World of Outlaws Notebook
Notes: Red-hot Fuller glad to visit Grandview
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Tim Fuller
Tim Fuller is on a roll, so naturally he can’t wait for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series to end a mid-summer break and get cranking again with the Thunder on the Hill Traffic Jam program on Thursday at Grandview Speedway.
But throw in the fact that Fuller happens to be the only full-time WoO regular who’s ever raced at the Pennsylvania track, and it’s no surprise that he has the national tour’s first-ever visit to Grandview as a red-circle date on his calendar.
“Truthfully, I’m looking forward to any track we go to right now,” said Fuller, who for more than a decade has made almost annual appearances at the high-banked, third-mile oval to run big-block modified events. “But I’m probably looking forward to running Grandview a little bit more.
“I always like going to Grandview because Bob Miller (who since 1990 has organized the Thunder on the Hill special events with track owner Bruce Rogers) is a real good promoter and I try to support him whenever I can. And really, it’s a local show for me because I’ve run the modified there and the fans there know me from modified racing.”
Fuller, 41, of Watertown, N.Y., will certainly attract plenty of attention from Grandview’s clientele thanks to his big-block roots. Grandview, of course, headlines 358 modifieds on its weekly Saturday-night cards — and while 358 Late Models are also a regular attraction, the speedway has never hosted a full-blown Dirt Late Model show.
Fuller, whose last big-block modified start at Grandview came in July 2007, returns to the track with his Gypsum Express Dirt Late Model riding arguably the best stretch of his young full-fendered career. He won his first WoO event of ’09 (and the fourth of his career) in the tour’s last event, on July 25 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, and the following weekend performed well in his first-ever trip to Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., with a victory in a WDRL series show on July 30 and a second-place finish worth $20,000 in the unsanctioned USA Nationals 100 on Aug. 1.
“I feel like we’ve been good almost everywhere we’ve gone for the last month-and-a-half to two months,” said Fuller, sixth in the WoO points. “We’ve really hit on something with our (Rocket Chassis) car. The only places where we’re really lacking are at tracks that are so heavy (wet) or tracks that take rubber. Anytime it’s black-slick or an intermediate surface, we’re pretty good – and nine times out of 10, that’s the kind of tracks we see.”
Fuller expects Grandview’s surface to fit into the latter category, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he also expects to continue his hot streak. He knows enough about racing there to never take anything for granted.
“Grandview is in a league all its own,” Fuller said. “That’s a tough, high-contact place. It’s narrow with high-banked, paper-clip turns, and you’ve really got to be aggressive there. It’s not one of those free-flowing tracks where you can’t be cool and just ride around. It’s going to be an interesting race. I really don’t know what to expect with a Late Model show there.”
The Grandview event is the first of a three-race swing through the Mid-Atlantic region that includes stops Friday at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway and Saturday at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway.
First time for Grandview
Veteran Northeast racing official-publicist Bob Miller has provided fans a wide variety of thrills since 1990 when he began co-promoting the Thunder on the Hill special-event series with Grandview Speedway owner Bruce Rogers.
Just look at the divisions and series that Miller has featured at Grandview — a mix that includes 410 sprint cars (Pennsylvania Posse, World of Outlaws, All-Star Circuit of Champions, CRA, SCRA and USAC wingless), big-block modifieds (open competition and Super DIRTcar Series), NASCAR 358-Modifieds, 360 sprint cars (URC and KARS), 358 Late Models, ARDC Midgets, Legends Cars and mini-sprints.
But Thursday Miller will bring a brand-new attraction: WoO Late Models. Making the Traffic Jam program even more exciting, a 40-lap, $4,000-to-win feature for the big-block modifieds will give fans an opportunity to see two headline divisions on the same night.
“I’m really excited to bring the World of Outlaws Late Model Series to Grandview for the first time and pair the event up with a race for the big-block modifieds,” Miller said. “We always try to come up with Thunder on the Hill events that are unique and different, and this doubleheader definitely fits the bill.”
Grandview has long run 358 Late Models as a weekly Saturday-night division alongside its headline NASCAR 358-Modifieds, but Thursday’s WoO LMS event will mark the first race in track history for full-blown Dirt Late Models.
Several Grandview Late Model standouts are expected to challenge the WoO stars on Thursday, including current points leader Randy Stoudt of Pottstown, Pa.; two-time ’09 winner Chuck Schutz of Pottstown, Pa., who has entered WoO LMS events in the past; Brian Shuey of Shoemakersville, Pa; Kyle Merkel of Gilbertsville, Pa.; and Dan Snyder of Green Lane, Pa.
Fantastic fairgrounds
Bedford Speedway hosts the WoO Late Models for the third consecutive season Friday, and track management is expecting the big event to continue a very successful season.
“We’re really looking forward to the Outlaw show,” said J.R. Keifer, who co-promotes the fairgrounds facility with Jim Maybury and Dr. Dave Horne under the DKM, Inc. banner. “This season has been the best we’ve had in eight years (operating the track), and we’re really tickled with the track preparation and surface (new clay was applied prior to the 2008 campaign).”
Unfortunately, Bedford’s third WoO LMS event (Chub Frank won in 2007 and Steve Francis in 2008) will be run with the track’s staff missing one familiar face. Keifer’s wife, Mary Ann, is in a Pittsburgh hospital being treated for serious injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident on Sunday night in West Saint Clair Township, Pa. Her injuries include a broken wrist, dislocated elbow and injured right leg that will require surgery.
Familiar stop
Few tracks are more a part of the WoO fabric than Hagerstown Speedway, which brings the tour back on Saturday for a second 2009 appearance. The half-mile oval has hosted at least one event in seven of the tour’s eight seasons, including the first incarnation of the WoO under late WoO Sprint Car Series founder Ted Johnson (1988-1989) and the modern version that has been operated since 2004 by the World Racing Group.
Eight drivers have scored victories in the 10 WoO events at Hagerstown — Les Hare (1988), Gary Stuhler (1989), Rick Eckert (two wins in 2004), Tim McCreadie (two wins in 2005), Clint Smith (2006), Shannon Babb (2007), Josh Richards (2007) and Steve Francis (2008). The only WoO season that has not included a race at Hagerstown is 2008, when the track’s May 31 event was rained out and not rescheduled.
Hagerstown is one of just six tracks scheduled to present more than one WoO event in 2009. The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., has four races scheduled, while Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., and Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa., have two dates apiece.
