The World of Outlaws Late Models will kick off their national touring series with races at the Screven Motor Speedway(Feb. 6-7), Bubba Raceway Park(Feb. 14-15) and Volusia Speedway Park(Feb. 19-21). In all, the series plans a 50-race schedule that will take drivers and teams into 20 states as well as parts of Canada to compete on 38 different tracks.
The World of Outlaws Late Models will visit this region of the country in a pair of back-to-back weekends during the 2015 season. Duck River Raceway Park(April 10) and Tazewell Speedway(April 11) will comprise one of those joint ventures while Ponderosa Speedway(May 8) and Smoky Mountain Speedway(May 9) will make up the other twin bill.
Last season, a total of eleven drivers competed in all 38 events on the WoO Late Models schedule. And according to series reports, that same number of drivers have indicated that they plan to run all races on the series calendar in 2015.
Darrell Lanigan dominated the series in 2014 by scoring a total of 17 victories, which lifted him to a comfortable winning margin over runner-up Rick Eckert. This year, however, three-time WoO Late Models champion Josh Richards will return to the series after battling medical issues last year that sidelined him for virtually the entire season.
It will be interesting to see who is in contention to win the series title when the World Of Outlaws make their way to Charlotte at the end of the season.
Here are our picks for the World of Outlaws Late Models final standings:
Michael Moats- 1. Darrell Lanigan, 2. Josh Richards, 3. Tim McCreadie, 4. Morgan Bagley, 5. Rick Eckert.
Richard Allen- 1. Darrell Lanigan, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Josh Richards, 4. Morgan Bagley, 5. Eric Wells.
Here are a few notes on some of the top stars in the series:
Darrell Lanigan- How can you not pick Lanigan to win the title again after the season he had last year?
He piled up a total of 17 WoO wins on his way to a dominating championship run. And all of that success came after switching from Rocket Chassis to his own Club 29 brand. With a full year in those cars now under his belt, who’s to say what win totals he could potentially reach.
However, there are a couple of possible snares that could trap the Union, Kentucky driver in 2015. First, he suffered a broken thumb in January while racing in Arizona. Should that injury require additional surgery or recuperation time, Lanigan’s efforts on track could be hampered. Additionally, the driver’s top competitor for wins and a championship, Josh Richards, will be back in the series full time after having missed virtually all of last season.
Josh Richards- As mentioned above, Richards missed most of last season after experiencing a nerve issue that caused the Shinnston, WV driver to lose feeling in his hands. The three-time series champion and winner of dozens of races will almost certainly be a contender if his health has been fully restored.
However, Richards did show some signs of rust when he returned to action at the end of the 2014 season. Potentially, a few weeks could be required for him to completely return to old form, but he almost certainly will do so by year’s end.
Tim McCreadie- T-mac has often been the victim of inconsistency during his career. But 2015 will mark the Watertown, NY pilot’s second full season behind the wheel of a Rocket Chassis. Further, he will be reunited with former crew chief Tommy Greeco, who had been away working with driver Steve Francis and Clint Bowyer Racing.
The factors of having a previous crew chief back in the fold and a second year in the same brand of chassis could be what is needed to provide McCreadie with the consistency he needs to run for a title.
Morgan Bagley- In his second year on the series Bagley scored 19 top-10s in 2014 on his way to 4th place finish in the final standings. Added experience gained from running a touring series for two full years as well as more knowledge of the tracks he will be seeing this season could pave the way for a breakout season of sorts for the Longview, Texas driver.
Eric Wells- The Wells team has made the decision to go back to their Bloomquist Race Cars chassis for the upcoming season which could provide a level of comfort for the Hazard, Kentucky driver who had previously campaigned the brand. Further, crew chief Tommy Hicks had long been involved with those cars when he worked for Scott Bloomquist.
Rick Eckert- The former series champion found himself plagued by uncertainty regarding a full time ride last year until he landed as the replacement for Josh Richards in the Rocket House Car. The York, Penn. driver ultimately finished second in the overall standings behind Darrell Lanigan. But with Richards’ return, that opportunity has gone away.
Eckert will team with car owner Paul Crowl in MasterSbilt by Huey cars for an assault on the WoO Late Models Series.
2015 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Schedule
(as of 12/11/14) Schedule subject to change. Check WorldofOutlaws.com for latest information.
Date Day Track/Location
Feb. 6 Friday Screven Motor Speedway/Sylvania, GA
Feb. 7 Saturday Screven Motor Speedway/Sylvania, GA
Feb. 14 Friday Bubba Raceway Park/Ocala, FL
Feb. 15 Saturday Bubba Raceway Park/Ocala, FL
Feb. 19 Thursday Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL
Feb. 20 Friday Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL
Feb. 21 Saturday Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL
March 20 Friday Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway/Calvert City, KY
March 21 Saturday I-30 Speedway/Little Rock, AR
March 27-28 Fri./Sat. Farmer City Raceway/Farmer City, IL
April 10 Friday Duck River Raceway Park/Wheel, TN
April 11 Saturday Tazewell Speedway/Tazewell, TN
May 1 Friday Friendship Motor Speedway/Elkin, NC
May 2 Saturday Fayetteville Motor Speedway/Fayetteville, NC
May 8 Friday Ponderosa Speedway/Junction City, KY
May 9 Saturday Smoky Mountain Speedway/Maryville, TN
May 23-24 Sat./Sun. Tyler County Speedway/Middlebourne, WV
May 28 Thursday Delaware International Speedway/Delmar, DE
June 18 Thursday Fonda Speedway/Fonda, NY
June 20 Saturday Brighton Speedway/Brighton, ONT
June 21 Sunday Cornwall Motor Speedway/Cornwall, ONT
June 23 Tuesday Weedsport Speedway/Weedsport, NY
June 25 Thursday Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA
June 26 Friday Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA
June 27 Saturday Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA
July 9 Thursday Hibbing Raceway/Hibbing, MN
July 10 Friday River Cities Raceway/Grand Forks, ND
July 11 Saturday TBA
July 14 Tuesday Gillette Thunder Speedway/Gillette, WY
July 15 Wednesday Black Hills Speedway/Rapid City, SD
July 16 Thursday TBA
July 18 Saturday Deer Creek Speedway/Spring Valley, MN
July 23 Thursday Quincy Raceways/Quincy, IL
July 24-25 Fri./Sat. Fairbury American Legion Speedway/Fairbury, IL
July 28 Tuesday Shawano Speedway/Shawano, WI
July 30 Thursday Cedar Lake Speedway/New Richmond, WI
July 31-Aug. 1 Fri./Sat. Cedar Lake Speedway/New Richmond, WI
Aug. 14 Friday Potomac Speedway/Budds Creek, MD
Aug. 15 Saturday Winchester Speedway/Winchester, VA
Aug. 21 Friday Atomic Speedway/Chillicothe, OH
Aug. 22 Saturday Stateline Speedway/Busti, NY
Aug. 23 Sunday Eriez Speedway/Erie, PA
Sept. 4 Friday Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA
Sept. 5 Saturday Selinsgrove Speedway/Selinsgrove, PA
Sept. 6 Sunday Selinsgrove Speedway/Selinsgrove, PA
Sept. 18-19 Fri./Sat. Berlin Raceway/Marne, MI
Nov. 5 Thursday The Dirt Track at Charlotte /Concord, NC
Nov. 6 Friday The Dirt Track at Charlotte/Concord, NC
Nov. 7 Saturday The Dirt Track at Charlotte/Concord, NC
