SARVER, Pa. (June 28) — Darrell Lanigan isn’t a man of many words, but he was reduced to a man of one word after finally capturing the Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com on Saturday night at Lernerville Speedway.

“Unbelievable,” Lanigan simply stated, shaking his head in awe over his most coveted World of Outlaws Late Model Series of all.

Erasing a long history of close-but-no-cigar runs in the Firecracker 100 — specifically, four runner-up finishes in the previous six years — Lanigan found the perfect combination of speed and good fortune to become the sixth different winner of the eight-year-old event.

Lanigan, 43, of Union, Ky., inherited the lead on lap 67 when Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., slowed with a broken rearend and was still firmly in command on lap 90 when a burst of rain forced officials to put out a caution flag. Shortly thereafter — just as the field was being rolled into the pit-area staging lane to wait out the weather — the precipitation intensified and the race was declared official because the four-tenths-mile oval’s surface had become too slick for action to continue.

With that call, Lanigan’s celebration could begin. That it came in a drenched victory lane was no problem for the two-time WoO champion, who saw nearly a decade of frustration in the summer-starting spectacular washed away.

“Once we went under caution (on lap 90) I was like, Holy s---, it’s raining pretty hard,” said Lanigan, who pocketed $30,650 for his seventh WoO triumph of 2014 and the milestone 60th of his career. “We were slipping around there pretty good when we slowed down, and I was thinking, ‘We just won this race.’

“Then they sent us the to the pits and I was like, ‘Man, you can’t do that. This race gotta be over.’ A minute later they said it was done, and I was like, ‘Finally!’”

Two-time Firecracker 100 winner Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., placed second, crossing the finish line a couple car lengths behind Lanigan on the last scored lap before the rain-induced caution flew. The 50-year-old Bloomquist briefly challenged Lanigan following restarts on laps 67 and 73 and closed to within striking distance as rain began falling during the race’s final circuits, but he otherwise was unable to stick with Lanigan down the stretch.

John Blankenship, 32, of Williamson, W.Va., advanced from the ninth starting spot to finish a Firecracker 100 career-best third. He reached fourth place behind Bloomquist on lap-36 restart and chased the veteran for the remainder of the distance.

Dale McDowell, 48, of Chickamauga, Ga., cracked the top five from the 11th starting spot just prior to the halfway point and scored a fourth-place finish driving a backup Team Dillon Racing car after his primary machine was heavily damaged in a heat-race crash on Friday night. Two-time Firecracker 100 winner Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., completed the top five after swapping fifth place late in the race with Morgan Bagley of Tyler, Texas, who finished sixth after starting 25th and pitting early to change his car’s right-rear tire compound.

Lanigan started from the outside pole in his self-designed Club 29 Race Car and grabbed the lead at the initial green flag, but he was overtaken by the high-riding Davenport on lap 12. Davenport, who started from the pole, proceeded to flex some serious muscle, building a full straightaway edge over Lanigan during a stretch of uninterrupted racing from lap 11 to 32 and pulling away after restarts on laps 32, 36, 40 and 43.

But the next caution flag, on lap 67, was for Davenport. He pulled up lame on the backstretch, his K&L Rumley Longhorn machine done in by a broken rearend.

Davenport’s crushing departure — he said later that he felt his car’s hard-compound tires were actually making him stronger as the race wore on — allowed Lanigan to assume command without a fight. Lanigan had been ready for one, though.

“I knew he’d be good around that cushion. That’s his typical little deal there,” Lanigan said of Davenport. “But the top was giving up a little bit, so I think we would’ve been close at the end anyways. We were moving in on him, and our car was really maneuverable, so I was just giving him time to wear the top out.”

Lanigan simply had supreme confidence in his race car, which had already carried him to his first-ever win at Lernerville in Thursday night’s first Firecracker 100 preliminary feature.

“Our car’s been good year so I knew coming up here we’d have a good piece,” Lanigan said. “I just didn’t want to over-think it. We went up there to Eldora (Speedway) a couple weeks ago (for the Dream XX) and over-thought it and kind of screwed up, so we just went with our gameplan tonight and put our typical stuff on there and it worked great.

“You definitely had to change your thoughts on tires (after a short period of rain after the B-Mains delayed the start of the 100-lapper), but other than that the car was pretty close from the way we were gonna go out before. It was just awesome all night.”

