The World of Outlaw Late Models continue their ‘Great Northern Tour’ on Tuesday, June 23 as they head to the Weedsport Speedway for the Finger Lakes 40. The race is event number three of their trip through the Northeast and the third time in the history of the traveling organization that they have visited the one-third mile oval. The event is being run with support from the Pole Position Raceway in Destiny USA in Syracuse.
Chub Frank has won both events at the speedway, the first in 2006 and the second in 2007. The Bear Lake, Pa., driver comes into the event fourth in the point standings as he chases his first win of the 2015 season. Frank, like everyone else, continues to try and track down current high point man Shane Clanton. Clanton, a five-time winner in 2015, started the season on a strong note at the Volusia Raceway Park during the DIRTcar Nationals with three wins. That success has propelled him to atop the point standings.
“We’ve been running good all year long, just trying to keep pace, keep doing what we are doing and let the points take care of themselves,” said Clanton. “We’ve been to Weedsport twice and ran top three both times. I think it is a pretty cool place. It is demanding, challenging and gets real slippery. Hopefully the racing is just as good as it’s been in the past and we’ll be alright.”
Clanton’s most recent win came at the Fonda Speedway this past Thursday night as he held off the challenges of Frank and Chase Junghans. On Saturday the tour continued on to the Brighton Speedway in Ontario, Canada where Clanton came up one spot short to title-contender Josh Richards.
“Right now things are going good and hopefully we can keep clicking off top fives with more wins to come,” stated Clanton about his current stretch. “We want to keep ahead of them guys until the end of the year.”
Richards and Darrell Lanigan, both former champs, are attempting to close on Clanton as the tour moves to Weedsport Speedway. Currently Clanton enjoys a 94 point gap over Richards and a 140 point advantage on Lanigan. These two drivers will be joined by several other traveling stars with the organization including local favorite Tim McCreadie. McCreadie has won in the state of New York in Late Model competition at the Fonda Speedway and would love to add the historic Weedsport to that list.
Texas native Morgan Bagley and York Pa., pilot Rick Eckert should also be in the field on Tuesday evening as well as Frank Heckenast Jr., Eric Wells, Junghans and Brandon Overton. These series regulars will be joined by several Pennlsyvania and Canadian invaders all vying for the top prize.
Joining the World of Outlaw Late Models on Tuesday are the Crate Sportsman as they compete in a 25-lap, $1,000 to win feature event. Dave Marcuccilli currently leads the overall point standings at the speedway in the division as he looks to go to Victory Lane for the second time at the speedway in 2015. Marcuccilli won the opening round back on May 3rd and has won the last three events at the facility. Things won’t be easy on Tuesday as several of the top Crate Sportsman teams in Central New York will be trying to dethrone Marcuccilli.
“Weedsport is where I started racing, where I got the most laps and where I feel the most comfortable,” said Marcuccilli. “It would be huge if we could win again. I’ve won the last three shows and to keep that momentum there would be awesome. Every time we go there it’s a special race. To win a race there is a big deal.”
Tuesday night’s race will offer a new challenge to Marcuccilli and the other Crate Sportsman invaders as they’ll face a different surface from the last time they competed in May. Marcuccilli is looking forward to that challenge as well as the opportunity to compete in front of a big crowd.
“The past three years we’ve been on two different surfaces there and we had good luck on both of them,” commented Marcuccilli. “Hopefully the luck will continue on this new surface. There should be a big crowd so another win on the big stage would be nice.”
ans are reminded that the Route 34 bridge immediately south of the NYS Thruway Exit 40 Weedsport/Auburn/NY Route 34 is under repair with one lane access only via a stop light. This will cause delays due to the restricted traffic pattern. Fans should plan accordingly leaving themselves extra time or use alternative exits at Baldwinsville (Exit 39) or Waterloo (Exit 41) from the NYS thruway.
Pit gates open at 4pm on Tuesday while spectator gates open at 5pm. Racing is scheduled to get underway promptly at 7pm. Reserved grandstand admission is priced at $29 while general admission is just $25 and youth ages 11-17 are just $5. Children ages 10 and under are free. Pit admission is $30 for members and $35 for non-members.
For more information about Tuesday’s event be sure to visit www.weedsportspeedway.com.