Francis Leads Wire To Wire To Dethrone Bloomquist

CONCORD, N.C. — The last time the World of Outlaws Late Model Series visited The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Steve Francis stood in victory lane as the 2007 series champion. On Saturday night, Francis returned to the winner’s circle, this time as champion of the third-annual Circle K Colossal 100.
Starting on the pole for the 100-lap, $50,000-to-win feature, it was smooth sailing for the Ashland, Ky., native who led wire to wire to snag the victory by 3.007 seconds over second-place finisher Chris Madden.
From the start of the race, Francis knew he had the car to beat.
“I was so impressed when I drove my car in the corner the first lap, I just thought, ‘Well, if we can just keep from breaking something, we can win this,’” Francis said of the No. 19f Reliable Painting/Valvoline Rocket. “Actually, it’s probably the best car I’ve ever had in a 100-lap race. It just never changed a characteristic the whole race.”
Darrell Lanigan, Shannon Babb and Chris Madden all took shots at Francis, but no one had enough to get past the leader.

VICTORIOUS: Steve Francis hoists the traditional winner's sword after his victory Saturday night in the Circle K Colossal 100. (HHP/Harold Hinson Photo)

“The car was just absolutely phenomenal tonight. We never even had to run a lap hard. We had a lot left if we needed to go,” said Francis, who is known as The Kentucky Colonel. “That’s just unbelievable to get a car that good against this level of competition.
“When you get a car that good, it just makes your job a lot easier.”
Francis’s Colossal score was his first World of Outlaws triumph of the season and the 15th of his career, tying him with Rick Eckert for second on the series’ all-time win list. The win also put an end to Scott Bloomquist’s stranglehold on the event.
Bloomquist, who captured the first two Colossal victories, was never a factor in the race. After starting 17th, Bloomquist had trouble early, starting with Eddie Carrier, Jr.’s lap-one spin in turn four. He briefly cracked the top 10 before pitting multiple times. Bloomquist’s night ended in a multi-car snarl on lap 82.
Lanigan’s hopes of Colossal glory ended with 10 laps to go when his Lanigan Autosports/Gotta Race Rocket suffered rearend problems. When Francis saw Lanigan falter, he became concerned for his own fuel situation because of excessive caution laps throughout the event.
“It was the race that didn’t want to end,” Francis said. “I’ve led a lot of these (caution-plagued) things and usually something happens to me right at the end, so when I seen Darrell coasting down through there, I figured he was out of fuel and I was worried I might be next.
“The last five laps were probably the scariest of the race for me because I was watching the fuel-pressure gauge rather than what I should’ve been watching at that point,” Francis said.
“The motor was running lean at the end of the straightaway. It would start to slow down, so as soon as I felt that, I’d roll off the gas and let it coast into the corner.”
Francis’s fears were unfounded, though, as he easily took the checkered flag ahead of Madden. However, he doubted the car had enough fuel to make it from victory lane on the front stretch to his hauler in the pits.
Josh Richards followed Francis and Madden across the line in third, while Jimmy Owens and Dale McDowell completed the top five.
The summary:
Fast Time: Billy Moyer, 14.672 seconds (69 cars).
First Heat (10 laps): Billy Moyer, Jackie Boggs, Earl Pearson, Jr., Steve Lucas, Mike Marlar, Jonathan Davenport, Sean Beardsley, Mike Duvall, Luke Roffers.
Second Heat (10 laps): Dan Schlieper, Tim McCreadie, Steve Francis, Rick Eckert, John Blankenship, Ricky Elliott, Jeff Smith, Joe Isabell, Chris Knight.
Third Heat (10 laps): Jeep Van Wormer, Jimmy Mars, Bob Gordon, Cody Sommer, Ed Gibbons, Donnie Moran, Stacy Holmes, Mark Pettyjohn, Ronny Lee Hollingsworth.
Fourth Heat (10 laps): Steve Shaver, Ray Cook, Dale McDowell, Shanon Buckingham, Dennis Franklin, B.J. McCammon, Rob McLaughlin, April Farmer, Brent Robinson.
Fifth Heat (10 laps): Josh Richards, Chris Madden, Darrell Lanigan, Shannon Babb, Damon Eller, Doug Horton, Shane Clanton, Jordan Bland, G.R. Smith.
Sixth Heat (10 laps): Chub Frank, Scott Bloomquist, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Brady Smith, Al Shawver, Jr., Jill George, Brian Shirley, Clint Smith.
Seventh Heat (10 laps): Jimmy Owens, Ricky Weeks, Randall Chupp, Eric Jacobsen, Tim Allen, Danny Johnson, Brad Neat, Vic Coffey.
Eighth Heat (10 laps): John Gill, Jeremy Miller, Brian Birkhofer, Tim Fuller, Chuck Harper, Norman Short, Jr., Jason Dupont, Dean Bowen.
First B Feature (25 laps): B. Smith, Blankenship, Horton, Franklin, Lucas, Bowen, Shawver, Robinson, Holmes, Short, Roffers, Fuller, Farmer, C. Smith, Sommer, Elliott, Clanton, Babb, Harper, Beardsley, Johnson, Neat, Isabell, Hollingsworth, Dupont.
Second B Feature (25 laps): Eckert, Marlar, Coffey, J. Smith, McCammon, Eller, Bland, Pettyjohn, Buckingham, Knight, McLaughlin, Gibbons, George, Davenport, Allen, G.R. Smith, Jacobsen, Shirley, Moran, Duvall.
Circle K Colossal 100 (100 laps): Francis, Madden, Richards, Owens, McDowell, Babb, McCreadie, Blankenship, Carrier, Weeks, Van Wormer, Gordon, Lanigan, Eckert, Horton, Bloomquist, Pearson, Cook, B. Smith, Franklin, Moyer, Coffey, Marlar, Moran, Boggs, Chupp, Miller, Frank, J. Smith, Schlieper, C. Smith, Mars, Gill, Shaver, Birkhofer, G.R. Smith.