Clint Smith's Top 10 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Tracks

In recognition of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series running its milestone 300^th A-Main since 2004 on July 26 at Dog Hollow Speedway in Strongstown, Pa., I presented a simple project to the four drivers and one car owner who participated in tour events at each of the 118 tracks in 30 states and three Canadian provinces that hosted World of Outlaws programs over the eight-and-a-half-year span: Make a Top 10 list of your favorite speedways.

'Cat Daddy' Clint Smith. (Lee Smith photo)

Below is the Top 10 WoO LMS Tracks List for Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., who has entered every tour event (now 304 and counting) since the World Racing Group re-launched the series in 2004. The 46-year-old driver failed to start just one of the first 300 A-Mains contested – the race on Feb. 19, 2006, at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. He owns 12 career wins on the series – tied for 10^th on the tour’s win list – and ranks sixth in the current points standings.

Note: Smith’s tracks are listed in his order of preference. The number of WoO LMS events each track has held is in parenthesis, and Smith’s comments about each track are in quotes.

1) Deer Creek Speedway/Spring Valley, Minn. (nine races) – “One of the raciest tracks on the circuit. Over all the years we’ve gone there with the series, I don’t think there’s ever been a bad race there. It’s been the most consistent, most equal track we’ve been to.”

2) I-55 Raceway/Pevely, Mo. (four races) – “It’s somewhat the same shape as Deer Creek – a short three-eighths with high banks. It’s always a good race there…and I’ve won there too.”

3) Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, Pa. (18 races) – “Kind of like the granddaddy of all the tracks we go to. It never shows any rubber and there’s always passing there. You get several different track conditions in one place, which makes it unique.”

4) Fulton (N.Y.) Speedway (two races) – “Unfortunately we don’t go there anymore, but it’s one of my favorites. It has high banks, it’s not that big of a racetrack and there always seems to be a lot of racing going on there.”

5) Eldora Speedway/Rossburg, Ohio (two races) – “Definitely one of the biggest, baddest racetracks there is. Maybe every race there isn’t that good, but it’s still Eldora. It’s always a challenge because whenever you go there it’s got the most competition.”

6) Shawano (Wis.) Speedway (two races) – “A big superspeedway-type racetrack. It’s a super-good racetrack as far as passing; it doesn’t seem to rubber. And it’s a super-nice facility too. I used to be intimidated by the bigger tracks because I come from the south where most of the tracks are smaller, three-eighths-types, but now I’ve really come around to the bigger places like Shawano.”

7) East Alabama Motor Speedway/Phenix City, Ala. (one race, in 2006) – “That’s one of my hometown favorite tracks. I always seem to run good up there and like the place, and since we’ve been there I have to put it in my top 10. There’s a few tracks where there might be a little bit better racing, but as far as the way the track is worked on and fixed, it’s one of my favorites.”

8) River Cities Speedway/Grand Forks, ND (six races) – “The first time we went there (in 2006) it rubbered up, but every time we’ve been there since it’s been a super-racy place – you can race anywhere on it – and we’ve put on a real exciting show. Actually, even when it rubbered, it still impressed the fans – they were amazed that we could run a race in 10 minutes without any cautions. Any place that can be rubbered up and still be impressive to the fans must be a good racetrack.”

9) Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway (one race, in 2007) – “It’s small and it’s slick, and just like Lernerville, you can get all track conditions with one racetrack. I’d call it one of the top racetracks in the country.”

10) Tri-City Speedway/Franklin, Pa. (10 races) – “It’s a bigger place and another one that has different track conditions – it’s fast early and gets slicker. We’ve always been decent there. It’s a good ‘ol Pennsylvania racetrack that maybe a lot of people wouldn’t put on a top-10 list, but I like it.”

Postscript: What’s Smith’s most memorable WoO LMS event? He pinpoints his victory on June 17, 2007, at the famed Belleville (Kan.) High Banks.

“When we rolled in there and looked at the place, I was standing there with my hands on my hips and joked around, ‘There ain’t nothing about this place that has Clint Smith or GRT wrote on it,’” remembers Smith. “Then we dominated the field that night. That was probably the biggest and fastest track I had been on at that point, and I think that broke me into the big-track barrier. I liked them after that.”