Paducah International Raceway
Francis extends points lead with Paducah win
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Steve Francis enjoys his trip to victory lane. (Henry Kohlhaas kohlsracingphotos.com)
PADUCAH, Ky. (Sept. 14) — Steve Francis is looking more and more like a World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion with every race. The Ashland, Ky., star continued his late-season surge toward the title, driving forward from the 11th starting spot to win the Paducah 50 at Paducah International Raceway. | Slideshow
It was the second $10,225 triumph in three WoO starts this month for Francis, who has extended his points lead to a season-high 60 markers over Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.
“Hopefully we just keep this up for a little bit longer,” said Francis, who started his September explosion two weeks ago with a victory and second-place finish at Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa. “We finally got everything together.”
Coming off a strong second-place finish in the prestigious World 100 on Sept. 9 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, Francis posted a convincing march to victory in PIR’s first-ever WoO event. He found his rhythm near the race’s halfway mark, charging through the top five in a handful of laps and then effortlessly running down race-long leader Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., to assume command for good on lap 39.
Francis, 40, had little trouble handling the lap-44 restart that followed the A-Main’s second and final caution flag. He simply glided away from the pack, steering his Valvoline Rocket No. 15 to the checkered flag 2.737 seconds ahead of Shirley.
Shirley, 26, settled for second place after leading laps 1-38. He narrowly outdistanced Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., and Frank, who placed third and fourth, respectively, just car lengths behind Shirley at the finish line.
The key move of the night for Francis came on lap 27, when he overtook Frank, Smith and Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., to reach fourth place. It was a signal that Francis’s machine was getting faster.
“I was being a little cautious early because everybody was racing really hard,” said Francis, who gained little notice during the race’s first half. “We were two- and three-wide with Clint, Chub and Babb, and I wasn’t gonna stick my nose in too small of a hole too quick.
“When it finally cleared out, the racetrack got clean and the guys started running so low. Then my race car just got so good in the middle of the racetrack, I was able to just go.”
The 3/8-mile oval became shiny and slick as the night’s action wore on, playing right into Francis’s hands.
“This car doesn’t seem to be very good when the racetrack is wet and fast,” Francis said of his machine, which he also ran in the recent WoO events at Tri-City. “We keep the other car up there (in the trailer) for when we get into that condition. The slicker and cleaner the racetrack gets — like it did tonight — this car just keeps creeping up there and getting faster and faster.”
Francis mastered the slick conditions, passing Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., for third on lap 28, Mars for second on lap 30 and, finally, Shirley for the lead on lap 39 — after quickly erasing Shirley’s straightaway-plus advantage without the benefit of a caution flag.
“I didn’t actually realize we were making time up on him so fast,” Francis said of his pursuit of Shirley. “All of a sudden I was on him and then by him. Everything happened so fast, I didn’t know I was leading until the caution came out (on lap 44).”
Francis secured his third WoO win of 2007 and the 13th of his career. It was also his first-ever win at Paducah International Raceway, which is co-owned by NASCAR stars Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ken Schrader and Tony Stewart and well-known promoter Bob Sargent, and his initial WoO victory at a track in his homestate.
“I was here for the first time for the World 50 in 1980, just as a kid watching the races,” said Francis. “The only other time I was here was (in 2003) for the UDTRA (Xtreme DirtCar Series) race when I was driving for Mark (Richards).”
Francis would love to see the WoO return to Paducah.
“The racetrack was as good as you could ever ask for,” he said. “You could run right up against the wall, right up against the (inside) tires or through the middle. It didn’t really matter — the track was good everywhere.”
Shirley, a WoO Rookie of the Year contender who has won several special events at Paducah during his young dirt Late Model career, had no answer for Francis’s speed.
“Our car ran really well tonight,” said Shirley, who drove a Rayburn car that had been sitting in his team’s shop for several weeks. “Francis just came on a little better at the end. We kinda peaked about lap 35.
“He could just roll through the middle better and stick so much better than I could. That might have been because it’s just a different type of suspension – he’s on a four-bar, we’re on swing-arm. They work a little different.”
Shirley’s second runner-up finish of the WoO season couldn’t have come at a better time.
“As much as I really wanted to win and felt like we had a good shot at it, it was a good run for us,” said Shirley, who started from the outside pole. “It was a confidence builder. We’ve just been running so bad for the last month.
“I know it’s not me. I know it’s not my team. It’s just things have been backwards for us. Hopefully we’ll pick it up for the rest of the year and be good.”
Mars, who started ninth in his Deppe Enterprises MasterSbilt mount, climbed as high as second. But he never seriously challenged Shirley, who built a healthy edge before being run down by Francis.
Frank had an up-and-down race in his Lester Buildings Rocket car. He slipped backward early from his fourth starting spot, then regained some steam to finish the distance pressing Mars hard for third.