The only time Lanigan felt his car under-performing was when the light rain started to fall late in the distance.

“I knew the track was getting slick up there in the top (groove),” Lanigan said. “I didn’t really we was about the only one running up there, which made it even slicker on the top. We were starting to slide a little and I think that probably cost us some of our lead (on Bloomquist), but I feel like we just would’ve needed to move down and we would’ve been fine.”

Bloomquist, meanwhile, thought he was gaining on Lanigan not because of a slickening track surface but because he had found a better lane around the speedway.

“We were reeling him in there before it started raining,” said Bloomquist, who finished second in all three features run during the Firecracker 100 weekend. “I don’t know….I think we might have had enough racetrack out there to run a few more (laps). At least two more….and I just needed one more.

“If we would’ve had another few laps, I think that’s all it would’ve taken (to pass Lanigan). But we’ll take our second place and move on.”

Nine caution flags slowed the event. None were for serious incidents.

Notes: Friday-night feature winner Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., was running at the back of the top 10 when he retired with driveline woes on lap 37. … Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., ran in the top five for much of the race’s first half but faded to eighth at the finish. … Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan., brought out the race’s first caution flag, on lap four, when he blew a right-rear tire that cut his car’s brake lines. … Boom Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa., who used a WoO emergency provisional to start the race, had a rough outing. An early tangle with Mike Benedum of Salem, W.Va., bent one of his car’s tie-rods and he slowed to trigger caution flags on laps 11, 32 and 43. … Other caution flags were caused by Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del. (slowed on lap 36), Gregg Satterlee of Indiana, Pa. (slowed on lap 40) and Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa. (out of shape of lap 73). … WoO regular Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., saw his night come to an early end after he was disqualified for bumping into the car driven by Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., under caution during the first heat. Frank and Clanton had tangled on the backstretch on lap three; Frank spun and restarted at the rear while Clanton pitted to change a left-rear flat and adjust a damaged left-side door. Clanton then was disqualified from further action by WoO rule for hitting another car under caution; after the call, Clanton spent several minutes during the heats in animated conversation with WoO director Tim Christman in the infield and yelled at Frank as the Pennsy driver was sitting in his car waiting for the B-Main to roll out. ... Of the 55 drivers who competed in the weekend’s action, only Casey Roberts of Toccoa, Ga., did not return for Saturday's finale.

Firecracker 100 feature updates

Lap 90: Caution out for rain, which has returned at a steady clip. Bloomquist had caught Lanigan as the precip started to slicken the oval, but the track is now extremely wet.....caution is out....and after a few moments officials made the decision to call the race official, giving Lanigan his first-ever Firecracker 100 win overBloomquist, Blankenship, McDowell and Mars.

Lap 85: Lanigan has built a lead of nearly three seconds over Bloomquist....Blankenship, McDowell and Mars follow....

Lap 73: Caution for Dan Stone, who got out of shape. Lanigan had built a lead of over two seconds on Bloomquist, with Blankenship, McDowell, Mars and Bagley following....

Lap 67: Disaster for Davenport, who slows to bring out a caution after building his edge back to just over one second. He thinks it was driveline....said the motor revved up on the backstretch. Lanigan inherits the lead over Bloomquist, who was five seconds behind at the time of the caution, Blankenship, McDowell and Eckert....there is some rain in area on radar, so weather could be an issue....

Lap 65: With Davenport in traffic, Lanigan has pulled within striking distance.

Lap 50: Davenport is absolutely dominating, leading Lanigan by a full straightaway. Bloomquist is third, Blankenship fourth and McDowell up to fifth.

Lap 43: Briggs brings out caution for third time....Davenport pulled away on restart to build a nearly two-second lead....Marlar pits to change right-front tire, McCreadie in infield as well changing tire but has shut off car....Lanigan second, followed by Bloomquist, Blankenship and Eckert....Marlar and McCreadie return....McCreadie then spun to bring out another caution before a lap was completed....Marlar pitted again to change left-rear tire and McCreadie pitted again to put on right-rear mud cover....

Lap 40: Caution for Satterlee, who pulls to infield and appears to be done. Davenport leads Lanigan, Bloomquist, Blankenship and Eckert....

