Lucrative Jani-King Southern Showdown Set For Wed., Oct. 10

CONCORD, NC – Sept. 30, 2007 – The Jani-King Southern Showdown on Oct. 10 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway isn't just another race for the stars of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.

It's a true red-circle date on drivers' calendars, a chance for the tour's best to run in front of friends from the NASCAR world and thousands of fans in town for Lowe's Motor Speedway's Bank of America 500 Week.

And oh, by the way, the winner of the 50-lap A-Main presented by Ferris Commerical Mowers can walk away with one of the richest paydays of the 2007 WoO LMS season. If the driver who wins the finale submitted an official entry form prior to Sept. 15 and is one of the 18 heat-race qualifiers, he will receive the $10,000 first-place prize along with an amount equal to $1,000 multiplied by his starting position – a potential victor's check of $28,000.

"Any time you can race for a lot of money at a facility that's as nice as (The Dirt Track), it's pretty exciting," said WoO LMS regular Rick Eckert of York, Pa. "It's even cooler because the grandstand will be full with a bunch of the people in town for the NASCAR (NEXTEL Cup) race. If you run good there, there's a lot more people who will see you.

"The problem is," Eckert added with a smile, "if you run bad, there's a lot more people who will see you too!"

Many of the faces in the massive Wednesday-night crowd will be familiar to Eckert and other WoO LMS standouts. With the race kicking off Bank of America 500 Week, an army of NEXTEL Cup, Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series drivers and team members will stop by The Dirt Track to enjoy some dirt Late Model racing and visit with acquaintances in competition.

Two NEXTEL Cup stars are even planning to be in action. Title contender Clint Bowyer will drive his own Jack Daniel's No. 07 dirt Late Model in the event, and Ryan Newman will be behind the wheel of a Ranger Boats/Jasper Engines & Transmissions No. 39 fielded by WoO LMS points leader Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.

Francis, 40, is certainly looking forward to working with his good buddy Newman at the Jani-King Southern Showdown. Since the event will offer only show-up points toward the WoO LMS title, Francis won't have any added points-race pressure hanging over him.

"I'm probably gonna drive the 11 car (Tim Logan's car, which Francis runs in selected shows that aren't part of the WoO LMS) so Newman can run his stuff out of my truck," said Francis. "I'm glad it's not a (full) points race because I'll be able to spend some more time working on Newman's stuff, and we can do a little R&D work for the last weekend of the season (the 'Outlaws World Finals' on Nov. 1-3 at The Dirt Track)."

Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who sits third in the WoO LMS points standings, plans to arrive in the Charlotte area early enough to visit with a bunch of NEXTEL Cup friends he made back in June during the NEXTEL Prelude to the Dream event at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Cup superstar Jeff Gordon drove Smith's dirt Late Model in that special show and brought along an entourage of Hendrick Motorsports team members, and Smith wants to drop by the Hendrick shop to say hello to the crewmen.

Many of the Hendrick employees will probably attend the Jani-King Southern Showdown to watch Smith race, but will the 42-year-old driver put them to work?

"I don't know about that," smiled Smith. "If we got body damage or something, maybe they'd jump in and help on that, but they'll mostly just come over to hang out."

Nineteen-year-old WoO LMS sensation Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., is anxious to display his dirt Late Model skills in the heart of NASCAR country. A budding young talent, Richards has a close relationship with Cup champ Tony Stewart, who has given Richards rides in Midget and ARCA events and makes selected appearances in a dirt Late Model housed at the Rocket Chassis shop co-owned by Richards's father Mark.

"I know quite a few guys on (NASCAR) teams down (in the Charlotte area) and I've been trying to meet more," said Richards, who noted that the car chief of the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Busch Series car, Chad Hainey, was the crew chief of the Rocket Chassis house car from 2002-2004. "Racing in front of them definitely helps."

Other WoO LMS travelers ready for action in the event include second-place points man Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., who fielded a dirt Late Model for NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader in August at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.; Rookie of the Year contender Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., who drove Schrader's No. 99 dirt Late Model in April's Circle K Colossal 100 at The Dirt Track; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; leading '07 rookie Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.; and Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who owns four WoO LMS victories this season.

Additional early entries include Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., who won the WoO LMS 'Circle K Colossal 100' at The Dirt Track; Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., the winner of the recent UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned World 100 at Eldora Speedway; Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., whose dirt Late Model team is owned by NASCAR standout Bobby Labonte; Steve Shaver of Vienna, W.Va.; and Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio.

If purchased in advance, Jani-King Southern Showdown tickets are $25 for adults and just $10 for children 12 and under. Reserved seats for this race are also available as part of the four-race $99 SUPER Ticket which includes Bojangles' Pole Night on Thursday night, Oct. 11; the Dollar General 300 on Friday night, Oct. 12; and the Bank of America 500 on Saturday night, Oct. 13.

Tickets are available online at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com or by calling the Lowe's Motor Speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS.