Sunday

FRANKLIN, Pa. — Dan Stone had a hard time grasping the magnitude of his victory in Sunday night’s 50-lap Oil Region Labor Day Classic finale at Tri-City Speedway.
Stone, 30, pulled off arguably the most monumental upset in the history of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. He did it in grand style, driving by six of the tour’s brightest stars en route to a career-high $10,725 paycheck and an emotional post-race celebration.
“I can’t believe we hit it that good with the car,” said an awed Stone, who completed his march forward from the ninth starting spot by passing WoO LMS point-leader Steve Francis for the lead on lap 38. “I knew it was close last night (he finished a then-WoO LMS personal-best seventh in Saturday night’s 50-lapper) and we made a little adjustment today, but I never thought we’d get this.”
A true underdog who is universally well liked by his fellow competitors, Stone was showered in adulation following the race. He received a loud standing ovation from the appreciative fans after conducting a heartfelt interview in victory lane and was mobbed by drivers and team members offering congratulatory handshakes and high-fives upon returning to the pit area.
Stone simply sailed away from Francis once in command, beating Saturday night’s feature winner to the finish line by a commanding margin of 3.791 seconds.
An army of WoO Late Model regulars followed Stone and Francis under the checkered flag. Josh Richards took third, Shane Clanton was fourth and Rick Eckert was fifth.
The finish:
Dan Stone, Steve Francis, Josh Richards, Shane Clanton, Rick Eckert, Clint Smith, Chub Frank, David Scott, Gregg Satterlee, Alex Ferree, Robbie Blair, Dick Barton, Dutch Davies, Jared Miley, Dave Hess, Jr., Rick Isadore, Rick Briggs, Jim Rasey, Chris Hackett, Wally Fox, Mike Johnson, Brent Rhebergen, Jeremy Miller, Paul Briggs, Roy Mitchell.

Saturday

FRANKLIN, Pa. — Steve Francis padded his World of Outlaws Late Model Series point lead over Chub Frank on Saturday night thanks to some assistance from ... Chub Frank.
Yes, Francis credited Frank with helping him win the 50-lap A main that opened the Oil Region Labor Day Classic weekend at Tri-City Speedway.
“We kinda had the ‘Chub’ setup in it tonight,” Francis said with a smile after driving his Valvoline Rocket No. 15 to his second victory this season. “There’s a couple things that Chub does a little different to his cars. Tonight we tried the same stuff with our car, and it worked.
“Chub says everybody looks at him and says he’s dumb for doing some of the stuff he does, but it ain’t long before we’re all doing it.”
Francis drove past Frank on his way to the front from eighth starting spot, passing his prime championship rival for second on lap 14. He then used the inside groove to overtake Shane Clanton for the lead on lap 20 and never looked back.
Frank finished a distant second, 2.419 seconds behind Francis in a race that ran non-stop after a lone caution flag negated the original start.
Tim Fuller, Clanton and Robbie Blair rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Steve Francis, Chub Frank, Tim Fuller, Shane Clanton, Robbie Blair, Josh Richards, Dan Stone, Rick Eckert, Mike Knight, Darrell Lanigan, Clint Smith, David Scott, Dick Barton, Dutch Davies, Mike Johnson, Dave Hess, Jr., Chad Ruhlman, Gregg Satterlee, Alex Ferree, Chris Hackett, Brent Rhebergen, Rick Briggs, Roy Mitchell, Jeremy Miller.