Contact: World Racing Group Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director 704-254-7929 * [email protected][email protected]>
Georgia's Clanton & Smith Look To Extend World of Outlaws Late Model Series Success In Homestate To Screven Motor Speedway On Saturday (Aug. 16)
SYLVANIA, GA - Aug. 14, 2008 - If history is any indicator, then this Saturday night (Aug. 16) Shane Clanton or Clint Smith should win the first-ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-Main at Screven Motor Speedway.
The three-eighths-mile oval is located, after all, in Georgia - and the two WoO LMS regulars from the Peach State have combined to capture all three tour events previously held in their homestate.
Yes, Clanton and Smith have defended their territory well when they get the rare opportunity to run a WoO LMS show in their backyard. Clanton was victorious in Georgia WoO LMS A-Mains on May 1, 2004, at North Georgia Speedway in Chatsworth and Oct. 26, 2005, at Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, and Smith was best in a season-opening program on Feb. 4, 2006, at Golden Isles.
With the tour returning to Georgia for the first time in over two years, Clanton and Smith hope they can continue their unblemished homestate record.
"I want to win every race, so it's not like we put any special focus on World of Outlaws races in Georgia," said Clanton, a 32-year-old from Locust Grove, Ga., who ranks fifth in the current WoO LMS points standings. "I think it's more of a coincidence than anything that me and Clint have won all the Outlaw races (in Georgia), but it sure would be nice to win another one in our homestate."
"I think it's my turn to win one," smiled Smith, the 43-year-old veteran from Senoia, Ga., who sits eighth in the tour's points standings. "If Clanton's won two of the three Outlaw races in Georgia, I guess I need to even things up with him."
Of course, while Screven Motor Speedway is just over a three-hour drive from the residences of both Georgia Outlaws, their first-hand knowledge of the track isn't what you might expect. Both drivers have made just one career start at SMS - a Southern All-Stars Series event on July 7, 2007. Smith finished a quiet seventh in the feature, while Clanton failed to finish after marching from 14th to fourth in 10 laps and then being swept up in a tangle with the top-two runners.
Why haven't Clanton and Smith made annual pilgrimages to Screven for special events? Well, the speedway has simply not been a destination for fulltime professional money racers like Clanton and Smith.
That's now changing under James 'Redd' Griffen, who owns Screven Motor Speedway and the adjoining Savannah River Dragway. He has aggressively worked to make the track a prominent player on the Southeast dirt Late Model scene over the past two seasons, improving the facility and scheduling more lucrative races for the full-fender division.
Griffen's project reaches its zenith on Saturday when the WoO LMS comes to town for a 50-lap A-Main paying $10,000 to win from a purse of nearly $50,000 - the most eagerly anticipated, talent-filled event in track history.
Clanton and Smith will lead an invasion of superstar drivers that includes points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; defending champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.; 20-year-old Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va.; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.; John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va.; and 2008 Rookie of the Year contenders Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., and Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y.
The crowd's biggest cheers should be directed toward Clanton and Smith, who will have plenty of familiar faces supporting them at the track.
"What's great about running close to home is that my wife and kid (a five-year-old son) and car owner (Ronnie Dobbins) can all be there to watch," said Clanton, who after a very busy summer stretch of racing spent part of the recent two-and-a-half week break from WoO LMS action relaxing with his family in Panama City, Fla. "My wife and kid haven't seen me run a World of Outlaws since Florida (in February) and my car owner hasn't seen a World of Outlaws race this year, so I'm looking forward to it."
Screven Motor Speedway is located between Mile Markers 6 and 7 on GA Route 21 in Screven County, GA.
Admission to Saturday night's program is just $20 and includes entry to the pit area and admission to the dragstrip's action that runs simultaneously. Children 12-and-under will be admitted for $5.
Gates are scheduled to open at 3 p.m. and on-track action is set to begin at 7 p.m.
For more information, visit www.screvenmotorspeedway.com<http://www.screvenmotorspeedway.com/> or call 912-857-4884 or 912-754-5882.
The WoO LMS will visit Screven after competing on Friday night (Aug. 15) at Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
Additional info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com<http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/>.