Joe Gibbs Driven

The 34-year-old from Watertown, N.Y., slid underneath Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., for the lead on lap 20 and never looked back. He sailed away from the pack to defeat Clanton by 4.901 seconds – a full straightaway margin – in the WoO LMS ‘Great Northern Tour’ event, which was postponed one day by rain.

How much did the $10,150 triumph mean to McCreadie? The 2006 tour champion showed his joy to the big crowd that gathered for the first-ever WoO LMS show in Ontario, performing a couple celebratory 360s in turn four with his Sweeteners Plus Rocket No. 39 and pounding his fists on the roof of his car as he exited it in Victory Lane.

“I was fortunate enough to win a Lucas (Series) race earlier this year, but to beat these boys – man, they’re the best on the planet,” McCreadie said after his first WoO LMS win since Aug. 4, 2006, at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. “It’s so satisfying to come back in here and win an Outlaw race.”

McCreadie, who parlayed his ’06 WoO LMS title into a Richard Childress Racing Driver Development deal that included several NASCAR Nationwide Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series starts last season, has returned to the dirt Late Model wars in 2008 with his pavement aspirations in limbo. He feels he’s picking up some steam as he puts his focus back on dirt-track action.

“We did some testing a week ago in Michigan,” said McCreadie, who won an unsanctioned special on June 12 at Merritt (Mich.) Speedway. “I had to put the pavement stuff in the past. If I never get back there again, that’s O.K. It’s damn nice to race in front of these people (dirt fans) like this.”

McCreadie had nothing but praise for Ohsweken Speedway, a three-eighths-mile oval owned by 360 Sprint Car racer Glenn Styres.

“What an phenomenal facility,” raved McCreadie, who registered his 11th career WoO LMS win. “You can’t hold anybody back here. If you’re a little bit better, you just gotta work at it.

“These are the types of tracks we live for, and we appreciate (promoter Styres) having us up here.”

McCreadie gave plenty of credit to his chief mechanic Al Stevens, who received the Integra Shocks ‘Wrench of the Race’ Award. He also cited help he received on Friday night from his former crew chief Tommy Grecco, who earlier in the week left his position as the chief mechanic of Shannon Babb’s Bowyer Dirt Motorsports car and has reunited with McCreadie for the ‘Great Northern Tour.’

Clanton, 32, started second and led laps 1-19 but was no match for McCreadie. He spent the race’s second half nearly a straighaway behind McCreadie, fighting hard to keep his RSD Enterprises Rocket car ahead of York, Pa.’s Rick Eckert and Watertown, N.Y.’s Tim Fuller to land a runner-up finish worth $5,100.

Bidding to end a WoO LMS winless streak that has reached nearly two years and 71 races, Eckert made a strong surge forward from the 11th starting spot to sit third by lap 15. But while he got his Raye Vest-owned GRT car inside Clanton several times, he couldn’t complete the pass and settled for a third-place finish.

Fuller, who started eighth, raced with Clanton and Eckert late in the distance but crossed the finish line fourth in his Gypsum Express Rocket. It was the second consecutive top-five run for the 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year.

Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., moved forward from the 13th starting spot to place fifth in his GottaRace.com Rocket. He ran his streak of consecutive top-five finishes to six races.

Lanigan also grabbed sole possession of the WoO LMS points lead for the first time this season. He overtook defending champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., who made several pit stops during the A-Main and finished one lap down in 14th place.

Finishing in positions 6-10 was Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; polesitter Ricky Elliott of Seaford, Del., who earned the $500 WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ cash for being the highest-finishing driver who hasn’t won a tour A-Main and isn’t ranked among the top-12 in the current points standings; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill.; Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va.; and 2008 Rookie of the Year contender Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., who recorded his first-ever top-10 finish in WoO LMS competition.

Five caution flags slowed the event, but all were for minor incidents.

A field of 40 cars re-assembled for Friday night’s action.

Four drivers who were on hand Thursday did not return for the raindate, led by Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa. He returned home to attend his daughter’s graduation party, but was planning to head north again for weekend WoO LMS events in Quebec and Ontario.

Other drivers who weren’t back for Friday’s program were Brent Rhebergen of Clymer, N.Y., who suffered a blown engine during hot laps on Thursday; Mike Knight of Ripley, N.Y.; and Paul Rivait of Tilbury, Ont.

Friday night’s time trials were dominated by Clint Smith Racing – Smith registered his second fast time of 2008 with a lap of 16.094 seconds, and Neil Baggett of Shannon, Miss., drove Smith’s backup car to the second-fastest time of 16.181 seconds.

Heat winners were Smith, Elliott, Fuller and Clanton. The B-Mains were captured by Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., and Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa.

The Canadian swing of the WoO LMS ‘Great Northern Tour’ continues this weekend, visiting Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Que., on Saturday night (June 21) and Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway on Sunday night (June 22).

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.