By Kevin Kovac -World of Outlaws Late Model Series PR Director
(Attica, OH) Doug Drown has a pretty good idea how he would feel if he were able to pull off an upset victory this Friday night (July 30) in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at Attica Raceway Park.
“I would probably be speechless,” said the 28-year-old driver from Wooster, Ohio. “Winning a World of Outlaws race would put us in a different group of regional racers. It would be unreal.”
Drown, of course, also happens to have a pretty good idea of how difficult it is to reach the finish line first in a WoO LMS A-Main. A driver has absolutely no room for error – a fact he learned first-hand when the national tour visited the one-third-mile Attica oval last year.
The talented young Buckeye State racer had an impressive night going during the 2009 program, qualifying second-fastest in time trials and finishing second in his heat to earn a berth in the feature redraw. But a critical mistake cost him dearly: he reported late to the A-Main lineup, forcing officials to demote him from the eighth starting spot to the rear of the field. His promising evening ended with a 23rd-place finish after he retired on lap 10 of the 50-lapper.
“That was real disappointing,” recalled Drown. “I was in the car and ready to go in the pits, but my guys had the car jacked up to change all four tires at the last minute and we ended up being late (to staging). In the end, it was the wrong decision too – we were too hard (with tire compound) and were absolutely horrible, and I just pulled off.
“If we had just left on (the tires) we were originally going to run, I think we could’ve at least run top-five. What we had on originally was what most of the top guys had on.”
“We’ve had a pretty good year – better than I ever expected it to be actually,” said Drown, who campaigns family-owned equipment. “We struggled a lot last year, so I didn’t come into this season with any expectations. But we’ve been running good almost everywhere we go and I’m looking forward to racing with the Outlaws.”
Drown is carving out a successful 2010 season with a relatively bare-bones effort. He has just a single ’09 Bernheisel Lazer Chassis and one engine at his disposal – and he hurt his Malcuit 430 cubic inch Ford powerplant in last month’s Firecracker 100 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., forcing him to borrow motors to keep racing until he gets his repaired piece back. Fellow racer D.J. Myers loaned him an engine to use during his recent two-week excursion on the DIRTcar Summer Nationals trail and he’s secured a 415 Ford motor from builder Brad Malcuit for this week’s WoO LMS Ohio-Pennsylvania Speedweek events.
“A lot of people think we have more (equipment) than we do,” said Drown, who also plans to enter Ohio-Pennsylvania Speedweek shows on July 27 at Central PA Speedway in Clearfield, Pa., July 28 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, and July 31 at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio (where he’s won in the past). “We don’t have a lot, so we gotta take care of what we have to make it last.”
Drown does a pretty good job of that – and he has to since he’s effectively a fulltime race car driver this year. Back home living with his parents after a recent divorce and just 11 months removed from the fire that destroyed the Wooster restaurant he had been operating, Drown has demonstrated a renewed concentration on racing.
“I decided to take a couple years and focus on the goal of doing this racing deal fulltime,” said Drown, who is still waiting for help from his insurance company to rebuild his Country Harvest Restaurant. “If we can get some more support next year we’d like to branch out and run a series regularly.”
Drown’s best opportunity to attract some major attention for his future endeavors is with Friday’s WoO LMS event at Attica, a track that’s rapidly become one of his favorites. His first start there came in May 2008 when the facility hosted the full-fender Outlaws for the first time and Drown recorded a career-best WoO LMS finish of sixth.
“I kind of fell in love with the place that night,” said Drown, whose top WoO LMS finish in five A-Main starts this year is a ninth in both of last month’s Firecracker 100 preliminary features at Lernerville. “It’s a great track for drivers and for fans. There’s usually a couple grooves, so you can start at the tail of a heat and still get up to the front.”
Drown will lead the army of regional and local racers against a star-studded field of Outlaws at Attica, including former WoO LMS champions Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who won the tour’s 2008 A-Main at Attica, Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., and Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky.
The traveling WoO LMS roster also includes Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., Rick Eckert of York, Pa., Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., Russell King of Bristolville, Ohio, rookie sensation Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del., Brent Robinson of Smithfield, Va., and rookie Jill George of Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Friday program, which also includes a $3,000-to-win feature for Attica’s weekly 410 Sprint Car division, is scheduled begin with hot laps shortly after 6 p.m. Gates are set to open at 4 p.m. and race time is 7:45 p.m.
Adult general admission is $30, ages 11-15 are $15 and kids 10-and-under will be admitted free of charge. Pit passes are $35.
Additional information on Attica Raceway Park can be obtained by logging on to www.atticaracewaypark.com or calling 419-680-5606.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel), DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award) and Chizmark Larson Insurance; in addition to contingency sponsors Eibach Springs, MSD Ignition, Ohlins Shocks, Pink Carburetors, Pro Power Engines, Quartermaster, Rocket Chassis, R2C Performance and Wrisco Aluminum.