Tim McCreadie’s In The Right Place At The Right Time; Takes WoO LM Series Opener

Story By: KAYLA MAY / WORLD OF OUTLAWS – BARBERVILLE, FL – The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series season opener took place on the ninth day of the 12-day short track extravaganza – the 47th annual DIRTcar Nationals. The 50-lap Craftsman Club Feature played out eerily similar to the Outlaws first night of competition at DIRTcar Nationals just one year ago.

A night of rain followed by a warm sunny afternoon developed into a heavy evening fog, which engulfed Volusia Speedway Park. The condensation from the fog made it dangerous for drivers to see despite the number of tear-offs on their helmets. Taking the drivers safety as top-priority, the feature was completed at 26 laps.

Although the feature was shortened, there was no short in excitement for the fans. The feature had three race leaders but it was Tim McCreadie who made the right move at the right time. Leading only one lap of the feature, McCreadie claimed the $10,000 payday and his first Series win since July 10, 2015 at River Cities Speedway.

“It sucks it ended the way it did because the three or four of us up there, man, it was slicy-and-dicey,” said McCreadie. “I know one thing in sports or things in general and that’s if you start apologizing for doing good or winning then you’re probably going to start working your way down the ladder instead of up… I know this sucks for everybody including us as drivers, but thank you to Volusia Speedway and everybody for keeping our best interest as drivers and safety in mind. Hopefully tomorrow we can get a full 50 [laps] in and have some fun.”

McCreadie charged to the front during a restart on lap 25. His Sweeteners Plus Longhorn Chassis was on the outside of the second row, behind Josh Richards and beside Chase Junghans. Richards, led 18-laps of the feature but settled for second when the race was called complete.

“We will certainly take it,” said Richards. “Timmy did a good job there. We spun our tires a little on that one start and I pushed and he got a run but I think we might’ve could’ve got him back. Our car was pretty good when I hit my marks right… It’s unfortunate that the weather is doing this. I would have rather raced it out but we still had a good car.”

Chase Junghans, who has announced his intentions of touring with the Series in 2018, led eight laps of the feature exchanging the lead with Richards twice.

“It’s definitely a big turnaround from what we’ve had in speedweeks down here in the past… But we’re going to just keep on chugging along,” said Junghans. “We wish they would have called it a lap before or a lap and a half before but it is what it is. It was definitely fun especially with them guys. Those two are the in the business and to be able to run with them makes me feel really good.”

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series will return to action at DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park for the next three nights, Feb. 15-17. Tickets are still available for the event at 844-DIRT-TIX or you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.com

Additional Race Notes:

The caution on lap 25 was caused by Don O’Neal, who hit the wall between turns three and four, and Tyler Erb, who unfortunately couldn’t avoid the collision. A total of six cautions occurred during the 26-lap event.

Craftsman Club Feature (50 Laps) – 1. 39-Tim McCreadie [5][$10,000]; 2. 1r-Josh Richards [6][$5,000]; 3. 18c-Chase Junghans [4][$3,000]; 4. 44-Chris Madden [2][$2,500]; 5. 49-Jonathan Davenport [10][$2,000]; 6. 7-Rick Eckert [13][$1,700]; 7. 20-Jimmy Owens [3][$1,400]; 8. 28-Dennis Erb [1][$1,300]; 9. 25-Shane Clanton [8][$1,200]; 10. 71-Hudson O’Neal [17][$1,100]; 11. 9-Devin Moran [20][$1,050]; 12. 1-Brandon Sheppard [19][$1,000]; 13. 22-Chris Ferguson [9][$950]; 14. 157-Mike Marlar [16][$900]; 15. 1P-Earl Pearson [24][$850]; 16. 1x-Chub Frank [26][$800]; 17. 16-Tyler Bruening [12][$770]; 18. 116-Brandon Overton [29][$750]; 19. B1-Brent Larson [28][$110]; 20. 14m-Morgan Bagley [27][$110]; 21. C8-Timothy Culp [30][$110]; 22. 25z-Mason Zeigler [21][$110]; 23. 91-Tyler Erb [25][$700]; 24. 5-Don O’Neal [18][$700]; 25. 22s-Brian Shirley [23][$700]; 26. CJ1-Rusty Schlenk [31][$110]; 27. 14-Darrell Lanigan [7][$700]; 28. 7mm-Michael Maresca [22][$700]; 29. 40B-Kyle Bronson [15][$700]; 30. 7F-Jason Fitzgerald [14][$700]; 31. 21jr-Billy Moyer [11][$700]; 32. 31-Tyler Millwood [32][$110]

Qualifying Flight-A – 1. 39-Tim McCreadie, 15.635; 2. 44-Chris Madden, 15.684; 3. 18c-Chase Junghans, 15.689; 4. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 15.718; 5. 7F-Jason Fitzgerald, 15.731; 6. 116-Brandon Overton, 15.754; 7. 7-Rick Eckert, 15.782; 8. 25-Shane Clanton, 15.793; 9. 22-Chris Ferguson, 15.923; 10. 14-Darrell Lanigan, 15.931; 11. 7mm-Michael Maresca, 15.941; 12. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 15.976; 13. 31-Tyler Millwood, 16.036; 14. 14m-Morgan Bagley, 16.086; 15. 9-Devin Moran, 16.088; 16. OF1-Coleby Frye, 16.094; 17. O-Ricky Weiss, 16.179; 18. 33L-Ivedent Lloyd, 16.24; 19. 12-Jason Jameson, 16.274; 20. 17M-Dale McDowell, 16.423; 21. C8-Timothy Culp, 16.574; 22. 6-Blake Spencer, 16.602; 23. B1-Brent Larson, 16.608; 24. 33-Jeff Mathews, 16.669; 25. 2-Nick Hoffman, 16.853; 26. 15-Donny Schatz, 17.083

Qualifying Flight-B– 1. 157-Mike Marlar, 15.748; 2. 21jr-Billy Moyer, 15.761; 3. 28-Dennis Erb, 15.869; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens, 15.939; 5. CJ1-Rusty Schlenk, 15.973; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening, 15.992; 7. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 16.012; 8. 1r-Josh Richards, 16.036; 9. 84-Austin Smith, 16.092; 10. 54-David Breazeale, 16.172; 11. 1P-Earl Pearson, 16.177; 12. 2c-Joey Coulter, 16.189; 13. 72-Mike Norris, 16.265; 14. 71-Hudson O’Neal, 16.277; 15. 5-Don O’Neal, 16.329; 16. 22s-Brian Shirley, 16.336; 17. 99B-Boom Briggs, 16.387; 18. 11B-Stacy Boles, 16.509; 19. 91-Tyler Erb, 16.54; 20. 14z-Zack McMillan, 16.581; 21. 1x-Chub Frank, 16.582; 22. 27-Jeff Beyers, 16.596; 23. 25z-Mason Zeigler, 17.23; 24. 75-Colton Flinner, 17.445; 25. 14r-Reid Millard, 18.021