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Clanton Captures Thrilling NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50

Clanton Holds Off McCreadie & Lanigan For Thrilling Victory In NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 At Deer Creek Speedway
Georgia Driver Scores First World of Outlaws Late Model Series Win Of 2012 In Front Of Packed House

By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director - SPRING VALLEY, MN – July 7, 2012 – Shane Clanton showed some true NAPA Know How on Saturday night at Deer Creek Speedway. (Photo Courtsey of Buck Monson Photos)

The standout driver from Fayetteville, Ga., made all the right moves in the final laps of the 33rd annual NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 Charity Late Model Race, holding off the two hottest drivers on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series to earn a thrilling victory before a standing-room-only crowd.

Clanton, 36, raced three-wide for the lead with Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., off turn two on the last lap before making a timely dive to the inside of the three-eighths-mile oval entering turn three, dulling his challengers' momentum and preserving his first triumph of 2012 on the WoO LMS. His win in the kickoff event of the circuit's 'Wild West Tour' was worth $11,650, including a $1,000 bonus from NAPA.

McCreadie, 38, settled for a runner-up finish in his Sweeteners Plus Warrior, just 0.217 of a second behind Clanton's Kennedy Motorsports Capital Race Car. The 42-year-old Lanigan had his Rocket machine right on McCreadie's rear bumper in third place at the conclusion of one of the most memorable three-car races to the finish in the history of the WoO LMS.

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