Punching The Clock For The Working Man 50’s $10G Payday

Story By: KAYLA MAY / WORLD OF OUTLAWS – CONCORD, NC – The fourth annual Working Man 50 at Lernerville Speedway is quickly approaching as the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series season winds down.

Every year so far the Working Man has produced a different winner, including Darrell Lanigan (2014), Shane Clanton (2015) and Jimmy Mars (2016). Coincidently, two of the past three winners, Lanigan and Clanton, went on to claim the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series Championship title later that same season.

During last year’s event, Mars defeated 2016 Champion Josh Richards after the former Rocket 1 driver had led 64 laps of the 75-lap finale. Richards was sidelined by a flat right-front tire and ultimately surrendered his lead to eventual winner, Mars.

Clanton is the only current Outlaw driver who could pull off a repeat win during the 50-lap Working Man event on September 2. Clanton looks to repeat his past success at Lernerville Speedway in hopes of catapulting his Capital Racecar to second in Series points by the end of the season. He currently sits only 50 points behind Chris Madden, placing him third in the points race.

“I am always looking forward to going to Lernerville,” said Clanton. “Hopefully we will be a little better than we were at the Firecracker. Normally the track is a little slicker. Normally, you can run top to bottom, but we were pretty much married against the cushion since it was so wet [from the rain]. Hopefully it is a little drier and we can run all over the track.”

Other drivers looking for a win at the 4/10-mile include current Series points leader Brandon Sheppard, who has won 14 races so far this season, including a victory at Lernerville Speedway during the Firecracker matinee event earlier this year.

Additionally, Morgan Bagley tied a career best finish of second place during the 2016 Working Man event. As a Series regular since 2013, Bagley is looking to finish one position ahead of last year to land his first-ever Outlaw win at Lernerville Speedway.

During the 2015 Working Man, Frank Heckenast Jr. appeared on the Outlaw podium for the first time in his career with a third-place finish. Bagley and Heckenast have both been making strides towards Victory Lane during the second half of the 2017 season. Of the eight races that have taken place during the month of August, Bagley and Heckenast have each collected four top-10 finishes. In just one month, Heckenast has tripled his top-5 performances. Each driver has three top-five finishes.