Lap 36: Caution for Hubbard, who slows on the backstretch....he pulls to infield and climbs out of his car. Jimmy Owens also pulls to infield, his race ended with a broken driveshaft....Davenport leads Lanigan, Bloomquist, Fuller and Blankenship.

Lap 32: Caution for Boom Briggs...Davenport leads Lanigan, Bloomquist, Fuller and Mars.

Lap 30: Davenport is ripping through lapped traffic, holding a near straightaway edge on Lanigan and Bloomquist.

Lap 16: After exploding in the outside groove to take the lead on lap 12, Davenport is pulling away from Lanigan and Bloomquist.

Lap 11: Caution for a slowing Boom Briggs....Lanigan leads Bloomquist, Davenport, Mars and Fuller.

Lap 10: Bloomquist took second on lap five and is challenging Lanigan.

Lap 4: Caution for Chase Junghans (stopped turn three) and Chub Frank (stopped on lip of backstretch and pits with right-rear flat tire)....Lanigan, leader from start, sets pace over Davenport, Bloomquist, Mars and Fuller.....some very light sprinkles falling....

Feature time

After the completion of hot laps for the Uncle Sam 30 cars, the 28-car starting field for the Firecracker 100 rolled onto the track at 11:25 p.m. The field is aligning and a green flag is imminent.

Uncle Sam 30 lineup

Row 1: Doug Drown, Tony Musolino
Row 2: Mike Knight, Garrett Krummert
Row 3: Dan Angelicchio, Max Blair
Row 4: Ken Schaltenbrand, Vic Coffey
Row 5: Chris Casner, Justin Kann
Row 6: Brian Tavenner, Herman Bertolini
Row 7: Todd Bachman, John Flinner Jr.
Row 8: Colton Flinner, Gary Lyle
Row 9: Matt Cochran, Chuck Sarver
Row 10: Bo Lockwood, Eric Jacobsen
Row 11: Mike Altobelli

Back rolling

As of 11:15 p.m., race cars are on the racetrack. Competitors scheduled to run the Uncle Sam 30 were called up to hot-lap and the racing surface is picking up speed with every lap turned.

Working the track

As of 10:45 p.m., the rain has stopped and the track crew is now on the racetrack, gingerly starting the drying process.

There remain some pop-up showers around the western Pennsylvania area with the evening's humid conditions, but officials hope that the precipitation stays away so the program can be completed tonight.

Weather update

With light rain still falling, officials announced at 10:25 p.m. that the program will go on tonight if the track crew is able to get on the speedway to rework the surface by 11 p.m. If the rain refuses to cease, however, the 100-lapper and Uncle Sam 30 will be postponed to Sunday with a 4 p.m. start time.

Rain delay

When rain began to threaten the area, officials decided to move the Firecracker 100 up to before the Uncle Sam 30 Non-Qualifiers' Race. Teams scurried to get to the staging area after the eight-minute horn was blown by WoO officials, but at 9:45 p.m. light rain began to fall and cars were sent back to the trailers.

The precipitation has intensified as of 9:55 p.m., putting the program into a full-blown rain delay. The huge crowd of fans has left the grandstands and cars are covered in the pits.

Consolation finishes

First consolation (top two transfer): Chub Frank, Austin Hubbard, Frank Heckenast Jr., Tony Musolino, Garrett Krummert, Ken Schaltenbrand, Chris Casner, Herman Bertolini, Todd Bachman (DNS) Russ King, Mason Zeigler, Shane Clanton.

Second consolation (top two transfer): Dave Hess Jr., Gregg Satterlee, Morgan Bagley, Mike Knight, Dan Angelicchio, John Garvin Jr., Justin Kann, Michael Norris, John Flinner Jr., Gary Lyle, Chuck Sarver, Eric Jacobsen.

Third consolation (top two transfer): Mike Benedum, Chase Junghans, Doug Drown, Mike Pegher Jr., Max Blair, Vic Coffey, Brian Tavenner, Boom Briggs, Colton Flinner, Matt Cochran, Bo Lockwood, Mike Altobelli.

