Contact: World Racing Group Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director 704-254-7929 * [email protected][email protected]>
World of Outlaws Late Model Series Travelers Fuller & Coffey Gearing Up For Assault On Rite Aid 200 Big-Block Modified Classic Oct. 7-12 At Syracuse Mile
CONCORD, NC - Sept. 22, 2008 - Tim Fuller and Vic Coffey have become fulltime World of Outlaws Late Model Series travelers this season.
But over the upcoming Columbus Day weekend, both New Yorkers will park their potent dirt Late Models and return to their DIRTcar big-block Modified roots at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, N.Y. They'll chase a $50,000 pot of gold available to the winner of the open-wheel division's 37th annual Rite Aid 200, which closes the Super DIRT Week activities that stretch from Oct. 7-12 at the legendary one-mile oval.
With the WoO LMS events that had been scheduled for Oct. 11 at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn., and Oct. 12 at North Alabama Speedway in Tuscumbia, Ala., canceled by series and track officials, Fuller and Coffey are free to focus on the most prestigious race of the DIRTcar big-block Modified season.
And despite making only a handful of DIRTcar big-block appearances apiece in 2008, there's no doubt that Fuller and Coffey stand as favorites to capture the lucrative Rite Aid 200 prize. Both drivers are former winners of the event - in fact, last year Coffey won the grueling 200-mile test of man and machine and Fuller finished a close second.
"Having the (Columbus Day) weekend off from the Outlaws (schedule) works out great for me," said Fuller, the 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year and a winner of two tour A-Mains this season. "Syracuse is the one Modified race I will always want to run. It's not only the biggest Modified race of the year, but it's also one of the biggest dirt races of the year in the whole country."
Fuller, 40, of Watertown, N.Y., will bring his proven self-owned DIRTcar big-block Modified to the Moody Mile. He debuted the Teo-Pro machine at last year's Super DIRT Week, drove it to a runner-up finish in the Rite Aid 200 and then put it in storage inside his shop to save it for Syracuse '08 duty.
"It'll be pretty easy to get ready this year," said Fuller, who won the Rite Aid 200 in 2004. "The car has just been sitting there all year and we have a fresh (Kevin) Enders engine ready to go, so all we have to do is go through everything.
"We're going there knowing that we have a car that's fast and can win the race, so I'm real confident. But you can't get your hopes up too much because Syracuse always comes down to luck and pit stops."
Coffey, 37, of Leicester, N.Y., is acutely aware of the keys to success in the Rite Aid 200. The presumptive 2008 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year won the marquee DIRTcar big-block Modified event twice - and each checkered flag came in a different manner.
In 2002, Coffey captured the Rite Aid 200 for the first time with a big assist from Lady Luck. His marginal involvement in a tangle after the halfway point prompted him to make an unscheduled pit stop to top off his car's gas tank - and as a result he survived the outbreak of empty fuel cells that produced high drama in the closing laps, finally taking the lead on the last circuit when the pacesetter's mount starved for fuel.
Last year, however, Coffey repeated thanks to speed and savvy more than good fortune. He grabbed the lead on lap 154 and controlled the remainder of the distance, coolly conserving fuel to defeat Fuller by several car lengths.
Coffey returns to Super DIRT Week to defend his Rite Aid 200 title with the same Sweeteners Plus No. 32c that he drove to victory a year ago. It's a 2003 Bicknell machine that he ran at Syracuse for the first time last year after it had been driven previously in the 200-miler by 2006 WoO LMS champion Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y.
"It's been just a Syracuse car for the last few years," said Coffey, who recently scored a season-best WoO LMS finish of fifth at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway. "We know it's a car that can get the job done."
The Rite Aid 200, which gets the green flag the afternoon of Sun., Oct. 12, will culminate a long, race-filled week for both Fuller and Coffey. They'll start it with the WoO LMS, traveling south to compete in tour shows on Tues., Oct. 7, at Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway (the completion of an event postponed by rain on Aug. 15) and Wed., Oct. 8, at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. (the Armour Vienna Sausage Southern Showdown that will be contested 'topless,' ie., with roofs removed from the cars for the first time in WoO LMS history).
Both drivers are making some special arrangements to run the mid-week WoO LMS events without using their primary haulers, which will be filled with Modified equipment and driven to the Syracuse Mile on Wednesday by crewmen who remain home.
Fuller plans to tow his Gypsum Express No. 19 dirt Late Model to Fayetteville - where he's scheduled to start fourth in the 50-lap A-Main after winning a heat race on Aug. 15 - on an open trailer with a bare minimum of tires and spare parts. His father will then haul the machine back to New York following the race while Fuller heads over to Lowe's Motor Speedway with fellow WoO LMS regular Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who will allow Fuller to drive his backup No. 44 in the Armour Vienna Sausage Southern Showdown.
Coffey, meanwhile, expects to dispatch one Sweeteners Plus hauler to the Tar Heel State. The trailer will carry both his and teammate McCreadie's dirt Late Models.
The Lowe's Motor Speedway event will prevent Fuller and Coffey from participating in a 'Happy Hour' practice session that same day at the Syracuse Mile, but their crewmen will have their Modifieds at the track to undergo inspection that afternoon. Fuller and Coffey have arranged to hop on a charter flight together following the Vienna Sausage Southern Showdown so they'll be in Syracuse in time for practice on Thursday morning and Rite Aid 200 time trials later in the afternoon.
Fuller and Coffey plan to round out their Super DIRT Week schedules with DIRTcar 358-Modified competition - Fuller driving a small-block from sponsor John Lazore's stable and Coffey with a Sweeteners Plus mount. Both drivers will enter the Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Series events on Thurs., Oct. 9, at Brewerton (N.Y.) Speedway and Fri., Oct. 10, at Rolling Wheels Raceway in Elbridge, N.Y., and Coffey will also tackle the ITT Corporation/Goulds Pumps 'Salute To The Troops' 150 on Sat., Oct. 11, at the Syracuse Mile.
Super DIRT Week tickets can be ordered on-line by logging directly into https://syracuse.ticketdirector.com or contacting the DIRTcar Racing NorthEast Office (315/834-6606) Monday-Friday during normal business hours.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com<http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/>.