World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event On Sun., May 13, Will Help Put Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway On Dirt Late Model Map

LINCOLN, IL – May 7, 2007 – Lincoln Speedway isn’t a racetrack that’s especially well known to the dirt Late Model racing world.

Not yet, at least.

Promoter Don Hammer hopes awareness of the quarter-mile oval among the full-fender set takes a giant leap forward on Sun., May 13, when the nationally-renowned World of Outlaws Late Model Series visits to contest a $40,000-plus event.

“That’s the whole idea of having a World of Outlaws race,” Hammer said when asked why a major touring series has been booked at Lincoln. “We want to get the track on the map for Late Model racing, and an Outlaw show will help do that by bringing in teams and fans that have never been there.

“If we can get new people in to see the track, hopefully they’ll like it and want to come back.”

Regarded as more of an open-wheel and Limited Late Model haven in recent years, Lincoln Speedway has shifted to an emphasis on full-blown Late Model racing since Hammer added it to his promotional portfolio in June 2006. Hammer, who also promotes Farmer City (Ill.) Speedway about 35 miles away, has installed Super Late Models as the headline division for Lincoln’s weekly Saturday-night programs this season.

The WoO LMS’s 40-lap, $7,000-to-win Mother’s Day Special will be the first high-profile dirt Late Model affair at Lincoln since the track hosted the lone UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals event in its history, on July 15, 2005.

Lincoln’s ’05 Summernationals show was won by Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who enters the WoO LMS’s five-race, five-state ‘Monster Midwest Tour’ (which runs from May 9-18) tied for the series points lead with Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga. Babb leads all WoO LMS drivers this season with three victories, and at Lincoln he’ll be shooting for his second series win in front of his rabid central Illinois fans in a span of three weeks, following his April 27 triumph at Farmer City.

Babb, who is arguably the hottest dirt Late Model driver in the country so far this season, will attempt to continue his spectacular spring against a group of WoO LMS travelers who almost to a man have never seen Lincoln Speedway.

According to Hammer, if WoO LMS teams head to Lincoln Speedway expecting a mirror-image of the Farmer City quarter-mile they recently ran, they’ll find they’re mistaken.

“The surface is a tacky, fast dirt,” Hammer said of Lincoln. “But it’s a little more of a paper-clip (shape) than Farmer City. It has more straightaway and less banking, and it’s not quite as fast as Farmer City.

“We put in a new wall in (turns) three and four and some billboards, so that makes (Lincoln) look a little more like Farmer City. But they’re different tracks, that’s for sure.”

Lincoln Speedway sits on the Logan County Fairgrounds, a well-manicured property that helps make Lincoln “one of the nicest facilities you’ll go to,” said Hammer.

Joining Babb and Smith on the WoO LMS roster for Lincoln’s action will be standouts such as Rick Eckert of York, Pa., Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va., Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., and Adam Hensel of Barron, Wis.

A strong contingent of central Illinois drivers is expected, including Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., Ryan Dauber of Tonica, Ill., Lincoln’s opening-night winner Matt Taylor of Springfield, Ill., and Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Bedford, Ill., who won Lincoln’s May 5 feature.

Other drivers with the race on their schedule include Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., Darren Miller of Milledgeville, Ill., Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., Terry Casey of New London, Wis., and Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind.

Lincoln Speedway’s weekly competition is not sanctioned by UMP DIRTcar Racing, but the May 13 program has been designated a UMP special event. The WoO LMS card, which will run under UMP’s Hoosier 20/40 tire rule, will offer UMP points, as will the companion Modified and Sportsman events.

Pit gates open on Mother’s Day at 3 p.m., with grandstands gates unlocked at 4:30 p.m. Hot laps take to the track at 6 p.m. and qualifying commences at 6:30 p.m.

Adult general admission for the event is $25, with children ages 6-12 admitted for $10 and kids five-and-under free of charge. Pit passes are $35, with children ages 4-10 charged $15 and kids-and-under free.

Lincoln Speedway sits in an easily-accessible central Illinois location, about 30 miles northeast of Springfield, 35 miles southwest of Bloomington/Normal and 45 miles southeast of Peoria.

For more information, visit www.lincolnspeedway.org  or call 217-735-1833.

Additional info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com .