Davey Johnson Leads the Way at Third Annual Jackpot 100 Opener
Johnson, Eckert and Lanigan Top World of Outlaws Late Model Series Action in Jackpot 100 Prelims
By Ben Shelton
MIDDLEBOURNE, W.Va. – May 24, 2014 – The World of Outlaws Late Model Series ventured deep into the mountains of West Virginia for the opening night of the 3rd Annual Jackpot 100 on Saturday at Tyler County Speedway. When the dust settled from the furious battles contested in heat race action Davey Johnson, Rick Eckert, and Darrell Lanigan had established themselves as lead contenders to claim the $20,000 payday in Sunday night’s finale.
The first heat race found Ohlins Shocks Fast Qualifier Zack Dohm from Cross Timbers, West Virginia battling fellow front row resident Davey Johnson for the lead in the opening laps of the 17 lap affair before Johnson checked out on the field to score the win by over two seconds. Meanwhile Shane Clanton advanced to the second spot to earn a spot with Johnson in the redraw for Sunday evening’s finale. Other transfers included Mike Benedum, Zack Dohm, Butch McGill, and Tim Senic.
Heat race #2 was brought to the green by Tim Dohm and Jacob Hawkins with Dohm jumping to the early lead as three wide battles raged behind him. Unfortunately for Dohm his time at the front would be short-lived as contact with an infield tire on lap 4 sent him spinning from the top spot as Tim McCreadie inherited the lead with Hawkins in pursuit. On the ensuing restart Rick Eckert came to life and shot past Hawkins into second and a few laps later overcame a side-by-side battle with Tim McCreadie to claim the top spot. A late-race caution set up a two lap dash to the checkers, and Hawkins took advantage of the situation to move past McCreadie into second. Eckert bolted to the win with Hawkins in second as the pair moved onto Sunday’s redraw. McCreadie, Chub Frank, Boom Briggs, and Frank Heckenast Jr. rounded out the transfers.
The third and final 17 lap, heat race would definitely not be short on excitement. The initial start was nullified with Corey Conley forfeiting his outside-front-row starting spot after firing too early against pole sitter, Darrell Lanigan. Clint Smith assumed the spot on the front row with Lanigan and grabbed the lead from the current WoOLMS point leader at the drop of the green flag. Smith maintained the top spot as Lanigan began to narrow his advantage by the midway point. In the closing laps Lanigan stepped to the outside to challenge the leader as the duo began to battle furiously for the top spot. The complexion of the race took a drastic change entering turn four on lap 15, when Lanigan made contact with the leader, which caused Smith to get completely sideways as he temporarily stalled. Lanigan grabbed the lead and Smith rejoined the pack, but not before falling back to fourth. The two-time WoOLMS champion Lanigan raced to the victory with Morgan Bagley claiming the final redraw spot. Jared Hawkins, Clint Smith, Derek Doll, and Matthew Cochran took the transfer spots.
Zack Dohm started the night by topping the thirty-one entries on hand in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials with a 12.835 second lap around the ¼ mile oval.
The WoO LMS will sanction the second night of the 3rd Annual Jackpot 100 on Sunday at Tyler County Speedway as a last chance showdown and the 75 lap, $20,000-to-win finale will headline the program.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Fans can also follow the WoO LMS on Twitter at Twitter.com/WoOLateModels and Facebook at Facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws .
Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):
1. 17z – Zack Dohm/Cross Lanes, W. Va. 12.835
2. 6t – Tim Dohm/Cross Lanes, W. Va. 12.852
3. 29 – Darrel Lanigan/Union, Ky. 12.873
4. 1J – Davey Johnson/Latrobe, Pa. 12.913
5. 20H – Jacob Hawkins/Fairmont, W. Va. 12.916
6. 14 – Corey Conley/Wellsburg, W. Va 13.001
7. 25 – Shane Clanton/Zebulon, Ga 13.009
8. 1 – Rick Eckert/York Pa. 13.010
9. 14M – Morgan Bagley/Longview, Texas 13.016
10. 25B – Mike Benedum/Salem, W. Va. 13.018
11. 39 – Tim McCreadie/Watertown, N.Y. 13.021
12. 44 – Clint Smith/Senoia, Ga. 13.033
13. 1MC – Butch McGill/West Union, Pa. 13.060
14. 1* – Chub Frank/Bear Lake, Pa. 13.138
15. 37 – Jared Hawkins/Fairmont, W. Va. 13.139
16. 40B – Kyle Bronson/Brandon, Fla. 13.149
17. 99JR – Frank Heckenast Jr., Orland Park, Ill. 13.151
18. B1 – Paul Wilmoth Jr., Clarksburg, W. Va. 13.156
19. 20 – Doug Drown, Wooster, Ohio 13.184
20. 18 – Eric Wells, Hazard, Ky. 13.189
21. 87 – Derek Doll, Greenwood, W. Va. 13.205
22. 1×1 – Sonny Conley, New Martinsville, W. Va. 13.213
23. 18c – Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Ks. 13.228
24. 16 – Mathew Cochran, Williamsport, Pa. 13.250
25. S2 – Tim Senic, Elkins, W. Va., 13.314
26. 75 – Steve Weigle, Middlebourne, W. Va. 13.415
27. X – Dusty Hamrick, Clarksburg, W. Va., 13.516
28. J1M – Donnie Dotson, West Union, W. Va., 13.588
29. 99B – Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, Pa. 13.620
30. 17L – Jeff Lilly, Beckley, W. Va., 13.633
31. 3 – Scott Irvin, Reeder, W. Va., NT
Heat No. 1 (17 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Davey Johnson, Shane Clanton, Mike Benedum, Zack Dohm, Butch McGill, Tim Senic, Doug Drown, Kyle Bronson, Sonny Conley, Donnie Dotson
Heat No. 2 (17 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Rick Eckert, Jacob Hawkins, Tim McCreadie, Chub Frank, Boom Briggs, Frank Heckenast Jr., Eric Wells, Tim Dohm, Steve Weigle, Chase Junghans
Heat No. 3 (17 laps – Top 6 Transfer): Darrell Lanigan, Morgan Bagley, Jared Hawkins, Clint Smith, Derek Doll, Mathew Cochran, Paul Wilmoth Jr., Dusty Hamrick, Corey Conley, Jeff Lilly
Top 18 Starters for 3rd Annual Jackpot 100
Row 1: Redraw – Redraw
Row 2: Redraw – Redraw
Row 3: Redraw – Redraw
Row 4: Mike Benedum – Tim McCreadie
Row 5: Jared Hawkins – Zack Dohm
Row 6: Chub Frank – Clint Smith
Row 7: Butch McGill – Boom Briggs
Row 8: Derek Doll – Tim Senic
Row 9: Frank Heckenast Jr. – Mathew Cochran
Last Chance Showdown #1 (Top Four Transfer)
Row 1: Doug Drown – Eric Wells
Row 2: Paul Wilmoth Jr. – Kyle Bronson
Row 3: Tim Dohm – Dusty Hamrick
Row 4: Sonny Conley – Steve Weigle
Row 5: Corey Conley – Sonny Conley
Row 6: Chase Junghans – Jeff Lilly
Row 7: Donnie Dotson
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: American Racing Custom Wheels (Official Custom Wheel), Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Lincoln Welders (Official Welder), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel), DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award) and McCarthy’s One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning (Raye Vest Memorial Pill Draw Award); in addition to contingency sponsors: Butlerbuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Mobil 1, MSD, Ohlins Shocks, QuarterMaster, Roush Yates Performance Parts, Superflow Dynos and Wrisco Aluminum; along with manufacturer sponsors Capital Race Cars, Integra Shocks, Jake’s Carts, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis and TNT Rescue.
