Revving Up
BUFFALO TWP — Lernerville Speedway has been a track of broken dreams for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series field at the Firecracker 100.
Well, for all but Shane Clanton.
The driver from Fayetteville, Ga., is the only World of Outlaws regular to win the 100-lap race at Lernerville when he captured the checkered flag in 2010.
“It’s one of the biggest wins of my career,” Clanton said. “(The Firecracker 100) is becoming one of the most prestigious races in the country, so it’s a thrill to win it.”
The sixth running of the Firecracker 100 will begin Thursday with three nights of racing, culminating with the main event Saturday night with the winner driving off with a trophy and $30,000.
Clanton’s win in 2010 came in his third crack at the race. In the inaugural race in 2007, Clanton had the fastest car on Thursday and Friday, but finished sixth in the 100-lap main.
The next year, he finished 24th.
“We could’ve won both of those races,” Clanton said. “We didn’t get it done, but we worked on our stuff, got it good at the end of the race and finally won one.”
Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., knows all about near-misses at the Firecracker 100.
Lanigan, the current World of Outlaws points leader, finished second for three straight years (2008-2010).
He led the first 69 laps of the race in 2008, laps 13-to-93 in 2009 and ran second behind Clanton in the final 18 laps in 2010, but could never find victory lane.
The frustration boiled over after his third runner-up finish.
“I guess I’m not supposed to win this race,” he said.
He’s entering this year’s event with renewed confidence after piling up five wins on the tour already this season.
“All I want to do is lead that last lap (on Saturday night),” he said.
Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wisc., captured the checkered flag last year.
One thing the majority of the drivers have in common — other than falling short at the Firecracker 100 — is their affection for Lernerville Speedway.
“I always look forward to racing at Lernerville,” said Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y, who finished sixth last year. “It’s awesome there — a great racetrack.”
Hot laps are scheduled to begin each day at 6:50 p.m. Time trials will begin at 7:15 p.m. Thursday and Friday with heat races starting at 8 p.m.
Saturday, there will be a B-main, the Uncle Sam 30, for non-qualifiers that will pay $3,000 to win followed by the main event, the Firecracker 100, which will start at 7:30 p.m.
