Pike County Speedway
Fuller sets fast time in WoO event at Pike
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Ignition problems hampered Steve Francis. (Kevin Kovac)
MAGNOLIA, Miss. (March 28) — Former World of Outlaws Late Model Series champions Scott Bloomquist and Billy Moyer, tour regular Shannon Babb and local standout James Ward scored heat-race victories during Friday night’s qualifying action for the inaugural March Through Dixie 100 at Pike County Speedway. Thirty-six cars were signed in for competition as the WoO LMS resumed after a six-week break following last month’s Alltel DIRTcar Nationals at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park.
Mooresburg, Tenn.’s Bloomquist registered a flag-to-flag win in the evening’s first 10-lap heat. He outgunned the night’s fastest qualifier, Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., for the lead at the drop of the green flag and never looked back.
Fuller, whose qualifying lap of 16.196 seconds gave him his first WoO LMS fast-time honor since Aug. 16, 2005, at Rolling Wheels Raceway in Elbridge, N.Y., pressured Bloomquist late in the opening prelim but settled for second place in his Gypsum Express Rocket mount.
Batesville, Ark.’s Moyer, meanwhile, was triumphant in the fourth heat race. The three-time WoO LMS champ, who enters the weekend tied for the tour points lead, surged forward from the fourth starting spot to grab the lead in his red-hot Victory Circle chassis. Babb, 34, of Moweaqua, Ill., drove his Clint Bowyer-owned Rayburn car to victory in the third heat race, outdistancing Rick Eckert of York, Pa., by more than a second at the checkered flag.
The Cinderella story of the night was Ward, a 37-year-old from Lettsworth, La. A second-place finisher in last year’s Jambalaya 100 event at Pike County, Ward cruised to a convincing win over fellow Gulf Coast standout Ray Moore of Shreveport, La. The top-two finishers in each heat race will participate in a redraw for the top-eight starting spots in the $20,000-to-win March Through Dixie 100 on Saturday night.
Notes: Eddie Carrier Jr. made a last-lap pass of Boom Briggs to finish second in a heat. ... Josh Richards will start in a consolation race after spinning while battling with Kenny Merchant for a transfer spot. ... Another driver in a consolation race is defending WoO champion Steve Francis, who was hampered in time trials by a burnt ignition wire. ... An autograph session is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
