hillard, Dauber, Frank, T. Babb, Blankenship, Walden, Heckenast, Lance, Drake.

Heat No. 3 (10 laps - Top 4 Transfer): Francis, Moyer, Eckert, Clanton, C. Smith, Weaver, Feger, Friedman, Chandler, Fannin.

Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Erb, Jacobsen, McCreadie, Shickel, Carrier, Harlan, Conaway, Dick, Shirley.

B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Blankenship, Taylor, E. Smith, Walden, Durrett, Heckenast, Moyer Jr., T. Babb, Evans, Griffin, Lance, Ross
(DNS) Drake.

B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): C. Smith, Carrier, Feger, Friedman, Dick, Chandler, Weaver, Conaway, Fannin, Harlan, Shirley (DNS) Sheppard.

Dash (4 laps): Francis, Erb, S. Babb, Steidinger.

WoO Late Model Series Points Standings (after Aug. 14): 1. Tim McCreadie 3,294; 2. Darrell Lanigan 3,268; 3. Billy Moyer 3,264; 4. Steve Francis 3,260; 5. Shane Clanton 3,254; 6. Chub Frank 3,228; 7. Rick Eckert 3,218; 8. Dale McDowell 3,146; 9. Clint Smith 3,125; 10. Josh Richards 3,050; 11. Eddie Carrier Jr. 2,707; 12. John Blankenship 2,692; 13. Eric Jacobsen 2,616; 14. Garrett Durrett 2,582; 15. Mike Balzano 998.

LISTEN ONLINE: If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they can experience the excitement of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series live on Dirtvision.com through the DIRT Radio Network.

To listen to the audio broadcasts, log on to www.dirtvision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo.

Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. For technical support or questions, e-mail webmaster@dirtvision.com.

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by several sponsors and partners, including Series sponsor Hoosier Tire; Promotional sponsors AMB i.t., Choice Hotels International, COESfx, The University of Northwest Ohio and Snap-on. Contingency sponsors include DART Machinery, Holley Performance Products Inc., MSD Ignition, Quarter Master, Ohlins and Wrisco Industries.