Consolation lineups

(12 laps; top two transfer)
First consolation
Row 1: Chub Frank, Austin Hubbard
Row 2: Garrett Krummert, Frank Heckenast Jr.
Row 3: Tony Musolino, Todd Bachman
Row 4: Chris Casner, Herman Bertolini
Row 5: Mason Zeigler, Russ King
Row 6: Ken Schaltenbrand
Second consolation
Row 1: Dave Hess Jr., Mike Knight
Row 2: Gregg Satterlee, Dan Angelicchio
Row 3: Morgan Bagley, John Garvin Jr.
Row 4: Gary Lyle, Justin Kann
Row 5: John Flinner Jr., Chuck Sarver
Row 6: Michael Norris, Eric Jacobsen
Third consolation
Row 1: Boom Briggs, Doug Drown
Row 2: Mike Benedum, Chase Junghans
Row 3: Max Blair, Mike Pegher Jr.
Row 4: Vic Coffey, Brian Tavenner
Row 5: Colton Flinner, Bo Lockwood
Row 6: Mike Altobelli, Matt Cochran

Heat race finishes

First heat (top three transfer): Jimmy Owens, Alex Ferree, Clint Smith, Chub Frank, Garrett Krummert, Tony Musolino, Chris Casner, Mason Zeigler (DQ) Shane Clanton.

Second heat (top three transfer): Darrell Lanigan, Dale McDowell, Mike Marlar, Austin Hubbard, Frank Heckenast Jr., Todd Bachman, Herman Bertolini, Russ King, Ken Schaltenbrand.

Third heat (top three transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Tim Fuller, Davey Johnson, Dave Hess Jr., Gregg Satterlee, Morgan Bagley, Gary Lyle, John Flinner Jr., Michael Norris.

Fourth heat (top three transfer): John Blankenship, Rick Eckert, Tim McCreadie, Mike Knight, Dan Angelicchio, John Garvin Jr., Justin Kann, Chuck Sarver, Eric Jacobsen.

Fifth heat (top three transfer): Jonathan Davenport, Dan Stone, Jared Miley, Boom Briggs, Mike Benedum, Max Blair, Vic Coffey, Colton Flinner, Mike Altobelli.

Sixth heat (top three transfer): Kent Robinson, Jimmy Mars, Eric Wells, Doug Drown, Chase Junghans, Mike Pegher Jr., Brian Tavenner, Bo Lockwood, Matt Cochran.

Heat race lineups

(10 laps; top three transfer; top two redraw)
First heat
Row 1: Jimmy Owens, Chub Frank
Row 2: Alex Ferree, Shane Clanton
Row 3: Clint Smith, Mason Zeigler
Row 4: Garrett Krummert, Chris Casner
Row 5: Tony Musolino
Second heat
Row 1: Darrell Lanigan, Mike Marlar
Row 2: Austin Hubbard, Dale McDowell
Row 3: Frank Heckenast Jr., Russ King
Row 4: Ken Schaltenbrand, Todd Bachman
Row 5: Herman Bertolini
Third heat
Row 1: Scott Bloomquist, Tim Fuller
Row 2: Morgan Bagley, Davey Johnson
Row 3: Dave Hess Jr., Gregg Satterlee
Row 4: Michael Norris, John Flinner Jr.
Row 5: Gary Lyle
Fourth heat
Row 1: Tim McCreadie, John Blankenship
Row 2: Rick Eckert, John Garvin
Row 3: Eric Jacobsen, Mike Knight
Row 4: Dan Angelicchio, Justin Kann
Row 5: Chuck Sarver
Fifth heat
Row 1: Jonathan Davenport, Jared Miley
Row 2: Dan Stone, Max Blair
Row 3: Boom Briggs, Mike Benedum
Row 4: Vic Coffey, Mike Altobelli
Row 5: Colton Flinner
Sixth heat
Row 1: Jimmy Mars, Kent Robinson
Row 2: Doug Drown, Eric Wells
Row 3: Chase Junghans, Matt Cochran
Row 4: Mike Pegher Jr., Brian Tavenner
Row 5: Bo Lockwood

Schedule of events

7 p.m.: Drivers’ meeting
7:30 p.m.: WoO hot laps
7:55 p.m.: Opening ceremonies
8 p.m.: WoO heats (six 10-lap races; top three transfer)
• WoO feature redraw (top two from each heat)
• WoO consolations (three 12-laps races; top two transfer)
• Uncle Sam 30 Non-Qualifiers’ Race ($3,000 to win)
• Firecracker 100