CONCORD, NC – Sept. 19, 2007 –
WHAT: * The World of Outlaws Late Model Series visits the Keystone State this weekend, with stops at Bedford Speedway on Fri., Sept. 21, and Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway on Sat., Sept. 22.
Both the ‘Bedford 50’ and the 19th annual ‘Pittsburgher 50’ will offer a $10,000 top prize.
Friday’s event will be the richest dirt Late Model race in the history of Bedford Speedway, with a total purse nearing $50,000.
WHEN: * On Friday night at Bedford Speedway, gates are scheduled to open at 4 p.m. Hot laps are set for 7 p.m. and WoO LMS time trials will begin at 7:30 p.m., with racing to follow.
* PPMS’s pit and spectator gates will open at 12 noon on Saturday. WoO LMS time trials are slated to begin at 6:15 p.m., followed by racing at 7 p.m.
WHERE: * Bedford Speedway is the oldest active dirt track in Pennsylvania. A sprawling half-mile fairgrounds oval, the speedway first hosted a race on Sept. 4, 1936, and has been home to weekly stock-car competition since 1974.
The track is located on Business Route 30, one mile west of Bedford, Pa. It is easily accessible off Exit 146 of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
* Known as ‘Dirt’s Monster Half-Mile,’ PPMS is a big, wide racetrack located 15 miles west of downtown Pittsburgh off the Noblestown exit of U.S. 22. It also just minutes from Weirton, W.Va., and Steubenville, Ohio.
SUPPORT DIVISIONS: * Bedford’s program will also include action for the Limited Late Model division. PPMS, meanwhile, will host Crate Late Model and E-Modified features on Saturday night, plus a special ‘Night Before the Pittsburgher’ program on Friday.
TICKETS: * General admission tickets at Bedford are $30 and pit passes are $40. Camping and parking is free, and utility hookups are available for a minimal fee.
* At PPMS, general admission is $35 for adults; $34 for senior citizens; $25 for students 13-16; $10 for kids 7-12; and free for children under 7. Pit passes are $45.
MORE INFORMATION: * For more information about Bedford Speedway, call the speedway office at 814-623-0500 of visit www.bedfordspeedway.com.
* Additional info about PPMS’s event is available by calling 412-279-7223 (track office); 724-695-0393 and 724-695-3363 (race day); or logging on to
www.ppms.com.
PREVIOUS WoO LMS WINNERS: * Friday night will mark the first-ever appearance by the WoO LMS at Bedford Speedway, but the tour has sanctioned PPMS’s ‘Pittsburgher’ in two of the last three years. Bart Hartman was victorious in the 2004 WoO LMS event and Shane Clanton captured last year’s visit to the track.
PREVIOUS ‘PITTSBURGHER’ WINNERS: 1989 – Scott Bloomquist
1990 – Bob Wearing Jr.
1991 – Donnie Moran
1992 – Davey Johnson
1993 – Scott Bloomquist
1994 – Davey Johnson
1995 – Scott Bloomquist
1996 – Tim Hitt
1997 – Rick Aukland
1998 – Tim Hitt
1999 – Todd Andrews
2000 – Davey Johnson
2001 – Chub Frank
2002 – Rick Aukland
2003 – Matt Urban
2004 – Bart Hartman
2005 – Donnie Moran
2006 – Shane Clanton
WHAT WoO LMS DRIVERS THINK: *
Rick Eckert of York, Pa., on racing at Bedford Speedway, where he won four consecutive track championships from 1989-1992: “I’ve probably only been back four or five times in the last 15 years, and I haven’t won there in a long time (1993). I’m looking forward to going back there. It’s always fun when you get to race back around home.”
*
Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., on PPMS, where he won the 2001 ‘Pittsburgher’ and finished second in this year’s ‘Red Miley Memorial Penn National 53’ on July 1: “Back in July when we ran there, it was a good racetrack. It was a little bit choppy, but that made it fast and racy all over.
“It’s not Eldora, but it’s fast like Eldora. Pittsburgh doesn’t have the banking like Eldora and you don’t usually run against the fence, but it’s just a big, fast half-mile, and it’s a racy half-mile -- and racy half-miles are hard to come by.”
Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., on PPMS, where he was victorious in the July 1 ‘Red Miley Memorial Penn National 53’: “I ran the third race of my career there (in 2004), and I just love the place. Anywhere that’s real wide, where you can roll down into the corner – those are the tracks I like the best. My driving style has always adapted well to places like Pittsburgh, Eldora, Knoxville – anywhere real wide. I just feel real comfortable on tracks like that.
