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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