Well-Attended Practice Session Kicks Off ‘Cash Cow 100’ Weekend At Columbus Speedway
Teenage Sensation Hubbard Flashes Speed During Hot Laps For $20,000-To-Win Spectacular
By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director
COLUMBUS, MS – March 17, 2011 – Forty-one drivers from 15 states attended Thursday night’s ‘Cash Cow 100’ practice session at Columbus Speedway, setting the stage for a spectacular weekend of World of Outlaws Late Model Series competition on The Bullring.
Stopwatch timing unofficially pegged 2010 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del., with turning the fastest laps during the over two-hour-long test. The 19-year-old sensation was captured roaring around the one-third-mile, high-banked oval at roughly 13.30 seconds near the start of hot laps when the outside groove was strongest.
Hubbard, who enters the weekend’s $20,000-to-win event as the highest-ranked WoO LMS regular in the points standings after a strong start in last month’s DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park, is making his first-ever start at Columbus behind the wheel of Dale Beitler’s Rocket No. 19. He felt right at home circling the challenging track.
“I like it,” Hubbard said of the speedway known as ‘The Baddest Bullring in the South.’ “It’s definitely aggressive, definitely high-speed. There’s no easing into the turns here.
“I think it ought to be a great show this weekend.”
Other drivers who stood out on the stopwatches included two-time defending tour champion Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who won the second A-Main of his WoO LMS career at Columbus in 2006; three-time series titlist Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., the victor in the tour’s last event at Columbus in 2007; 2008 series champ Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., a two-time Magnolia State 100 winner at Columbus; and 2010 DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., who opened eyes by rolling the high-side of the track in his first visit to The Bullring.
The only incident of the evening came early in the practice session when 2011 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender Ron Davies of Warren, Pa., slapped the wall between turns three and four after hitting a hole in the surface. He wasn’t injured, but the damage done to his Mars-built car will force him to run his backup machine this weekend.
More drivers are expected to join the ‘Cash Cow 100’ field for time trials and qualifying heat races on Friday night (March 18), including WoO LMS regular Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., and Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga.
On Fri., March 18, pit gates will open at 12 noon and spectator gates will be unlocked at 4 p.m. for advance-ticket holders and 4:15 p.m. for race-day purchasers. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. with racing at 7 p.m.
The schedule on Sat., March 19, calls for pit gates to open at 12 noon, with the front gates opening at 3 p.m. for advance ticket holders and 3:15 p.m. for all other fans. Racing is set to get the green flag at 6 p.m. on a program that includes B-Mains and the ‘Cash Cow 100’ headliner.
Other divisions on the weekend program are unsanctioned crate Late Models (running under NeSmith rules) and the Mississippi Street Stocks. The crate Late Models will compete in full programs for $600 to win on Friday and $1,000 to win on Saturday, while the Street Stocks will chase top prizes of $300 on Friday and $500 on Saturday.
Columbus Speedway is located in the northern half of Mississippi, just miles from the Alabama border and about two hours west of Birmingham.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Drivers on hand for Thursday night’s practice session:
1-John Lobb/Frewsburg, NY
1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV
1V-Will Vaught/Crane, MO
5-Clint Byars/Carrollton, MS
7-Brian Rickman/Columbus, MS
8-Jackson McCool/Millport, AL
9-Dan Schlieper/Sullivan, WI
10-Leon Henderson/Laurel, MS
10-Rodney Wing/Meridian, MS
11-Pat Doar/New Richmond, WI
12-Tim Davis/West Point, MS
15-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY
15-Jason Milan/Guntown, MS
16-Brian Nuttall Jr./Claxton, GA
18-Ronny Lee Hollingsworth/Gulfport, AL
19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY
19-Austin Hubbard/Seaford, DE
21-Billy Moyer/Batesville, AR
21Jr.-Billy Moyer Jr./Batesville, AR
22-Jill George/Cedar Falls, IA
24-Rick Eckert/York, PA
25-Shane Clanton/Fayetteville, GA
25-Jason Feger/Bloomington, IL
25-Justin McRee/Cottondale, AL
29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY
31-Scott Creel/Franklinton, LA
32c-Vic Coffey/Caledonia, NY
33-Brian Reese/Sharpsburg, GA
39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY
44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA
54-David Breazeale/Four Corners, MS
54-Dane Dacus/Lakeland, TN
57J-Bub McCool/Vicksburg, MS
68-Rick Rickman/Columbus, MS
71-Chris Wall/Holden, LA
71d-Ron Davies/Warren, PA
77-Kenneth Crowe/Port Allen, LA
86-Kyle Beard/Trumann, AR
88-Wendell Wallace/Batesville, AR
88H-Hunter Carroll/Columbus, MS
888-Jason Cliburn/Jackson, MS
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), Vicci (Official Uniform), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel), DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award), McCarthy’s One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning (Raye Vest Memorial Pill Draw Award), Chizmark Larson Insurance, Factory Value Parts and RacingJunk.com; in addition to contingency sponsors Comp Cams, Eibach Springs, JE Pistons, MSD Ignition, Ohlins Shocks, Pro Power Engines, Quartermaster, Rocket Chassis, R2C Performance, Superflow Dynos, Wix Filters and Wrisco Aluminum.
