BULLS GAP, TN – Aug. 21, 2007 – Bring on the ‘Scorcher 100.
 
World of Outlaws Late Model Series points leader Steve Francis was thinking just that after winning the 30-lap ‘Crumley House Super Late Model Shootout’ on Tuesday night to kick off the three-day ‘Scorcher’ program at Volunteer Speedway.
 
“We learned quite a bit tonight that will help us the next two nights, especially about where we’ve been messing up with our tire program,” said Francis, who led the caution-free, 12-car special event from flag-to-flag. “I feel real good about our chances.”
 
The ‘Scorcher 100 Presented by Young Oil Co.,’ which is part of the WoO LMS for the first time in its four-year history, continues on Wednesday night (Aug. 22) with time trials and heat races. B-Mains and the $20,000-to-win feature are scheduled for Thursday night (Aug. 23) at the high-banked, four-tenths-mile oval located just 53 miles southwest of Bristol Motor Speedway.
 
Thirty-five drivers, including NASCAR Nextel Cup star Clint Bowyer, participated in Tuesday night’s open dirt Late Model practice session.
 
Bowyer, who flew to eastern Tennessee to drive his Jack Daniel’s Rocket No. 07 after competing in Tuesday afternoon’s postponed Nextel Cup event at Michigan International Speedway, was one of four drivers with guaranteed starting spots in the ‘Super Late Model Shootout.’ Others were Bowyer’s fellow Richard Childress Racing-affiliated racers – Austin Dillon (Childress’s teenage grandson) and former WoO LMS regular Dale McDowell – and 2004 WoO LMS champion Scott Bloomquist of nearby Mooresburg, Tenn.
 
Eight additional drivers qualified for the ‘Super Late Model Shootout’ through time trials that were held for Tuesday’s participants.
 
Vic Hill of Morristown, Tenn., was fastest in the qualifying session with a lap of 12.417 seconds, followed closely by Francis (12.572). As a result, they shared the front row for the start of the ‘Shootout,’ and it was Francis who bolted into the lead when the green flag was thrown.
 
Francis, 39, of Ashland, Ky., never looked back en route to claiming his first-ever checkered flag at Volunteer Speedway. He survived a final-lap bid from Hill to pocket the event’s $5,000 top prize.
 
Hill settled for second place, less than a car length behind Francis’s Valvoline Rocket No. 15 at the finish.
 
“I knew (Hill) was probably getting close at the end,” said Francis. “I was getting loose because my right-rear (tire) was giving out, so I was holding on.
 
“We decided to go a little soft with our tire after I talked to (mechanic) Robbie Allen and (fellow WoO LMS regular) Josh (Richards) before the race, and we annihilated our tires. But we had just enough to get to the finish.”
 
Francis dropped out of last year’s ‘Scorcher 100,’ and, previous to that, his last visit to the track was for a WoO LMS event in March 2004 (he finished 13th). So he was happy to enjoy some success at the tough track.
 
“We have about two or three more things we want to do to the car,” said Francis, “but this is as good as I’ve ever felt here.”
 
Joe Armes of Petroes, Tenn., finished third in the event, followed by Mark Douglas of Knoxville, Tenn., and WoO LMS regular Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.
 
Other WoO LMS regulars in the ‘Shootout’ field were Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va. (finished sixth) and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. (seventh).
 
Bowyer pulled off the track on lap 19 just before he would have been lapped by Francis.
 
Also an early retiree from the ‘Shootout’ was Bloomquist, the defending champion of the ‘Scorcher 100.’ He did not hot-lap earlier in the night because his car’s engine tightened up when he started it in the pit area, forcing him to swap powerplants.
 
Reigning WoO LMS champion Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y. – a Richard Childress Racing development driver in 2007 – had a guaranteed starting spot for the ‘Shootout’ but was unable to compete. He was under the weather on Tuesday, recovering from an allergic reaction to antibiotics he was prescribed to alleviate a bad infection that he developed on his arm.
 
WoO LMS standouts Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., Rick Eckert of York, Pa., and Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., took part in Tuesday’s practice sessions but did not make the eight-car cut for the ‘Shootout.’ Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., skipped the practice night to finish work on his car in his team’s shop, and Rookie of the Year contender Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., arrived at the track shortly after the ‘Shootout’ ended.
 
For more information on the ‘Scorcher 100,’ visit www.volunteerspeedway.com.
 
Additional info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Finish of ‘The Crumley House Super Late Model Shootout’ (30 laps):
 
1. Steve Francis
2. Vic Hill
3. Joe Armes
4. Mark Douglas
5. Shane Clanton
6. Josh Richards
7. Darrell Lanigan
8. Ricky Arms
9. Austin Dillon
10. Clint Bowyer
11. Dale McDowell
12. Scott Bloomquist