Babb outruns Outlaws for victory
BUFFALO TWP— Score the trifecta for Shannon Babb.
Making his first career appearance at Lernerville Speedway Tuesday night, Babb was the fastest qualifier, won his heat race and led the 50-lap World of Outlaws Late Model feature from wire to wire.
The driver of the No. 18 car from Moweaqua, Ill., looked like he's been racing here his entire life.
"This place is awesome,"Babb said. "How they beat the weather to get the track ready to go, I'll never know.
"I give the fans credit for braving the cold. This was one of the chillier race nights we've had, but you get used to it at this time of year."
Babb got used to the track quickly on this night.
His time trial of 15.922 seconds was well off the track record of 15.072 set by Darrell Lanigan in April 2005, but Babb was one of only three drivers to beat 16 seconds during fast laps.
After winning his heat race, Babb drew the pole position for the feature and never lost the lead despite seven restarts, the last occurring on the 28th lap.
Brian Birkhofer and Clint Smith traded the second position early in the race before Jimmy Mars moved into second spot for good on the 10th lap.
Babb and Mars were stuck in lapped traffic for the final few laps, but Mars was unable to make a move for the lead.
"It was hard to pass out there,"Babb said. "This was definitely a good night to start out front."
Babb's win was his second of the season and third Outlaws win of his career. He is the lone Outlaws driver with two wins on the tour so far.
Clint Smith, who finished fourth, is tied with Babb for the series points lead with 893. Shane Clanton is third with 889, Rick Eckert of York is fourth with 885.
"There was no catching (Babb),"Mars said. "He's the best Late Model driver in the country right now. He can go anywhere and win."
Babb took home the $10,000 first prize Tuesday and will return here June 29 and 30 for the Firecracker 100.
"By June, July and August, I'm sure this track will be slicker and quicker,"he said.
Dave Hess Jr. of Waterford had a big night for himself as well, winning his E-Mod heat race and the 15-lap feature. He qualified for the Outlaws Late Model feature by finishing fourth in his heat race as well.
Before a 10th-lap restart, Hess pitted his Late Model for the night.
"I was surprised to qualify for the Late Model race,"Hess said. "To be honest, I just wasn't expecting that. This night was a challenge for us and things went very well."
Hess runs his Late Model and E-Mod at three different tracks — State Line, Raceway 7 and Eriez — nearly every week. He's won two features a night on occasion.
"Ican't say we expected to do that here,"he said, smiling. "We don't have the motor to get the kind of traction to succeed on a night like this. That track wasn't drying up too much."
Notes:There were 50 Late Models and 18 E-Mods in the pits. ... Eight drivers who have run at least semi-regularly at Lernerville were in the feature:Robbie Blair, Lynn Geisler, David Scott, Matt Lux, Sammy Stile, Dick Barton, Mike Blose and Hess. ... Tony Burke of Sarver suffered a violent flip in his No. 23 car during a heat race. He was taken to a hospital with a possible concussion after feeling woozy in the pits. ... Fab Four racing returns to Lernerville with the points season opener Friday night.
