Contact: World Racing Group Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director 704-254-7929 * [email protected][email protected]>
Clint Smith Ready To Chase Another World of Outlaws Late Model Series Victory At Blazing-Fast Belleville High Banks On Sunday Night (July 20)
BELLEVILLE, KS - July 19, 2008 - Clint Smith didn't have a lot of confidence about his chances for success the first time he laid eyes on the Belleville High Banks last year.
"We rolled in there and I said, 'Whoa, this place ain't nothing about Clint Smith,'" recalled the veteran driver from Senoia, Ga. "Small, high-banked deals or rubbered-up (track) conditions are what I'm accustomed to, not a big, fast track like Belleville."
But Smith, 43, went out and won last year's inaugural World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at the famed half-mile oval in convincing fashion, so now he's anxious to make a return trip with the national tour for a $10,000-to-win headliner this Sunday night (July 20).
"That place was against everything I normally do well and we killed everybody," said Smith, whose Belleville victory on June 17, 2007, was one of four triumphs he recorded on last year's WoO LMS. "Actually, it was kind of a turning point for me. Now I excel more on the big half-mile, killer tracks like Belleville. I run a lot more at ease around them now, with a lot more car control than I did two or three years ago."
Smith will employ all his newfound big-track skills at Belleville, a historic speedway that produces blazing-fast speeds. It is by far the largest, most demanding track that is part of the WoO LMS 'Wild West Tour,' and Smith is taking some special precautions so his self-owned GRT cars and RaceTek engines will better stand up to the expected grind.
"As a driver the speed is no problem - we just hold the button down and go," said Smith, who has one victory on the 2008 WoO LMS. "But as a car owner, I'm looking at what it does to the equipment. Your motor just has to cook all the time, and everything else is under pressure the whole time too.
"What we learned last year (at Belleville) is that when the sun goes down the track loosens up a little bit and slows downs. The darkness takes all the immediate strain off of everything and the track is not nearly as hard on equipment. I think everybody will be in a little less of a panic this year knowing that after the heat races are over, the temperatures will go back down and the track will slow down.
"But we're preparing a couple extra oil cooler systems to go on the car for early in the program, when it's warmer and the track is faster. We're also doing some various air duct work - just really preparing everything to help the motor stay cool."
According to Smith, there isn't a track he'll visit this season that is faster than Belleville. Three-time WoO LMS champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., set the one-lap track record during last year's event, clocking a blistering circuit of 16.189 seconds (111.187 mph).
"We run wide-open at Belleville," bottom-lined Smith. "I've been to quicker racetracks but not faster tracks, if that makes any sense. Tazewell, Tenn., and Rome, Ga., are the two quickest racetracks I've run - everything happens so fast there and you're out of breath when you come in. But at Belleville, there's a little straightaway to help you rest, so you're out there cruising trying to run a good line at high speed."
Smith is looking forward to experiencing another dose of the down-home atmosphere at the Belleville High Banks, which drew a standing-room-only crowd for last year's WoO LMS show.
"The whole town loves the place," marveled Smith, who met many Belleville fans last year when he signed autographs in a t-shirt trailer following the A-Main. "It's like they're thinking, 'This is our house, our little landmark.' You get the feeling that everybody thinks (the town of) Belleville wouldn't exist without the track.
"I like any track I win at," he continued, "but I really enjoyed racing at Belleville last year. Everybody who came up to talk seemed like they really appreciated us being there."
Smith's team figures to receive even more attention from the Jayhawk State fans on Sunday night because he plans to field a second car for veteran Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kan., who has won several dirt Late Model features at Belleville. Purkey has accompanied Smith on the WoO LMS 'Wild West Tour' and drove Smith's car in six of the seven events prior to Belleville.
The all-star WoO LMS drivers' roster set to invade Belleville will also include 20-year-old Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who finished fifth in last year's A-Main at the High Banks; points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. (sixth in 2007); Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga. (eighth); Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa. (ninth); defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky. (10th); Rick Eckert of York, Pa. (13th); Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill. (16th); and 2007 Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y. (18th).
WoO LMS travelers who will make career-first appearances on the High Banks include John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., and Rookie of the Year contenders Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., and Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y. Johnson has plans to fly out to Kansas on Sunday morning to rejoin the 'Wild West Tour' after being absent since the opener on July 9 to run Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series big-block Modifieds events in the Northeast.
The field will be enhanced by a variety of standouts from across the region, including Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., Kelly Boen of Henderson, Colo., who has won multiple events at Belleville, John Anderson of Omaha, Neb., and Dustin Hapka of Grand Forks, N.D.
Tickets for the event are $25 in advance and $30 at the gate, with kids 7-15 admitted for $15.
Grandstand gates will open at 5 p.m., with hot laps set for 6:30 p.m. and racing scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
For more information on the Belleville High Banks, visit www.highbanks.org<http://www.highbanks.org/>.
Additional info on the WoO LMS can be obtained by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com<http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/>.