“We’re really looking forward to Pittsburgh. We’ve run fourth and third in the Pittsburgher, and we won the last time we were there (in July). We think we have a pretty good package for that place.”
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: * Bidding for his first career WoO LMS championship, Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., remains the points leader entering this weekend’s action. He has two wins (Sept. 1 at Pennsylvania’s Tri-City Speedway and Sept. 14 at Kentucky’s Paducah International Raceway), a second and two fifths in five WoO LMS starts this month, proving he’s getting stronger as the year rolls on. He leads Chub Frank by 54 points with six tour events remaining on the 2007 schedule.
* Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., has held at least a share of the WoO LMS points lead after 17 events this season, but he’s fallen to third place in the standings, 98 points behind Francis. He won his fourth feature of the season, however, on Sept. 15 at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., so he brings some momentum into the weekend.
* Bedford’s event figures to provide a great opportunity for Rick Eckert to end his frustrating winless 2007 campaign on the WoO LMS. The third-ranked driver on Bedford’s alltime win list (22 career victories), Eckert is riding an uncharacteristic 51-race winless streak on the tour.
* Shane Clanton will return to the site of the biggest win of his career when he drives through PPMS’s pit gate on Saturday. He won last year’s ‘Pittsburgher’ when it was run over the 100-lap distance, but he came on late in that event so he’ll have to make his move a bit earlier in this year’s shorter 50-lap edition.
* The WoO LMS Rookie of the Year battle is heading down its homestretch with Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., and Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., battling it out. The title is determined using a driver’s best 30 finishes of the season – and both racers have now passed that mark. Fuller (34 events) leads Shirley (31 events) in the Rookie standings, 3,815-3,607, entering the weekend.
* Nationally-known dirt Late Model star Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, is planning to make the long haul to western Pennsylvania for this weekend’s doubleheader. He’ll make a weekend of it in the area – a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, Birky will head to Heinz Field on Sunday to attend the Steelers game against the San Francisco 49ers.
* Bedford’s field is expected to include a host of top-notch regional and local drivers, including Bedford’s alltime winningest driver Scott Haus of Hamburg, Pa.; Gary Stuhler of Greencastle, Pa., who ranks second on the track’s alltime win list; 2007 track champ Jack Pencil of Bedford; Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio; Jeremy Miller of Gettysburg, Pa., who came within six laps of winning a WoO LMS event on July 28 at Ohio’s Sharon Speedway; Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., who returns to the WoO LMS after scoring an emotional upset victory on Sept. 2 at Tri-City Speedway; Bo Feathers and Ronnie DeHaven Jr., both of Winchester, Va.; Ricky Elliott of Seaford, Del.; D.J. Myers of Winchester, Va.; Scott Rhodes of Somerset, Pa.; Wayne Johnson; Dave Troutman; and Eric Zembower.
* Many entrants in Bedford’s program will also compete in Saturday night’s ‘Pittsburgher,’ plus PPMS standouts like 2007 track champion Jared Miley; Dave Wade; western Pennsylvania legend Lynn Geisler; Brandon Burgoon; Steve Baker, who co-owns Rocket Chassis with Mark Richards, the father of WoO LMS regular Josh Richards; Lou Bradich; and three-time ‘Pittsburgher’ winner Davey Johnson.
EXTRA CASH FOR THE LOCALS: * The influx of regional and local standouts who compete in the weekend events will chase a $500 WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ award in each night’s A-Main. The cash will go to the highest-finishing driver who is not ranked among the current top-12 in the WoO LMS point standings and has never won a WoO feature.
HEADING DOWN THE HOMESTRETCH: * This weekend’s swing continues the WoO LMS ‘Race to the World Finals.’ Scheduled for Nov. 1-3, the highly-anticipated inaugural ‘Outlaws World Finals’ is a WoO Late Model/Sprint Car doubleheader that will close both divisions’ points battles at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.
The second night of the ‘Outlaws World Finals’ will be broadcast live by the SPEED cable network from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET on Sat., Nov. 3, marking the first time that dirt Late Models will receive live television coverage.
LISTEN ON THE INTERNET: * Fans who can’t make it to the track can listen to the action live thanks to the DIRT Radio Network, which will broadcast the weekend’s races over the internet.
To listen to the free audio broadcast, log on to www.dirtvision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo.
Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. Those who sign up for a free membership can enjoy advanced features while listening to the races, such as text chat and live scoring via AMB.it.
WoO LMS INFO: * Log on to the WoO LMS website at www.worldofoutlaws.com.
