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Leonard McCue Commits to Sponsorship for
Dan Curl Jr Memorial Race, 22 July
As a travelling series, the
Outlaws Modifieds and Leonard McCue have crossed paths several times over the
years. These meetings have become more frequent now that Showtime Speedway
has reopened. Apparently, Leonard likes what he sees in the series:
drivers helping drivers, family atmosphere and plenty of competitive racing
excitement. Leonard was particularly impressed with the 14 car field,
equaling that of the Super Late Models at Full Throttle Speedway this past
Saturday.
As a result, Leonard McCue
announced that Q Motorsports will help fund the purse for the upcoming Dan Curl
Jr Memorial Race at Full Throttle Speedway on 22 June. The first Outlaw
Modified Dan Curl Jr Memorial Race, consisting of two 25 lap features with one
overall winner, was held in 1997 and has become the most prestigious Outlaw race
every year since. To make matters even more exciting, after qualifying by
time trial for the start of the first race, the finishing order from the first
race is completely inverted to start the second race.
The Outlaw Modifieds are grateful
to Leonard McCue and his Q Motorsports Family for offering his support to our
series.
Campbell Tops 14 Car Field at Full Throttle Speedway
The
Outlaw Modifieds rolled into the newly reopened Full Throttle Speedway with a
field of 14 cars, equaling that of the Super Late Model Series that evening.
The last time that the Outlaw Modified raced here, the track was known as DeSoto
Superspeedway; past Outlaw Modified champion Billy Campbell took the wheel of
Cliff Wilman’s #00 and drove it into the winner’s circle. Billy has not raced
with the Outlaws since then, but at Full Throttle, he once again led the way to
victory in Wilman’s #00.
Dan
Akard had his #14 car out for the first time this season. Also out for the
first time this year were Robert Campbell in the 10 and John Parrish in the 9P.
Paul Richards brought his #61, but this time it would be junior behind the
wheel. Mark Patton was sporting a new wrap in his #51. Billy Bigley, Jr. took
over the driving duty for the #5 normally driven by Kevin Endee.
The
race would be somewhat of a prelude to the next Outlaw Modified race scheduled
for Full Throttle. That race, on 22 June, is the most prestigious event on the
Outlaw Modified schedule: the Dan Curl Jr Memorial Race, twin 25 laps feature
events with a full inversion between races and one overall winner. Tonight’s
race would prove to be a shake down for some teams and a preview to race fans as
to what will come.
During pre-race practice, Antonio Gonzalez (9) suffered a broken clutch cable
housing. With a little help and some creative ingenuity, he managed to make
repairs needed to get him back on track. Dan Akard (14) nursed a sick
carburetor but never really got it back to fully functional. Jim Lafreniere
(56) had to reset his ignition and cam timing in order to get his car back up to
speed.
The
first heat race was won by John Parrish in the 9P and Kevin Campbell (19) won
the second heat race. The random number of cars inverted for the feature line
up was drawn at five. During the first heat race, Meyer in the 04, broke an oil
cooler with over 2 quarts of oil streaming over his left rear tire in the final
laps of the race. He managed to reroute the oil lines to bypass the cooler
rather than going home early. Not knowing how much engine damage was caused by
the loss of pressure, Meyer elected to start from the rear and pay close
attention to oil pressure and engine temperature rather than blowing up in front
of the field.
The
feature race had a pair of Campbells forming the front row with Billy (00)
inside and Robert (10) outside. Mike Endee (26) and Kyle Rice (22) made up the
second row and heat winners Parrish (9P) and Kevin Campbell (19) in the third
row. Robert Campbell (10) got an early jump on the outside and into turn one
only to have Billy Campbell (00) pull up along side him down the back stretch.
Something was amiss on the Patton (51) car forcing him to pull to the infield
out of turn two. The Campbells, Billy and Robert, drove side by side well into
the second lap with Billy having a slight advantage coming out of the turns.
Mike Endee (26) stuck his nose right behind Billy (00) with John Parrish (9P)
right behind Endee.
On
lap four, Endee (26) went to the high side of the track to follow Robert
Campbell (10) going into turn one in an attempt to try getting around the 00 of
Billy Campbell. This move opened a lane for Parrish (9P) on the low side. Down
the back stretch, Robert Campbell (10) drove past Billy Campbell (00) for the
lead. Parrish (9P), working the low side of the track pulled ahead of Endee
(26) who was trying to follow Robert Campbell (10) up high. On lap 6, Parrish
(9P) completed the pass on Endee (26). Endee dropped in behind Parrish, just in
front of Kyle Rice (22).
Parrish (9P) made a great run around the outside of Billy Campbell (00) through
turns one and two. Billy Campbell (00) slipped a little coming out of two turn
so Endee (26) went high to follow Parrish around the outside of Campbell. Kyle
Rice (22) followed Endee. The motor in Antonio Gonzalez (9) car broke, almost
coming to a stop, right in the middle of the back stretch in front of Meyer
(04).
