BREWERTON, NY - Aug. 22, 2010 - Larry Wight is a teenager with designs on becoming the next DIRTcar big-block Modified driver to follow the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
And on Tuesday night (Aug. 24), the 17-year-old from Baldwinsville, N.Y., will have his best opportunity yet to pad his full-fender bona fides when the national tour visits the track he knows better than any other, Brewerton Speedway, for the second annual ‘Dirt Demon 50.’
Now in his fourth season of DIRTcar Modified racing and third entering selected dirt Late Model events, Wight feels the time has come for him to turn some heads with a solid run in a WoO LMS show. He knows the perfect place for a breakthrough is Brewerton, a one-third-mile, D-shaped oval that is not only his weekly Friday-night big-block Modified stop but also one of two central New York tracks owned and operated by his parents, John and Laura.
“We’re gonna try to use the hometrack advantage a little bit,” said Wight, who is currently ranked seventh in Brewerton’s DIRTcar big-block Modified points standings with two top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 15 starts. “You’re never gonna have much on these (WoO) guys – after hot laps, they’ll be right there (with setups) – but we’re hoping that knowing what the track does from hot laps to the feature will give us a chance to have a good night.
“My goal is to qualify well, get in (the A-Main) through a heat and maybe get a top 10 or 15 finish. That would be a big step for us.”
Wight, who races for his father’s Gypsum Express super team that includes WoO LMS star Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., and DIRTcar Modified veterans Billy Decker of Unadilla, N.Y., and Pat Ward of Genoa, N.Y., has annually increased his participation in Outlaw action since making his tour debut in 2008 at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway. He entered one event in ’08, five in 2009 (qualifying for two A-Mains) and eight so far in 2010 (making the cut for seven A-Mains, including Saturday night’s 100-lap ‘Battle At Eastern Door’ at Mohawk International Raceway in Akwesasne, N.Y., that was postponed by rain to Sept. 1).
The youngster known as ‘Lightning Larry’ owns a modest career-best WoO LMS finish of 14th, on June 22, 2009, at Can-Am Motorsports Park in LaFargeville, N.Y. But dirt Late Model racing has only been a sideline to his concentration on DIRTcar big-block and 358-Modified competition – though this summer Wight has gotten a bit more serious about his full-fender pursuits by building up his team’s inventory and running July’s four-race ‘Wild West Tour’ through Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota to gain valuable experience.
“We’re still new to Late Models, but we’re coming along,” said Wight, who earlier this year won four crate Late Model features at his parents’ Brewerton and Fulton speedways earlier before backing off on weekly double-duty to focus on his DIRTcar Modified racing. “We’re definitely a lot more prepared now when we go Late Model racing than we were a couple years ago. We’ve got all the tires and rims we need, we have more spare parts in the trailer and we have a lot better motor program and cars.”
John Wight also just ordered a new Rocket car for his son, who currently runs a Rocket mount that Fuller drove less than a dozen times and uses the Gypsum team’s old ’04 machine as a backup. The new car is being added to Wight’s stable with an eye toward the 2011 WoO LMS, which Wight hopes to chase in search of the Rookie of the Year award. He could become the fifth driver with DIRTcar big-block Modified roots to win the top rookie honor since 2004, joining Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y. (’04), Fuller (’07), Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y. (’08) and Russell King of Bristolville, Ohio (’09).
“I’d really like to run the series next year – that’s the goal,” said Wight, who is doing his points racing this year on the Super DIRTcar Series for big-block Modifieds and the Mr. DIRT 358-Modified Series. “I really like running the Late Model and the division is building, so I’d like to get aligned with what’s going on.”
That doesn’t mean Wight, who turns 18 on Oct. 21, plans to make racing his occupation, however. He still has his senior year of high school to complete, and then he’ll head off to college next fall – most likely at SUNY-Canton in upstate New York – to study mechanical engineering and business in preparation for a possible career working at his family’s successful trucking company.
“I’m gonna work on finishing high school early so maybe I can go down to Georgia and Florida (in February 2011) to get a bunch of Late Model races in and pick up some experience,” said Wight, who has grown about six inches and gained nearly 50 pounds since he began racing on dirt in the Sportsman division at the age of 14. “Then maybe we can think about running the series until college starts in the fall.”
Wight is ready for the challenge of the WoO LMS. He understands he has advantages that are the envy of other drivers – from his parents’ financial support to the technical assistance he’s received from such dirt Late Model stars as Fuller, Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., and Rick Eckert of York, Pa. – and won’t take any of it for granted.
“The help comes with the expectation of how you should be running,” said Wight, who did not qualify for last year’s ‘Dirt Demon 50.’ “Money doesn’t make you a great driver or anything, but it gives you a head start with the equipment. You have to work hard and use that to your advantage.”
Wight will battle a star-studded field of WoO LMS drivers at Brewerton on Tues., Aug. 24, including former champions McCreadie (a multiple-time DIRTcar big-block and 358-Modified winner there and sixth-place finisher in last year’s ‘Dirt Demon 50’), Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va. (eighth at Brewerton last year after pitting to change a flat tire), Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky. (seventh last year) and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. (12th last year).
The field will also include Outlaw regulars Fuller (a winner of 26 DIRTcar big-block features at Brewerton as well as last year’s ‘Dirt Demon 50), Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga. (10th in last year’s event after leading laps 1-12), Eckert (third), Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa. (fifth from 21st), King (13th), Smith (15th), rookie sensation Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del. (20th) and rookie Jill George of Cedar Lake, Iowa (first visit to Brewerton).
Drivers expected to challenge the Outlaws include Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., who finished second in last year’s ‘Dirt Demon 50’ after a late caution flag cost him the lead, Wight’s Gypsum Express teammate Billy Decker (ninth last year), Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa. (11th last year), Ricky Elliott of Seaford, Del., Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa., Gregg Satterlee of Rochester Mills, Pa., and Greg Oakes of Franklinville, N.Y.
Advance tickets are on sale for Brewerton’s mid-week program, which also includes competition for the Mod Lite division. Tickets may be purchased starting at Noon on Tuesday 8/24 along with Will/Call pickups. Reserved seats in the top three rows of sections A-P are priced at $35, while adult general admission tickets will sell for $30 each and children ages 14-and-under will be admitted for $10. All pit passes are $40 and will be sold starting at 4:30pm on raceday.
No blankets will be allowed down in the grandstand to save seats until the gates open at 4:30 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to start at 6:20 p.m., with WoO LMS time trials beginning at 6:40 p.m. and racing set for a 7:30 p.m. green flag.
More information on the ‘Dirt Demon 50’ is available by logging on to
www.brewertonspeedway.com or calling the track office at 315-668-6906 or the speedway hotline at 315-668-RACE.
Brewerton Speedway is located at 60 U.S. Route 11 in Brewerton, N.Y., just off Interstate 81. Free parking and overnight camping will be offered.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit
www.worldofoutlaws.com.