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 ROSSBURG,
OH (September 5-6) -- The Super Bowl of dirt Late Model racing was
contested this past weekend at Eldora Speedway with Dan Schlieper
besting 221 other drivers to claim the coveted World 100 trophy and
the $36,000 payout. In front of a packed house, Schlieper led all 100
laps en route to the historic win. The annual two-day event was a UMP
sanctioned event which utilizes a Hoosier "tire-rule" which
meant all 222 competitors rode on USA-made Hoosier tires.
On Friday, 222 Late Model drivers each took turns
making qualifying runs around the famous 1/2-mile oval. Each driver
was clocked twice with the best lap being the driver's official time.
Scott Bloomquist, the 2001 World 100 winner, was the fastest in
qualifying with his lap of 15.870 seconds on his 2nd lap. Darrell
Lanigan was the only other driver to eclipse the 15-second barrier in qualifying
posting a 15.997 second lap.
On Saturday, a series of six heat races were contested
to further reduce the field of hopefuls to 24 for the night's feature
race. Randy Korte won the first heat, while Dale McDowell, Ray Cook,
Chub Frank, Matt Miller and Dan Schleiper won heats two through six.
With the 222-car field now whittled down to 24, it was time for the
100-lap World 100 feature race.
After 100-laps, Dan Schlieper crossed the line first
ahead of Scott Bloomquist who finished runner-up the past two years
after winning the title in 2001.
Dale McDowell and last year's winner Brian Birkhofer
finished third and fourth, respectively. Steve Shaver rounded out the
top five with Matt Miller, RJ Conley, John Gill and Earl Pearson, Jr.,
and Terry Phillips rounding out the top ten.
Nineteen of the 24 starters were still running when
the race ended with 14 of them on the lead-lap when the checkered flag
fell.
Special thanks goes out to Hoosier Tire Midwest who
serviced the event. The entire Hoosier organization also congratulates
Dan Schlieper on his big win and wishes to thank all the drivers who
competed on Hoosier tires in the 33rd annual World 100.
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