National Super Late Model Weekend Preview: Hopefully They Get More Racing in This Week.

Alright, I know last week we thought that all the scheduled races would get in. Obviously, just the Atomic Lucas show and the Ultimate race at VMS got in, because of poor weather. You can't win em all, I guess. This week is starting off wrong with Lucas' Sharon show being rescheduled until July, but it does genuinely seem like the rest of the shows of the shows on the national stage should be able to run off without a hitch. Fingers crossed and what not, though.

 

Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series

The series was supposed to have a triple header weekend, with stops scheduled at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH, Hagerstown Speedway in  Hagerstown, MD and Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, PA. Tough weather earlier this week, coupled with cold temperatures, which makes drying out the soggy grounds next to impossible have forced Sharon to reschedule their show until July 2nd. As far as I know, though, the forecast looks pretty positive for the shows at Hagerstown and Port Royal, so those should should probably get in. 

The big storyline going into the weekend should be seeing if a surging Scott Bloomquist can continue to chew away at the  points deficit his poor Florida showing created. Hagerstown and Port Royal are to big, flat half miles, which tend to be in Scott's wheelhouse, and he should easily pick up a spot with Brandon Sheppard heading to Mississippi to run with the World of Outlaws.

Another point of interest should be seeing how Jonathan Davenport runs. He doesn't have a ton of laps at either Hagerstown or Port Royal under his belt, and he tends to be a little more comfortable on smaller, banked tracks. 

Lucas Oil Points

1	49	Jonathan Davenport	1660
2	1R	Josh Richards	1645
3	1s	Brandon Sheppard	1620
4	1	Earl Pearson, Jr.	1560
5	0	Scott Bloomquist	1525
6	20	Jimmy Owens	1445
7	71	Hudson O'Neal	1430
8	40B	Kyle Bronson	1425
9	5	Don O'Neal	1415
10	32	Bobby Pierce	1365

World of Outlaws Late Model Series

The WoO has a weekend where, much like last weekend, both shows scheduled at the same track. That track is Whynot Motorsport Park in Meridian, Mississippi. They'll be running a pair of 10k to win shows, with one Friday night, and one Saturday night. And for a change, the forecast looks pretty decent, with temps supposed to be in the 70s with no precipitation. I've never been there, but I've heard the racing there is usually good. 

The big storyline going into their weekend really just is being able to get shows in. They're still sitting on just two points paying shows going into the weekend. Yes, there were four WoO shows at Volusia in February, but the drivers only had their two best points nights out of the four count towards the standings. It will be nice to see the season start to take shape and get some points scored for the drivers. Five of the top ten in points will be racing elsewhere on the weekend, and after the two shows we should have a better idea where everything lies with tour's contracted drivers. 

Another storyline could be an upset of sorts. Whynot is a new addition to the WoO schedule for 2018, and most of the drivers on tour have very limited experience there, except for David Breazeale. It's his long time home track. It's entirely possible that the RoY contender takes home one or both nights and establishes himself as more potent contender than previously thought. 

World of Outlaws Late Model Series Points

 

1	1	Brandon Sheppard	296
2	17M	Dale McDowell	294
3	44	Chris Madden	292
4	0	Scott Bloomquist	290
5	1r	Josh Richards	286
6	39	Tim McCreadie	286
7	49	Jonathan Davenport	284
8	7	Rick Eckert	280
9	18c	Chase Junghans	276
10	25	Shane Clanton	274