Coming out of turn four, race leader Robert Campbell (10) broke the hub out of
his right front wheel sending the tire up into the catch fence. Robert’s car
was left spinning at the turn exit right in front of Billy Campbell with the
other leaders Parrish, Endee and Rice squeezing up against the wall to get by.
Kevin Campbell (19) evaded Campbell by driving onto the apron.
For
the lap seven restart, the field stayed two by two through turns one and two
before the car of Billy Campbell launched out of turn two pulling out to a three
car length lead. The remainder of the field stayed two by two, four rows deep
for the next two laps. On lap ten, with Campbell (00) still in the lead,
Parrish (9P) and Endee (26) seesawed back and forth vying for the second spot.
Rice (22) and Richards (61) raced behind Parrish on the outside Kevin Campbell
(19), Raymond Jones (28) and Meyer (04) raced in the line behind Endee.
On
lap twelve, Parrish pulled ahead of Endee and ran down Campbell on the outside,
Rice (22) dropped in behind Endee. As Parrish (9P) was making a move around the
outside of Campbell (00), Endee (26) pulled up right behind Campbell. Going
into turn three, Endee’s throttle jammed wide open and the car ran up the track,
clipping the left rear of Parrish. Parrish’s car spun 180 and backed into the
wall while Endee’s car went into the wall smashing the right front and
deflecting his car, rear wheels still spinning, right back into Parrish before
coming to a stop. Debris form the wreck also cut the rigth front tire of
Dan Akard's #14, ending his night.
Billy
Campbell (00) got a good jump on the field for the lap twelve restart and pulled
well ahead of Rice (22) on the outside. Rice was followed on the outside by
Richards (61) and Meyer (04). Kevin Campbell (19) held his car down low with
Jones (28) on his bumper. Meyer (04) made a move low on Jones (28) going down
the back stretch. Meyer was driven down below the apron as he and Jones (28)
battled for the fifth spot. Meyer decided to back off because as low as he was,
coming out of the turn would not be pretty. Meyer and Jones continued their
battle into turns one and two of lap fourteen. Richards (61) was able to get a
good run on Kevin Campbell (19) down the back stretch into turn three for
third. Richards tried to move down, slamming the door ahead of Campbell in the
middle of turn four, but got his car a little sideways. Kevin Campbell (19) had
to evade by taking a hard right turn coming out of four to avoid Richards.
Richards regained control of his car, now on the inside, ahead of Campbell, on
the outside. Campbell chased Richards down on the back stretch on lap fifteen
and tapped him on the bumper a couple times before going into turn three.
Richards’ car drifted up the track in the middle of turns three and four to open
up the bottom groove with Campbell (19), Jones (28) and Meyer (04) in a line
behind him. All this battling between Kevin Campbell and Richards allowed Billy
Campbell (00) and Rice (22) to pull a few more car lengths ahead of the field
behind them.
Campbell (19) and Richards (61) were still going at it on lap sixteen with
Campbell having a slight advantage on the low side. Then, going through turns
three and four again, Richards’ car slid up the track allowing Campbell (19) to
complete the pass at the exit of the turn. Meanwhile, Meyer (04) and Jones were
still going at it. Meyer’s assault was made more challenging by the oil misted
from Jones’ power steering. Meyer said later that “the slippery track was only
half the problem, being blinded by the oil droplets on my visor the other half”.
Meyer finally got by in turn two of lap seventeen.
Billy
Campbell (00) held a comfortable lead of three to four car lengths over Rice
(22). Rice seemed to have the upper hand through the turns, catching Campbell
at exit, but Billy had a noticeable advantage in the straight away where he was
able to pull away by several lengths. Both drivers drove clear and put on a
good show.
The
battle between Richards and Kevin Campbell heated up again as Richards (61) was
able to chase down Kevin Campbell (19), little by little, in laps 17 through
19. Meyer, having dispensed with Jones had his sights on Richards. On lap
twenty, Richards (61) tried to make a move on Kevin Campbell (19) in turn four
and got his car really sideways again. That misstep allowed Campbell to get
away and Meyer (04) to catch Richards. Meyer worked the bottom under Richards
and pulled along side him crossing the line to end lap 22. Meyer completed the
pass on Richards on lap twenty three.
Billy
Campbell (00) held off Rice (22) for the win. Kevin Campbell (19) finished
third with Meyer (04) and Richards (61) behind him. Bill Bigley Jr (5) was
sixth, Raymond Jones (28) was seventh and Jim Lafreniere (56) was eigth.
Jones Leads Outlaw Modifieds in Exciting 'Show'
at Showtime Speedway
Showtime Speedway is quickly becoming a
favorite stop for the Outlaw Modified Series. Race fans were rewarded with a
thrilling race as this was the Outlaws third visit to Showtime with Raymond
Jones becoming the third different winner.
The Outlaws welcomed Cliff Wilman in the
#00 all the way from North Carolina. Cliff is expecting to make at least half
of the Outlaw races this season. Asked why he would choose to race with the
Outlaws rather than a local track in NC, Cliff will tell you that it is the
family atmosphere unique to the Outlaw series. “I was just so taken by the way
driver helps driver in this series, I just had to be a part of it; I have never
seen anything like it before”. Cliff was sporting a new “body wrap”; deep blue
with lightning strikes.
Kevin Campbell, winner of the first two
Outlaw events this season, was also sporting his new “body wrap” on his car.
“Hours and hours of work”, he said. “If we learned anything, it’s that we’ll
pay somebody to do it the next time”. Nevertheless, Campbell's #19 and Wilman's
#00 were looking really good.
Antonio Gonzalez had his #9 car at
Showtime and broke a water reservoir during practice. Thanks to Robert Campbell
for coming up with a replacement before race time so the Outlaws could enter
their full field of ten cars.
Jim Lafreniere was on hand again to take
the wheel of the Harold Perry 56 car. Kevin Endee handled the driving duties of
the other Perry car, the #5. Mark Patton was back for his second outing in his
#6 car.
The first heat race was won by Raymond
Jones (28) ahead of Meyer (04) and Gonzalez (9). After a late race caution,
Rice (22) won the second heat race handily over Wilman (00) and Patton (6). The
inversion for the feature line up was two cars, putting Rice on the pole with
Jones on his outside.
The ten Outlaws took the green flag and
ran side by side through turns one and two. Down the backstretch, Rice (22),
Jones (28) and Meyer (04) started pulling away. Meyer (04), running behind Rice
on the inside, got his car a little sideways coming out of turn four and opened
a gap for Jones (28) to move down from the outside. The top three, Rice, Jones
and Meyer, then ran in a line to pull away from the field. Gonzalez (9) was
running fourth on the inside of Wilman (00). Mike Endee (26) pulled ahead of
the 56 of Lafreniere and was able to align himself behind Gonzalez.
On lap 4, Endee (26) was able to work
his way under Gonzalez (9) for the fourth spot. On lap 5, Campbell (19) was
able to follow Endee (26) under Gonzalez as well. The 5 car of Kevin Endee
pulled to the infield.
The top three of Rice (22), Jones (28)
and Meyer (04) continued pulling away from the rest of the field. Jones found
an opening low out of turn four on lap 6 and made a run at Rice in the lead. By
the time they got to turn one, Rice felt the pressure from Jones and dove low to
protect the bottom, forcing Jones to back off.
On lap 12, the top three, running nose
to tail, ran up on the lap car of Mark Patton (6). As the three cleared the lap
car, Jones applied pressure to Rice’s rear bumper. Coming out of turn four on
lap 13, Rice (22) drifted high, opening the door for Jones (28). Jones had a
good run out of four to pull along side of Rice across the start/finish line and
into turns one and two. Jones didn’t let up and took his car all the way down
to the wooptie doose through turns three and four. Jones run out of four had
him beating Rice to the line to complete lap fourteen. Rice (22) wouldn’t let
up, though, as he flanked Jones’ right rear through turns one and two while
Meyer (04) pulled up on Jones’ rear bumper. Jones and Rice ended up going three
wide out of turn two as they made their way around the lap car of Patton (6).
Jones (28) cleared Rice (22) on the
front stretch of lap 16 with Meyer (04) falling in line behind Rice. Rice drove
into turn one hard and bumped Jones rear end causing him to check up. With Rice
on the binders, his car drifted up just enough for Meyer (04) to pull under
Rice. Meyer led Rice in a drag race down the backstretch and was able to
complete the pass for second out of turn four.
Endee
(26), fourth, was holding off the challenge of Campbell (19) in fifth as the two
were gaining on Rice in third. As Endee’s car crossed the start/finish line on
lap 17, smoke started billowing from the 26 machine. Endee pulled his car to
the bottom of the track and into the infield moving Campbell up to fourth. On
lap 18, Lafreniere (56) slid sideways in the middle of turns three and four
right in front of Meyer (04) and Rice (22) to bring out the only caution in the
race.
With seventeen laps in the books, the
field bunched up two by two for the restart. Unfortunate for Meyer (04) as this
left him on the outside of Jones (28) with Rice (22) behind Jones. Meyer tried
to keep up with Jones but had very little grip on the outside. Rice followed
Jones on the inside line and eventually cleared Meyer. Campbell (19), who
restarted on the outside behind Meyer, was able to find an opening on the low
side ahead of Gonzalez (9) and pulled up along the inside of Meyer. Meyer had
plenty of speed down the straight aways but had trouble keeping up with Campbell
who had the preferred inside line through the turns. Campbell (19) and Meyer
(04) battled for the third spot while Rice (22), who had used up his tires
trying to stay ahead of Jones (28) early in the race could not close within
three car lengths of Jones.
Jones (28) maintained his three car
length lead to finish ahead of Rice (22) for the win. Meyer (04) held his own
in the side by side battle with Campbell (19) until turn four, of the final lap,
when Campbell slid his car sideways causing Meyer to check up. Campbell (19)
was able to gather the car and finish ahead of Meyer for third. Gonzalez (9)
followed Meyer for fifth. Wilman in the 00 finished sixth with Lafreniere (56)
and Patton (6) finishing seventh and eighth.
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